Integrating Sustainable Development into Briefing and Design
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Integrating Sustainable Development into Briefing and Design
Processes of Buildings in Developing Countries: An Assessment Tool
Submitted by Jeremy Gibberd
Promoter
Professor Roger Fisher
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of
Philosphiae Doctor in Architecture
In the Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology
University of Pretoria
Department of Architecture
August 2003
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AKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to acknowledge the support of the following persons:
Professor Roger Fisher
Amanda
Bashi
My parents and sisters
The CSIR
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES..................................................................................................................... III
LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................... IV
LIST APPENDICES................................................................................................................... V
LIST OF ACRONYMS .............................................................................................................. VI
ABSTRACT FOR THE THESIS .............................................................................................. VII
1.
THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING.............................................................................. 1
1.1.
The Problem .................................................................................................................. 1
1.2.
The Sub problems ........................................................................................................ 2
1.2.1.
Sub problem one and Hypothesis one................................................................. 2
1.2.2.
Sub problem two and Hypothesis two ................................................................. 2
1.2.3.
Sub problem three and Hypothesis three ............................................................ 2
1.2.4.
Sub problem four and Hypothesis four ................................................................ 3
1.2.5.
Sub problem five and Hypothesis five ................................................................. 3
1.3.
The Delimitations .......................................................................................................... 3
1.4.
The Assumptions.......................................................................................................... 3
1.4.1.
The First Assumption ........................................................................................... 3
1.4.2.
The Second Assumption...................................................................................... 4
1.5.
The Need for the Study ................................................................................................ 4
1.6.
The Organisation of the Study .................................................................................... 5
1.7.
The Definition of Terms................................................................................................ 6
2.
THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT CONTEXT ....................................................... 7
2.1.
Sub Problem One and Hypothesis One...................................................................... 7
2.1.1.
Introduction .......................................................................................................... 7
2.1.2.
The International Context..................................................................................... 8
2.1.3.
The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) .. 8
2.1.4.
The World Summit on Sustainable Development .............................................. 16
2.1.5.
World Summit on Sustainable Development Plan of Implementation ............... 19
2.1.6.
Review of International Sustainable Development Context............................... 20
2.1.7.
The Local Context.............................................................................................. 26
2.1.8.
The United Kingdom .......................................................................................... 26
2.1.9.
South Africa ....................................................................................................... 31
2.2.
Addressing Hypothesis One...................................................................................... 43
2.3.
Concluding Hypothesis One...................................................................................... 46
3.
UNDERSTANDING SUSTAINABILITY ....................................................................... 49
3.1.
Sub Problem Two and Hypothesis Two ................................................................... 49
3.1.1.
Introduction ........................................................................................................ 49
3.1.2.
Sustainability: A General Definition ................................................................... 50
3.1.3.
Environmental, Social and Economic Sustainability .......................................... 54
3.1.4.
Environmental Sustainability.............................................................................. 54
3.1.5.
Economic Sustainability ..................................................................................... 60
3.1.6.
Social Sustainability ........................................................................................... 62
3.2.
Addressing Hypothesis Two ..................................................................................... 67
3.3.
Concluding Hypothesis Two ..................................................................................... 71
4.
A REVIEW OF EXISTING SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT SYSTEMS AND
INDICATORS .......................................................................................................................... 74
4.1.
Sub Problem Three and Hypothesis Three .............................................................. 74
4.1.1.
Introduction ........................................................................................................ 74
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II
4.1.2.
International Indicator Systems ......................................................................... 75
4.1.3.
Human Development Report ............................................................................. 82
4.1.4.
The Genuine Progress Report........................................................................... 83
4.1.5.
National, Community and Project Indicator Systems ........................................ 85
4.1.6.
Quality of Life Counts (UK) ................................................................................ 85
4.1.7.
Log frame ........................................................................................................... 89
4.1.8.
Building Environmental Performance Assessment Tools.................................. 95
4.1.9.
BREEAM ............................................................................................................ 96
4.1.10.
LEED .............................................................................................................. 98
4.1.11.
The GBTool .................................................................................................. 100
4.2.
Addressing Hypothesis Three................................................................................. 102
4.3.
Concluding Hypotheses Three................................................................................ 109
5.
SPECIFICATION FOR A BUILDING ASSESSMENT SYSTEM ............................... 112
5.1.
Sub Problem Four and Hypothesis Four................................................................ 112
5.1.1.
Introduction ...................................................................................................... 112
5.1.2.
Purpose of the Tool.......................................................................................... 112
5.1.3.
Scope of the Tool............................................................................................. 113
5.1.4.
The Components of the Tool ........................................................................... 113
5.1.5.
The Assessment Framework ........................................................................... 114
5.1.6.
Structure of the Assessment Framework......................................................... 122
5.1.7.
The Selection and Development of Indicators ................................................. 125
5.1.8.
The Structured Process ................................................................................... 127
5.1.9.
Principles for Design and Use of the Assessment Framework........................ 130
5.2.
Addressing Hypothesis Four................................................................................... 133
5.3.
Concluding Hypothesis Four................................................................................... 134
6.
THE SUSTAINABLE BUILDING ASSESSMENT TOOL........................................... 135
6.1.
Sub Problem Five and Hypothesis Five ................................................................. 135
6.1.1.
Introduction ...................................................................................................... 135
6.2.
Addressing Hypothesis Five ................................................................................... 152
6.2.1.
Introduction ...................................................................................................... 152
6.2.2.
Purpose of the Tool.......................................................................................... 152
6.2.3.
Scope of the Tool............................................................................................. 153
6.2.4.
Components of the Tool................................................................................... 153
6.2.5.
Assessment Framework .................................................................................. 153
6.2.6.
Structured Process .......................................................................................... 159
6.3.
Concluding Hypothesis Five ................................................................................... 160
7.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.......................................................... 161
7.1.
Conclusions .............................................................................................................. 161
7.2.
Recommendations.................................................................................................... 162
7.3.
Areas for Future Research....................................................................................... 163
8.
WORKS REFERRED TO IN THE THESIS ................................................................ 165
8.1.
Supplemental Reading ............................................................................................. 167
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III
LIST OF TABLES
Table Number Title
Table One Headline Indicators in the UK Sustainable Development
Table Two
Table Three
Strategy
South Africa State of the Environment Report, 1999
Sustainability Definitions
Table Four
Table Five
Table Six
A Log Frame
Sustainable Development and Building and Construction
Element Matrix
Assessment Framework Structure
Table Seven
Table Eight
Table Nine
Objective Rating Criteria
Indicator Rating Criteria
Building and Construction Sustainable Development
Assessment Framework
Page
30
36
54
89
120
122
124
124
127
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IV
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Number Title
Figure One Ecosystems Components
Page
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LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendix One List of Terms
Appendix Two
Appendix Three
Appendix Four
Appendix Five
Appendix Six
Appendix Seven
Appendix Eight
Appendix Nine
Appendix Ten
Appendix Eleven
Appendix Twelve
Appendix Thirteen
Agenda 21 Chapters
WSSD Sustainable Development Objectives
UK Strategy for Sustainable Development Indicators
South Africa State of the Environment Report 2002 Indicators
Agenda 21 Indicators of Sustainable Development
Commission on Sustainable Development Indicator Framework
Global Reporting Initiatives Indicators
Example of a Completed Log Frame
Building and Construction Sustainable Development Objectives
Buildings and Construction Sustainable Development Objectives
Analysis
Sustainable Building Assessment Tool Indicator Analysis
Assessment Tool Principles Analysis of Sustainable Building
Assessment Tool
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LIST OF ACRONYMS
BRE Building Research Agency
HPI -1
HPI -2
HSRC
ILO
IISD
ISEW
LEED
NGO
PPP
RDP
SBAT
SOE
UK
UN
UNCD
UNDP
BREEAM
CERES
CSD
CSIR
CICA
DFID
GBC
GBTool
GDP
GEAR
DEAT
DFID
EIA
GDI
GEM
GRI
HDI
UNEP
USGBC
WCED
WSSD
Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method
Coalition for the Environmentally Responsible Economies
Council on Sustainable Development
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
Confederation of International Contractors’ Associations
Department for International Development
Green Buildings Challenge
Green Building Tool
Gross Domestic Product
Growth, Employment and Redistribution
Department of Environment and Tourism
Department for International Development
Environmental Impact Assessment
Gender related development index
Gender empowerment measure
Global Reporting Initiative
Human Development Index
Human Poverty Index 1 (for developing countries)
Human Poverty Index 2 (for industrialized countries)
Human Sciences Research Council
International Labour Organisations
International Institute for Sustainable Development
Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Non Governmental Organisation
Purchasing Power Parity
Reconstruction and Development Programme
Sustainable Building Assessment Tool
State of the Environment Report
United Kingdom
United Nations
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
United Nations Development Programme
United Nations Environmental Programme
United States Green Building Council
International Union for the Conservation of Natures
World Summit on Sustainable Development
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VII
ABSTRACT FOR THE THESIS
Integrating Sustainable Development into Briefing and Design Processes of Buildings in Developing Countries: An Assessment Tool
Submitted by: Jeremy Gibberd
For the degree of:
University:
Department:
Philosphiae Doctor in Architecture
University of Pretoria
Department of Architecture
This study proposes a specification for an assessment tool that integrates sustainable development into briefing and design processes of buildings in developing countries.
The building and construction industry have a significant role to play in supporting sustainable development in developing countries. However until the implications of sustainable development for the building and construction industry in developing countries are understood and interpreted into a plan of action, little progress can be made.
The research proposal aims to make a contribution to knowledge within the field of sustainable development and building and construction in developing countries. The study suggests that an effective way of beginning to integrate sustainable development into building and construction is to make sustainable development an explicit goal during the briefing and design process of the building. The study develops a specification for assessment tool that enables the goal of sustainable development to be interpreted into building and construction objectives and shows how this can be used in the briefing and design processes of buildings.
The study is based on both a qualitative and quantitative approach. Through critical review of literature and inductive analysis key concepts pertaining to sustainability, sustainable development, developing country contexts, assessment frameworks, and building and construction are defined. These are compared and analysed to formulate a specification for an assessment tool. In order to test and validate findings the specification is compared with an existing building assessment tool, the Sustainable Building Assessment Tool.
All hypothesis developed by the study are successfully demonstrated and the study is successful in proposing a specification for an assessment tool that integrates sustainable development into briefing and design processes of buildings in developing countries.
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Key words: Sustainable development, sustainability, developing countries, assessment tools, building, construction, briefing, design.
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1. THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING
In the developing countries of the South, such whole-system thinking is at a premium, because the new pattern of scarcity….abundant people but scarce nature – has arrived early and with a vengeance. For the developing world, most acutely, the relevant question will be:
How many problems can be simultaneously solved or avoided, how many needs can be met, by making the right initial choices? And how can those choices be linked into a web of mutually supporting solutions, creating a healthy economic, social, and ecological system that
develops both better people and thriving nature.
The implications of sustainable development for buildings and the construction industry in developing countries are not well understood. However urgent social and economic problems and environmental degradation found in developing countries mean that it is increasingly important that the building and construction industry understands sustainable development and beings to implement and integrate this into mainstream practice.
This study aims to support increased understanding in this area by investigating how the early development stages of buildings in developing countries can be influenced in order to ensure that buildings and construction play a role in supporting sustainable development.
The research proposal argues that an effective way of doing this is through an assessment tool that enables sustainable development to become an explicit goal within the briefing and design processes of buildings. The study proposes a specification for this assessment tool.
It suggests that the assessment tool will enable sustainable development to be interpreted into building and construction objectives. Once defined, these objectives can be used to influence the briefing and design processes of buildings to ensure that sustainable development is integrated into the early stages of the development of buildings. In order to develop a specification for the tool the study uses quantitative and qualitative approaches. A number of steps are used to define the content, structure, and use of the tool.
Definitions of sustainability and sustainable development appropriate to the study are developed. In addition, a list of sustainable development objectives that can be interpreted into building and construction objectives is constituted. These are created through critical review and inductive analysis of the sustainable development and sustainability fields.
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The structure and components of the tool are defined through a critical review of assessment frameworks. This provides a description of the essential characteristics of assessment frameworks and defines processes that should be engaged in their use.
The detailed synthesis of proposed structure, content and use of the tool is developed through an analysis, comparison and interpretation of data from sustainability, sustainable development, assessment and development frameworks and building and construction fields.
In order to evaluate the specification and validate findings of the study the specification is compared to an existing assessment tool, the Sustainable Building Assessment Tool.
The study makes a contribution to knowledge within the sustainable development and building and construction fields. In particular, it aims to support improvement in methodologies designed to integrate sustainable development into the briefing and design of buildings in developing countries.
1.2. The Sub problems
1.2.1. Sub problem one and Hypothesis one
Sub problem: What are the key aspects of the international and local contexts of sustainable development useful in understanding how buildings and construction can support sustainable development?
Hypothesis: The international and local context of sustainable development can inform the development of a specification for an assessment tool that aims to integrate sustainable development into building briefing and design processes.
1.2.2. Sub problem two and Hypothesis two
Sub problem: What are key concepts in sustainability that are useful in understanding how buildings and construction can support sustainable development?
Hypothesis: Concepts from sustainability can inform the development of a specification for an assessment tool that aims to integrate sustainable development into building briefing and design processes.
1.2.3. Sub problem three and Hypothesis three
Sub problem: What are the key features of existing sustainable development, sustainability and development assessment systems and frameworks?
Hypothesis: Existing sustainable development, sustainability and development assessment systems and frameworks can inform the development of a specification for an assessment
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3 tool that aims to integrate sustainable development into building briefing and design processes.
1.2.4. Sub problem four and Hypothesis four
Sub problem: Can a specification for an assessment tool which aims to ensure that sustainable development is addressed and incorporated in the briefing and design of buildings in developing countries be developed by drawing on the sustainable development context (problem one), key sustainability concepts (sub problem two) and key features of sustainable development, sustainability and development frameworks (sub problem three)?
Hypothesis: A specification for an assessment tool, which aims to ensure that sustainable development is addressed and incorporated in the briefing and design of buildings in developing countries can be developed.
1.2.5. Sub problem five and Hypothesis five
Sub problem: How does the specification for an assessment tool developed in Sub problem four compare with the Sustainable Building Assessment Tool (SBAT)?
Hypothesis: A comparison between the specification for an assessment tool and the SBAT will assist in validating the specification and identify whether the SBAT is an appropriate tool for integrating sustainable development into the briefing and design of buildings in developing countries.
1.3. The Delimitations
The study will not attempt to design a sustainable building.
The study will not attempt to establish guidelines for the design of sustainable buildings
The study will be limited to the study of buildings and will not address sustainability or sustainable development, at a large urban scale.
The study will not address in detail, the construction, operation, and demolition/reuse stages of the building lifecycle.
The study will not attempt to undertake a detailed study of building performance in terms of sustainability or sustainable development.
1.4.1. The First Assumption
The first assumption is that there is inadequate support to ensure that sustainable development is addressed and incorporated in the briefing and design of buildings in developing countries.
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1.4.2. The Second Assumption
The need for support and systems to ensure that sustainable development is addressed and incorporated in the briefing and design of buildings in developing countries is likely to increase in importance and there are unlikely to be any major changes that might occur to influence this.
1.5. The Need for the Study
The built environment has a major impact on the environment and plays a major role in the economy and societies of many countries. For instance:
• Construction is the world’s largest industrial employer, with 111million employees and approximately 28% of all industrial employment.
• In many countries in the world, the built environment normally constitutes more than half of total national capital investment.
• Construction may constitute as much as 10% of a country’s gross national product
(GNP).
• The built environment consumes between 40-50% of all energy generated.
• In developed countries the construction industry accounts for half of all the raw materials taken out of the world’s crust by weight.
• Three million people a year die of air pollution, with most of this caused by indoor air pollution as result of burning biomass for heating and cooking.
With the increasing emphasis on sustainable development and concern about global environmental damage, many aspects of the construction and building industry need to change in order to support sustainable development. However, the issue is complex and has not been researched thoroughly.
The briefing and design stages of the development of buildings play a key role in establishing the extent to which buildings and construction support sustainable development. There is, however, little support, to ensure that sustainable development is addressed and incorporated in the briefing and design of buildings in developing countries.
This study will argue that influencing briefing and design stages is a valuable way of ensuring that buildings begin to support sustainable development more effectively and efficiently. It will
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5 suggest that developing knowledge and systems within this area can make an immediate and cost effective impact.
It will propose that this approach is of particular relevance in developing countries, where through careful design, unsustainable solutions used in developing countries can be avoided, and instead, opportunities taken to ensure that buildings play an active role in addressing sustainable development priorities.
1.6. The Organisation of the Study
The study is divided into the following sections:
Chapter Two, The Sustainable Development Context
This chapter reviews the international and local sustainable development context in order to understand this. It establishes the current international consensus position on sustainable development. To understand the difference in emphasis between developed and developing countries, national responses to the issue of sustainable development in South Africa and the
UK, are compared. The chapter captures key international sustainable development issues and important developing country priorities in order to draw on these in the development of a specification in Chapter five.
Chapter Three, Understanding Sustainability
This chapter reviews a range of literature pertinent to sustainability. Through this review the study develops a detailed description of sustainability. In particular there is an attempt to distil the essential social, economic and environmental characteristics of sustainability relevant to buildings in order to draw on these in the development of a specification in Chapter five.
Chapter Four, Review of Sustainability Assessment Systems and Indicators
This chapter reviews a number of existing sustainable development, sustainability and development assessment tools and frameworks in order to establish an understanding of best practice in this field. Building assessment tools are also reviewed in order to review current approaches in this area. The chapter draws together important characteristics of assessment systems in order to use these in the development of a specification in Chapter five.
Chapter Five, Specification for a Building Assessment Tool
The understanding developed in Chapters two, three and four are used in Chapter five to formulate a specification for an assessment tool. The specification describes the structure, content and use of a tool that aims to ensure that sustainable development is addressed and incorporated in to the briefing and design of buildings in developing countries.
Chapter Six, The Sustainable Building Assessment Tool (SBAT)
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In Chapter six the Sustainable Building Assessment Tool (SBAT) is introduced. This tool has been developed by the author and evolved through use on projects. This tool will be compared to the specification developed in Chapter five. This will enable validation of the specification and allow the SBAT to be evaluated to discover if it is an appropriate tool to support the integration of sustainable development into building briefing and design processes in developing countries.
Chapter Seven, Conclusions and Recommendations
The final chapter of the study will provide the conclusions of the study and make recommendations for further study.
1.7. The Definition of Terms
Terms used in the study are in Appendix one.
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2. THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT CONTEXT
My government’s commitment to create a people-centred society of liberty binds us to the pursuit of the goals of freedom from want, freedom from hunger, freedom from deprivation,
freedom from ignorance, freedom from suppression and freedom from fear….
2.1. Sub Problem One and Hypothesis One
Sub problem: What are the key aspects of the international and local context of sustainable development useful in understanding how buildings and construction can support sustainable development?
Hypothesis: The international and local context of sustainable development can inform the development of a specification for an assessment tool that aims to integrate sustainable development into building briefing and design processes.
2.1.1. Introduction
This chapter reviews the international and local sustainable development context in order to understand this. It establishes the current international consensus position on sustainable development. In order to understand the differences between developed and developing countries national responses to sustainable development and development in South Africa and the UK are compared. The chapter aims to capture key international sustainable development issues and important developing country priorities in order to draw on these in the development of a specification in Chapter five. This chapter does not review the theoretical or academic aspects of sustainability; this is carried out in the Chapter three.
This context is important as this provides a picture of what the international community, within the sustainable development arena, see as the most concerning trends within this area. It also describes agreements on approaches as to how these trends should be addressed. The review enables important aspects and differences in the outlook and approaches of developing countries and developed countries to sustainability and development to be identified.
The chapter will initially review the international position on sustainable development under the heading of International Context. This will be followed by a review of country approaches to sustainable development under the heading Local Contexts. Included in this chapter is an initial description and review of the sustainable development indicator systems used in a national context. This is reviewed in more detail in Chapter four, Review of Existing
Sustainability Assessment Systems. The findings provided by these reviews will be discussed
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2.1.2. The International Context
In order to describe the current international position on sustainable development, five documents have been reviewed. These are Agenda 21
Opportunities
, and World Summit on Sustainable Development, Plan of Implementation
These are reviewed because it is argued that these are the key documents that reflect the recent and the current international position on sustainable development. In addition many of the documents are cross-referenced; it is therefore useful to review the full suite of documents rather than limited selection of these.
2.1.3. The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED)
Agenda 21 and the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development were developed for the
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil in December 1992. These were developed by the United Nations and have been adopted by 178 governments. It was agreed at the conference to review progress on implementation of these agreements at a 5 yearly interval. Progress was therefore evaluated in 1997 and in 2002 at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) held in
Johannesburg, South Africa.
Agenda 21 was developed in response to increasing international concerns about the environment and development. In particular, economic disparities between, and within nations, worsening poverty, hunger, illiteracy and the continuing deterioration of ecosystems
The conference suggested that if these concerns are addressed in an
integrated fashion a number of outcomes were possible. These outcomes could include fulfilment of basic needs, improved living standards for all, better protected and managed ecosystems and a safer, more prosperous future.
Responsibility for the implementation of Agenda 21 is placed with national governments, which are required to ensure that implementation occurs through national strategies, plans, and policies. Agenda 21 however suggests that implementation should include broad public participation and the involvement of groups such as non-governmental organisations.
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Developing countries, it declares, should be given particular attention because of the state of transition that these are in. These suffer particular problems in transforming their economies as a result of social and political tensions.
The preamble of the Agenda states that document is a framework outlining actions, which will be addressed differently, by different countries. It states that actions required of countries, and the Agenda, are likely to change over time:
Agenda 21 is a dynamic programme. It will be carried out by the various actors according to the different situations, capacities and priorities of the regions in full respect of the principles contained in the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. It could evolve over time in the light of changing needs and circumstances.
The Agenda consists of 40 chapters. A list of these is provided in Appendix two. Each of these chapters has an introduction that provides the reasoning, or ‘Basis for Action’ behind why change is required. Where relevant, reference is also made to existing UN or other international agreements. This is followed by a description of the objectives of the programme; for instance, the objectives of the programme ‘Combating Poverty’ are listed as:
• To provide all persons urgently with the opportunity to earn a sustainable livelihood;
• To implement policies and strategies that promote adequate levels of funding and focus on integrated human development policies, including income generation, increased local control of resources, local institution-strengthening and capacitybuilding and greater involvement of non-governmental organizations and local levels of government as delivery mechanisms;
• To develop for all poverty-stricken areas integrated strategies and programmes of sound and sustainable management of the environment, resource mobilization, poverty eradication and alleviation, employment and income generation;
• To create a focus in national development plans and budgets on investment in human capital, with special policies and programmes directed at rural areas, the urban poor, women and children.
This is followed by a list of activities that, it states, will help achieve the objectives described.
In some cases these lists are highly detailed and include suggested actions for a wide range of stakeholders including local government and communities. In order to monitor progress, the UN recommends that programmes be evaluated. To support this Agenda 21 provides a
detailed list of indicators. These are reviewed in Chapter four.
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‘Means of Implementation’; detail is provided of the estimated costs and capacity requirements of implementing the programme.
Agenda 21 provides a useful basis for government to begin to implement sustainable development. It is highly detailed and provides a range of concrete actions that should be implemented. It places clear responsibility for implementation with governments. However it is vague in a number of areas. For instance, in many developing countries, implementation and even the development of new policy is difficult due to lack of capacity. Agenda 21 does not provide an adequate response for this problem. Similarly, while it argues that the responsibility for implementing Agenda 21 lies with government it also states that assistance will be required from other parties. However there is little guidance on how these parties should be involved by government.
The Agenda acknowledges the diversity of countries by suggesting that the implementation of the programme may vary from country to country, depending on local circumstances. It declares however, that implementation should be aligned to a set of principles developed alongside Agenda 21. These are referred to as the Rio Declaration on Environment
Development.
Rio Declaration on Environment and Development
The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development provide a set of principles that countries should use in implementing Agenda 21. The declaration consists of 27 broad principles. These are listed below:
Principle 1
Human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature.
Principle 2
States have, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law, the sovereign right to exploit their own resources pursuant to their own environmental and developmental policies, and the responsibility to ensure that activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause damage to the environment of other States or of areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction.
Principle 3
The right to development must be fulfilled so as to equitably meet developmental and environmental needs of present and future generations.
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Principle 4
In order to achieve sustainable development, environmental protection shall constitute an integral part of the development process and cannot be considered in isolation from it.
Principle 5
All States and all people shall cooperate in the essential task of eradicating poverty as an indispensable requirement for sustainable development, in order to decrease the disparities in standards of living and better meet the needs of the majority of the people of the world.
Principle 6
The special situation and needs of developing countries, particularly the least developed and those most environmentally vulnerable, shall be given special priority. International actions in the field of environment and development should also address the interests and needs of all countries.
Principle 7
States shall cooperate in a spirit of global partnership to conserve, protect and restore the health and integrity of the Earth's ecosystem. In view of the different contributions to global environmental degradation, States have common but differentiated responsibilities. The developed countries acknowledge the responsibility that they bear in the international pursuit of sustainable development in view of the pressures their societies place on the global environment and of the technologies and financial resources they command.
Principle 8
To achieve sustainable development and a higher quality of life for all people, States should reduce and eliminate unsustainable patterns of production and consumption and promote appropriate demographic policies.
Principle 9
States should cooperate to strengthen endogenous capacity-building for sustainable development by improving scientific understanding through exchanges of scientific and technological knowledge, and by enhancing the development, adaptation, diffusion and transfer of technologies, including new and innovative technologies.
Principle 10
Environmental issues are best handled with the participation of all concerned citizens, at the relevant level. At the national level, each individual shall have appropriate access to information concerning the environment that is held by public authorities, including information on hazardous materials and activities in their communities, and the opportunity to participate in decision-making processes. States shall facilitate and encourage public awareness and
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12 participation by making information widely available. Effective access to judicial and administrative proceedings, including redress and remedy, shall be provided.
Principle 11
States shall enact effective environmental legislation. Environmental standards, management objectives and priorities should reflect the environmental and developmental context to which they apply. Standards applied by some countries may be inappropriate and of unwarranted economic and social cost to other countries, in particular developing countries.
Principle 12
States should cooperate to promote a supportive and open international economic system that would lead to economic growth and sustainable development in all countries, to better address the problems of environmental degradation. Trade policy measures for environmental purposes should not constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on international trade. Unilateral actions to deal with environmental challenges outside the jurisdiction of the importing country should be avoided. Environmental measures addressing transboundary or global environmental problems should, as far as possible, be based on an international consensus.
