Sustainable Development | A Definition
A sustainable development is defined as: “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of those in the future to meet their own needs”.
The Brundtland Commission (1987 UN Environment Commission)

Sustainable design is about creating solutions that meet environmental, social and economic objectives in a balanced and holistic way.


Sustainability | What is Sustainable Design?
There is a global responsibility towards sustainable construction. Teh built environment accounts for 45% of global CO2 emissions and energy consumption, 40% of all freshwater consumption, 70% of global timber consumption, 40% of all human-produced wastes and 50% of the world's material consumption.

Sustainable Design is development that seeks to create solutions that meet environmental, social and economic objectives in a balanced and holistic way, ensuring a better quality of life for everyone, now and for future generations to come.

The three dimensions of sustainable development and building design are:
ENVIRONMENTAL Effective protection of the environment and prudent use of natural resources
ECONOMIC Maintenance of high and stable levels of economic growth and employment
SOCIAL Social progress which recognises the needs of everyone

The Brundtland Report also devised 5 main types of "capital" or sources of global "resource":
SOCIAL
ECONOMIC
TECHNOLOGICAL
ENVIRONMENTAL
ECOLOGICAL

We believe in a futher "resource"
CULTURAL


Sustainability | The UK Government’s four broad objectives
The UK Government's strategy 'A Better Quality of Life - A Strategy for Sustainable Development in the UK, May 1999', identifies four key objectives:
• social progress which meets the needs for everyone;
• effective protection of the environment;
• prudent use of natural resources;
• high and stable levels of economic growth and employment.

The need to address sustainable development has been incorporated into relevant legislation and guidance and is applied in the decision making process for development proposals

At a global level, sustainable development may mean, among other things, the prudent use of fossil level, it must imply the ability to afford a reasonable standard of living, and to do this without adversely affecting the future.

Construction
Construction has a major impact on the environment. It currently accounts for.
10% of world wide economic activity
40% of the world's mineral based materials
40% of energy use
17% of fresh water extraction

Most of the energy is consumed by the operation of buildings, in the short term the ways that energy is used will need to be rethought.

Organic materials like timber will need to be used in a way that contributes to the regeneration of the biosphere. Zero resource depletion, zero toxic emissions and total recyclability will be the only standards which will finally be acceptable for inorganic materials like steel.

For all materials , energy consumption, both in construction and in use, will need to reduce to the point where the built environment consumes no more than its share of what can be provided from reusable sources.

Ensuring positive social and environmental impact from construction is also essential. Social impacts within the company are beginning to be addressed through the 'Respect for People' agenda, though there is much to do.

More widely, we must all ensures that the quality of our built environment changes people's lives for the better.

Activities that contribute to the creation of a sustainable society:
- Do not compromise the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs
- Recognise the dynamic needs of a society and the environment as a whole
- Encourage individual responsibility for the state of the planet and
society as a whole