Principle 13
States shall develop national law regarding liability and compensation for the victims of pollution and other environmental damage. States shall also cooperate in an expeditious and more determined manner to develop further international law regarding liability and compensation for adverse effects of environmental damage caused by activities within their jurisdiction or control to areas beyond their jurisdiction.
Principle 14
States should effectively cooperate to discourage or prevent the relocation and transfer to other States of any activities and substances that cause severe environmental degradation or are found to be harmful to human health.
Principle 15
In order to protect the environment, the precautionary approach shall be widely applied by
States according to their capabilities. Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing costeffective measures to prevent environmental degradation.
Principle 16
National authorities should endeavour to promote the internalisation of environmental costs and the use of economic instruments, taking into account the approach that the polluter
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Principle 17
Environmental impact assessment, as a national instrument, shall be undertaken for proposed activities that are likely to have a significant adverse impact on the environment and are subject to a decision of a competent national authority.
Principle 18
States shall immediately notify other States of any natural disasters or other emergencies that are likely to produce sudden harmful effects on the environment of those States. Every effort shall be made by the international community to help States so afflicted.
Principle 19
States shall provide prior and timely notification and relevant information to potentially affected States on activities that may have a significant adverse transboundary environmental effect and shall consult with those States at an early stage and in good faith.
Principle 20
Women have a vital role in environmental management and development. Their full participation is therefore essential to achieve sustainable development.
Principle 21
The creativity, ideals and courage of the youth of the world should be mobilized to forge a global partnership in order to achieve sustainable development and ensure a better future for all.
Principle 22
Indigenous people and their communities and other local communities have a vital role in environmental management and development because of their knowledge and traditional practices. States should recognize and duly support their identity, culture and interests and enable their effective participation in the achievement of sustainable development.
Principle 23
The environment and natural resources of people under oppression, domination and occupation shall be protected.
Principle 24
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Warfare is inherently destructive of sustainable development. States shall therefore respect international law providing protection for the environment in times of armed conflict and cooperate in its further development, as necessary.
Principle 25
Peace, development and environmental protection are interdependent and indivisible.
Principle 26
States shall resolve all their environmental disputes peacefully and by appropriate means in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.
Principle 27
States and people shall cooperate in good faith and in a spirit of partnership in the fulfilment of the principles embodied in this Declaration and in the further development of international law in the field of sustainable development.
These principles provide a useful guide for how sustainable development should be implemented. They are however too abstract to be easily applied to the building and construction sector. There is therefore a requirement to translate these into a more directly applicable guide, or set of objectives, for building and construction. This developed in Chapter five.
Millennium Goals
The Millennium Goals were developed and agreed at the United Nations Millennium Summit held in New York on 6-8 September 2000. The Summit reviewed the mission of the United
Nations and provided a number of a number of clear goals that member nations were asked to adopt. These are described under a number of headings including: ‘Freedom from Want’,
‘Freedom from Fear’, ‘A Sustainable Future’ and ‘Renewing the United Nations’. The goals listed under ‘Freedom from Want’ and ‘A Sustainable Future’ are relevant to this study and are listed below:
Freedom from Want - the Development Agenda
Poverty: To halve, by 2015, the proportion of the world's people (currently 22 per cent) whose income is less than one dollar a day.
Water: To halve, by 2015, the proportion of people who do not have access to safe drinking water (currently 20 per cent).
20 http://www.un.org/millennium/sg/report 19/12/02 09:00
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Education: To narrow the gender gap in primary and secondary education by 2005; and to ensure that, by 2015, all children complete a full course of primary education.
HIV/AIDS: To halt, and begin to reverse, the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015 by:
• Adopting as an explicit goal the reduction of HIV infection rates in persons 15 to 24 years of age – by 25 percent within the most affected countries before the year 2005, and by 25 percent globally before 2010.
• Setting explicit prevention targets: by 2005 at least 90 percent, and by 2010 at least
95 percent, of young men and women must have access to the HIV-preventive information and services.
• Urging every seriously affected country to have a national plan of action in place within one year of the Summit.
Clearing the slums: to endorse and act upon the 'Cities Without Slums' plan launched by the
World Bank and United Nations to improve the lives of 100 million slum dwellers by 2020.
Youth employment: to develop strategies to reduce joblessness among youth.
Building digital bridges: to review their policies in order to remove regulatory and pricing impediments to Internet access, to make sure people are not denied the opportunities offered by the digital revolution.
Private sector: to develop strong partnerships with the private sector, at both national and international levels, to combat poverty in all its aspects.
Developed countries in particular are urged:
Trade access: to grant free access to their markets for goods produced in poor countries - and, as a first step, to be prepared to adopt a policy of duty-free and quota-free access for essentially all exports from the least-developed countries at the UN Conference on the Least
Developed Countries in March 2001.
Debt relief: to implement the expansion of the debt relief program for Heavily Indebted Poor
Countries agreed last year without further delay, and to be prepared to cancel all official debts of the heavily indebted poor countries, in return for those countries making demonstrable commitments to poverty reduction.
ODA: to grant more generous development assistance, particularly to those countries that are genuinely applying their resources to poverty reduction.
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HIV/AIDS: to work with the pharmaceutical industry and other partners to develop an effective and affordable vaccine against HIV; and to make HIV-related drugs more widely accessible in developing countries.
Africa: to make special provision for the needs of Africa, and to fully support Africans in their struggle to overcome the continent's problems. Specifically, experts and foundations are urged to tackle the problem of low agricultural productivity in Africa.
A Sustainable Future - The Environmental Agenda
Climate change: To adopt and ratify the Kyoto Protocol, so that it can enter into force by
2002, and to ensure that its goals are met, as a step towards reducing emission of greenhouse gases.
Green accounting: To consider incorporating the United Nations system of "green accounting" into their own national accounts, in order to integrate environmental issues into mainstream economic policy.
Ecosystem assessment: To provide financial support for, and become actively engaged in, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, a major international collaborative effort to map the health of the planet.
Earth Summit +10: To prepare the ground for the adoption of concrete and meaningful actions by the world's leaders at the ten-year follow-up to the Earth Summit in 2002.
These goals are important as they represent the immediate sustainable development priorities that the UN and many development organisation and funding agencies (such as the
Department for International Development (DFID)
address. The fact that there are a limited number of goals which have been presented in a very simple way and have an immediacy as a result of their targets and deadlines, may have contributed to their widespread adoption.
2.1.4. The World Summit on Sustainable Development
‘Global Challenges, Global Opportunities’ and the ‘World Summit on Sustainable
Development Plan of Implementation’ are reviewed as they are an up-to-date reflection of the current international position on sustainable development. The United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development was held in Johannesburg between 26 August and 4 September
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2002. It reviewed progress in terms of Agenda 21 (the sustainable development plan agreed in the previous World Summit held in 1992) and aimed to develop, and agree, further plans for international sustainable development policies and programmes.
Global Challenges, Global Opportunities
The report was developed by the United Nations to provide a context for the World Summit on
Sustainable Development (WSSD) held in Johannesburg. In particular it provides information on the key trends and projections that should be acknowledged and addressed at the
Summit.
The preface of the document suggests that a new development paradigm has emerged since the last Earth Summit held in Rio in 1992. The new model integrates economic growth, social development and environmental protection as interdependent and mutually supportive elements of long–term development. It suggests that sustainable development also has a strong emphasis on:
…participatory, multi-stakeholder approach to policy making and implementation, mobilising
public and private resources for development and making use of the knowledge, skills and
energy of all social groups concerned with the future of the planet and its people.
The preface also refers to the importance of participation from all members of society:
…mobilising people in their various social roles to promote sustainable development for
present and future generations
The document is divided into the following sections: Population, Poverty and Inequality, Food and Agriculture, Freshwater, Forests, Energy, Climate Change, Health and Water, Health and
Air Pollution, with a section at the end which provides reference to documentation where greater detail can be obtained.
Population
The trends highlighted in this section include the increase in the world population, the increasing density of populations, the increase in smaller families and the impact of HIV/AIDS in Africa. It suggests that the World population will grow from its current size of about 6 billion to 8 billion in 2025. This increase will almost entirely occur in developing countries. The increasing population will lead to increasing pressures on agricultural land as this is developed for human settlement. A positive trend, the report suggests, is the reduction in the average size of families. This not only leads to reduced population growth but also to increased investment in education, nutrition and health care for children. The HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa, however, it is suggested, is undermining sustainable development in
Africa. This is negatively affecting families, who have additional health care and funeral expenses and businesses, which experience disruption and reduced productivity.
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Poverty and Inequality
The trends highlighted include reduced income poverty, reduced levels of hunger, continuing high levels of inequality, and increased standards of living in Asia. The report suggests that there are about 1.2 billion people living in poverty (defined as living below $1, a day). This number has been declining in all areas of the world except in Sub Saharan Africa. It is suggested that a number of regions including East Asia and Latin America will reach
Millennium Development Goals of halving the number of people who suffer from hunger by
2015. This however, will not be achieved in Sub Saharan Africa. High levels of inequality continue to exist in Latin America and Africa. This is a concern, it is suggested, as inequality tends to reduce the effect that economic growth has on poverty reduction. Standards of living have improved in South Asia, however this trend does not exist in sub-Saharan Africa and
Latin America.
Food Production and Agriculture
Trends described include increasing production and consumption of food, limitations in further increases in food production and increased agricultural trade. The report suggests that whereas most areas of the world have limited potential for expansion or increased agricultural productivity, this was not the case for Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. Increased consumption in developing areas such as North Africa, West Asia and South Asia will lead, it is suggested, to increased food imports from developed countries to these countries.
Freshwater
The trends highlighted include increasing consumption of water and water shortages.
Agriculture and industry are major consumers of water and both are increasing consumption.
This, it suggests, will result in nearly half of the global population experiencing water shortages by 2025.
Forests
Trends identified include decreases in forest area, decreased bio capacity, as well as improvements in management and protection of forests. Deforestation has been highest in
Africa, with forests decreasing at a rate of 7% per decade. Deforestation has been largely due to expansion in agriculture. Loss of forests is leading to many associated services being diminished. These include water and soil conservation, flood control and climate change mitigation. However there have been increases in forest management, with about 2% of forests worldwide now certified as managed for a sustainable yield. In addition, the there have been increases in the area of nature reserves and associated eco-tourism industries.
Energy
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Trends described include increased consumption of energy and increases in renewable and biomass as sources of energy. The report particularly draws attention to the links in developing countries between biomass use (for instance the use of wood for cooking) and health problems.
Climate Change
Trends highlighted include increased consumption of fuel and increased CO
2
emissions as well as a range of climate change trends. Global climate change trends include global average surface temperature increasing by 0.6
o
C since 1900; sea level increases of 1cm a decade and Arctic sea ice thickness declining 40% in the last 40 years. There are increased frequencies of droughts in Asia and Africa and flood and storm damage insurance payouts increasing from $2billion annually in the 1980’s to $30billion annually in the early 1990’s.
Health and Water
Trends described include causes of mortality and access to safe water. The report suggests that many deaths and illnesses are due to communicable, environment–related diseases, and suggests that many of these diseases can be prevented through simple and inexpensive technologies. A large proportion of the world’s population still do not have access to safe drinking water and sanitation. Most of these people are in Africa and Asia. Mortality rates from malaria have been decreasing in most area, except Africa where they have been increasing.
This is a result of the decreasing efficacy of the anti-malarial drug chloroquine and the development of dams and irrigation schemes, deforestation, and global warming.
Health and Air Pollution
Trends described include deaths from respiratory diseases, and decreasing urban air pollution in middle and high-income countries. The report suggests that more than three million people a year die of air pollution, with most of this caused by indoor air pollution as result of burning biomass for heating and cooking. Urban air pollution is increasing in developing countries and decreasing in developed countries. With the result that in most large cities in the developing world, air-borne particulate levels are five times higher than in developed countries.
The brief description of the main trends hi-lighted in the report provides a useful context for the study as it provides a list of areas that are seen as priorities. The report was used to provide background for the development of the Plan of Implementation, a plan developed by the Summit to implement Sustainable Development. This is described below.
2.1.5. World Summit on Sustainable Development Plan of Implementation
The Plan of Implementation was developed to provide a plan of action that countries at the
World Summit had debated and agreed on. The plan built on commitments developed at the
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20 previous summit, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in
Rio de Janeiro in 1992. In addition, it reaffirmed commitments established in other UN conferences and international agreements such as The Programme for Further
Implementation of Agenda 21 and the Millennium Declarations.
The plan contains 145 statements describing actions that should be taken by countries to support sustainable development. The plan suggests that the following are the key objectives and essential requirements for sustainable development:
• Poverty eradication
• Changing unsustainable patterns of production and consumption
• Protecting and managing the natural resource base of economic and social development
The WSSD Plan of Implementation appears to contain a comprehensive set of actions to support sustainable development. A detailed review of this plan reveals however that the number and complexity of the statements make it difficult for their relevance and application to buildings and construction to be easily ascertained.
The study therefore proposes to extract the most relevant statements for buildings and construction and summarise these. Statements from the WSSD plan are interpreted into objectives, enabling the implications of these, for buildings and construction to more readily understood. The results of this analysis are in Appendix three. The relationship between these objectives and buildings and construction is explored further in Chapter five,
Specification for a Building Assessment System.
2.1.6. Review of International Sustainable Development Context
Through the review of the international and local Sustainable Development context a number of patterns and characteristics can be detected that are relevant to the study. These are described below:
The shift from environmental impact to sustainability: It is argued that there has been a shift in emphasis from the environment to the broader concept of Sustainability during the ten years between the Rio Summit and the Johannesburg. This is reflected in the structure and content of the declarations from these summits. For instance, in Agenda 21, social and economic issues are described separately (under Social, and Economic Dimensions) from environment issues (which are described under Conservation and Management of
Resources), whereas in the WSSD Plan of Implementation the distinction between these aspects is not made. Another example is the emphasis placed in the Rio Declaration on the
Environment and Development on environmental impact assessment and internalisation of
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21 environmental costs.
The understanding of social and economic aspects of Sustainable Development however still appears to be developing. For instance, there are detailed descriptions of actions required to address environmental problems whereas these tend to be more vague when it comes to addressing social issues. An example of this is the very limited guidance as to how countries
should create employment or deal with HIV/AIDs orphans.
This aspect is reflected in recommendations made to countries in terms of the types of assessment and monitoring carried out. Even with the increasing emphasis on Sustainable
Development the WSSD plan suggests that a range of environmental assessments should take place in developing countries without making reference to social or economic impact
Both Agenda 21 and the WSSD plan place a strong emphasis on the collection and use of information to support the design and implementation of programmes. They suggest that a difficulty in many developing countries is that relevant, current data is not available. This makes it difficult to plan effectively:
While considerable data already exist, as the various sectoral chapters of Agenda 21 indicate, more and different types of data need to be collected, at the local, provincial, national and international levels, indicating the status and trends of the planet's ecosystem, natural resource, pollution and socio-economic variables. The gap in the availability, quality, coherence, standardization and accessibility of data between the developed and the developing world has been increasing, seriously impairing the capacities of countries to make informed decisions concerning environment and development.
… There is a general lack of capacity, particularly in developing countries, and in many areas at the international level, for the collection and assessment of data, for their transformation into useful information and for their dissemination. There is also need for improved coordination among environmental, demographic, social and developmental data and
This suggests that an important requirement in developing countries in terms of this study will be capturing and making available information on building performance in relation to
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22 sustainable development. This idea is explored further in Chapter five and incorporated as a recommendation in the final chapter of the study.
The science of sustainability: The WSSD report makes reference to the ‘science of sustainability’ and hints at the characteristics of this. For instance, it suggests that an important aspect of this is the requirement for multi-disciplinary teams. There is however little evidence that a scientific approach has been used in developing the Plan of Implementation.
There seems to be no prioritisation in terms of what objectives are most important and which should be implemented first. Is air pollution more, or less important, than soil erosion? These are important questions that developing countries face and need to address with limited budgets. It could be argued that the document may in many ways have been put together in an arbitrary way and may have been influenced more by lobbying than by science. This, it is suggested, weakens the document and makes it more difficult to implement.
The difference between developed and developing countries: Explicit, in documents from both summits, is the realisation that different approaches are required for countries in differing stages of development. This is recognised in the proposed flexible application of Agenda 21
and through the inclusion of separate chapters for Africa and developing small island states.
It is also reflected in the principle of differentiated responsibilities.
A concerning aspect that emerges from the review is the trend for Africa, as a continent consisting of developing countries, to perform extremely poorly in terms of sustainable development. According the report ‘Global Challenges, Global Opportunities’ it has many of the worst health and poverty problems and is unlikely to meet any of the Millennium
Development Goals. This suggests that these goals are a particular priority and should be addressed within the building and construction industry where possible. This will be explored further in Chapter five, where the study investigates how sustainable development objectives should be prioritised and incorporated in an assessment tool.
Technology: Both Agenda 21 and the WSSD report recommend that technology from developed countries be transferred to developing countries. The technology referred to generally seems to be of a small scale, alternative type. There is little reference to transferring highly sophisticated, large-scale technology or highly resource and energy efficient technology. There is also little reference to enabling developing countries to develop environmentally sound technology locally. This may implicitly reflect concerns that developing countries may compete in the same technological markets as developed countries. This omission should be addressed as it is argued that new resource efficient, labour intensive and renewable energy technologies are particularly appropriate for developing countries which often have raw materials, plentiful renewable energy (such as sunlight) and a obligation to
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23 create as many jobs as possible. There also seems to be no acknowledgement that useful knowledge and technology may also be transferred from developing countries to developed countries. It can be argued that there are a wide range of technologies, processes and approaches to life and work that exist in developing countries that are more sustainable than those in developed countries.
Vulnerable groups: In both documents there is a strong emphasis on ensuring that people are encouraged to participate in the implementation of the programmes. In Agenda 21 this
includes farmers and business people as well as women and youth.
much stronger reference is made to the poor and ensuring that their needs are addressed
with less emphasis on specific roles that individuals and groups of people should play.
Participation and empowerment: It is suggested that there is an increasing awareness that an emphasis on participation is not enough and vulnerable groups, especially the poor, must be more actively empowered by being provided with access to finance, information, information technology, education and infrastructure. For instance, in Agenda 21 participation is described in the following way:
One of the fundamental prerequisites for the achievement of sustainable development is
broad public participation in decision-making.
And
Empower community groups, non-governmental organizations and individuals to assume the authority and responsibility for managing and enhancing their immediate environment through participatory tools, techniques and approaches embodied in the concept of environmental
This changes to an increasing emphasis on access to infrastructure and information in the
WSSD report:
…building rural infrastructure, diversify the economy and improve transportation and access
to markets, market information, and credit for the rural poor.
And
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http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/agenda21chapter7.htm 02/02/03 10:30
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Item 6 http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/index.html 11/11/02 10.32
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These programmes should empower poor people and reflect their priorities and enable them access to productive resources, public services and institutions, and in particular land, water,
employment opportunities, credit, education and health.
The WSSD statements are interesting because they depart from conventional environmental and sustainability wisdom by suggesting two things. The first is that infrastructure development is required and should be undertaken. The second is that poor people should dictate the type of development that happens around them. These ideas are relevant for this study and will be explored further in Chapter five.
The WSSD plan also make suggestions on how decisions on global public interest issues should be made. It suggests that these should be discussed in open, transparent and inclusive workshops.
Education: Both Agenda 21 and the WSSD plan emphasize the importance of education.
For instance, Agenda 21 states:
Education is critical for promoting sustainable development and improving the capacity of
people to address environment and development issues.
Within education there is also a discernable shift between Agenda 21 and the WSSD plan.
This changes from an emphasis on ‘capacity development’ to a broader concept of education
including ‘education for all’, ‘lifelong learning’ and ‘education appropriate to context’.
is also a much stronger emphasis on the right of children to access education, probably as a result of the influence of the Millennium goals.
Education, it would appear is an essential
component of sustainable development in developing countries. The implications of this for building and construction will be investigated further in Chapter five.
Infrastructure: The attitudes to infrastructure in Agenda 21 and the WSSD report are different. In Agenda 21 there is a begrudging acceptance for the need for infrastructure, with an emphasis on housing and sanitation. This changes in the WSSD report where there is a clear acceptance and understanding of the role that infrastructure can play in development.
The WSSD report appears to strongly support infrastructure development in areas that support developing country economies, such as roads and access to markets. An interesting aspect of Agenda 21 is the recommendation that Overseas Development Aid is used for infrastructure development as this generally generates the most impact by drawing in local funding and by creating what is referred as an ‘enabling environment’:
35
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Item 106 http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/index.html 11/11/02 10.32
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Chapter 36 http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/agenda21chapter36.htm 02/02/03 10:30
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Item 115 and 116, http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/index.html 11/11/02 10.32
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Item 6 http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/index.html 11/11/02 10.32
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……On the other hand, available information indicates that technical cooperation activities in the human settlement sector generate considerable public and private sector investment. For example, every dollar of UNDP technical cooperation expenditure on human settlements in
1988 generated a follow-up investment of $122, the highest of all UNDP sectors of
assistance…This is the foundation of the "enabling approach”.
The idea that infrastructure can act as a catalyst for beneficial development is useful and will be explored further in Chapter five of the study.
Production and consumption: Both Agenda 21 and the WSSD report make strong statements about changing patterns of consumption and production. There is however a clear lack of will when it comes to implementing and monitoring this. For instance, in ‘Global
Challenges and Global Opportunities’, the document meant to set the context for the WSSD, there is little mention about the continuing wasteful patterns of production and consumption that exist in developing countries. The summit itself appears to have deflected interest and action from this area by concentrating on poverty in developing countries. This is unfortunate because it may be argued that while poverty is a priority that must be addressed, wasteful consumption and production patterns in developed countries have caused, and continue exacerbate many of worst global environmental problems.
Structural changes: Even though the WSSD plan has extremely ambitious goals it seems to have a very piecemeal plan for achieving these. The plan of implementation does not seem to have any scientific basis and is not coherent. There are also many assumptions implicit in the plan that are not questioned. For instance, it can be argued that current economic systems are incompatible with sustainable development. This concern was raised in Agenda 21:
Growing recognition of the importance of addressing consumption has also not yet been matched by an understanding of its implications. Some economists are questioning traditional concepts of economic growth and underlining the importance of pursuing economic objectives that take account of the full value of natural resource capital. More needs to be known about the role of consumption in relation to economic growth and population dynamics in order to formulate coherent international and national policies.
The WSSD plan however does not question any aspects the current economic system other than to express a concern that globalisation does not negatively impact developing
It is suggested that structural changes in social, environmental and economic
systems may be required in order to support sustainable development and that the WSSD
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Chapter 7 http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/agenda21chapter7.htm 02/02/03 10:30
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Chapter 4 http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/agenda21chapter4.htm 02/02/03 10:30
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Item 43, 90, http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/index.html 11/11/02 10.32
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26 plan does not go far enough. This is argued in more detail in the next chapter, Chapter three.
This finding, it is suggested, should influence the development of the specification in Chapter five. It is recommended that the while the specification may draw heavily on the WSSD plan, it should not be restricted by this and should go beyond this if thought appropriate especially in relation to economic aspects.
2.1.7. The Local Context
In order to develop an understanding of the difference in national perspectives on sustainable development between a developed country and developing country, government policy and reports from the United Kingdom and South Africa are reviewed.
In both cases policy documents that describe national development priorities and approaches are reviewed. These describe aspects of development that are seen as urgent priorities and provide a framework as to how these priorities should be addressed. In addition, the measures used by these countries to assess progress towards achieving national sustainable development goals are also reviewed in outline. A more detailed review of sustainable development indicators and assessment is carried out in Chapter four.
Policy and indicators from the United Kingdom are reviewed, followed by those from South
Africa. These are then contrasted in order to highlight differences in perspective of the different countries. This it is suggested will support a stronger understanding of the dynamic nature of sustainable development and how this can be supported in developing countries.
2.1.8. The United Kingdom
A Better Quality of Life – A Strategy for Sustainable Development for the UK
A Strategy for Sustainable Development for the UK was developed in order to ensure that sustainable development was integrated into government policy and addressed effectively. It is linked to a range of targets and indicators that are assessed in order to measure progress towards sustainable development. The strategy indicates a move away from the conventional assessments of development such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to a more holistic, and wider range, of indicators. These indicators have been selected to assess, in particular, quality of life. Tony Blair, the British Prime Minister, describes this shift in the following way:
…Success has been measured by economic growth- GDP- alone. We have failed to see how our economy, our environment, and our society are all one. And that delivering the best possible quality of life for all of us means more that concentrating solely on economic growth.
That is why sustainable development is such an important part of this Government’s programme. We must ensure that our economy thrives. So we can deliver the schools and hospitals we want , the jobs we need and provide opportunities for all. But we must ensure
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that economic growth contributes to our quality of life, rather than degrading it. And that we
can all share in the benefits.
The strategy for sustainable development has four main aims. These are:
• Social progress, which recognises the needs of everyone. Everyone should share in the benefits of increased prosperity and a clean and safe environment. We have to improve access to services, tackle social exclusion, and reduce the harm to health caused by poverty, poor housing, unemployment and pollution. Our needs must not be met by treating others, including future generations and people elsewhere in the world, unfairly.
• Effective protection of the environment. We must act to limit global environmental threats, such as climate change; to protect human health and safety from hazards such as poor air quality and toxic chemicals; and to protect things which people need or value, such as wildlife, landscapes and historic buildings
• Prudent use of natural resources. This does not mean denying ourselves the use of non-renewable resources like oil and gas, but we do need to make sure that we use them efficiently and that alternatives are developed to replace them in due course. Renewable resources, such as water should be used in ways that do not endanger the resources or cause serious damage or pollution
• Maintenance of high and stable levels of economic growth and employment, so that everyone can share in high living standards and greater job opportunities. The
UK is a trading nation in a rapidly changing world. For our country to prosper, our businesses must produce the high quality goods and services that consumers throughout the world want, at prices they are prepared to pay. To achieve that, we need a workforce that is equipped with the education and skills for the 21 st
century.
And we need business ready to invest, and an infrastructure to support them
These aims are guided by ten principles, including:
• Putting people in the centre. Sustainable development must enable people to enjoy a better quality of life. In the words of the Rio Declaration, ‘human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature’.
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• Taking a longer terms perspective. Sustainable development thinking cannot restrict itself to the life of a Parliament, or the next decade. Radical improvements have to begin now to safeguard the interest of future generations. At the same time we must meet today’s needs – for example, people need warm homes, which, at present means using predominantly fossil fuels
• Taking account of costs and benefits. Decisions must take into account a wide range of costs and benefits, including those, which cannot easily, be valued in money terms. In pursuing any single objective, we should not impose disproportionate costs elsewhere. Public values, the timing of costs and benefits and risks and uncertainties should be taken into account.
• Creating and open and supportive economic system. Sustainable development requires global economic systems, which supports economic growth in all countries.
We need to create conditions in which trade can flourish and competitiveness can act as a stimulus to growth and greater resource efficiency.
• Combating poverty and social exclusion. Eradicating poverty is indispensable for sustainable development. We must help developing countries to tackle widespread abject poverty. In this country, everyone should have the opportunity to fulfil their potential, through access to high quality public services, education and employment opportunities, decent housing and good local environments.
• Respecting environmental limits. Serious or irreversible damage to some aspects of the environment and resources would pose a severe threat the global society.
Examples are major climate change, overuse of freshwater resources, or collapse of globally significant fish stocks. In this case, there are likely to be limits which should not be breached. Defining such limits is difficult, so precautionary action needs to be considered.
• The precautionary principle. The Rio declaration defines the precautionary principle as ‘where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of scientific certainty shall not be used a reason for postponing cost effective measures to prevent environmental degradation’ Precautionary action requires assessment of the costs and benefits of action, and transparency in decision making.
• Using scientific knowledge. When taking decision, it is important to anticipate early on where scientific advice ore research is needed, and to identify sources of information of high calibre. Where possible, evidence should be reviewed for wideranging set of view points
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• Transparency, information, participation and access to justice. Opportunities for access to information, participation in decision-making and access to justice should be available to all.
• Making the polluter pay. Much environmental pollution, resource depletion and social costs occurs because those that are responsible are not those that bear the consequences. If the polluter, or ultimately the consumer, is made to pay for those costs, that gives incentives to reduce harm, and means that costs do not fall on society at large. At the same time, it may not always be possible for everyone to bear all such costs, particularly for essential good and services.
The strategy has a number of aspects that are relevant to the study. The first is the acknowledgement that developed countries are in a different position to developing countries with respect to sustainable development and therefore may not have the same problems:
….This country does not have problems on such a scale. But we cannot stand aside from these issues…
The second is the use of indicators to measure progress towards sustainable development.
These measures are made an integral part of the strategy and the strategy suggests that these should be used to judge the effectiveness of government:
Talking about sustainable development is not enough. We have to know what it is, to see how our policies are working on the ground. We must hold ourselves to account- as a government, but also as a country.
Another aspect is the description of linkages between indicators. This suggests that development must be thought of, and addressed, in a holistic way. It also suggests that there are precursors that must be in place to ensure that development takes place.
There are many links between indicators. For instance, the economy will not grow unless we modernise out education system and our infrastructure. We need to think about the location of our housing, as well as its quality, to reduce the need for car travel and to encourage urban regeneration. The links between transport, health and the environment show how we can all too easily reinforce damaging trends. Such links underline the need for integrated polices,
rather than tackling issues individually.
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Item 3.8. http://www.sustainable-development.gov.uk/uk_strategy/quality/life/09.htm 17/12/0217 10:00
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Progress in terms of the Strategy for Sustainable Development is captured in annually in a report titled ‘Quality of Life Counts’ issued by the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions.
Quality of Life Counts
The report reports on 15 ‘headline’ indicators, which give a broad overview of trends and provide detail on 150 detail indicators that focus on specific issues. It builds on a previous report developed in 1996, which mainly documented environmental issues, by including a wide range of new indicators on social, economic and international issues. These are shown below:
Table One: Headline Indicators in the UK Sustainable Development Strategy
Themes, issues and objectives Headline indicators
Maintaining high and stable levels of growth and employment
Our economy must continue to grow Total output of the economy (GDP and GDP per head)
Total social investment as a percentage of
GDP
Investment (in modern plant and machinery as research and development) is vital to our future prosperity
Maintain high and stable levels of employment so everyone can share greater job opportunities
Proportion of people of working age who are in work
Social progress which recognises the needs of everyone
Tackling poverty and social exclusion Indicators of success in tackling poverty and social exclusion (children in low income households, adults without qualifications and in workless households, elderly in fuel poverty)
Qualifications at the age of 19 Equip people with the skills to fulfil their potential
Improve the health of the population overall Expected years of healthy life
Reduce the proportion of unfit (housing) Homes judged unfit to live in stock
Reduce crime and people’s fear of crime
Effective protection of the environment
Level of crime
Continue to reduce our emissions of Emissions of greenhouse gases
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Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions. UK. 1999.
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Reduce air pollution and ensure air quality continues to improve through the longer term
Days when pollution is moderate of higher
Improve the choice of transport; improve access to education, jobs, leisure and services; reduce the need to travel
Improving river quality
Road traffic
Reverse the long term decline in populations of farmland and woodland birds
Reusing previously developed land in order to protect the countryside and encourage urban renewal
Prudent use of natural resources
Rivers of good or fair quality
Populations of wild birds
New homes built on previously developed land
Move away from disposal of waste towards waste minimisation, reuses, recycling and recovery
Waste arisings and management
Progress on these indicators is reported in a graphical way allowing trends to be determined easily. These include coloured dots, which indicate progress made towards achieving objectives: green dot – significant change, yellow dot – no significant change and red dot, significant change away from achieving objective.
Since the initial report on indicators published in 1999, a comprehensive website has been developed. This includes an updated indicator framework with a range of additional indicators.
This is included in Appendix four.
2.1.9. South Africa
The policies reviewed for South Africa include the Reconstruction and Development
Programme (RDP) and the Growth, Employment and Redistribution Strategy (GEAR) and the
State of the Environment (SoE) Report. The RDP and GEAR are key programmes that set out the South African government’s position on development and are designed to inform all other policy developed by government. Both policies are an attempt to address key developmental priorities in South Africa and the inequity that developed during the Apartheid era. The State of the Environment report, also reviewed in this section, attempts to develop a picture of the sustainable development in South Africa.
47
Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions. 1999. p 26 and 27
48
Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions. 1999. p 291
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The Reconstruction and Development Programme
The Reconstruction and Development Programme was published in 1994 and aimed to support transformation and social and economic progress in South Africa. It had the following aims:
• Developing strong and stable democratic institutions
• Ensuring representation and participation
• Ensuring our country becomes a dully democratic, non-racial, and non-sexist society
• Creating a sustainable and environmentally friendly growth and development path
The role of the RDP is described by President Nelson Mandela in his inaugural address to a joint sitting of parliament on 24 May 1994 in the following way:
My government’s commitment to create a people-centre society of liberty binds us to the pursuit of the goals of freedom from want, freedom from hunger, freedom from deprivation, freedom form ignorance, freedom from suppression and freedom from fear. These freedoms are fundamental to the guarantee of human dignity. They will therefore constitute part of the centrepiece of what this government is trying to achieve, the focal point on which our attention must be continuously focused. These things we have said constitute the true meaning, the justification and purpose of the Reconstruction and Development Programme, without which it would lose all legitimacy
The Reconstruction and Development Programme was developed to support transformation
and social and economic progress in South Africa.
The RDP places a strong emphasis on participation. It suggests that this is key to the development of South Africa and, in particular, the implementation of the RDP programme:
…the RPD, which has developed through a process of consultation and joint policy
formulation, will continue to encourage organisations within civil society to take responsibility
for the effective implementation of the Programme.
The RPD lists a number of principles that should inform the design and implementation of the
RDP programmes. These are described below:
Integration and sustainability: The RDP programme should be integrated and goals should be achievable and sustainable financially.
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50
Office of the President. 1994. p 6
51
Office of the President .1994. p. 7
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People-driven: The implementation of the programme should be inclusive and transparent. It suggests that development is about active involvement of citizens. This is described in the following way:
Development is not about the delivery of goods to a passive citizenry. It is about the involvement and growing empowerment
Peace and security: The programme suggests that is important that there is a peaceful and secure environment, as this will encourage investment and development. This is will be addressed through transformation of the security forces and judiciary to ensure these reflect the gender and racial composition of South Africa and will uphold human rights and the constitution
Nation building: The programme will ensure that there is a framework that enables all parties to be involved in government. This is described as follows:
We are a single country, with a single economy, functioning within a constitutional framework that establishes provincial and local powers, respect and protection for minorities, and a process to accommodate those wishing to retain their cultural identity. It is on the basis of our
unity in diversity that will consolidate our national heritage.
Meeting basic need and building infrastructure: The RPD aims to integrate development with redistribution. A key component of this is an infrastructure programme that aims to provide access to services such as electricity, water, telecommunications, transport, health, education and training for everyone. The RDP envisaged not only being able to help meet basic needs but also supporting the opening up of previously suppressed economic and human potential in urban and rural areas.
Democratisation: The RDP states that people must participate in decision-making. This will be done through the restructuring of government and transformation in civil society.
Assessment and accountability: The goals of the RDP must be clearly defined and integrated. This will require organised structures and co-ordinated action, which can be measured in order to assess progress in achieving goals.
The RDP consists of five main programmes. These are described below:
52
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53
Office of the President. 1994. p. 9-10
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Meeting basic needs: The basic needs of people described include job creation, land reform and agrarian reform, water, sanitation, energy supplies, transport, nutrition, health care, the environment, social welfare and security. The RDP suggests that people should be actively involved in the design and management of infrastructure:
In creating the infrastructure to meet these needs the RDP will encourage and support the participation of people in key decisions about where projects should be and how they should be managed.
Developing human resources: The RPD states that people should be involved in the decision-making process and implementing the RPD. It suggests however that this will only succeed if there are appropriate training and education programmes.
Building the economy: The RDP aimed to support the development of the economy through making the government more efficient and through trade and other initiatives.
Implementing the RDP: The procedures for implementing the RDP aim to mobilise the participation of as many social organisations and institutions as possible.
The RDP provides limited information on activities and programmes to be undertaken. It also provides little contextual, quantifiable information on the issues it will address. Its use, therefore, mainly seems to be in the provision of a broad set of guiding principles for development in South Africa. It requires further policy and programmes in order to be implemented. This is acknowledged in the Growth Employment and Redistribution Strategy.
The Growth Employment and Redistribution (GEAR)
The Growth Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) is a macro-economic programme developed by the South African Department of Finance. This aimed to transform the South
African economy in order to achieve the following:
• A competitive fast-growing economy, which creates sufficient, jobs for all work seekers;
• A redistribution of income and opportunities in favour of the poor;
• A society in which sound health, education, and other services are available to all; and
• An environment in which homes are secure and places of work are productive.
It was designed to be in line with the Reconstruction and Development Programme and, through a integrated economic strategy, aims to address many of the issues outlined in the
54
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RDP, including meeting basic needs, developing human resources and increasing participation in democratic institutions.
The strategy is designed to integrate many aspects of development and includes the following components relevant to sustainable development:
• A renewed focus on budget reform to strengthen the redistribute thrust of
• A reduction in tariffs to contain input prices and facilitate industrial restructuring, compensating partially for exchange rate depreciation
• Tax incentives to stimulate new investment in competitive and labour absorbing projects
• An expansionary infrastructure programme to address service deficiencies and backlogs
• A strengthened levy systems to fund training on a scale commensurate with needs
Although both the RDP and GEAR mention monitoring, few detailed indicators are provided.
This makes progress in achieving the aims of the RDP and GEAR difficult to measure. There is however a move towards a national monitoring and evaluation system through the State of the Environment Reports developed by the Department of the Environment and Tourism
(DEAT).
National State of the Environment Report
The National State of the Environment Report was initiated in 1999 in order to understand the condition of the environment and underlying causes of environmental change in South Africa.
The report is consistent with an international move towards State of the Environment reporting. This enables countries that have adopted Agenda 21 to report on sustainable development progress. The report provides detailed information on the current state of the biophysical components of the environment and on the social, economic and political activities that impact on these resources.
The aims of the report are listed as follows:
• Provide access to environmental information that has been integrated, analysed and interpreted for government and other agencies to enhance decision making and sustainable development planning
• Provide information for global environmental monitoring and assessment
• Increase public awareness of environment and development issues
55
Department of Finance. 1998. p 1
56
Department of Finance. 1998. p 2.
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• Enhance understanding of environmental issues, rights and responsible actions; thereby encouraging individuals, communities and organisations improve their quality of life.
The initial 1999 State of the Environment report provides a summary table of key aspects describing the state of the environment. This is provided below.
Table Two: South Africa State of the Environment Report, 1999
Ecosystem
Component
Habitats
State
Biological resources
25% of terrestrial habitats have been transformed for cultivation of crops, forestry and human settlements
50% of wetlands have been transformed for cultivation of crops, forestry and human settlements
5% of terrestrial habitats have been degraded through over-use and poor management
8% of terrestrial and riparian habitats have been heavily infested by alien vegetation
15% of plant species are threatened
14% of bird species are threatened
24% of reptile species are threatened
18% of amphibian species are threatened
37% of mammal species are threatened
22% of butterfly species are threatened
Physical
Resources
Chemical processes
Only 8.6% of the annual rainfall is available as surface water
All major rivers have been dammed or modified to meet the demand
Demand for water is projected to increase by 50% in the next 30 years
Forestry uses 3% of mean annual run-off
Alien vegetation uses 7% of mean annual run-off
17 million ha of cultivated areas are afflicted by erosion
Soil is lost 8 times faster than it is being generated
Carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane levels are increasingly slightly
Levels of sulphur dioxide are stable
UVB radiation exposure levels are dangerously high for most of the year
2.6 million m
3
of waste domestic and commercial water is treated everyday
57
http://www.ngo.grida.no/soesa/
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People
Over 42 million m
3
of solid waste is generated every year
A shortage of landfills sites in 5 provinces is predicted in the next 10 years
Over 5 million m
3
of hazardous waste is generated every year, most of which never reaches a proper disposal site
Most rivers have eutrophication problems
Toxic pollutants from sewage and industrial effluents are accumulating in the food chain
The total population was 40.6 million in 1996
The populations is growing at 2% a year
50% of South Africans live in towns and cities
Nearly 50% live in informal dwelling
45% do not have access to clean water
Only 60% have access to electricity
24% of the workforce was unemployed in 1996
Approximately 16% of South Africans are functionally illiterate
20% of households have incomes less than R500 per months
Clinic:patient ratios across the country are 1:22,000
Nearly 20% of the workforce is HIV positive
Inflation rate is 6%
Growth in GDP was 0.5% in 1998
Since the original State of the Environment Report was developed in 1999 a more
comprehensive framework has been developed. This has been included in Appendix five.
Review of Local Context
A review of the national policies and indicators is illuminating for a number of reasons. Firstly, this provides an understanding of the different priorities that governments in developing countries have compared with developed countries. Secondly, it provides a picture of the likely trends and changes in priority that may occur as a country becomes more developed.
Finally, it provides an understanding of the context, and problems, that interventions designed to support sustainable development in developing countries, will need to address. These aspects are explored in more detail below.
Defining sustainability and the role of government: In the policies reviewed it is useful to note the differences in the way governments see their role and define sustainable development. The UK suggests that a key aspect of sustainable development is quality of life.
It then states that it is government’s role to improve the quality of life for its citizens. It makes itself accountable for this role by developing indicators and reporting progress in relation to
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38 this. The policy also suggests that government should be sending out the right messages by reporting on: the ‘greenness’ of its own operations, the number of women employed in senior posts, the level of overseas development aid provided, and number of international environmental treaties signed.
This is different in South Africa where there are a range of policies on development and on the environment, but none, as yet on sustainable development. The role that government ascribes for itself in the RDP is as a facilitator of transformation. It aims to restructure many aspects of the society, the economy and government in order to ensure that this is more representative of society and equitable. Government however does not appear to want to take responsibility for development and suggests that this needs to undertaken by civil organisations. There are also limited, publicly available, targets or indicators that can be used to assess the impact or effectiveness of government.
In order to implement sustainable development effectively it therefore appears that South
Africa requires a policy on sustainable development that links social, economic and environmental aspects and has a set of indicators. Government should also make themselves accountable, as a whole, for progress in terms of these indicators. Without this it is difficult to see how different sectors of government and the private sectors will work together to implement effective and integrated programmes that support sustainable development.
The economy: The policies of both the UK and South Africa consider the economy as a vehicle for improving people’s lives. They both suggest that economies and approaches should become more people centred. They however differ in approach. The UK has an emphasis on making business more sustainable through encouraging business to adopt ethical trading codes and environmental management systems. This aspect seems to be largely absent in South Africa where the emphasis is strongly on growth and employment. For instance, an objective of GEAR is to provide:
Tax incentives to ensure stimulate new investment and in competitive and labour absorbing
There seems to be openness in the UK policy to questioning economic models. For instance, the policy suggests that GDP is a poor indicator of progress and that changes in economic systems could encourage resource efficiency:
Sustainable Development requires global economic systems, which supports economic growth in all countries. We need to create conditions in which trade can flourish and
competitiveness can act as a stimulus to growth and greater resource efficiency.
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This is different in South Africa where the main concern appears to be developing correct survival techniques with which to the weather the negative consequences of the international economic systems. For instance, an objective of GEAR is to reduce the impact of exchange rate depreciation.
Indicators: There are strong differences in the approaches developed by South Africa and the UK to using indicators. In the UK the overarching aim of the Sustainable Development
Policy 'To improve quality of life” is broken down into a number of objectives such as “Doing more with less” and “Economic stability” and “Competitiveness”. Attached to each of these objectives are indicators that can be used to measure the rate of progress towards the achievement of objectives. The indicators in the South African State of the Environment report generally appear to be designed to capture existing states, rather than to measure progress in a particular direction. They also appear to assess negative aspects of the environment, the economy, and society. For instance, many of the society indicators are organised under the heading of ‘Vulnerability’. This reinforces the perspective that developing countries have many problems and needs rather than suggesting that there are opportunities, which can, and should be, used to move South Africa to a more sustainable state.
The UK indicators are also closely linked to a policy on sustainable development. This is not the case, in South Africa where the State of the Environment report does not appear to relate to any particular South African policies and is only loosely related to Agenda 21. It is particularly odd that these indicators do not align with the RPD and GEAR as these are meant to inform all aspects of development in South Africa. For instance, both the RDP and GEAR list employment and the support of small businesses as a priority. The State of the
Environment report includes only one indicator for this area. This compares to the UK report, which provides a wide range of indicators, including the following:
• New business start-ups net of closures
• Labour productivity
• Proportion of people of working age who are in work
• Proportion of people of a working age in workless households
• Proportion of people of a working age out of work for more than two years
• Proportion of lone parents
• Long-term-ill and disabled people who are economically active
• People in employment working long hours
• Low pay
• Work fatalities and injury rates
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61
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• Working days lost through illness
• Ethnic minority employment and unemployment.
The emphasis in the selection of indicators for the South African State of the Environment report appears to be heavily in favour of environmental indicators, some of which appear to be of little value. For instance, of the 19 sets of indicators listed, only 2 sets appear to be directly related to social aspects and none to economic aspects. Another example is the inclusion of an indicator of the contribution to job creation of conservation areas. The value of this indicator, given its significance in terms of a proportion of the total employment market, is questionable. A number of the indicators also appear to be difficult to measure, for instance there is an indicator of government capacity for environmental management. It is unclear how this is measured.
The type of the society: Both UK and South African policy make statements about the type of society that they aim to develop. The UK policy aims to have no social exclusion, poverty, poor housing and unemployment. In addition, it aims to protect aspects that are seen to improve the quality of life such as wildlife, landscapes, historic buildings and access to culture
South African policy paints a picture of a democratic, non-racial and non-sexist society that is actively involved in the development of the country. A fundamental aspect of picture is that there is freedom, and that people’s essential needs are met.
An interesting aspect of the UK policy is the consideration given to all citizens. This states that access should be given to a range of facilities in order for people fulfil their potential:
Everyone should have the opportunity to fulfil their potential through access to high quality public services, education and employment opportunities, decent housing and good local
There is also an indicator on the consumer information, which aims to empower people in encouraging change in the market. In addition there are indicators for access to services in rural areas, and by disabled people. Communities and social interaction are assessed through indicators on voluntary activities and community spirit.
Education: Both the UK and South Africa policy regards education as important. In the UK this is seen as key to maintaining a competitive edge:
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….. we need a workforce that is equipped with the education and skills for the 21 st
The UK encourages businesses to support education through its ‘Investors in People’ award and have developed a number of indicators that reflect levels of awareness of sustainable development within the general public. South Africa places a strong emphasis on enabling access to education and through a levy, aims to support increased levels of training and education in the workforce.
Role of infrastructure & technology: There are different perspectives in relation to the human environment. In the UK there is an emphasis on the quality of the environment. There are, for instance, indicators for the quality of the environment and energy efficiency in housing. In South Africa the emphasis is on security and productivity:
An environment in which homes are secure and places of work are productive
Both countries view infrastructure as a mechanism for supporting development. There are differences, however, in emphasis. In the UK, infrastructure is seen as part of a productive machine that supports the economy. It is therefore important that the right type of infrastructure is developed to support competitive industries:
…we need businesses ready to invest and an infrastructure to support them
It is also important that this infrastructure is of good quality and efficient. For instance, there are indicators on the thermal efficiency of housing stock, household water usage and municipal water wastage. This extends to the technology used in infrastructure; for instance, there are indicators for the efficiency of appliances and motor vehicles.
In the UK policy there also appears to be growing awareness of the long-term impact of infrastructure. This has lead to an increased interest in urban design and planning and an increasing requirement for denser more efficient development. There are, for instance, indicators on new homes built on previously developed land, and new retail floor space in town centres and out of town. There is also a wish to ensure that existing infrastructure is managed well and used efficiently. This has lead to indicators being developed for vacant land and properties, for derelict land, and for working days lost through illness.
In South Africa the development of infrastructure is seen as necessary in order to address inequitable distribution of services. The RDP aims to provide everyone with access to electricity, water, telecommunications, transport, health, education and training. Infrastructure
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42 is also seen as a means of growing and shaping the economy by opening up previously suppressed economic and human potential and by providing jobs.
There is little reference to the quality of the infrastructure to be developed other than this should be ‘secure’ and ‘productive’. However there are guidelines about how this should be developed. Infrastructure programmes should actively involve citizens who will participate in making the key decisions:
..the RDP will encourage and support the participation of people in key decisions about where projects should be and how they should be managed
This aspect is in line with UN recommendations.
However it is concerning to note that there
is no mention of complementary scientific and rational planning processes. The sole use of participatory process is likely, it is suggested, to lead to the development of poorly planned, and managed, infrastructure.
The selection of the indicators for South African State of the Environment report is biased heavily towards environmental issues. For instance, there are indicators for green space in settlements, contaminated land, and housing density. The indicators however do not appear to take into account the quality and safety of the environment from the user perspective. For instance there are no indicators on safety and security in settlements or for the affordability of energy and transport.
The science of sustainability: In the UK it appears that there is a growing awareness of the science behind sustainable development. This science recommends that design of interventions and development should be carefully considered because of the importance of the order, and of the many interlinked aspects, of sustainable development:
…For instance, the economy will not grow unless we modernise our education system and our infrastructure. We need to think about the location of our housing, as well as its quality, to reduce the need for car travel and to encourage urban regeneration. The links between transport, health and the environment show how we can all too easily reinforce damaging trends. Such links underline the need for integrated polices, rather than tackling issues
In South African policy the emphasis seems to be on addressing immediate needs as quickly as possible and there does not appear to be a strong attempt made to develop highly interlinked and coordinated programmes. There also does not seem to be much consideration
67
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http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/index.html 11/11/02 10.32 (see also appendix three)
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43 given to the long-term impact of development. Thus although the policy may provide immediate remedies to some of the existing problems, it may also result in infrastructure that is, in the long term difficult, to sustain.
2.2. Addressing Hypothesis One
An initial review of the context of sustainable development vindicates Hypothesis one, by indicating that there are important and useful concepts within this field for the study. These concepts are discussed below and summarised in the conclusion section that follows this.
The structure of policy: In order to support sustainable development it appears that policy needs to be structured in a particular way. There appears to be a requirement for two components namely, a policy document, and a system of indicators. The policy document should include a definition of sustainable development, which informs the development of a clear overarching aim. This aim should then be broken down into a set of objectives. Each of these objectives can then have programmes with specific timelines, deliverables and responsibilities linked to them. These objectives should also have linked indicators, which can be used to measure progress in the achievement of objectives.
It is important that the policy has a clear vision of what a ‘state of sustainability’ is and expresses this clearly. This should also be used to inform the development of indicators that assesses progress down this path to this state of sustainability. For example the vision for the
‘state of sustainability’ may be that all farming is to be organic – this requires an indicator that assesses progress towards achieving this objective. It is important to realise that current knowledge does not allow this ‘state of sustainability’ to be fully described given the complexity of interactions between human and biophysical systems. However it is important to ensure that this is described in adequate detail to ensure that development moves in broadly the right direction.
In order to implement policy, a clear strategy with roles, responsibility and accountability must be provided. Within this there must be an iterative mechanism that monitors progress towards particular objectives and enables changes to be made where progress is not being achieved.
Where a wide range of stakeholders are expected to support and participate in implementing a policy it is particularly important that policy is easy to understand and provides clear direction as to what actions are to be taken. For instance, if adult literacy is seen as important, there could be an indicator that assesses the accessibility of adult education classes. This would enable progress towards achieving accessible adult education to be measured.
Expressing the objective and the indicators clearly can help in drawing other parties in and encourage them to contributing to objectives set.
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Placing people at centre: Both the sustainable development policies reviewed refer to the concept of placing people at the centre. This means seeing development, the environment, the economy and society from the perspective of citizens and understanding the needs of people. It requires an understanding of what is seen as ‘fulfilment’ by people. This must be understood from the perspective of a wide range of people including old people, youth and disabled and uneducated people. In addition to understanding these perspectives, research must be taken to understand the obstacles that should be overcome in order to address needs and enable fulfilment. When these obstacles are understood programmes and policy should be developed to ensure that these obstacles are removed where they currently exist and are considered and addressed in new developments. This aspect is important to note in the study because it suggests that ‘placing people at the centre’ may be an important concept to address in ensuring that buildings and construction support sustainable development. It also provides some guidance on how this concept could be included in building and construction processes.
The science of sustainability and infrastructure: It is clear that a science of sustainability is emerging. This is providing the flesh to the vision of a ‘state of sustainability’ mentioned above and includes recommendations about how we should live and work. It is especially relevant for the design and management of infrastructure and can increasingly guide this.
However there may be conflicts between scientific recommendations and what people may desire. For instance people may want to live in low-density suburbs whereas high-density apartment living may be scientifically shown to be more sustainable. How this conflict be addressed, especially, if having ‘people at the centre’ is acknowledged as a key tenet of sustainable development becomes important.
There are a range of implications for infrastructure beginning to emanate from the science of sustainability. This suggests that infrastructure is an integral component of the economy. If designed and managed correctly, infrastructure can, not only make the economy more competitive by reducing costs, but also more resource efficient. In a similar way towns. if designed correctly, can not only reduce commuting costs, but also improve the quality of life by, for instance, enabling adults and children to walk safely to work and schools.
From the science of sustainability it emerges that not only should interventions to support sustainable development be of a certain type, but that the sequence of these interventions is also important. This has strong implications for how development programmes should be designed and implemented. It may mean that development and interventions should take into account the perspective of a wide range of stakeholders including people that will be directly affected and surrounding communities. It also suggests that the needs and opportunities within the area need to be properly understood. Once this has achieved, a likely response is the development of a multi-strand programme that has the strong support of the people that it
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45 will be addressing. This programme will consist of a range of integrated interventions designed to support the development of an intricate network of mutually supportive elements, which ultimately lead to sustainable state.
A scientific approach to sustainability suggests that a holistic approach is important. For instance, not only must the design performance of new developments be addressed. It is also important to ensure that the eventual management and maintenance processes of infrastructure are also considered at an early stage of a development. Existing developments must also be efficiently used. This is reflected in the UK indicators for derelict land and unused buildings.
The stages of sustainability: Sustainable development can be described as the path towards a state of sustainability. Moving along this path is a dynamic process, which passes through a range of different stages. Each of these stages requires issues to be addressed before progress can be made to the next stage. Different countries are at different stages in terms of progressing towards a sustainable state. More developed countries are not necessarily at a more advanced stage than developing countries in terms of this progression.
Developed countries have addressed their population’s basic needs but may have developed infrastructure and processes that are unsustainable in the long term because they are highly wasteful or reliant on non-renewable resources. This must be addressed through redesign and reconstruction, technological interventions and organisational change before the country can progress to a more advanced staged in the path towards sustainability. Developing countries may on the other hand be at a very similar ‘distance’ away from a sustainable state as developed countries but are moving towards this from a different location. Developing countries may not have developed highly wasteful infrastructure yet but they also are likely not to have addressed the basic needs of their populations. Therefore in order for these countries to move to a more advanced stage of sustainability the basic needs of their resident populations must be addressed as a priority.
There are a number of implications from this for the study. Firstly, different countries need to address different aspects of their context and stage of development before they can move along a path towards a state of sustainability. A second aspect is that the path towards a state of sustainability is not the same for all countries; developing countries do not have follow the same developmental route as developed countries, they can take a different, more direct, route towards achieving a state of sustainability. Thus, it is important for developing countries to begin to chart a different developmental route so as not to make the same mistakes as have been made by developed countries. The challenge for developing countries is that charting this route, and progressing along this, will require different processes and tools than those used by developed countries.
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The implication for this study is that the priorities that construction and buildings need to address in order to support sustainable development in developing countries are different from those in developed countries. This implies that the type of tools, processes, indicators and emphasis in application may also be different.
2.3. Concluding Hypothesis One
The hypothesis that the international and local context of sustainable development can inform study is demonstrated through the development of a number of key concepts which will be used in Chapter five to develop the specification of an assessment tool. These concepts are listed below:
Policy context: An understanding of the policy context is important. This is required for the study because any interventions suggested by the study will have to take into account government and international policy and work with this. This may mean supporting the implementation of policy that supports sustainable development or addressing gaps in existing policy and implementation. In many cases sustainable development policy is not easily applied to buildings and construction, work therefore needs to be done in order to understand the implications of policy for buildings and translate these into practical, and easily implemented, actions. It is important however that interventions designed to support sustainable development are not constrained by existing policy. For instance, if sustainability within a current economic system is deemed impossible, interventions should be made to support a move towards more sustainable models, even if this is not acknowledged, or supported by, current policy.
Interpretation and application of policy: Existing UN policy on sustainable development is generic and complex. In order to apply this to the building and construction field it needs to be simplified and interpreted. The World Summit on Sustainable Development Plan of Action can be interpreted and simplified in to a set of social, economic and environmental sustainable development objectives. These are:
Social Sustainable Development Objectives
• Access: Ensure that development supports increased access to land, adequate shelter, finance, information, public services, technology and communications, where this is needed.
• Education: Ensure that development improves levels of education and awareness, including awareness of sustainable development.
• Inclusive: Ensure that development processes and benefits are inclusive.
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A table showing the development of these objectives from the WSSD Plan of Implementation is provided in
Appendix three.
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• Health, safety and security: Ensure that development considers human rights and supports improved health, safety and security.
• Participation: Ensure that development supports partnerships, social interaction and involves, and is influenced by, the people that it affects.
Economic Sustainable Development Objectives
• Employment and self employment: Ensure that development supports increased access to employment and supports self employment and the development of small enterprises.
• Efficiency and effectiveness: Ensure that development (including technology specified) is designed and managed to be highly efficient and effective, achieving high productivity levels with few resources and limited waste and pollution.
• Indigenous knowledge and technology: Ensure that development takes into account and draws on, where appropriate, indigenous knowledge and technology.
• Sustainable development accounting: Ensure that development is based on a scientific approach which measures and monitors social, environmental and economic impacts and this is used to guide development.
• An enabling environment: Develop an enabling environment for sustainable development through the development of transparent, equitable and supportive policies, processes, and forward planning.
• Small-scale, local and diverse economies: Ensure that development supports the development of small scale, local and diverse economies.
Environmental Sustainable Development Objectives
• Size, productivity and biodiversity: Ensure that development conserves or increases the size, biodiversity, and productivity of the biophysical environment.
• Resource management: Ensure that development supports the management of the biophysical environment to ensure that this is not adversely affected.
• Resource extraction and processing: Ensure that development minimises the use/support of environmentally damaging resource extraction and processing practices.
• Waste & pollution: Ensure that development manages the production of waste to ensure that this does not adversely affect the biophysical environment.
• Water: Ensure that development manages the extraction, consumption and disposal of water in order not to adversely affect the bio-physical environment
• Energy: Ensure that development manages the production and consumption of energy in order not to adversely affect the biophysical environment.
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Interventions: There appears to be a particular set of components and structure required for intervention frameworks or plans of action designed to support sustainable development.
These includes a simple overarching goal that is cascaded into a set of integrated objectives.
These in turn are linked to a set of indicators that are used to monitor on progress towards the achievement of the objectives. Intervention frameworks must be carefully designed in order to ensure that interventions planned occur in the right order and are mutually supportive. This is because sustainable development is incremental and holistic.
Developed countries and developing countries: There appears to be clear difference in the context, priorities and policies of sustainable development between developed countries and developing countries. The implications of this are that interventions to support sustainable development in developing countries should be different from those used in developed countries. It also appears that there is an opportunity to avoid making the same mistakes as developed countries by developing a sustainable development path that ’short cuts’ many of the problems (in relation to sustainability) of conventional development paths. This sustainable development path for developing countries however has not been clearly defined and developed.
Developing country sustainable development priorities: A key sustainable development priority in developing countries is to ensure that the basic needs of its citizens such as food, safety and employment, are met. It is also important that development designed to meet these needs involve, educate, and empower, people in order to ensure that impact can be multiplied, and is sustainable.
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3. UNDERSTANDING SUSTAINABILITY
The problem we face is not so much a management problem as a design problem. In order to develop a sustainable society we need to describe a system of consumption and production
in which each and every action is inherently sustainable and restorative.
3.1. Sub Problem Two and Hypothesis Two
Sub problem: What are key concepts in sustainability that are useful in understanding how buildings and construction can support sustainable development?
Hypothesis: Concepts from sustainability can inform the development of a specification for an assessment tool that aims to integrate sustainable development into building briefing and design processes.
3.1.1. Introduction
There are numerous definitions of sustainability.
In this chapter a number of these
definitions are reviewed in order to understand the concept of sustainability. It is suggested that these definitions can be grouped in to sets. These groupings are used to explore the idea of sustainability in some detail and enable the study to develop a description of the characteristics of sustainability.
A review of sustainability enables the study to be informed by theory in this field. It also helps locate buildings and construction within the sustainability discourse. An exploration of sustainability is valuable as it assists in the defining of the goal of sustainability that buildings and construction should aim for. It also offers models and approaches that can be drawn on to support the achievement of this goal.
A review of the definitions of sustainability reveals a number of patterns. The first pattern is that many definitions that attempt to describe what sustainability is, share a concern about ensuring that the environment, development or systems need to be designed and maintained
to provide for existing human populations as well as for future populations. The second pattern, is that definitions that tackle how sustainability can be achieved, generally agree that this will have to be pursued simultaneously, and in an integrated way across social, economic
and environmental arenas.
Studies in sustainability often investigate how different systems interact and interrelate. In order to understand this, systems are broken down, and studied, in their individual
71
Elkington. 1997. p. 38
72
Bell and Morse.1993. p.10
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50 components. This can be called a ‘bottoms up’ approach. However when one looks at the overall characteristics of these interacting systems or components, properties appear that could not have been predicted from only a study of the isolated parts. These properties, defined as emergent properties, also need to be understood. This requires a ‘top-down’ approach. Therefore, the study of sustainability could be said to require both a top-down as well as a bottom-up approach.
To reflect these patterns the literature review on sustainability will have two main sections.
The first will be concerned with developing a broad definition and understanding of sustainability. This will be done by reviewing a range of general definitions of sustainability, such as those developed by the United Nations. This establishes the top-down view of sustainability The second part of the review will develop a more detailed understanding by exploring definitions of sustainability within the social, environmental and economic arenas.
This will develop a bottom-up view.
3.1.2. Sustainability: A General Definition
Sustainability
The Oxford English Dictionary defines ‘to sustain’ as ’to keep a (person or community, the mind, spirit etc) from failing or giving way ‘ or ‘ to keep in a state of being; to cause to continue
in a certain state; to keep or maintain a proper level or standard’.
Using this definition two questions can be explored. The first asks what is the entity that needs sustaining? The second asks what should its requisite state be? We can use these questions as a way of reviewing definitions of sustainability, so as to extract characteristics of sustainability from these definitions.
General definitions of sustainability appear to fall into two camps. One set has an emphasis on systems and how these can, and should be, maintained and developed. These can be referred to as Systems definitions. A second set has an emphasis on humans and their existing and future needs. These can be referred to as Human Development definitions.
Systems Definitions
Sustainability can be understood very simply, at a practical level, as ways and systems that are ongoing. For example, Pearce uses an example of fisher people or foresters who understand that yields are sustainable so long as they harvest fish and trees at a rate equal to
Using our general definition questions, the entity in this definition
would be the environment and desired state would be one in which the consumption of fish or trees match the ability of the environment to provide these.
73
Little, Fowler and Coulson. 1998.
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Pearce.. 1993. p.3
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Another systems definition is by Lynam and Herdt:
…The capacity of system to maintain output at a level approximately equal or greater than its
historical average, with the approximation determined by the historical level of variability
The entity in this case is the system and its required state is to maintain output at equal or greater than it has in the past. This definition brings in the concept of time and productivity. It suggests that it is important to have an output, and that this output must be fairly steady over time.
Pearce and Turner, in their definition place a strong emphasis on outputs. Here they state that productivity must be optimised within limits that relate to natural resources:
…maximising the net benefits of economic development, subject to maintaining the services
and quality of natural resources over time.
The entity in this case is a system, and the required state is one in which optimal economic benefits are provided. These benefits however, he maintains, must be achieved without affecting the quality and services of natural resources. This definition indicates that limits are important and that these must be defined, if a sustainable system is to be created.
Fresco and Kroonenberg suggest that sustainable systems are variable and can be affected by change such as climate change:
The sustainability of natural ecosystems can be defined as the dynamic equilibrium between natural inputs and outputs, modified by external events such as climatic change and natural disasters.
In this description the entity is an ecosystem and its required state is that the ecosystem maintains a steady state. This definition shows that an important characteristic of a sustainable system is the ability to maintain a steady state. This state however, may be redefined by changes such a climate change or natural disaster.
It is clear that a review of these patterns reveal a number of characteristics of sustainability.
These are summarised at the end of the chapter. It is also apparent that ecosystems, in their natural state are sustainable and that it is important to understand these better in order to
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52 create sustainable systems. This will be done in the review of environmental sustainability later in this chapter.
Human Development
In the human development set of definitions, the concept of sustainable development is often referred to. For instance:
Sustainability reminds us that there are future generations, ..and that we can very easily shift unacceptable burdens on to them. Sustainable development, as opposed to sustainability, reminds us of other social objectives, most notably the plight of the poorest in the world.
The entity in this case is development, and its required state should be one that ensures that the poorest people and future generations should be considered. Development is normally defined as a process of evolving, or the production of a new form. This definition therefore suggests that man, in evolving or designing all new forms and processes, must take into account certain considerations, which include the poor, and future generations. This definition is extremely broad and has significant implications. It suggests that there should be a fundamental change in the way in which development occurs.
This also reflected in other definitions. Probably the most well known definition comes from the World Commission on the Environment (WCED). Here sustainable development is described as:
…development that meets the needs of current generations without compromising the ability
of future generations to meet their needs and aspirations.
The entity in this case, is again, development. However the required state for development is that it meets the needs of current generations. The definition also suggests limits, in this case, that needs should be provided for in a way that also enables future generations to meet their own needs and aspirations. This definition raises the question as to what is defined as
‘needs’, and ‘aspirations’. These clearly will be defined differently by different societies, and will differ widely between developing countries and developed countries. The concept of
‘needs’ and ‘wants’ will be explored further in the section of sustainable economics, later in this chapter.
The WCED definition is qualified by suggesting that needs should be essential and that our ability to meet these needs is limited by technology and social organisation:
[sustainable development] contains within it two key concepts:
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The concept of ‘needs’, in particular the essential needs of the world’s poor, to which overriding priority must be given
And
The idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organisation on the environment’s ability to meet present and future needs.
This definition dwells at some length on limits and seems to imply that if we can change our social structures and develop different technology we will be able to meet our own as well as the future needs of others. This idea is particularly relevant to this study as there is a close relationship between technology, social structure and building and construction. This aspect will be explored further later in the chapter.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) provides a similar definition to that of the WCED:
…. development that improves the quality of human life while living within the carrying capacity of supporting ecosystems.
However in this definition the required state for sustainability is to improve the quality of human life. This must happen within limits, in this case the carrying capacity of the supporting ecosystem. This definition raises the question of how quality of life is defined. This will be explored further in the sections on social and economic sustainability later in this chapter.
This definition introduces the concept of carrying capacity. It suggests that in sustainable systems it is important to define the carrying capacity and ensure that this is not exceeded.
Having reviewed these definitions it is useful to summarise the definitions in the form of a table (Table One).
Table Three: Sustainability Definitions
Source Entity Required State Limits trees for man
Ability of environment to provide biomass
Lynam & Herdt
Foresters and their
Environment
System To provide output
Pearce & Turner System Maximise economic benefit
Output must be same or greater than in the past
Maintain quality and services of natural
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International Union for Conservation of Nature. 1991.
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Fresco &
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Pearce
WCED
Development
Development resources between inputs and outputs altered climate change / natural disasters
Avoid placing burdens of future generations, addressing the poor
Meets need of current generations and
Environmental ability
Technological state
Social organisation needs and aspirations of future generations ecosystem
3.1.3. Environmental, Social and Economic Sustainability
A review of the main current definitions of sustainability indicates that there are a range of different emphases. In particular there seems to be split between an emphasis on human issues and development and system or ecosystem issues. As buildings have both human and environmental aspects it is important to develop an understanding and definition of sustainability that encapsulates both of these. This will be done through an investigation of environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainability.
3.1.4. Environmental Sustainability
In order to review environmental sustainability it is useful to describe this in terms of the original questions that were applied to definitions of sustainability. We therefore need to define the entity that is to be sustained and the required nature of this entity. In environmental sustainability two entities can be explored. At a very large scale the entity explored could be the planet. Here the state required is the healthy operation of the systems that maintain this.
At a much smaller scale the entity explored could be an ecosystem. The state required in this case is the healthy and ongoing operation of all of the aspects that sustain this.
Exploring these entities in this study is appropriate for a number of reasons. The first is that by developing an understanding of planetary systems, the study can begin to understand the relationship between building and construction and planetary systems and begin to establish how the building and construction has an impact on these. This understanding will inform the
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55 study, as it will help establish how buildings and construction can minimise or avoid negative impacts on planetary systems.
The second reason is that buildings are part of ecosystems and have an impact on them.
Developing an understanding of ecosystems will begin to define the requirements that buildings and construction will have to meet, to limit or avoid negative impacts on ecosystems. It may even suggest ways that building and construction could enhance the healthy operation of ecosystems.
Thirdly, buildings and man together, can be described as a system. Clues for making this system more sustainable may be found from a study of natural sustainable systems, such as ecosystems.
Planetary Systems
The Earth has been described as a living organism.
controversial it may provide useful insight for developing an understanding of the impact of human activities, and in particular, the built environment, on the Earth. In the Gaia hypothesis,
Lovelock illustrates the validity of this view through listing a wide variety of similarities between planetary systems and living organisms. An example given is how the Earth is able to maintain temperature and chemical balances in the face of perturbations, in the same way as living organisms.
Lovelock uses his definition of the Earth as a living organism not only to help understand this but also to suggest a role for man in ensuring its continuing health. He suggests that it is vital to understand more about the earth and to ensure that we begin to understand, and act on, any signs of ill health. This he describes in the following way:
I insist that Gaia theory itself is a proper science and no mere metaphor. My use of the term alive is that of an engineer who calls a mechanical system alive to distinguish its behaviour from when switched off, or dead. Engines on whose proper function many lives depend have health monitors; devices that ensure that signs of failure are detected early enough to avoid a
Lovelock is quick however to explain that, unlike man-made engines, man still has a very poor grasp of the mechanics of the Earth as a whole, a field that he refers to as planetary science.
He attributes this to the way knowledge has developed in this area. This he calls the ‘bottomsup’ approach, in which detailed knowledge in specific fields has been developed by specialised disciplines such as meteorology and geology. He suggests that there has been
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56 very little interaction between these highly specialised disciplines preventing the development of a clear understanding of how the planet, as a whole, works. Lovelock indicates that alongside this bottoms-up approach, it is important to have a top-down approach:
This top-down view of the Earth as a single system, one that I call Gaia, is essentially physiological. It is concerned with the working of the whole system, not with the separate parts of a planet divided arbitrarily into the biosphere, the atmosphere, the lithosphere, and the hyposphere. These are not real divisions of the Earth; they are spheres of influence
inhabited by academic scientists.
Lovelock asserts that the planet is in a serious state of ill health and that there is insufficient time to develop a full understanding of planetary science before acting to address ill health.
He proposes that, as with early medicine, we use empiricism as a method of progressing. The example Lovelock provides is that of the Romans who thought that marshes had ‘bad odours’ that caused disease, and so drained marshes. This actually got rid of the real problem as
He states that is important to move away from our current way of thinking that tends to be self-centred and short term. This thinking has failed to enable man to see, as part of a much larger system, the real value of aspects of the environment such as the Amazon rainforest or marine algae. For instance, he describes how a popular reason given for not cutting down
Amazon rainforest is a fear that a particular cancer curing species of plant will be lost.
Dwelling on these issues, although important, he maintains, often obscures far more important issues. A very important contribution that rain forests make is its global contribution as: “A self regulating system that keeps the climate in the region comfortable for life”. A planetary physician, it is proposed, would regard the great forests of the earth as part of the skin of the earth, which like human skin sweats, to keep us cool. If a value was to be obtained for this natural air conditioning, using costs attributable to mechanical systems, Lovelock
calculates that this would be within the region of $150 trillion.
True sustainability, Lovelock states, can only occur when we realise our level of ignorance about the Earth and instead of seeing ourselves as masters, and in control of the Earth, we see ourselves as stewards. He describes this in the following way:
I would suggest that our real role as stewards of the Earth is more like that of proud trade union functionary, the shop steward. We are not managers or masters of the earth; we are just stewards, workers chosen, because of our intelligence as representatives for others, the
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rest of life on our planet. …. Indeed all living things are members of our union and they are angry at the diabolical liberties taken with their planet and their lives by people. People should live in harmony with the other members, not exploiting them and their habitat.
There are aspects of Lovelock’s work that are relevant to the study. These include the following ideas. Man must become more attuned to the biophysical systems that support life and steward these to ensure they are healthy. A useful way of indicating the value of biophysical systems is to calculate the costs required for a mechanical system to do the same work. To achieve sustainability, action must be taken now, even if full knowledge and understanding within area has not been achieved.
Ecosystems
A number of the definitions reviewed early in this chapter refer to ecosystems. The definition of ecosystems is attributed to Sir Arthur Tansley who described this an organised unit consisting of biotic (living) components and abiotic (non-living) components. This unit is organised in such a way, that although there may be change, and organisms and material may pass through it, it essentially remains constant.
Odum describes ecosystems as an open system in which there inputs (which come from an
input environment) and outputs (which come into an output environment).
ecosystems that he provides include a section of beach and a block of forest. An essential component of the input environment is energy, which drives the system. This usually comes from the sun but can come from other sources such as wind, rain or water flow. The input environment may also include water and nutrients as well organisms that enter the system.
Out of the system flow emigrating organisms and processed energy and organic matter such as food and waste products. Odum's model of an ecosystem is shown in Figure One.
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Figure One: Ecosystem Components
INPUT OUTPUT
ENVIRONMENT ENVIRONMENT
Other energy
System
(as delimited) organisms
Other organisms
IE + S + OE = Ecosystem
Odum describes this model in the following way:
Model of an ecosystem as an open, thermodynamic non-equilibrium system, with emphasis on the external environment, which must be considered an integral component of the
Odum describes a number of properties of ecosystems. These are reviewed in order to develop a better understanding of systems and extract characteristics of ecosystems that may be useful for guiding the development of more sustainable systems. Where appropriate this will be used to provide an input to the specification developed in Chapter five. Odum
describes ecosystems as having the following characteristics:
Ecosystems are emergent. Ecosystems have properties that result from the functional interaction of their components and therefore cannot be predicted from the study of these components separately or decoupled from the whole system. It is interesting to note that an understanding of this property requires the top-down approach suggested by Lovelock.
Ecosystems tend to be governed by homeostatic mechanisms. Odum describes these as
‘checks and balances’ and gives a number of examples. At a physiological level homeostasis ensures that our body temperature keeps constant despite fluctuations of the external environmental temperatures. At a larger scale, homeostatic integration of biotic and abiotic
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59 processes of the biosphere keep carbon dioxide and other gas concentrations relatively constant despite large volumes of gases leaving and entering the atmosphere.
Energy - the currency of ecosystems: An understanding of ecosystems, Odum indicates, is aided by models. A model he defines as a simplified formulation that mimics a real-world phenomenon so that complex situations can be comprehended and predictions made. He proposes that the easiest way to model an ecosystem is to chart the flows of a currency that is common to all of its components. He suggests that this currency should be energy. Using this currency he defines different aspects of an ecosystem. There are energy sources like the sun. There are producers that convert and concentrate solar energy, such as plants. There are also consumers (like herbivores) who them use this converted energy to produce higher quality energy.
Ecological niches: Ecosystems exist within a biosphere, which is differentiated, through gradients in its physical factors. For instance, there are temperature gradients from the Arctic to the Tropics. There are also moisture gradients from deserts to the tropical rainforests of the world. Species have developed to occupy specific habitats along these gradients. The particular way that the organism has developed (the way it lives and interacts with other organisms) is called the ecological niche. From this one can see that a range of organisms can occupy the same niche. For instance kangaroos, bison and cattle all occupy the same niche when found in grassland. Organisms with these same ecological niches are termed
‘ecological equivalents’.
Coevolution: A characteristic of communities of organisms that have existed together for a very long time is the way they tend to evolve together. This coevolution often enables them as
.a whole, to adapt better to change and enable them to inhabit more extreme ecological niches.
The structure of natural communities in ecosystems: Natural communities also have particular community structures. They tend to have few species that are very common (have large numbers) and a large number of species that are relatively rare. These common species are called ecological dominants. Species that have strong controlling influence, whether dominant or not are called keystone species. The rarer species on the sidelines add greatly to the robustness of the system. This is because if the major species fails as a result of, for instance, physical changes, often a rarer species, more tolerant of change can take its place as the keystone species. This ability to ‘swop players’ is termed redundancy and contributes greatly to the resilience of an ecosystem.
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Carrying capacity: The size of populations within an area will be limited by the ability of the environment to support it. This is termed the carrying capacity of the environment. In biology this is usually defined in terms of the number or biomass of organism that a given habitat can support. It also can be applied to humans. However there are difficulties with this as different populations consume vastly different quantities of resources and energy.
The initial review of planetary systems and ecosystems indicates that there are useful concepts that can be applied to develop a definition of environmental sustainability. This will be discussed and developed in further in Section 3.2, Addressing Hypothesis Two –
Environmental, Economic and Social Sustainability
3.1.5. Economic Sustainability
A review of economic theory related to sustainability, sometimes referred to as ‘green economics’, indicates that there are numerous problems with the current economic system which make it incompatible with the development, and implementation, of more sustainable practices. This section reviews relevant literature in order to develop an understanding of green economics. The review has two sections. The first part reviews the arguments against the current economic systems. The second part attempts to extract a list of characteristics of the green economics in order to understand the implications of this for buildings and construction.
The role of economics can be described as the creation, distribution and consumption of
Conventional economic science asserts that this role is carried out in a neutral
value-free way. Green economists suggest that this is not only untrue, but also wrong - if we are to develop more sustainable practices, economics must guide and expose underlying values and assumptions:
The role of economists is as much to expose the values and assumptions underlying
economic choices, as it is to give guidance about the choices themselves
Green economists argue that economics is a means and not an end and it should be developed to provide for needs of man. They point out that the current economic system only addresses a limited number of people’s needs and has a wide range of problems associated with it. They argue that it is highly inefficient, produces large amounts of waste and causes avoidable social and environmental problems. Numerous examples of waste are provided.
These include speculation:
Making money independently of productive activity or real wealth creation has become a
debilitating virus in the economic system.
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And the high levels of solid waste and pollution in America:
The solid waste produced by each American is nearly one million pounds of material per
They argue that the system is not only wasteful of resources it is also wasteful of people.
Figures quoted from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) suggest that there are nearly a billion people (about 40% of the world’s population) who are unemployed or underemployed.
Many manufacturing systems are also highly inefficient. In the agro-forestry business, often
only about 5% of a crop is actually used, with 95% being discarded.
only about 5% of the energy produced by the engine actually is delivered to the wheels and used to propel the car.
Green economists argue that it is increasingly important to move towards a system of economics that improves resource efficiency and values the environment and people. The key priorities for economics should be to ensure that the needs of every person are addressed. The elimination of poverty, it is argued, not only makes sense from a moral point of view, but also from an economic point of view:
Poverty destroys motivation and potential and fosters anger and alienation. Poverty tends to perpetuate itself. The elimination of poverty can be justified on the grounds of both economic efficiency and social justice.
Conventional economics, it is argued, often does not value the most important things, such as people and the environment, probably because these are hard to quantify. Green economists point out that most indexes do not have environmental or social indicators and yet, the World
Bank, in a study in 1995 calculated the value of human capital to be three times greater than all existing financial and manufactured capital. They also point to many aspects of life and work, which, by not being quantified and reflected in costs, have perpetuated the involuntary subsidization by everyone of highly inefficient and damaging practices. Hawkins et al provides an example of this from car usage in the United States of America:
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The social costs of driving – related both to the conversion of fuel into smog and congestion, lost time, accidents, roadway damage, land use and other side-effects of driving itself- are largely socialized. ‘External’ costs approaching 1 trillion dollars a year, perhaps a seventh of
the American GDP, are borne by everyone, but not reflected in driver’s direct costs.
In conventional economics the environment is often taken for granted and is of little concern.
Green economists argue that this will change, as the environment rapidly becomes the limiting factor for future development. Drawing on history, they illustrate how changes in limiting factors in economies cause fundamental paradigm shift because “behaviour that used
to be economic becomes uneconomic”.
Many Green economists argue that this paradigm shift is beginning to happen. They suggest that increasingly, business and governments are becoming concerned about environmental and social issues, and that this being reflected in the evolution of a new economic system.
Terms for this new form of economics differ with Hawkins et al calling this ‘Natural
Capitalism’, Ekins et al, ‘Green Economics’ and Elkington, ‘Triple Bottom Line Accounting’.
Ekins et al suggests that the fundamental priorities for this new system will be the alleviation of poverty and the matching and maintenance of economic systems with optimal ecological size and performance.
Key characteristics of a green or sustainable economy are
summarised in Section 3.2 Addressing Hypothesis Two – Environmental, Economic and
Social Sustainability
3.1.6. Social Sustainability
It is difficult, initially, to see the relationship between social systems and sustainability.
However this relationship is vital. As already described, economics for sustainability has a strong emphasis on people. We need to understand which forms of society are more supportive of sustainability and understand what mechanism are required in these to encourage the development and implementation of more sustainable practices. This is important because, without a concerted effort that integrates social and economic systems, more sustainable practices are unlikely to be adopted.
This section reviews literature that describes the role of society in sustainable systems. It has three parts. The first part reviews definitions of human and social capital; concepts widely considered important in establishing how society can support sustainability. This leads to a review of examples, which help describe the role society has to play. Finally, the review extracts a number of characteristics of society that need to be cultivated in order for societies to become more sustainable.
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Behind economic activity, Elkington argues, there is an invisible structure of beliefs.
guide economics and are often responsible for the particular strengths or weaknesses of a system. Green economists argue that instead of this being invisible, this structure should become explicit and must have as objectives, the restoration and assignation of value to people and the environment. People and characteristics of society, they argue, play a key role in wealth creation. To describe these roles they use the terms ‘Human Capital’ and ‘Social
Capital’.
Human Capital
Human capital is a concept, which describes the contribution of health, knowledge, skill and
motivation of people to wealth creation.
It describes the potential for efficient and directed
productivity within people themselves. A person who is healthy, motivated and happy will be more productive than one who is not. In a similar way, a person who is provided with skills and knowledge is likely to be more productive than someone without these attributes.
Social Capital
Social capital describes the contribution of social relationships, trust and cooperation to wealth creation. While human capital emphasizes the productivity of the individual, social capital emphasizes the productivity of the group. Putnam defines social capital and describes its leveraging effect on other forms of capital in the following way:
Social capital refers to the features of social organization, such as networks, norms and trust that facilitate coordination and cooperation for mutual benefit. Social capital enhances the benefits in physical and human capital.
Green economists suggest that investing in social capital has a wide range of benefits including increased capability, reduced friction, and an increased ability to innovate. All of these support the development of more sustainable systems as they enable increased resource productivity, reduced consumption, and more equitable distribution of resources.
Fukuyama describes these benefits:
If people who have to work together in an enterprise trust one another because they are all operating according to a common set of ethical norms, doing business costs less. Such a society will be better able to innovate organizationally, since a high degree of trust will enable
a wide range of social relationships to emerge.
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It is argued that social and human capital are important initial ingredients required in order to begin to move towards sustainability. Societies where there are high levels of social capital and trust are be able to innovate and organize more rapidly in developing and implementing sustainability. Elkington describes this in the following way:
Sustainable development is most likely – and will be achieved at lowest cost to the economy
– in those societies where there are the highest levels of trust and other forms of social
Areas where social capital is low however are likely to lag and to continue to suffer from low productivity and waste. Elkington points out that distrust can be equated with tax:
Widespread distrust in society imposes a kind of tax on all forms of economic activity.
Hawkins et al provides a range of examples of how a lack of investment in social and human capital leads to high costs in unproductive areas. As examples, they refer to the security and private police, which is currently the fastest growing industry in the world, and the five million
Americans currently in prison.
It is argued, that social and human capital, instead of being ignored, should be central to economics. Elkington points out that if these aspects were quantified, in many instances these are actually likely to be more valuable than economic and manufactured capital. He gives the example of the company Skandia, where intellectual capital is regarded as at least
as valuable as financial capital, in providing substantial earnings.
strongly by Jolly who suggests:
Human capital is a more important factor for achieving economic growth than physical
Having established that human and social capital are important considerations in sustainability, it is useful to review how these concepts can be developed and supported.
Green economists argue that there are a number of mutually reinforcing components that contribute to strengthening social and human capital. A number of these are outlined below.
Health and Education
It is argued that people are an important productive resource that should receive continuous investment and attention in order to ensure that they are maintained and enhanced. This
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65 investment should be made into health and education. Ekins et al describe the value of this investment to a productive economy in the following way:
Enhancing human capital becomes an objective of, as well as a measure to, a productive
economy through investment in education and training and stimulating work experience.
Morley suggests that investment in social aspects is as important in development as investment in physical facilities:
Motivating, mobilizing, education and training is as important as the accompanying physical
To be fully productive people need to be healthy motivated and appropriately skilled; qualities that need to be constantly renewed. This renewal …should be an integrated part of working
Capability and Opportunity
It is argued that everyone needs to be able participate fully in economic development and that this should be not be limited to a few people. As well as being able to have needs addressed it is important that people are empowered and fulfilled by being able to do this themselves:
Power…can yield power over oneself, the ability to fashion and achieve one’s own fulfilment.
This is the power expressed by the word capability. In Green economics the whole notion of economic “development” boils down to an increase in the capability of the least well off people
in society, and thus their ability to satisfy an ever-increasing number of needs.
Ekins et al suggest that there are three requirements for this increase in capability
First, political power must be isolated from economic power. Second, because this will not be entirely possible, the concentration of economic power must be avoided. Third, everybody must have effective access to each of the 4 capitals necessary for production: environmental resources including land: human capital through education and health rights: social and organizational capital, through freedom to organize and agitate, and to live in communities free from disruption: and tools and machines, through cooperative ownership structures and
the creation of public infrastructure.
Resource Productivity and Efficiency
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Many of current systems of production and consumption are highly inefficient. Often they have also been developed to minimize employment. These systems, it is argued, will have to change as natural resources become increasingly scarce and access to employment becomes more important. Hawkins et al and Pauli argue that radically increased resource productivity is possible and that implementing this will solve both environmental and social problems. Pauli suggests that companies, instead of ‘downsizing’ and looking at ways of minimizing employment should upsize and create additional employment by developing useful
by-products and services from areas previously considered waste.
that there are a number of environmental benefits as well as social ones that could be achieved from this approach:
Radical resource productivity slows down resource depletion at one end of the value chain, lowers pollution at the other end and provides a basis to increase worldwide employment and
Measurement and Taxation
If changes in society are an important part of moving towards sustainability, tools for measuring and implementing this need developing. A range of measurement systems have been developed which take into social aspects. These include the Human Development
Indicator (HDI) and the Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare (ISEW). Useful tools for encouraging change are taxes and subsidies. Hawkins et al point out that many current taxes and subsidies are vestigial, and reduce sustainability, by promoting inequity, inefficient practices and high levels of unemployment. They suggest that it is important for governments to revisit these and change them in order to promote more sustainable practices. This is already happening in Europe where it is suggested:
tax reforms aimed at increasing employment by shifting taxes away from people to the use of
resources have started to be instituted.
Creativity
Achieving sustainability with the limited resource and time available will require a high degree of creativity and ingenuity. It will also require motivation and willingness to change.
Sustainability will require a radical rethink and redesign of our current systems. Paul Hawkins describes the problem in the following way:
The problem we face is not so much a management problem as a design problem. In order to develop a sustainable society we need to describe a system of consumption and production
in which each and every action is inherently sustainable and restorative.
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119
Hawken, Lovins and Lovins. 1999. p.14
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The problem of sustainability, Hawkins et al suggests, is most acute in developing countries.
They suggest however, that through careful design and ‘whole-system thinking’, it may be possible to develop solutions, which solve many of the existing problems and are sustainable.
In the developing countries of the South, such whole-system thinking is at a premium, because the new pattern of scarcity….abundant people but scarce nature – has arrived early and with a vengeance. For the developing world, most acutely, the relevant question will be:
How many problems can be simultaneously solved or avoided, how many needs can be met, by making the right initial choices? And how can those choices be linked into a web of mutually supporting solutions, creating a healthy economic, social, and ecological system that
develops both better people and thriving nature.
3.2. Addressing Hypothesis Two
The initial review shows that the hypotheses that literature on sustainability can inform the development of a specification for an assessment tool to be correct as this enables a detailed understanding of sustainability to be developed. It also provides characteristics of sustainable systems. These are discussed below:
Environmental Sustainability
A healthy, diverse, productive environment is vital in sustaining human life. The environment carries out a wide range of functions that support and enable human life. Many of these we do not fully understand. These functions include the following:
Production of oxygen and absorption of carbon dioxide
Absorption of waste products and pollution
Temperature regulation
Humidity regulation
Production of renewable natural resources such as food, fuel, building materials etc
For the environment to be effective at carrying out these functions it must to have a range of attributes. These include the following:
Size: Environments and ecosystems have a carrying capacity. This limits the size of the human population it can support on a sustainable basis. It is therefore important that the size and productivity of biophysical systems are matched to, or are preferably larger, than the sizes of the human population they are required to support. The human population has been growing rapidly and levels of consumption have been increasing. The size of the biophysical
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Hawken, Lovins and Lovins. 1999. p. 288
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environment, on the other hand, has been decreasing.
This has meant that we have moved
from a point at which we were within the earth’s carrying capacity to one in which we are now
living beyond this. This point according to the World Wildlife Fund occurred in the 1970’s.
is therefore becoming increasingly urgent to balance this equation. This will require significant economic and social change in order to reduce the required carrying capacity. Increasing, or at least maintaining, the current size of biophysical environment on the environmental side of the equation is essential, if this balance is to be achieved.
Diversity and complexity: Healthy, highly productive, resilient ecosystems are usually complex and consist of a diverse range of species. There are also a wide range of ecosystems, which have evolved to occupy a wide range of different environments. This complexity and diversity has been vital to enabling ecosystems to accommodate change
(such as climatic change). This characteristic is also described as resilience. This ability is extremely important to retain, and enhance, in order to cope with the current climatic changes. Retaining, or even improving, the levels of biodiversity will help increase the chances that ecosystems adapt to changing climate conditions and can continue to support life. This complexity and diversity of ecosystems have also enabled harsh environments (such as deserts) to support ecosystems. With increasing human populations it is likely that there will be increasing pressure on these marginal environments to support human life. It is therefore important to retain and develop ecosystems in these areas.
Productivity: Humans consume large quantities of resources and energy. This can be produced naturally and in a sustainable way by the biophysical environment. With an increasing population it is important to ensure that biophysical environments are as productive as possible. It is therefore important to understand how productivity in terms of the different requirements for human life support can be maintained, and enhanced, in the biophysical environment.
Location: As far as possible the location of life support ecosystems should be close to where they are needed. This is for a number of reasons. Locating natural resources consumed by man close to where these are used reduces the requirement for transportation and the associated negative impact of this on the environment such as the consumption of nonrenewable resources and pollution. Ecosystems also absorb and recycle human waste such as carbon dioxide, sewage and organic waste. Locating ecosystems that absorbs this waste close to its production, avoids the need for transportation and reduces possible negative impacts on human health of these products, as they are not allowed to accumulate. Finally, it is useful to have the environmental control function that ecosystems provide interspersed with human habitation as this enables better regulation. This reduces for the likelihood of
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Economic Sustainability
Economic systems have implications for sustainability. In many ways economic systems structure the relationships between people, machinery, buildings and the environment. It also provides a value system that drives, and controls, productivity. Increasingly, it appears that existing economic systems are partly responsible for social problems and environmental damage. To become more sustainable it is therefore important that our economic system needs to change. These changes and the characteristics of more sustainable economic systems are discussed below:
Equitable: Economic systems will have to become more equitable. The current structure of the economy provides a number of societies, such as those in developed countries, with a surfeit of wealth while barely providing for the basic needs of other societies. Societies that have a surfeit often are very wasteful. Relative to the number of their members, they consume large amounts of resources and produce high levels of pollution. Societies who do not have enough for their basic needs often rapidly damage the fabric of their society (through, for instance, crime and ill health) and their environments (by, for instance, over grazing, soil erosion and pollution) in their attempts to sustain themselves. This reduces both the carrying capacity of the natural environment and social and human capital within that society. In the long term, this can lead to war and famine, which wealthy countries then have to address through peace-keeping forces and aid, both of which are highly inefficient as they require large quantities of resources and often only have a short term effect. A more equitable system would therefore help reduce the negative environmental impacts of both wealthy and poor societies by reducing waste and avoiding the need to damage the environment by ensuring that everyone was able to provide for their basic needs in a fulfilling and sustainable way.
Local economy: Emphasizing the local economy supports sustainability in a number of ways. It supports sustainability in a very simple way by reducing the need for transportation.
This limits the consumption of non-renewable resources and pollution. A more subtle aspect of this is the way it draws on the connections between people and their environments. The local emphasis encourages people to adopt more sustainable practices by ensuring that
people experience directly both the negative and positive consequences of their actions.
Complexity and diversity: Economic systems that are sustainable are likely to be complex.
This is because they are likely to evolve, like ecosystems, a range of characteristics that enable them to make highly efficient use of resources and to accommodate change.
Examples of these characteristics can be seen in the growing field of industrial ecology.
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Industrial ecology is the science of linking different industries for mutual benefit. This leads to increased efficiencies and reduced waste. For instance a by-product of one industry, such as the ash from a power station can be the input into another industry and used in the manufacture of Gyproc building boards.
This increased efficiency has economic benefits as
the cost of disposing of waste is reduced. It also has environmental benefits, as there is increased resource efficiency as well as reduced waste and pollution. There can also be social benefits such as increased levels of employment.
Value society: Economic systems can generate wealth in a wide variety of ways. To be sustainable it is important that wealth is generated in a way that values people and encourages and enables them to develop more sustainable practices and habits. This means a priority is ensuring that the basic needs of everyone are met. It also means considering the social impact of different practices as well as developing practices that support a more sustainable society.
Value the environment: The biophysical environment plays a crucial part of supporting human life. However this role is not recognized in our current system and the value of this is not accounted for. In order for the environment to be a part of an economic system its value must be quantified in economic terms. This value must be recognized formally, for instance, through accounting systems, legislation and taxation.
Productivity: Natural resources are limited and ecosystems and environments have a finite carrying capacity. With increasing populations it is therefore important to make the best use of these resources. This means that the economic system must encourage and maintain high levels of efficiency and are effective in providing for human needs while being resource efficient as well as minimizing waste and pollution
Social Sustainability
Human activity is beginning to have a significant impact on the environment. This is resulting in damage to the biophysical environment, which if allowed to continue, will reduce the earth’s ability to support human life. It is therefore important that we not only try and preserve existing natural environments and their ability to support life but that we change how we behave. We need to ensure that society that develops activities and habits, which value and maintain the environment. An important first step in this process is ensuring that the essential needs of people are catered for. This helps ensure that there is a balance in society, which will enable and support the development of a balanced relationship between society and the environment. The attributes of this type of society can be described as follows:
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Access to capital: Sustainable societies will enable their members to have adequate access to different forms of capital in order to enable them to fulfil their own needs. For example this may mean enabling people to have sufficient access to land (natural capital), start-up capital
(economic capital), equipment (manufactured capital), knowledge (human capital) and markets with agreed systems of trading (social capital).
Inclusiveness: Sustainable societies are likely to strive to be more inclusive. This means making sure that people such as disabled people, old people, people with different cultural and educational backgrounds are not marginalized but are included and encouraged to be productive members of society. This supports sustainability through increased social capital and reduced need for additional special facilities and services.
Health: Sustainable societies are likely to strive for high levels of health and wellbeing amongst their members. This supports sustainability by avoiding the negative effects of ill health. Ill health has a negative effect on the environment as treatment of illness can consume large quantities of resources and produce large amounts of waste. Another negative impact is the productivity of the person that is lost.
Education: Sustainable societies are likely to strive for high levels of education and awareness. This will support them in becoming more resourceful and innovative in developing more sustainable practices. It will also increase the awareness of sustainability and it’s implications amongst all members and encourages them to adopt more sustainable practices and habits.
Social interaction: Sustainable societies are likely to value social interaction. This encourages increased levels of understanding between members, enabling them to organise themselves more easily. This ability to develop trust and to organize enables societies to become more sustainable as they can tackle problems in a coordinated and integrated manner and are more able to share.
3.3. Concluding Hypothesis Two
The hypothesis that concepts from sustainability can inform the development of a specification for an assessment tool that aims to integrate sustainable development into building briefing and design processes is shown to be true. The review of literature on sustainability has proved to be highly useful.
The review enables a clear understanding of sustainability to be developed. It also enabled detailed descriptions of environmental, economic and social sustainability to be developed.
This is valuable for the development of the specification for an assessment tool as it provides a detailed description of sustainability, the goal that the tool aims to support.
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The review also provides many concepts about the structure and characteristics of sustainable systems as found in environmental, economic and social systems. As aspect of buildings and construction are found in each of these areas, useful clues as to the nature of more sustainable building and construction systems are provided.
Having discussed the characteristics of sustainable environmental, social systems definitions of sustainability appropriate to the study can be described.
Defining Sustainability
Sustainability may be seen as the science and the art of understanding, developing and implementing systems that enable man and future generations to live within the earth’s carrying capacity. Given, that man has already exceeded the earth’s carrying capacity the
task is an increasingly urgent one.
This is not only urgent but also large-scale and will
require a concerted, integrated effort across social, economic and environmental systems to be tackled effectively.
Environmental Sustainability
Damage to existing ecosystems must be halted and where possible, damage should be repaired and new ecosystems developed to replace the ones that have been lost. By retaining and developing productive ecosystems it may be possible, over time, to be able increase the earth’s carrying capacity and thus make it easier to balance this with human activities. Bio physical environments that support sustainability will include thriving, productive, resilient and adequately sized ecosystems that are well able to provide life support functions for man.
Economic Sustainability
Economic systems have to be developed which enable societies to live within the carrying capacity of the earth. This will mean doing more with less. Economic systems will need to be more equitable, more resource efficient and value people and the environment.
Social Sustainability
Societies will need to be more trusting, cooperative and share more. This will avoid wasting scarce resources on crime and defence. They will also need to become increasingly innovative and resourceful – in order to be able to maximise the benefit of limited resources for as many people as possible. Society will require organisation and capacity that enables, and ensures, that it’s current and future members’ needs are met and are able to live fulfilling lives within the carrying capacity of the environment.
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For buildings and construction to support sustainability it is therefore important to understand the relationship between buildings and construction and Environmental, Economic and Social
Sustainability. This understanding must be used to inform and implement changes in order to ensure that buildings and construction actively address and support the development of
Environmental, Economic and Social Sustainability.
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4. A REVIEW OF EXISTING SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT SYSTEMS
AND INDICATORS
Behind the formulation of any system of indicators lies some implicit or explicit model of (1)
what matters, and (2) the way the world works
4.1. Sub Problem Three and Hypothesis Three
Sub problem: What are the key features of existing sustainable development, sustainability and development assessment systems and frameworks?
Hypothesis: Existing sustainable development, sustainability and development assessment systems and frameworks can inform the development of a specification for an assessment tool that aims to integrate sustainable development into building briefing and design processes.
4.1.1. Introduction
As there is still no precise definition for sustainable development it is difficult to develop a comprehensive and complete assessment system. There is however general agreement on the broad path (sustainable development) that leads towards sustainability and a wide range of indicators have been developed to assess progress down this path.
This chapter will critically review a range of different assessment systems and indicators that have been developed to measure sustainable development progress. This critical review will be undertaken in three parts. An initial section will review international initiatives to develop sustainable development indicator systems. This will be followed by a review of national, local and project indicators systems. This will review initiatives by the United Kingdom and South
Africa to develop national sustainable development indicator systems. It will also describe systems developed by non-governmental organisations to assess progress within particular areas, such as the contribution of community to sustainable development. In addition it will review a widely used procedure called the Log frame for development projects. This will be followed by a review of a number of established building environmental impact assessment systems.
The review of assessment systems is carried out to provide an understanding of how these work and inform how an assessment tool should be developed. This will provide a useful input for developing a specification for an assessment tool in the Chapter five. It is also important to review existing building assessment systems in the light of the understanding about the sustainability and sustainable development developed by the study.
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4.1.2. International Indicator Systems
There has been a shift in emphasis internationally in the way development is measured. In the past this has had a strong emphasis on economics and used measures such as gross
national income, gross national income per capita and gross domestic product.
Increasingly, this is moving to systems that include a wider range of measurements and include social and environmental indicators. The UN and a number of non-governmental organisations have identified this type of reporting as crucial to implementing sustainable development effectively.
An early initiative on sustainable development reporting is the Agenda 21 set of working indicators. These include three sets of indicators (driving force, state and response) that describe different aspects of the theme described in each of the Agenda 21 chapters. The driving force indicator describes factors that make an impact on sustainable development; the state indicators reflects the current status of aspects within the theme and the response indicators provides a description of the level of response being developed by the country to
A table showing these indicators is included in Appendix six.
These indicators have been developed, and their implementation supported, through the
Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), a body set up by the UN to support
monitoring of progress on Agenda 21 issues.
One of the objectives of this body is to assist
countries develop their own ‘country reports’ which report on progress towards achieving the objectives listed in Agenda 21.
These country reports are provided at five yearly intervals,
with the last one due in time for the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in 2002.
In addition to the working list of indicators the CSD has also developed an indicator framework organised by theme. The organization of these indicators is similar to the system used for in the UK’s Strategy for Sustainable Development.
in Appendix seven of the study.
Both the UK and South Africa have developed ‘country reports’ in the format required by the
UN. However neither country are using this to develop and implement programmes to support sustainable development and have instead produced their own systems.
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The structure of the indicator framework is explained in full at http://www.un.org/esa/sustdeve/indi6.htm 02/01/03
10:36
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This suggests that the structure and indicators required for Agenda 21 are not considered appropriate for implementing national programmes. This may be because the framework is too complex (there are two many chapters) and that the structure and indicators do not reflect local priorities. For instance, South Africa reported that the indicators used in the UN country report were biased towards developed countries:
…Generally one could argue that the list of indicators reflect a developed world perspective and that it does not yet sufficiently incorporate appropriate indicators for less developed
countries and countries in transition.
The evolution of indicator types and formats developed by the CSD as well as their use by countries suggest that simpler, clearly linked sets of indicators tend to work better. It also suggests that while the base set of indicators and format provided are useful for international comparability it is important to ensure that enough flexibility in indicators systems and assessment should be designed in to enable local priorities to be expressed. This is an important concept that will be explored further in the development of the specification of the assessment system in Chapter five.
The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)
The IISD is a Canadian based non-governmental organisation that has, as a strategic aim,
the development of indicators that measure progress towards sustainable development.
The IISD have been influential in guiding the design of sustainable development indicators
systems through the Bellagio Principles for Assessment.
These were conceived in 1996 by
the IISD in collaboration with a range of measurement practitioners and researchers. These principles guide the assessment of sustainable development progress and are listed below:
1. Guiding vision and goals: Assessment towards sustainable development should:
• be guided by a clear vision of sustainable development and goals that define that vision.
2. Holistic perspective: Assessment of progress towards sustainable development should:
• Include review of the whole system as well as its parts
• Consider the well being of social, ecological, and economic sub-systems, their state as well as the direction and rate of change of that state, of their component parts, and the interaction between parts.
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• Consider both positive and negative consequences of human activities, in a way that reflects the costs and benefits for human and ecological systems in monetary and non-monetary terms.
3. Essential elements: Assessment of progress towards sustainable development should:
• Consider equity and disparity within current population and between present and future generations, dealing with such concerns as resource use, over-consumption and poverty, human rights, and access to services, as appropriate.
• Consider the ecological conditions on which life depends’
• Consider economic development and other, non-market activities that contribute to human/social well-being,
• Adopt a time horizon long enough to capture both human and ecosystem time scales thus responding to needs of future generations as well as those current to short term decision-making.
• Define space of study large enough to include not only local but also long distance impacts on people and ecosystems
• Building on historic and current conditions to anticipate future conditions- where we want to go, where we could go
5. Practical focus: Assessment of progress towards sustainable development should be abased on:
• An explicit set of categories or an organising framework that links vision and goals to indicators and assessment criteria.
• A limited number of key issues for analysis
• A limited number of indicators or indicator combinations to provide a clearer signal of progress.
• Standardisation measurement wherever possible to permit comparison
• Comparing indicator values to targets, reference values, ranges, thresholds, or direction of trends, as appropriate
6. Openness: Assessment of progress towards sustainable development should:
• Make methods and data that are used accessible to all
• Make explicit all judgement, assumptions and uncertainties in data and interpretations
7. Effective communication: Assessment of progress towards sustainable development should:
• Be designed to address the needs of the audience and set of users
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• Draw from indicators and other tools that are stimulating and serve to engage decision-makers
• Aim, from the outset for simplicity in structure and use of clear and plain language.
8. Broad participation: Assessment of progress towards sustainable development should:
• Obtain broad representation of key grass-roots, professional, technical and social groups, including youth, women, and indigenous people- to ensure recognition diverse and changing values.
• Ensure the participation of decision makers to secure a firm linked to adopted policies and resulting action
9. Ongoing assessment: Assessment of progress towards sustainable development should:
• Develop a capacity for repeated measurement to determine trends
• Be iterative, adaptive, and responsive to change and uncertainty because systems are complex and change frequently
• Adjust goals, frameworks, and indicators as new insights are gained
• Promote development of collective learning and feedback to decision-making
10. Institutional capacity: Assessment of progress towards sustainable development should be assured by:
• Clearly assigning responsibility and providing ongoing support in decision making process
• Providing institutional capacity for data collection, maintenance, and documentation
• Supporting development of local assessment capacity.
The IISD argues that developing a conceptual framework for guiding the assessment process is important as this enables indicators to emerge and be adapted to suit local circumstances
They suggest that this framework should be hierarchical and extend
from broad sets of data to detailed measures.
The IISD also make a range of suggestions for the selection of indicators and have developed a compendium of sustainable development indicators.
The selection of indicators, they
suggest, depends on perspective and usefulness in planning for sustainable development:
What is a good or bad measure tends to vary with one’s Weltanschauung or worldview, including such factors as level of education, cultural background, economic status, political
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affiliation, gender, and so on. Selection criteria are guidelines that one creatively applies to establish a preference for the “best” indicators that fit the needs and circumstances of a given region, institution, and at the same time enhance adaptive planning capacity for sustainable development. At a time of increasing globalisation they should help create a minimum level of comparability, coherence and consistency between measures, and, perhaps more
importantly, between ways these measures are applied in real-life situations.
The criteria for the selection of sustainability indicators developed by the IISD are as follows:
• Policy relevance: Can the indicator be associated with one or several issues around which key policies are formulated? Sustainability indicators are intended for audiences to improve the outcome of decision-making on levels ranging from individuals to the entire biosphere. Unless the indicator can be linked by readers to critical decisions and policies, it is unlikely to motivate action.
• Simplicity: Can the information be presented in an easily understandable, appealing way to the target audience? Even complex issues and calculations should eventually yield clearly presentable information that the public understands.
• Validity: Is the indicator a true reflection of the facts? Was the data collected using scientifically defensible measurement techniques? Is the indicator verifiable and reproducible? Methodological rigor is needed to make the data credible for both experts and laypeople.
• Time-series data: Is time-series data available, reflecting the trend of the indicator over time? If based on only one or two data points, it is not possible to visualize the direction the community may be going in the near future.
• Availability of affordable data: Is good quality data available at a reasonable cost or is it feasible to initiate a monitoring process that will make it available in the future?
Information tends to cost money, or at least time and effort from many volunteers.
• Ability to aggregate information: Is the indicator about a very narrow or broader sustainability issue? The list of potential sustainability indicators is endless. For practical reasons, indicators that aggregate information on broader issues should be preferred. For example, forest canopy temperature is a useful indicator of forest health and is preferable to measuring many other potential indicators to come to the same conclusion.
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• Sensitivity: Can the indicator detect a small change in the system? We need to determine beforehand if small or large changes are relevant for monitoring.
• Reliability: Will you arrive at the same result if you make two or more measurements of the same indicator? Would two different researchers arrive at the same conclusions?
The IISD also provide a range of ways that measures of sustainability can be displayed. They suggest that it is important, particularly, for aggregated indicators, that these can be read quickly and accurately by decision makers. Examples of visual reports provided include the four-sided pyramid, the elliptical cluster, the compass of sustainability and the dashboard of sustainability.
The idea that performance should be able to read quickly and in a highly
visual way is important and particularly relevant to tools that may be used by lay people and in developing countries. The specification developed in Chapter five for the tool will develop this into a set of specific requirements.
The Global Reporting Initiative
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has developed the Sustainability Reporting
The GRI was initiated by the US non-governmental organisational Coalition for
the Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES) and the United Nation’s Environment programme (UNEP) with the goal of improving sustainability reporting. The GRI suggest there are strong benefits from reporting on sustainability. These have a particular emphasis on
improvements in management and communications and include the following:
Management: Measuring and reporting on past and anticipated performance helps improve management processes. It also helps support the longevity of business by creating a more complete picture of long-term prospects and supporting, in the eyes of customers, its “license to operate”. Sustainability reporting also can also support stronger cooperation and communication between sometimes insular and discrete components of an organisation such as finance, marketing, research and development. Reporting may also enable emerging or potential problems and unanticipated opportunities to be discovered early allowing these to be addressed more effectively.
Communication: Reporting is a key aspect of building, sustaining, and continually refining stakeholder engagement. Transparency and open dialogue about sustainability performance and future plans can, it is suggested, bring about trust, and support partnership with a diverse set of groups including investors, community groups and consumers.
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The reporting process suggested by GRI places an heavy emphasis on participation and using the reporting process as a way of introducing discussion that leads to actions and changes in behaviour:
The primary goal of reporting is to contribute to ongoing stakeholder dialogue. Reports alone provide very little value if they fail to inform stakeholders or support a dialogue that influences
the decisions and behaviour of both the reporting organisation and its stakeholders.
The design of the GRI guidelines aims to be flexible. An example of this is the inclusion of two
sets of indicators: a core set and an additional set.
Core indicators are those that are
relevant to most reporting organisations and of interest to most stakeholders, while additional indicators may include areas only reported on by a few organisations but may be deemed to be worthy of further testing in order to be included as future core indicators. The guidelines aim to support growth and change within the field of sustainability reporting. They are designed to be used by both experienced organisations and those new to sustainability reporting. The reporting format allows organisations to progress from developing informal
reports to rigorous ‘in accordance’ reports which comply with GRI standards.
useful concept that should, if possible, be incorporated in the specification of the tool in
Chapter five. In a developing country it is likely that there will be a wide range of potential users for a tool. Versatility and flexibility would therefore be useful attributes in a building assessment tool.
The GRI guidelines provide a description of the principles that should be applied to developing sustainability reports. These principles are as follows:
Transparency: Full disclosure of the processes, procedures, and assumptions in report preparation are essential to its credibility
Inclusiveness: The reporting organisation should systematically engage its stakeholders to help focus and continually enhance the quality of its reports.
Auditability: Reported data and information should be recorded, compiled, analysed, and disclosed in a way that would enable internal auditors or external assurance agent’s providers to attest to its reliability.
Completeness: All information that is material to user for assessing the reporting organisation’s economic, environmental, and social performance should appear in the report in a manner consistent with the declared boundaries, scope, and time period.
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Relevance: relevant is the degree of importance assigned to a particular aspect, indicator, or piece of information and represents the threshold at which information becomes significant enough to be reported.
Sustainability context: The reporting organisation should seek to place its performance in the larger context of ecological, social and economic or other limits or constraints, where such contexts add significant meaning to the reported information.
Accuracy: The accuracy principle refers to achieving the degree of exactness and low margin of error in reported information necessary for users to make decisions with a high degree of confidence
Neutrality: Reports should avoid bias in selection and presentation of information and should strive to provide a balanced account of the reporting organisation’s performance
Comparability: The reporting organisation should maintain consistency in the boundary and scope of its reports, disclose any changes and re-state previously reported information
Clarity: The reporting organisation should remain cognisant of the diverse needs and backgrounds of its stakeholder groups and should make information available in a manner that is responsive to the maximum number of users while still maintaining a suitable level of detail.
Timeliness: Reports should provide information on a regular schedule that meets user needs and comports with the nation of the information itself.
4.1.3. Human Development Report
The Human Development Report is developed by the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) and produced annually. The report includes reports on progress in terms of the Human Development Index (HDI), a composite measure of human development. The
HDI is designed to capture three basic dimensions of human development – longevity, knowledge, and a decent standard of living. It is measured by life expectancy, educational attainment (adult literacy and combined primary, secondary and tertiary enrolment) and adjusted income per capita in purchasing power parity (PPP) in US dollars. The reason for developing the HDI is explained in the following way:
To capture the attention of policy makers, media and NGOs and to draw their attention away from the more usual economic statistics to focus instead on human outcomes, not economic
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data. The HDI was created to re-emphasize that people and their lives should be the ultimate
criteria for assessing the development of a country, not economic growth.
Since the development of this index a number of variations of this have been developed to address perceived shortcomings in the HDI. These include HPI -1, which aims to measure poverty in developing countries and includes measures for adult literacy and people not using improved water source, HPI-2 which includes an assessment of social exclusion, GDI which aims to capture inequalities in gender and GEM which assesses the extent to which women take an active role in economic and political life.
These indicators are important to acknowledge in the study as they provide widely accepted measures of human development. There is a clear overlap between these measures and indicators of social sustainable development. Of interest to the study are the specific criteria assessed (such as education attainment, income and gender equity) and the way these are agglomerated into indexes. The implication for the specification developed in Chapter five are that it may be important to investigate how buildings and construction can support human development (as defined in the Human Development Index) and that the agglomeration methodology used to develop the HDI may inform the assessment criteria and reporting approach applied.
4.1.4. The Genuine Progress Report
Redefining Progress, a US based non-governmental organisation, developed the Genuine
Progress Report. This is based on an indicator called the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI), which aims to reflect the national health of a country in economic terms. The Genuine
Progress Indicator starts with the personal consumption component of Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) and adds and subtracts a range of benefits and costs ignored by the GDP.
Costs subtracted include:
Economic costs
• Adjustment for unequal income distribution
• Net foreign borrowing
• Cost of consumer durables
• Social costs
• Cost of crime
• Costs of automobile accidents
• Costs of commuting
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• Cost of family breakdown
• Loss of leisure time
• Cost of underemployment
Environmental costs:
• Cost of household pollution abatement
• Cost of water pollution
• Cost of air pollution
• Cost of noise pollution
• Loss of wetlands
• Loss of farmlands
• Depletion of non-renewable resources
• Cost of long-term environmental damage
• Cost of ozone depletion
• Loss of old-growth forests
Benefits added include:
• Value of housework and parenting
• Value of volunteer work
• Services of consumer durables
• Services of highways and streets
• Net capital investment
Redefining Progress argue that conventional economic indicators do not reflect actual progress as this ignores environmental costs and actually counts the depletion and degradation of resources as income rather than asset depreciation. Another indicator supported by Redefining Progress is the ecological footprint.
Ecological footprint
Ecological footprints are an indicator of the amount of the world’s biological productive capacity that an individual or a country uses per year. It is calculated by measuring the amount of biologically productive land and water areas required to produce resources consumed, and to assimilate waste generated, using prevailing technology.
In a report titled ‘The Ecological Footprint of Nations’ Redefining Progress publishes
ecological footprint and ecological capacity information of countries.
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Earth’s capacity to create new resources and absorb waste (the carrying capacity). It also shows which countries exist within their carrying capacity, by calculating the country’s ecological footprint and subtracting this from its bio capacity in order to get a domestic ecological deficit or remainder. The report shows that South Africa is living beyond its bio capacity by 1.6 ha per person whereas many other developing countries such as Zambia,
Sudan, Senegal exist within their bio capacity.
This is relevant to the study as it provides insight into the development of progress indicators.
The Genuine Progress Report indicates that it is important to describe what is constituted as progress and then ensure that all factors affecting this are strictly defined in terms of whether they contribute to, or detract from, this. Adding and subtracting these factors then provides an accurate picture of progress.
It also draws attention to the fact that sustainability is often defined in terms of balance, in this case, a balance between ecological footprint and carrying capacity. This is an important concept to address in the development of the specification. The assessment tool must be able to assess the contribution of buildings and construction to both sides of the sustainability equation. Using the concepts referred to by Redefining Progress, the assessment tool must measure the contributions to both the ecological footprint as well as to carrying capacity.
4.1.5. National, Community and Project Indicator Systems
4.1.6. Quality of Life Counts (UK)
The United Kingdom’s indicator system was developed in order to measure progress towards sustainable development. It includes broad sustainable development objectives such as maintenance of economic growth, social progress, effective protection of the environment and prudent use of resources. Each of these broad strategies is broken down into specific objectives linked to policies and specific actions by particular groups. These objectives have associated indicators and are designed to encourage action from individuals, business and local government. The aims of the national set of indicators are described as follows:
• To describe, overall, whether we are achieving sustainable development.
• To highlight key national–scale policy initiatives relevant to sustainable development and to monitor whether we are meeting key targets and commitments in those areas.
• To educate the public about what sustainable development means.
• To raise public and business awareness of particular actions that needs to be taken in order to achieve more sustainable development.
• To report progress to international audiences.
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• To help make transparent trade-offs and synergies between sustainable development objectives.
In developing indicators a number of criteria were used to inform the selection of indicators.
Each indicator had to comply with following requirements:
• It is an overarching “state of the nation” indicator
• It reflects a key international or national commitment or target
• It supports a key message for individuals or business especially in relation to key actions needed, for example on energy efficiency, health and safety at work, ethical trading etc.
• It is recommended for use in international reporting, for example as proposed by
UNSCD.
And the following scientific and technical criteria; indicators should:
• Be representative
• Be scientifically valid
• Be simple and easy to interpret
• Show trends over time
• Give early warning about irreversible trends where possible
• Be sensitive to the changes it is meant to indicate
• Be based on readily available data or be available at reasonable cost
• Be based on date adequately documented and of known quality
• Have a target level or guideline against which to compare it.
There are a number of concepts from this approach that are useful for the study to note. The system is linked to policy and measures progress in achieving policy objectives and ultimately the policy goal. It therefore measures progress along a path that has been clearly delineated.
The UK government consider the goals of the policy to be too ambitious to be achieved solely by government. This is acknowledged in the formulation of policy and the indicator system, which aims to ensure active involvement of and support by communities and business. An explicit aim of the approach is to ensure that the goal, objectives and indicators are stated very clearly in order to ensure that there is shared understanding and therefore a coherent and integrated move towards sustainable development across many sectors.
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National Environment Indicators Programme (South Africa)
The National Environmental Indicator programme is being undertaken by the Department of the Environment and Tourism in South Africa. In order to establish the priority environmental issues for reporting in the State of the Environment report the following was set up:
• A review of policies laws, international agreements and other relevant documentation for possible issues pertaining to environmental sustainability in South Africa
• Setting up a forum (Imbizo workshop) on emerging environmental issues in the global business and industry environment
• Consulting with representatives from key stakeholders through a workshop
• Eliciting public opinion on key national and local environmental issues in South Africa through the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) ‘ Evaluation of the
Population ‘ Study.
This lead to the following criteria being established for indicators:
• The indicator must be based on good quality data that are available at a reasonable cost.
• The indicator should provide information that measures something that is important to decision makers.
• The information can be presented in a way that is easily understood and appealing to the target audience.
• The indicator must relate to goals, targets or objectives.
• The indicator must provide timely information (to allow for response).
• The indicator must be able to detect small changes in the system.
• The indicator must be relevant to policy and management needs within the South
African context. The indicator must therefore be associated with one or several environmental policy issues.
• The indicator must be based on data that are accurate, reliable, statistically sound and scientifically valid. Metadata should define the quality of the data in the data set and include information on sensitivity, uncertainty, variability, precision, accuracy and error.
• The data must be available and accessible, particularly in the long term.
• The indicator must be based on data of the correct spatial and temporal extent.
Sufficient historical data must be available to identify trends over time.
• The data collection process should have minimal environmental impact.
These criteria are similar in many ways to the criteria used in the UK policy. It is however unclear whether these criteria have been strictly applied. For instance in Chapter two it was
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Sustainable Measures
Sustainable Measures is a private consulting firm that have been working in the evaluation and monitoring of sustainability in the USA. They describe characteristics of effective indicators as follows:
An indicator is something that points to an issue or condition. Its purpose is to show you how well a system is working. If there is a problem, an indicator can help you determine what direction to take to address the issue. Indicators are as varied as the types of systems they monitor. However, there are certain characteristics that effective indicators have in common:
• Effective indicators are relevant; they show you something about the system that you
need to know.
• Effective indicators are easy to understand, even by people who are not experts.
• Effective indicators are reliable; you can trust the information that the indicator is
providing.
• Lastly, effective indicators are based on accessible data; the information is available
or can be gathered while there is still time to act.
In particular Sustainable Measures works with communities and have developed a large
database of indicators for sustainability in communities.
These indicators are rated by being
reviewed against a set of criteria. These criteria are posed as questions and are as follows:
1. Does the indicator address the carrying capacity of the natural resources - renewable and non-renewable, local and non-local - that the community relies on?
2. Does the indicator address the carrying capacity of the ecosystem services upon which the community relies, whether local, global, or from distant sources?
3. Does the indicator address the carrying capacity of aesthetic qualities - the beauty and life-affirming qualities of nature - that are important to the community?
4. Does the indicator address the carrying capacity of the community's human capital - the skills, abilities, health and education of people in the community?
5. Does the indicator address the carrying capacity of a community's social capital - the connections between people in a community: the relationships of friends, families,
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6. Does the indicator address the carrying capacity of a community's built capital - the human-made materials (buildings, parks, playgrounds, infrastructure, and information) that are needed for quality of life and the community's ability to maintain and enhance those materials with existing resources?
7. Does the indicator provide a long-term view of the community?
8. Does the indicator address the issue of economic, social or biological diversity in the community?
9. Does the question address the issue of equity or fairness - either between current community residents (intra-generational equity) or between current and future residents (inter-generational equity)?
10. Is the indicator understandable to and useable by its intended audience?
11. Does the indicator measure a link between economy and environment?
12. Does the indicator measure a link between environment and society?
13. Does the indicator measure a link between society and economy?
14. Does the indicator measure sustainability that is at the expense of another community or at the expense of global sustainability?
The approach developed by Sustainable Measures is useful to the study for the following reasons. The approach attempts to measure difficult-to-assess aspects of sustainability such as human and social capital. These are new measurement domains and it is important to understand this area as buildings and construction may be expected in the future to contribute to social and human capital in order to support sustainable development. This will be explored further in Chapter five.
4.1.7. Log frame
The log frame is a project design and monitoring methodology used widely by development agencies such as the World Bank and donor organisations such as the Department for
International Development (DFID) for development projects. In the planning stages project designers and stakeholders can use this tool to:
• Set proper objectives
• Define indicators of success
• Identify key activity clusters (project components)
• Define critical assumptions on which the project is based
• Identify means of verifying project accomplishments
• Defined resources required for implementation
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It does this through the use of a 4x4 matrix, with a hierarchy of objectives, indicators of performance, means of verifying performance and list of assumptions and risks. An example of a log frame is provided below.
Project Structure
Indicators of
Achievement
Means of
Verification
Important Risks and
Assumptions
Goal
What are the wider objectives which the activity will help achieve? Longer term programme impact
What are the What sources of What external factors quantitative measures information exist or are necessary to or qualitative can be provided to sustain the objectives judgements, whether allow the goal to be in the long run? these broad objectives have been measured? achieved?
Purpose
What are the intended immediate effects of the
What are the What sources of What external factors quantitative measures information exist or are necessary if the or qualitative can be provided to purpose is to programme or project, what are judgements, by which allow the the benefits, to whom? What achievement of the achievement of the contribute to achievement of the improvements or changes will the programme or project bring purpose can be judged? purpose to be measured? goal? about? The essential motivation for undertaking the programme or project.
Outputs achieve the purpose?
What kind and quality What are the
What outputs (deliverables) are of outputs and by to be produced in order to when will they be sources of
What are the factors not in control of the information to verify project which are produced? (QQT:
Quantity, Quality,
Time) the achievement of liable to restrict the the outputs? outputs achieving the purpose?
Activities
What activities must be achieved to accomplish the outputs?
What kind and quality What are the of activities and by when will they be produced? sources of information to verify from creating the the achievement of the activities?
What factors will restrict the activities outputs?
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It is suggested that the log frame should be developed and agreed by all stakeholders involved in the development, ideally in a workshop situation.
enables the following to be achieved:
• Organised thinking
• Activities and investment linked to expected result
• Performance indicators to be set
• Responsibilities to be allocated
• Communication to be developed that is concise and unambiguously to all key stakeholders
Indicators
The use of indicators is an important part of the log frame approach and these are important as they:
• Specify realistic targets (minimum or otherwise) for measuring or judging if the objectives at each level have been achieved
• Provide the basis for monitoring; review and evaluation so feeding back into the management of programme/project implement and into less learning planning for other subsequent projects
• Contribute to transparency and develop consensus on the overall objectives, log frame and plan
Log frame indicators are divided into product and process indicators. Product indicators measure what is produced, while process indicators assess the means used to deliver the product. Process indicators are increasingly used as these are seen as more appropriate for development projects as they generally lead to better targeting of real problem, better
implementation and improved sustainability.
It is suggested however that while product
indicators generally can be quantified, it may be difficult to carry this out for process indicators, which may need to include qualitative aspects. DFID suggests that ideally a mix of quantitative and qualitative indicators should be used to develop an accurate picture of the impact of a development project. Examples of indicators they provide include:
Quantitative indicators
• The frequency of meetings, the number of people involved
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• Growth rates
• Climate data
• Yields, prices
• The uptake of activity inputs e.g. loans, school enrolment, seeds, visits to the clinic
Qualitative indicators
• The level of participation of a stakeholder group
• Stakeholder / consumer opinions; satisfaction
• Aesthetic judgements; e.g. taste, texture, colour, size, shape, marketability
• Decision-making ability
• Attitudinal change
• The emergence of leadership
• The ability to self-monitor
• The development of groups and of solidarity
• Behavioural changes
• Evidence of consensus
An example of a completed log frame including indicators can be found in Appendix nine. The approach taken to indicators by the World Bank has a stronger emphasis on performance indicators. They suggest these can be used in a range of ways to improve performance.
Example of uses of performance indicators given include:
Strategic planning: It is suggested that performance indicators forces greater consideration of critical assumption that underlie a program’s relationships and causal paths. They also help clarify the objectives and logic of the program.
Performance accounting: Performance indicators can help inform resources allocations if they are used to direct allocations to the most successful activities and thereby promote the most efficient use of resources
Forecasting and early warning: Performance indicators can help point toward future performances, enabling areas needing improvement to be addressed.
Measuring programme results: Performance indicators can measure what has been achieved relative to objectives rather than just what has been completed, improving accountability.
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Program marketing and public relations: Performance indicators can be used to demonstrate program results and thus the value to an external audience.
Benchmarking: Performance indicators can generate data against which to measure other programs and projects enabling learning and good practice to be shared.
Quality Management: Performance indicators can be used to measure customer
(beneficiary) satisfaction and thereby assess whether and how a program is improving their lives.
For the purposes of the World Bank performance indicators are most useful at specific project stages. These they define as project design (strategic planning), project supervision
(forecasting results) and project evaluation (measuring results and quality management) stages. Indicators are seen as a means of measuring the flow of change and are used as part of process that includes a baseline assessment (the values of performance indicators at the beginning of the project) and targets, which are the values at the end.
frame format the World Bank identify a range of different types of indicators designed to measure different variables within a project such as objective, impact, outcome, output and input. These are described below:
Results indicators: These measure project results relative to project objectives.
Inputs indicators: These measure the resources provided for a project’s activities and could include: funding, human resources, training, equipment, materials and supplies or recurrent costs of these items.
Outputs indicators measure the goods and services created or provided through the use of inputs and could include: clients vaccinated, farmers visited, miles of road built, pollution control measures installed or incentives or regulations enforce.
Outcome and Impact Indicators: These measure the quantity and quality of the results achieved through the provision of good and services and could include: reduced incidence of disease, improved farming practices, increased vehicle use, increased rural supple and consumption of electricity and reduced mortality or lower health costs.
Relevance Indicators: These aim to capture the impact on higher order objectives such as national or sectoral objectives. These could include: improved national health as measured by health indicators, increased farm profits and reduced food costs, reduced transportation costs
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Risk indicators: These measure the status of external factors identified as critical risks and enabling factors. Thus these indicators should indicate whether the right conditions are in place for the project to be a success if embarked on.
Efficacy indicators: These show how well result from one level of project implementation have been translated into results at the next level, thus these indicators would measure the efficiency of inputs, effectiveness of project outputs and sustainability of project impact.
Efficiency Indicators: These usually represent the ratio of outputs per unit of project outcome or impact, these could include: number of vaccination administered per unit decline in morbidity rate, or number of farmers visited per measured change in farm practices or, miles of road built per unit increase in vehicle use
Sustainability Indicators: these represent the persistence of project benefits over time, particularly after project funding ends. These could include:
• Disease incidence trends after external funding for a vaccination project ends.
• Persistence of changed farming practices after extension visits are completed
• Maintenance and use of roads after highway construction ends
• Persistence of institutions (programs, organisations, relations and so on) created to deliver project benefits
Criteria are also provided for the selection and development of indicators. These criteria include the following aspects:
Relevance: the indicators selected must be relevant to the basic sectoral development objectives and, if possible to overall country objectives.
Selectivity: There should be no more than a dozen indicators, with at least half of these designed to measure project impact against each of the major development objective
Practicality of indicators, ownership: stakeholders should develop indicators jointly during a participatory project planning process. Thought should also be given to the design and capture of indicators and this should be addressed in the design of programs.
Intermediate and leading indicators: It may be necessary to have early pointers of development impact in order to indicate progress towards achieving program objectives.
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Advantages of the log frame approach
The World Banks lists the following advantages of the logframe approach:
• Ensures fundamental questions are asked and weaknesses are analyses in order to
provide decision makers with better and more relevant information
• Guides systematic and logical analysis of the interrelated elements that constitute a well-designed project
• Improves planning by highlighting linkages technology, and effects on the environment
• Facilitates common understanding and better communication between decision makers managers and other parties involved in the project
The approach developed through the log frame is relevant to the study in a number of ways.
The log frame has been specifically designed to support development projects. This is relevant to the study because if buildings and construction projects are expected to support sustainable development they may be expected to support beneficial development within an area. There are two particular aspects from the log frame approach that, it is suggested, should inform the development of the specification of the tool in Chapter five.
The first is the assertion that development projects require a participatory approach and full buy-in of the communities that they affect. The second is the acknowledgement, and measurement of, a wide set of impacts and implications that may be associated with development projects. These include the use of qualitative indicators and the development of a life cycle approach, which, for instance, recognizes maintenance implications early on in the development of projects.
4.1.8. Building Environmental Performance Assessment Tools
This section reviews building assessment systems. The assessment systems reviewed assess the environmental impact of buildings. Systems reviewed include BREEAM, LEED, and the GBtool.
Each assessment system will be described under the following headings.
• Introduction: this will provide a background to the tool.
• Aims of the tool: this will describe the objectives set for the tool by its authors.
• Aspects assessed: this will include a list and description of the aspects assessed in buildings by the tool will be given.
• Assessment process: this will describe, as far as can be ascertained from the literature, the suggested method(s) for assessing buildings.
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• Discussion: this will review the tool in order to understand limitations and potential to contribute to the study.
The tools are compared and discussed later in chapter in section 4.2.
4.1.9. BREEAM
Introduction
The Building Research Establishment (BRE) in the UK developed BREEAM (Building
Research Establishment Environmental Rating Method) in 1990. The system has had a significant impact on commercial buildings in the UK and it is estimated that 25% of new office buildings are assessed using the system. Since 1990 the Building Research Establishment have gone on to develop a range of different systems and guidelines aiming to minimise the environmental impact of buildings. They have also updated the original BREEAM system and increased the range of building types that this covers. There is a BREEAM for offices and housing and versions of BREEAM are being developed for Hong Kong and Canada.
The BREEAM assessed here is ‘BREEAM 98 for Offices’, published in 1998. In updating
BREEAM the authors suggest that the tool reflects a change in environmental related policy.
The main shift, they suggest is that environmental issues have become a component of a
much broader sustainable development movement.
development described by the tool are the same as those provided by the Department of the
Environment in the UK and are:
Social progress which meets the needs of everyone
Effective protection of the environment
Prudent use of resources
Maintenance of high and stable levels of growth and employment (DoE1996)
To reflect the shift to sustainability the authors state that BREEAM 98 addresses environmental impacts of buildings, prudent use of natural resources, and quality of life.
Aims of the Tool
BREEAM aims to provide guidance on how to minimise the negative environmental impacts of buildings while ensuring that these provide comfortable and healthy indoor environments.
It specifically sets itself the following objectives:
To distinguish buildings of reduced environmental impact in the market place
To encourage best environmental practice in building design, operation, management and maintenance.
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To set criteria and standards going beyond those required by laws and regulations
To raise the awareness of owners, occupants, designers and operators of buildings with reduced impact on the environment
Aspects Assessed
The tool awards points for meeting or surpassing a set of performance criteria. The set of criteria are listed under the following headings:
Management
Health & Comfort
Energy
Transport
Water
Materials
Land use
Site ecology
Pollution
Each of these headings contains specific criteria, such as, under ‘Health and Comfort’;
“…at least 30% of windows to office are openable. This should have an even distribution
Each of these criteria that are weighted differentially through a point system with some criteria allocated a large number of points, for instance thirty, and others a far lower number, for instance six. These weighting were achieved through what BRE call ‘consensus based weighting’, which reflects a consensus in the weighting of the importance of the different criteria amongst a range of interest groups including government policymakers, construction
professionals, local authorities, material producers and academics.
Assessment process
BREEAM provides two ways that assessment can take place. The first is by working through the assessment prediction checklist provided with the BREEAM documentation. This provides an approximate estimation of the performance. This however is a simplification of the full
process, which is undertaken by trained assessors licensed by the BRE.
The assessment system is designed to be able to assess three broad aspects in buildings.
These are design and procurement issues, core building issues, and management and
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98 operation issues.
In this way the system attempts to provide a tool that is able to provide
guidance and assessments for buildings through the lifecycle of the building.
Formal certification of buildings requires detailed assessments by trained BRE-licensed assessors. In the appendix of the document are a list of suggested services that assessor can provide. These services include:
Design consultancy
Outline design stage guidance meeting
Detailed design stage guidance meeting
Formal assessment review
Final certification
Review after construction
On completion of an assessment the assessor provides a certificate of environmental performance of the building. These rate the buildings as: ‘Excellent’, ‘Very Good’, ‘Good’ and
‘Pass’.
The document however suggests that a formal assessment is only a part of a more comprehensive approach that is required to address environmental impact in buildings.
Guidelines for other activities required are given in checklists contained in the appendix of the document.
4.1.10. LEED
Introduction
The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), Green Building Rating System was developed by the US Green Building Council. The system is being continuously developed. The LEED system can be downloaded at http://www.usgbc.org/. In this study,
Version 2, issued in March 2000, is reviewed.
Aims of the System
The aims of LEED are:
• To provide a standard that improves the environmental and economic performance of commercial buildings using established or advanced industry principles, practices, materials and standards
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• To be used by commercial building project stakeholders and project teams as a guide for green and sustainable design
Aspects Assessed
The system makes as assessment under five broad headings. These are:
• Sustainable Sites
• Water Efficiency
• Energy and Atmosphere
• Materials and Resources
• Indoor Environmental Quality
Each of these criteria is described in terms of Intent, Requirement and Technologies /
Strategies. Intent describes the reasoning behind the criteria and what this aims to achieve, for instance, ‘reduce erosion’ on a site. Requirement describes what the building must achieve in order to gain a point or points under the rating system. Technologies/Strategies provide suggestions as to how compliance with the requirement can be achieved.
The document is unclear as to how the ‘Intent’ descriptions where developed. The objectives of the tool appear to be very similar to those of BREEAM, namely to minimise the negative impact of buildings on the environment while achieving comfortable and healthy accommodation.
The requirements specify minimal performance requirements that must be achieved. These often refer to other documents and standards. For instance, for standards of indoor air quality the document refers to documentation developed by the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning
National Contractors Association.
Similarly, it suggests that a range of Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) documents be consulted in the site selection process, including
‘Storm Water Management for Construction’, the ‘Brownfield Redevelopment Programme’ and the ‘OSWER Directive’.
Assessment Process
The document does not specify how, when, or by whom, the assessment should be carried out. However it appears likely that the document is used in two ways. The first would be that a client wishing to achieve an environmentally building issues the document as part of a brief to a professional team. The second way is likely to be the use of LEED by a building design team to assess and shape their own designs and to influence clients on environmental issues.
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The assessment process is carried out by an assessment of whether the requirements set in
LEED are achieved. Where these requirements are achieved points are awarded. These
points are then added up in a final page and, depending on the total, a level awarded.
levels listed are:
• LEED Certified
• LEED Certified Silver
• LEED Certified Gold
• LEED Certified Platinum
Introduction
The GBTool has been developed to assess the environmental performance of buildings. The tool is part of the Green Buildings Challenge Assessment Framework, which is being developed by an international committee called the International Framework Committee.
The GBTool can be downloaded from the Internet at http://greenbuilding.ca/. The tool consists of templates in the Excel spreadsheet programme and accompanying by two volumes of manuals. The tool reviewed in this study is the GBC 2000 Assessment Manual Volume 1 and
Volume 2: Office Buildings and GBTool, issued in April 2000.
Aims of the GBTool and the Green Buildings Process
A number of goals are given for the Green Buildings process.
• To advance the state of the art in building environmental performance assessment methodologies
• To maintain a watching brief on sustainability issues to ascertain their relevance to
“green” building in general, and to the content and structuring of building environmental assessment methods in particular.
• Sponsor conferences that promote exchange between the building environmental research communities and building practitioners and showcase the performance assessment of environmentally progressive buildings.
• To develop an internationally accepted generic framework that can be used to compare existing building environmental assessment methods and used by others to produce regionally based industry systems
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• To expand the scope of the GBC Assessment Framework from green buildings to include environmental sustainability issues and to facilitate international comparisons of the environmental performance of buildings.
Aspects Assessed
The assessment tool has a large number of performance criteria. These are organised under the following headings:
• Environmental Sustainability Indicators
• Resource Consumption
• Loadings
• Indoor Environmental Quality
• Quality of Service
• Economics
• Pre-Operations Management
The performance criteria are described in the manual in a similar way to the LEED document.
The broad headings used to describe environmental sustainability indicators are: Intention,
Background, Scope, Performance Indicator, Units, Data and Source and Performance
Scale
The Intention provides a description of what aspects the criteria aim to assess. The
Background provides a context and explains why the specified criteria is important to address. Under Scope a description is provided which delineates the extent of the assessment. Performance Indicator provides a description of what will be measured, for instance, the ‘normalised measure of potable water consumed’. Units provide the units of measurement that will be used. In many instances the units provided are normalised. For instance, under ‘Net Use of Water’ the units provided are m3/kaph, where m3 is the annual consumption of potable water and kaph is the number of thousand annual person hours of
Data and Source indicates sources of information required to make an assessment. Finally the Performance Scale provides a short table which lists performance measures. The performance measures are generally provided as a performance above a benchmark (such as 120%) or below benchmark. The performance scale allocates points to each of these measures, with performance below benchmark scoring negative points and performance above this, scoring positive points.
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Assessment Process
GBTool assessment involves inputting information into the supplied spreadsheets. This information includes occupancy (in terms of numbers of people and hours occupied) and area
(in metres square) to enable performance assessments to be normalised. The tool also requires benchmarks to be included for each criterion. Benchmarks included are entered by the user and should reflect the performance within the specified criteria of an average building. Once this information has been entered, a design can be assessed.
Assessments require detailed information about the design and site and often require calculations. In some cases the calculations required are complex and require specialist knowledge or software. For instance the ‘Emissions of Gases Leading to Acidification’ criteria requires data from software such as Athena or Eco-Quantum or the calculation of an estimate using information such as the total embodied energy of the building and the national or
regional emissions for the building industry.
Once this information has been entered the GBTool generates summary graphs for each of performance areas. These indicate building performance relative to a benchmark. The assessment method is complex and it is likely at this stage to be used mainly by technical personnel such as engineers.
There is no formal training or status for the Tool currently. The main users of the tool currently are national teams who form part of the International Framework Committee of the Green
Buildings Challenge. These teams use the GBTool to assess building in their country and present the results of these assessments at conferences. These discussions then guide the development of the next stage of the tool.
4.2. Addressing Hypothesis Three
The hypothesis that existing sustainable development, sustainability and development assessment systems and frameworks can inform the development of a specification for an assessment tool is shown to be true. A review of systems and frameworks provides useful material for the development of the tool. This material can be divided into a set of generic principles that should be applied to sustainability assessment systems and more detailed recommendations that come from a critique of existing building assessment systems. This is described below.
Generic Sustainability Assessment Principles
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Indicator Systems Structure: Effective indicator systems need to be developed and used within a structure. This structure includes a number of elements. These are:
• A context: The indicator system should be developed with a clear understanding of the context within in which it is located. This includes developing an understanding of institutional frameworks as well as the social, economic and environmental context.
• A vision or overarching goal: The indicator system should have a clearly defined goal or aim in terms of changing this context.
• Plan of action / objectives: The indicator system should have a plan of action or route with clearly defined characteristics, which will be embarked on in order to achieve the goal stated above.
• Indicators: The selection or development of indicators should be designed to measure the speed of change that occurs in the direction of, or progress towards achieving, the stated objectives.
Development project outputs: Development projects aiming to support sustainable development are likely to have a range of different types of outputs. These outputs are mutually supportive and designed to achieve a particular state of sustainability. For instance, with a building project, as well as a building, maintenance and management capacity and systems may also be included as a required output to ensure that the building is maintained and operated at high levels of performance.
Development project stages: Development projects designed to support sustainable development are generally designed to have more stages, and more complex stages, than conventional projects. Early stages may involve actions to ensure support and buy–in from stakeholders as well as steps to ensure long-term sustainability (such as capacity development for maintenance). Later stages are likely to include an evaluation stage to assess impact and capture learning for future projects.
Stakeholder buy in: There is a strong emphasis on encouraging the people involved, or affected, to support development programmes and strategies, and related indicator systems.
There is the suggestion that all stakeholders should be involved in the development, and selection of indicators, in order to ensure that these are fully supported.
Dialogue: The development of indicators can encourage useful dialogue and shared understanding between stakeholders, thus promoting the development of shared goals and plans of action.
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Simplicity: There is a strong suggestion that indicators used should be few and simple. This can be achieved by careful selection and development of indicators. This should aim to identify the key indicators and develop aggregated indicators that are able to capture a range of aspects in one measure.
Types of indicators: There are a wide variety of different types of indicators, and it appears care should be taken to ensure the right selection and balance of these. In particular, indicators should be developed or selected to, as far as possible, report on progress towards achieving particular objectives.
Development models: There is a strong suggestion in many of the indicator systems that there is a causal link between different levels of development, and that through achieving a number of objectives at one level, higher order development goals can be supported.
Hierarchical objective and indicator systems: Hierarchical systems of objectives and indicators appear to be a common way of overcoming the problem of implementing seemingly abstract high-level goals and addressing concepts such as sustainable development.
Building Assessment Systems Critique
BREAM
It is likely that the long history of development has contributed to BREEAM becoming an effective tool for assessing the environmental impact of buildings. This is probably a result of two main factors. The first is that simplicity of the methodology and instructions that have been developed for the tool which allow ‘lay-user’ assessments to be carried out easily. The second is the strong and continued support that the tool has had from the BRE, the British government and business. The BRE have rapidly developed environmental impact assessment in buildings into a key area of their business and have invested in the ongoing development of BREEAM as well as related products. The consultation process taken as part of the development and the technical approach in assessments seems to have encouraged government and business to be strongly supportive of the tool. The legitimacy of the tool may also be assisted by the fact that it has been developed by the leading building research institute in the UK, and that formal assessments are carried out by licensed assessors.
The tool is more flexible than the other tools in that it can be used to assess different aspects of buildings such as building performance, design and procurement and management and operation. This reflects an approach, which takes into account the lifecycle of the building and the need to have a tool that can be used to assess environmental impact at the different stages in the lifecycle. This is an advantage over LEED and the GBTool, which concentrate
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105 purely on the design stage of buildings and cannot be used to assess the design of existing buildings, or guide the management and operation of these.
BREEAM provides detailed explanation on many aspects of the tool including providing a short history of the development and the process behind the weighting of criteria. This explanation is likely to appeal to users as it allows users to ascertain the level of scientific rigour that has been applied in the development of the tool. This indicates that while a rigorous approach has been used to develop many aspects of the tool, the consensus method used to develop the assessment weighting of criteria is not scientific and likely to be highly
influenced by perception and social trends.
The tool clearly displays its close links with business through its efforts to demonstrate business benefits from using the tool. These include suggesting that value can be gained from developing and presenting a better company image internally, and externally, through undertaking a BREEAM assessment. This image would be supported through prominently displayed certification. The commercial aspects of the tool are also reflected in rating scales, which range from ‘Excellent’ to ‘Pass’.
These suggest that even buildings which perform
extremely poorly, ‘Pass’ merely as a result of having had an assessment taken. An approach more concerned with making significant environmental improvements, it could be argued, would have a ‘Fail’ category and highly challenging targets that would have to be met to achieve an ‘Excellent’ rating.
The tool has been developed and tested through use. For instance, different BREEAM related services are listed alongside their relevant RIBA stages of work making it easy for building
professionals to understand when these could be used.
The simple format, pull out A3
‘rapid assessment’ sheet and the checklist also demonstrate an understanding of the time pressures that many building professionals work under.
The authors of the tool acknowledge the changes that are occurring in the environmental arena and suggest that they have addressed this in the tool. They assert that the tool, by including issues such as environmental impact, prudent use of materials and quality of life remains up-to-date and reflects the shift in emphasis that has occurred in the environmental
arena from an emphasis on environmental issues to sustainable development.
is suggested that this shift is not sufficiently reflected in BREEAM and that this leads, to some extent, to BREAM appearing old fashioned compared to LEED and the GBTool. It is odd that the tool does not reflect a greater emphasis on sustainable development as this concept has become firmly established in government and business in the UK. For instance, the ‘Quality of
Life Counts, Indicators for a Strategy for Sustainable Development for the UK’ developed by
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106 the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions demonstrates this approach by having a strong emphasis on society, equitable economics as well as the environment indicators.
LEED
It is clear that LEED has been designed for buildings in the USA. It contains an odd mix of units. For instance, distances are measured in feet
measurements used in few other countries. In other sections of the document however SI
units are used such as kW/ton.
This mix of units and the absence of conversion tables limit
the ease with which people in other countries can use LEED.
In many instances the document refers to American standards and guidelines. These have been developed by a range of different bodies, including non-government organisations such as the Farmland Trust, government bodies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and professional bodies, such as ASHRAE.
This obviously helps to keep the document concise
as detail is provided elsewhere. It also reduces the effort required to maintain and update criteria as this work is done by the association responsible for the referenced materials. There are however a number of problems with this approach. The first is that unless one has to hand all of the referenced material it is difficult to carry out an assessment quickly as one continually has to find and read through the additional material. In addition, the reference material may not be readily available to non-US users.
LEED is a very short document. This makes it easy to use. There may however be doubts about the legitimacy of the criteria used as there is no explanation of how these arose. These doubts are reinforced by the lack of detail on the organisation (the Green Building Council) that developed the tool and the motives behind why the tool was developed.
The document has a number of characteristics, which make it difficult for lay-users to use easily. It often uses acronyms such as ASTM, CFR, EPA, FEMA, which are not explained. It also refers to building terminology such as ‘development footprint’, which is also not
The lack of a glossary may result in errors, as there is the possibility that
acronyms and building terminology have different meaning in other countries.
The GB Tool
The GBTool is large and complex. This makes it difficult to use and it is unlikely that busy building professionals will make time to undertake a full building assessment on a voluntary
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107 basis. However it is possible, that they may use aspects of the tool to investigate particular concerns, such as ventilation, or material specification. The tool therefore is likely to be more successful as a compendium of technical information and assessment systems for reference use rather than as a widely used assessment system. This aspect may change as the system is developed and becomes simpler.
The tool, like LEED, provides little explanation as the sources of criteria. Considering the number of criteria included one could question whether these were all necessary. Generally, however, criteria are well explained and glossary at the back of the manual provides definitions.
The GBTool attempts to move away from being a national, or context related tool. It does this through avoiding reference to national standards and using internationally accepted methods and units. There are however criteria and assumptions built into the assessment system that indicate that the tool was developed in Canada. For instance, the tool often refers to HVAC systems. Increasingly, conventional air conditioning systems are not being specified in new buildings in Europe as passive systems gain in popularity. Similarly, lower cost office buildings in developing countries often do not have air-conditioning because of the capital and operating costs.
The tool has a very simple summary report for the building enabling the key performance indicators to be read easily. The report displays key indicators and graphs of performance at category level. While the key indicators measure performance in actual units – for instance in
MJ of energy consumed per annum, this information is not displayed on reports. These show positive or negative performance in relation to a benchmark. The problem with this is ensuring that the benchmark is appropriate. If the benchmark selected is too low, the building assessed may show high performance reducing the tool’s impact as a catalyst for improved performance. Another difficulty is that users are required to enter benchmark information, leading to the possibility that a mixture of benchmarks are used for very similar building types.
This aspect limits the ability of the tool to be used for comparison purposes – this can only be done if the same benchmark is used. This aspect would appear to be somewhat in conflict with the ‘international comparison’ aim (see aims above) set for the tool.
The summary performance report shows performance ‘by area’ and ‘by area and occupation’.
These are normalised quantities, the first indicates a figure, for instance MJ of energy consumed per annum, divided by the area of the building measured in square metres. The second shows the same figure normalised for both area of the building and for occupancy measured in million annual person hours occupancy. This is useful as enables performance to be increased in relatively low cost ways, for instance, reducing the size of the building, or increasing the occupancy rates can improve performance. This is an important point to make
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108 to professional teams and building owners who may think that environmentally friendly buildings are expensive and require large amounts of capital to be spent on advanced technology.
In reviewing the building environmental impact assessment tools there are a number of aspects that are relevant to the study and worth discussing.
Environmental emphasis: All of the tools appear to have an emphasis on environmental impact rather than sustainability. This suggests that the development of these tools now lags behind international developments within this area which now has an increasing emphasis on the broader and more holistic concept of sustainability. It is suggested that the specification for the tool developed by this study must reflect this change in emphasis and be based on concepts from sustainable development rather than environmental impact.
Awareness: It is interesting to note the emphasis in BREEAM on ensuring that the tool develops awareness in stakeholders that are part of the building process. This reflects the emphasis found in many of the non-building assessment tools reviewed by the study. This aspect is important; it is suggested because it is likely to be very difficult to develop and operate a building to support sustainability without the support of the developer or owner of the building and the users of the building.
Indicator selection and weighting: None of the tools were highly explicit in the methodology, or principles used in the selection of indicators. BREEAM however provided information on the process for weighting indicators. This was done through consensus and discussion with a range of interested parties. This, although better than having no method at all, seems somewhat arbitrary.
Stages and assessments: There is the realisation in BREEAM that greater impact can be achieved through linking assessment to building development stages. This enables assessments to be tied into the conventional building process, making this more likely to be adopted. Another useful aspect is that it supports continued awareness of environmental objectives, reinforcing the likelihood that these will continue to inform the implementation of the project through to completion.
Commercial building: All of the assessment systems have an emphasis on commercial buildings. This is not in line with sustainable development priorities, which include addressing the needs of the poorest. It is unlikely that reducing the environmental impact of a commercial building will have any impact on poor or marginalized people. The emphasis on addressing the needs of poor and marginalized people has not been addressed in any of the tools and, it
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109 is suggested, this should be considered and addressed in the specification for the tool developed by the study in Chapter five.
Scope: All the tools have a limited scope. This generally focuses on ensuring that buildings become more environmentally friendly. It is suggested that this may be a missed opportunity as buildings, can be used to encourage change in the wider environment. For instance, buildings can support the development of a more diversified economy through specification of innovative and new components, produced by small emerging enterprises.
Technological emphasis: It is interesting to note the emphasis, particularly in LEED, on technology. This suggests that there is the perception that using different and better technology will result in reduced environmental impact. While this may be the case in certain circumstances it is not necessarily true and ignores the opportunities offered by changing consumption and production patterns.
Overall goal: All of the systems provide clear aims and objectives for the tool. Only one tool however, BREEAM ties this to wider policy by making reference to UK’s Strategy for
Sustainable Development. While linking into this context is useful for users in the UK it leads to the questioning of the relevance of the tool in countries where national policy has different priorities to the UK.
Objectives: The assessment tools have a set of simple objectives. These include supporting the development of comfortable and healthy internal environments at minimum expense to the environment. If one compares this to the complexity of sustainable development and the goals that have to be achieved these objectives appear to be too simple and not challenging enough. It is suggested that they do not fully grasp opportunities to use buildings and construction as a vehicle for change and for initiating and supporting sustainable development. Objectives for a building that supports sustainable develop should, it is argued, have a more ambitious goal in terms of supporting sustainable development and include a much larger range of lower order objectives, which support this goal.
4.3. Concluding Hypotheses Three
The hypotheses that existing sustainable development, sustainability and development assessment systems and frameworks can inform the development of a specification for an assessment tool is demonstrated.
This chapter concludes that existing building assessment tools are inappropriate in respect of the objective set for the tool by this study, namely ‘the integration of sustainable development into the briefing and design processes of buildings and construction in developing countries’.
It shows that these systems are only partly relevant to developing country contexts. This is
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110 because they do not take into account the particular social, economic and environmental priorities that exist in developing countries. It is also suggested that these building assessment systems are to a certain extent out of date, as they do not fully reflect the shift in emphasis from environmental impact to sustainable development that has occurred. However existing systems have gone a long way in developing assessment systems that enable the contribution of building to sustainable development to be measured and there is much that can be learnt from existing approaches for the study.
The review enables a clear picture of best practice in sustainable development assessment to be developed. It also enables this practice to be defined in terms of a structure, components and methodology that can be used to inform the development of the specification. Effective indicator and assessment systems that are able to capture information on, and guide, sustainable development generally have particular structures and characteristics. Key aspects of these are described below.
A context: The indicator system should be developed with a clear understanding of the context within which it is located. This includes developing an understanding of institutional frameworks as well as the social, economic and environmental context. Where possible the indicators should be developed to link, and work with, existing appropriate policy and initiatives. It is also important to understand, and develop, a description of the context in terms of a number of perspectives. The perspectives that appear important from a sustainable development view are those of poor or marginalized people (to ensure their needs are met), the future (to ensure that future generation’s needs are addressed) and the earth (to ensure that the carrying capacity of the earth is maintained).
Sustainable development: Indicators used for sustainable development need to be developed with a very clear understanding of sustainable development and sustainability.
This needs to be understood in terms of an ultimate goal that is to be achieved, such as a
‘state of sustainability’, and a clear route or direction defined as to how to get there, such as
‘sustainable development’. Knowledge in the field now enables approximate definitions of both of these. For instance, sustainability from a human perspective can be said to have been achieved when man is able to live within the carrying capacity of the earth (when man’s ecological footprint does not exceed the earth’s carrying capacity). Similarly, from within the
‘sciences of sustainability’ a range of tools and approaches are being developed to guide moves towards more sustainable practices. These include concepts such as “ Do more with less” (methodologies and process for achieving greater resource efficiencies) and “Needs not
Wants” (changing consumption patterns to make sure that everyone’s basic needs are addressed).
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Model of the system: Indicator systems should ideally relate to an explicit model of the system they are designed to assess. This is useful because it can assist with the design of interventions that are aim to make systems more sustainable. They can also improve performance by testing and evaluating scenarios before selecting the most favourable option.
The model as far as possible should make the workings of the system explicit and show it’s links to, and impact on, related social, environmental and economic systems.
A vision or overarching goal: Indicators should be linked to objectives. These should be generated and cascade down from a clearly defined goal.
Plan of action: The indicator system should have a plan of action with clearly defined characteristics that will be embarked on in order to achieve the goal state above. These characteristics should include the following. Objectives, and actions should be developed, and organised, in a hierarchical structure in order to support the achievement of an overarching goal. As far as possible all stakeholders should be involved in the development of objectives, and progress indicators. This should occur in a shared process such as a workshop in order that this is transparent and fully supported.
Indicators: The selection or development of indicators should be designed to measure the speed of change that occurs in the direction of, or progress towards achieving, stated aims and objectives. An effective indicator system that enables progress towards objectives to be ascertained can improve effectiveness as accurate information can be used to develop, and adapt strategies in order to achieve maximum performance.
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5. SPECIFICATION FOR A BUILDING ASSESSMENT SYSTEM
5.1. Sub Problem Four and Hypothesis Four
Sub problem: Can a specification for an assessment tool which aims to ensure that sustainable development is addressed and incorporated in the briefing and design of buildings in developing countries, be developed by drawing on the sustainable development context (problem one), key sustainability concepts (sub problem 2) and key features of sustainable development, sustainability and development assessment systems and frameworks (sub problem 3)?
Hypothesis: A specification for an assessment tool, which aims to ensure that sustainable development, is addressed and incorporated in the briefing and design of buildings in developing countries can be developed.
5.1.1. Introduction
In this chapter a specification for an assessment framework that enables sustainable development to be addressed in the building design process will be developed. This specification will be compared with the Sustainable Building Assessment Tool that will be introduced in the next chapter, Chapter six.
The specification for this tool will have the following structure. The Purpose of the Tool will provide a description of the aims of the tool. This is followed by the Scope of the Tool, which describes the area that the tool will address and define the limits of this. Components of the
Tool will describe components of the tool that are envisaged to be necessary. These components consist of an Assessment Framework and a Structured Process. The
Assessment Framework describes the envisaged structure and content of the tool and the
Structured Process describes how the tool should be used and integrated into design and construction processes. Finally, there will be a description of a number of principles in
Principles for Design and Use. These are drawn from earlier sections of the study in which sustainable development and assessment systems are reviewed.
5.1.2. Purpose of the Tool
The purpose of the tool is to guide the development of buildings that support sustainable development in developing countries. The tool will achieve this through the use of an assessment framework and a structured process during the briefing and design stages of buildings. The tool will aim to achieve the following:
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• Develop awareness about sustainable development in those involved in the building development process
• Develop an understanding of the implications of sustainable development for buildings in those involved in the building development process
• Involve those involved in the building development in discussing, and agreeing, approaches and targets for supporting sustainable development in the building
• Support decision-making in the design team by providing a framework with targets against which different design options can be evaluated.
• Monitor and report on progress towards targets set
The tool aims to support the development of buildings that support sustainable development by ensuring that sustainable development, the local context, and best practice in building and construction are explicitly addressed in a highly structured way in the design process and synthesized into high performance, appropriate, and sustainable, design solutions.
5.1.3. Scope of the Tool
The scope of the tool is as follows:
• Buildings: The scope of the tool will be limited to buildings. In particular, it will aim to impact on medium size buildings such as schools, clinics and small offices.
• Design Stages: The tool will be designed to influence the briefing and design stages of a building. It should however take into account all other stages in the building lifecycle.
• Architects: The main users of the tool will be design teams and in particular architects. However the tool should be designed to be easily understandable by lay people. It should enable all building stakeholders, who may be lay people, to participate in the process of using the tool.
• Context: The tool aims to address the context of a developing country.
5.1.4. The Components of the Tool
In order to support the design of buildings that support sustainability, a number of components are required. These consist of an assessment framework and a structured process.
The assessment framework: The assessment framework provides a structure in which high level sustainability goals can be developed into specific design objectives. Indicators can then be developed for these objectives, which enable an assessment of the extent to which these objectives have been achieved, to be assessed. The assessment framework thus enables sustainability to be interpreted into explicit objectives, which can be worked towards.
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The structured process: The use of the assessment framework however requires a structured process. This is because addressing sustainable development effectively in buildings requires understanding and agreement from a number of stakeholders including the different members of a design team, the client or building owner, and building users. In addition, a structured process helps to ensure that sustainable development is an ongoing concern in all of a building’s lifecycle stages.
These components are described in more detail below.
5.1.5. The Assessment Framework
The study reviewed a range of assessment frameworks in Chapter four. The specification will therefore aim to learn from these reviews in order to distil, and describe, important aspects, that the assessment framework must incorporate. These aspects can be described under three headings:
• Basis for the development of the assessment framework,
• Structure of the assessment framework, and
• The selection and development of indicators
Basis for the Development of the Assessment Framework
The review of assessment systems showed that assessment frameworks are developed, or underpinned, by theoretical and value systems. The World Bank describes this in the following way:
Behind the formulation of any system of indicators lies some implicit or explicit model of (1)
what matters, and (2) the way the world works
This specification should therefore aim to make explicit the main aspects of a theoretical frame of reference that should be drawn on, in developing the assessment framework. This is particularly important because of the complexity of the area being addressed and the range of definitions and models that currently exist for sustainability and sustainable development.
In addition, it is suggested, that common, existing, definitions of these areas are not necessarily useful for the development of an assessment framework. What is required, and what the specification should provide, is a description of the relationships between buildings and sustainable development. This, it is argued, will provide the elements necessary to develop an assessment framework.
195
World Bank. 1996
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The study will therefore describe the following aspects: ‘Sustainability and Sustainable
Development’, ‘A Developing Country Context’ and ‘Elements of a Building’.
Sustainability and Sustainable Development
Sustainability can be described as a state in which man is living within the carrying capacity of the earth. This means that the earth has the capacity to accommodate the needs of existing populations in a sustainable way and is therefore also able to provide for future generations.
However as we are currently in an unsustainable state as a result of man exceeding the carrying capacity of the earth, man must make a strong and concerted shift in direction in order to return to within the carrying capacity of the earth.
Sustainable development is the concerted and integrated action and change of direction required to enable man to return within the carrying capacity of the earth. This is designed to enable a return to a state of sustainability in which the earth is able to accommodate the needs of existing populations as well as future generations.
The review of sustainability in Chapter three suggested that sustainability could be described in terms of social, economic and environmental states that are required in order for overall sustainability to be achieved. These states are summarised below:
Social state: Safe, happy, healthy, cohesive, fulfilled, societies that have organisational structures and are able to develop innovative solutions, which enable them to share limited resources equitably and in ways that enable all existing and future populations needs to be met.
Economic state: Responsive systems and technology that are able to accommodate change and ensure that limited resources are used and maintained as efficiently and effectively as possible to provide for the needs of existing and future populations without damaging the biophysical environment.
Environmental state: Strong, robust, vibrant, biophysical systems that are able to provide resources and conditions necessary for existing and future populations on an ongoing and steady basis.
The review of sustainable development in Chapter two suggested that sustainable development objectives that support the return to a sustainable state can be defined. These are listed below:
Social Sustainable Development Objectives
196
A table showing the development of these objectives from the WSSD Plan of Implementation is provided in
Appendix three.
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• Access: Ensure that development supports increased access to land, adequate shelter, finance, information, public services, technology and communications, where this is needed.
• Education: Ensure that development improves levels of education and awareness, including awareness of sustainable development.
• Inclusive: Ensure that development processes and benefits are inclusive.
• Health, safety and security: Ensure that development considers human rights and supports improved health, safety and security.
• Participation: Ensure that development supports partnerships, social interaction and involves, and is influenced by, the people that it affects.
Economic Sustainable Development Objectives
• Employment and self employment: Ensure that development supports increased access to employment and supports self employment and the development of small enterprises.
• Efficiency and effectiveness: Ensure that development (including technology specified) is designed and managed to be highly efficient and effective, achieving high productivity levels with few resources and limited waste and pollution.
• Indigenous knowledge and technology: Ensure that development takes into account and draws on, where appropriate, indigenous knowledge and technology.
• Sustainable development accounting: Ensure that development is based on a scientific approach which measures and monitors social, environmental and economic impacts and this is used to guide development.
• An enabling environment: Develop an enabling environment for sustainable development through the development of transparent, equitable and supportive policies, processes, and forward planning.
• Small-scale, local and diverse economies: Ensure that development supports the development of small scale, local and diverse economies.
Environmental Sustainable Development Objectives
• Size, productivity and biodiversity: Ensure that development conserves or increases the size, biodiversity, and productivity of the biophysical environment.
• Resource management: Ensure that development supports the management of the biophysical environment to ensure that this is not adversely affected.
• Resource extraction and processing: Ensure that development minimises the use/support of environmentally damaging resource extraction and processing practices.
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• Waste & pollution: Ensure that development manages the production of waste to ensure that this does not adversely affect the biophysical environment.
• Water: Ensure that development manages the extraction, consumption and disposal of water in order not to adversely affect the bio-physical environment
• Energy: Ensure that development manages the production and consumption of energy in order not to adversely affect the biophysical environment.
This description provides simple definitions for sustainability and sustainable development. It is useful as it describes both an ultimate state that must be strived for as well as a set of actions or objectives, which if implemented, will lead towards this state. It also allows the broad concepts of sustainability and sustainable development to be defined and broken down into more concise elements. These elements enable an assessment framework to be developed as these elements can be compared in a matrix in order to develop an understanding of the relationships that exist. The charting of these relationships will be done later in the chapter.
Having described sustainability and sustainable development it is important to understand how this relates to developing and developed countries. Developed countries may have achieved certain aspects of ‘a state of social sustainability’, such as reasonable health and safety within their populations. It therefore could be argued that social sustainable development objectives could have a lower priority to economic and environmental sustainable development objectives in these developed countries.
Developing countries on the other hand are unlikely to have achieved many aspects described for a state of social sustainability. Therefore, addressing social sustainable development objectives is likely to be a priority in developing countries.
These differences in states mean that there are often differing priorities in developing and developed countries. In sustainable development it is therefore important to understand the local context and priorities. The assessment framework therefore must acknowledge and respond to the context in which it is used. The key aspects of a developing country context relevant for the assessment framework are listed below.
A Developing Country Context
• Infrastructure: In developing countries there are generally lower levels of infrastructure development than in developed countries. This means that infrastructure development is required in order for key sustainable development objectives such as Access, Education and Health (for fuller descriptions see above) to
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118 be achieved. There is an opportunity, in the development of this new infrastructure to design and manage this to support sustainable development.
• Capacity: There are generally low levels of capacity and education within developing countries. Sustainable development interventions are therefore likely to require the inclusion of education and capacity building programmes to ensure that development has the appropriate impact and is sustained.
• Participation: in developing countries populations may have had little say in how development has occurred. In order to ensure that development reflects the needs and priorities of the people it will affect, and will be supported by them, it is important to ensure that they are appropriately involved.
• Social exclusion: In developing countries there may be groups such as old people, poor people, disabled people, uneducated people or people from a particular tribe whose needs have not been adequately addressed by existing development approaches. It is therefore important to understand, and make sure that these needs, are addressed.
• Social priorities: In many developing countries there are urgent social priorities such as health and education that need addressing.
• Economic priorities: Developing countries often have urgent economic priorities that need to be addressed such as unemployment and inequity.
• Development limitations: Developing countries may have particular limitations and parameters that must be acknowledged. These may be physical, for instance developing countries may experience serious water shortages. They may also be financial with development options limited by lack of financial resources or access to foreign exchange.
• Indigenous systems: Developing countries may have highly evolved indigenous systems that are sustainable. These include technological, organisational, cultural and knowledge systems. These can provide highly valuable models for sustainable development as they provide working models that can be drawn on.
The description of a developing country context above suggests that interventions to support sustainable development in developing countries should address social and economic issues as a priority. It is not suggested that environmental issues should be forgotten, as this would not enable a state of sustainability to be achieved. Rather, It is suggested, that environmental
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119 sustainable development objectives are acknowledged and addressed in interventions designed to address urgent social and economic priorities.
The description of the developing country context indicates that there may be a valuable opportunity to develop infrastructure that is aligned with sustainable development objectives.
It suggests that new infrastructure, if developed correctly, may be able to avoid many of the problems associated with existing infrastructure in developed countries, which now has to be managed and adapted to try and make this more sustainable. In terms of an assessment system this context description suggests that two important questions should be asked in the assessment process. These are:
• Does the development directly address urgent national social and economic priorities?
• In the development intervention, has the unique opportunity for developing infrastructure that supports sustainability been recognised and adequately seized?
Elements of Buildings
The description and classification of buildings is complex and it is not the intention of the study to review or describe these. It is important however for the study to be able to define buildings in a simple way that enables them to be broken down into a series of finite elements that can be used to assist in the development of an assessment framework.
It is suggested that a description of buildings must acknowledge the fact that buildings are both a physical entity (a building) as well as being a dynamic process (the building life cycle).
Both of these can be described in terms of distinct elements or stages:
Building Elements
A building may be described in terms of the following elements:
• Location: This describes the location of the building
• Site: This describes the site and landscaping in which the building is located
• Size and shape: This describes the size and shape of the building
• Building envelope: This describes the physical envelope enclosing the building
• Internal space: This describes the space enclosed by the building envelope
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• Furniture and fittings: This describes equipment, furniture and fittings located within the internal space
• Services: This describes services in the building such as water, electricity and telephone
• Materials and components: This describes the materials and components used in the building
There are clearly overlaps between these elements, however, for the purposes of the study it is suggested that this breakdown provides the appropriate number of elements required to support the development of the assessment framework.
Building Life Cycle Stages
The life of buildings can be broken down into a number of discrete stages. These are as follows:
• Briefing: This stage starts with the decision to develop a building and includes initial conceptualisation of the requirements of the building
• Design: This stage include the development of the design of the building through to tender documentation
• Construction: This stage refers to the construction of the building and ends at handover to owner or users on completion
• Operation: This describes the stage where the building is in normal use and ends when a decision is made to refurbish or demolish the building
• Refurbishment/demolition: This describes the stage when the building is deconstructed, or refurbished for further use.
This is also a relatively simplistic description of the life of buildings; however it provides 5 discrete stages which can used to inform the development of the assessment framework.
The Implications of Sustainable Development for Buildings and Construction
In order to explore the relationship between sustainable development and building and construction elements identified in each area can be entered into a matrix. This is shown in
Table five.
Table Five: Sustainable Development and Building and Construction Element Matrix
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Size, productivity
& biodiversity
Resource
Management
Resource extraction & processing
Waste and pollution
Water
Energy
Employment and self employment
Efficiency and effectiveness
Indigenous knowledge & technology
Sustainable development accounting
7
8
9
A
1
2
3
4
5
6
10
B C D E F G H I
J K L M
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An enabling environment
Small-scale, local and diverse economies
Access
Education
Inclusive
Health, safety and security
Participation
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
Buildings and Construction Sustainable Development Objectives
The matrix is helpful in that it begins to enable the implications of sustainable development for buildings and construction to be elucidated. In order to chart this relationship sustainable development objectives (vertical column, numbers 1-17) were compared with building and construction elements (horizontal rows letters A-M). Dots indicate where there appears to be implications for a building element of a sustainable development objective. The implications for building elements of sustainable development objectives have been used to generate building and construction sustainable development objectives. These detail specific objectives that should be aimed for in buildings and construction in order to support sustainable development. These are listed in Appendix eleven. This list is not intended to be exhaustive as it is designed primarily as a prompt, and checklist, for the development of an assessment tool. The list of objectives forms a ‘comprehensiveness check’ within the specification, ensuring that important building and construction sustainable development objectives are not missed out in the assessment tool.
5.1.6. Structure of the Assessment Framework
The review of assessment frameworks carried out in Chapter four provide a number of recommendations for the structure of assessment frameworks. These recommendations suggest that there should be a hierarchical structure consisting of goals, objectives and
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123 indicators. This structure, it was suggested, enables complex high-level goals to be broken down into manageable and understandable actions and objectives. In order to assess progress towards achieving actions of objectives, indicators linked to these objectives should be used. The assumption being that by achieving all the objectives one is able to achieve a higher-level goal. In many of the assessment systems reviewed this hierarchy was reflected in a tabular form similar to that show in Table six.
Table Six: Assessment Framework Structure
Objective 1
Sub objective 1a
Sub objective 1b
Indicator 1a
Indicator 1b
Goal
Sub objective 2a Indicator 2a
Objective 2
Sub objective 2b Indicator 2b
Having defined a broad structure it is useful to consider how the content should be developed.
What are, for instance, the criteria that should be used in developing or selecting goals, objectives and indicators for the assessment framework? To a certain extent this has already been answered in the previous sections of the chapter, however it is useful to review this.
Goal: The goal in the assessment framework describes a high level goal that should be achieved. Examples of this high level goal can be found in national policy frameworks for instance the UK Strategy for Sustainable Development has as goal ‘to improve quality of life’ while South Africa’s Reconstruction and Development Plan (RDP) had the major goal of
‘achieving better equity’.
In the assessment framework, ideally, the goal should be a simple, easily understandable statement. For instance the goal that the assessment tool may aim to achieve could be:
The development of buildings and construction processes that support sustainable
development.
Objective: In the assessment framework this high level goal should be broken down in to objectives that can be achieved in the building. This area has already been explored in an earlier in this chapter and building and construction sustainable development objectives generated and listed in Appendix ten. This section provides a large number of suggested objectives that should be achieved in a building in order to make sure that the goal of achieving buildings and construction processes that support sustainable development is achieved. There is however little overall order in the way the objectives are currently organised, and it is apparent that there are overlaps between these. In addition, the list has no prioritisation.
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In order to be able to address objectives it is valuable to be able to develop a clear structure and prioritisation for these. The structure chosen is likely to be guided by how the tool will be used. For instance, if mainly architects use the tool, a structure related to how architects work, and describe buildings, would be appropriate. This will be explored in more depth in the next section titled ‘The Use of the Tool’. The selection and prioritisation of objectives is also important. It is suggested that explicit criteria are used for this. The criteria suggested for the selection and ranking of objectives are as follows:
• Context: This criterion ascertains whether the objective addresses important social and economic priorities that exist in many developing country contexts. The social and economic priorities used are those defined in the Millennium Goals.
suggested that this is important because there are priorities in developing countries that need to be addressed first, and it is important that the assessment framework prioritises these. This is not to say that other objectives are not important, just that they may not be the first priority to address.
• Ease of implementation: This criterion ascertains whether the objective can be achieved reasonably easily with the resources and capacity that exist in a developing country.
• Cross support: This criterion investigates the extent to which the objective supports sustainable development in other areas. For instance an objective such as provision of space for education may not only support increased social sustainability but also increased economic sustainability (through increased ability to innovate) and environmental sustainability (through greater awareness and understanding).
These criteria enable objectives to be ranked. It is argued that objectives that are prioritised in this way should be the ones that are addressed first as these are relatively easy to implement and will have the greatest impact on a developing country context.
It is important however to note that objectives that do not emerge as a top priority through this ranking processes should not be ignored. Instead there should be a system of primary and secondary objectives. The highest ranked objectives should be primary objectives, which once achieved, should be replaced with secondary objectives, which are lower ranked. In this way there is a dynamic development process that progresses through a series of sustainable development objectives in order to move towards a state of sustainability. The ranking of objectives can be carried out using a simple table as indicated below.
197 http://www.un.org/millennium/sg/report 19/12/02 09:00
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Table Seven: Objective Rating Criteria
Objective Context: Ease of
Addresses implementation:
Cross support:
Addresses social and economic priorities (as defined in the
Can be achieved with limited resources & other social/ economic/ environmental objectives
Millennium
Goals)
Objective one Y technical capacity
Rating
Objective two Y Y
1
2
Having developed a list and structure for the objectives in the assessment framework it is useful to check this by asking the following questions.
• What is the balance between objectives that are designed to address social, economic and environmental aspects? Is this balance correct?
• Can the objectives be used or changed in a dynamic way to respond to different contexts and priorities? Is there a logical progression of objectives that can be followed to support a continuous sustainable development process, as objectives are achieved over time?
5.1.7. The Selection and Development of Indicators
Once a system of objectives have been designed it is important to develop or select indicators linked to these objectives that can be used to measure progress towards achievement of these objectives. Care should be taken however in selecting or developing indicators, as they are unlikely to be used if they are not reliable, or too complex. In order to assist in the design and selection of indicators it is suggested that a number of criteria are used. These are as shown below.
Table Eight: Indicator Rating Criteria
Indicator The indicator
The informatio
The indicator is easy to understan d by all stakehold ers n required for the indicator is readily available requires minimal additional modelling, calculatio
The method of measuring the indicators is objective
Has a target against which it can be compared
Rating
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126 and easy to capture n or investigati on
Indicator one
Indicator two
Y Y Y Y Y 5
These criteria, it is suggested, will assist in the selection or development of suitable indicators for the assessment framework. It is important however that these are treated as guidelines and not hard and fast rules. For instance a building objective may be the development of adaptable and flexible space. While this may be a very important building and construction sustainable development objective there may be very few indicators that are suitable or meet the above criteria. In cases like this it may be important to relax the criteria applied and note the area, as one to be addressed, in further research.
It is also important that the right mix of information is collected. This is because sustainable development is about qualities, such as quality of life, as well as about quantity. Many aspects of sustainable development also centre on people, and it is often difficult to develop reliable quantifiable indicators for aspects of human life, like social cohesion or motivation.
Another aspect that is important to acknowledge in the selection and development of indicators is the importance of relationships and links within sustainable development.
Indicators that enable information about these links are useful because they are more reliable ways of measuring whether the overall intention behind objectives is being achieved. For instance, a broad objective might be to support education and small businesses by ensuring that buildings provide facilities for a local community to access the Internet. In this case, as well as measuring access to the Internet by the local community, it is important to assess whether this access is affordable for them. The inclusion of affordability ensures that the indicator is more reliable as it takes in to account income levels, which may be an obstacle, as well as levels of access to the Internet.
Thus in reviewing indicators, it is suggested that the following questions should be asked.
• Has the right mix of indicators been developed to reflect fully sustainable development progress in qualitative as well quantitative terms?
• Do the indicator mix reflect the right balance between sustainable development (short term objectives) and sustainability objectives (long term objectives)
• Do the indicators capture important relational information that ‘cross check’ the achievement of objectives and help ensure that these are reliable?
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In order to indicate how these elements form a whole, a simple example is provided in the table below.
Table Nine: Building and Construction Sustainable Development Assessment
Framework
Social Sustainability
Provide access to appropriate education
Design space in buildings to support education
Provide services such as access to the Internet to support education
% area of floor area provided for education as a proportion of total floor area
Number of workstations with access to the
Internet available for use, relative to number of building occupants
5.1.8. The Structured Process
In order to make the assessment framework an effective tool for addressing sustainable development in the design of buildings it must used as part of a structured process. This process is required because it enables the assessment framework to be effective by:
• Ensuring that the assessment framework is used at the right time where it will make the most impact and can be fully integrated into the building development process
• Helping to make sure that there is an awareness about sustainable development amongst building stakeholders and that there is an understanding of how, through early briefing and design decisions, this issue can be addressed effectively in the building development process.
• Making sure that the decisions required by the assessment framework to support sustainable development are taken by the right people, and that these decisions are documented appropriately.
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• Making sure that this has an ongoing influence on the building and on construction processes throughout the building life cycle.
The Building Lifecycle and the Use of an Assessment Framework
The structured process should integrate the use the assessment framework into conventional processes that take place in the development of buildings. This requires key decision and monitoring points to be identified when the tool can used to set the direction and monitor progress. These points and the use of the assessment tool in the various building life cycle stages are described below.
• Briefing: This stage is the most important for the assessment framework. This is when the use of the assessment framework should be agreed to by all involved in the building development. It should also include an initial discussion, which uses the assessment framework to develop and agree, an outline performance targets for the building. Ideally these outline performance targets should support decision making on areas such as whether a new building is really required, and where this should be sited. A valuable aspect of this stage is achievement of an ‘in principle’ agreement by all involved in the building development, that sustainable development is an important aspect to address, and integrate into the briefing and design of the building.
• Site analysis: The site analysis stage provides an opportunity to evaluate opportunities offered, and needs that could be addressed, at the selected site in terms of sustainable development. This analysis should be used to inform and prioritise targets set, in the next stage, the target setting stage.
• Target setting: During this stage the design team should develop detailed and challenging performance targets for the building. These should draw on the outline target sets during the briefing stage, the findings of the site analysis, and best practice performance and benchmarks from buildings of similar function and locations. These detailed targets are used by the design to inform the decision making during the design process. They are also used by all involved in the building development to monitor and evaluate progress in supporting and integrating sustainable development in the building.
• Concept design: During this stage the first conceptual designs for a building are developed. Having an assessment framework with detailed performance targets should ensure that designers generate solutions that support sustainable development. These solutions can be evolved through iterative processes where design options are evaluated against targets set in the assessment framework.
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• Detailed design: This iterative process continues as the detail of the design develops. Ideally this should inform all aspects of the design including decisions such as the location of light switches and the specification of finishes. It is suggested that at key stages in the design process, design reports accompanied by an assessment should be developed and presented to all of those involved in the development of the building. Where performance targets set in the assessment framework are not being met the reports should hi-light these, enabling these to be discussed and addressed at project design meetings.
• Tender documentation: In conventional practice building designs are developed into production information and tender documentation. This is used by contractors to prepare tenders and for constructing the building. In the structured process it is important that this documentation make the sustainable development objectives of the building explicit to the contractor. In addition, where there are particular targets that must be addressed through the construction process, these should be included in a way that ensures that a contractor is contractually bound to address them.
Examples of these types of targets may be the minimisation of construction waste and the training of local personnel during construction.
• Construction: During construction, the contractor should address sustainable development targets identified for this stage. Progress towards the achievement, of these targets should also be reported on. Care should be taken to make sure reporting is accurate, and it may be useful to ensure that this is done by an independent party such as a Clerk of Works. Reporting on targets should be integrated into conventional construction and contract administration. It therefore should be included in monthly construction reports provided to a design team and client. It should also be an agenda item at project progress meetings. Where it becomes apparent that progress is not being made towards the achievement of targets this needs to be hi-lighted and addressed at progress meetings and, if necessary, through administration of the construction contract.
• Handover: On completion of the construction stage the building becomes ready for occupation. In terms of the assessment framework this is an important moment because this marks a change in emphasis from design and construction objectives to management objectives. In order that management objectives are achieved it is important that building users and managers understand and support the sustainable development objectives that are being aimed for. They also need to understand how the building and its systems may have been designed to support sustainable development and are able to use and manage the building in a way that achieves this. As buildings may be complex it is important that the design team, and possibly
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130 contractors and suppliers, provide adequate support. This can be done through an induction process for new occupants of the building, training for building managers and a building user manual. In each of these elements ideally sustainable development objectives should be hi-lighted and inform the content.
• Operation: During the life of the building it is important that the sustainable development objectives developed for the design also informs the use, and the management and maintenance of the building. Making these explicit during training, induction and in building user manuals can support this. However to fully integrate these objectives into the use of the building requires that progress towards achieving these objectives, be reported on regularly. The assessment framework developed for the design process may therefore be used to inform the development and setting of targets set in a ‘management’ assessment framework designed to ensure that sustainable development objectives are achieved in the operation of the building. This framework can be developed in a similar way as the design assessment framework. It should also be supported and understood by the key stakeholders such as the building owner and building users and indicators used to monitor progress towards the achievement of objectives. Examples of objectives set could be energy and water consumption targets.
• Demolition or refurbishment: At the end of the useful life, a building may be demolished or refurbished for further use. If it is demolished, hopefully the use of the assessment framework will have contributed to ensuring that this can take place in a way that supports sustainable development. For instance, the building may have been designed to be readily disassembled enabling components and materials to be recycled. The building user manual may also contain disassembly instruction to enable this to occur with a minimum of waste. If the building is to be refurbished it should be upgraded for better performance in terms of sustainable development. In order to do this an assessment framework similar to the one used for a new building could be used.
5.1.9. Principles for Design and Use of the Assessment Framework
In addition, as the assessment tool will be used to ensure that sustainable development is thoroughly addressed in buildings, it is important to ensure that it learns from the related fields of sustainable development and assessment systems.
Sustainable Development Principles
A number of principles were proposed for sustainable development from the literature reviewed in Chapters two, three and four. For the specification, the key principles are presented below:
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• Participatory: The process of development should involve local people and reflect their priorities and needs
• Social exclusion: Development should take care not to exclude any groups such as women and disabled people from being fully involved.
• Transparent: The process for reaching decisions and carrying out actions should be as transparent as possible.
• Local resources: where possible development should draw on existing local skills, knowledge and resources.
• Precautionary principle: Development action and intervention should be guided by the precautionary principle and should not wait until there is comprehensive knowledge and understanding within an area.
• Top-down and bottom-up: The approach should enable development to be understood and monitored at a detailed level and at a holistic level.
Sustainability Assessment System Principles
A range of sustainability and environmental impact systems were reviewed earlier in Chapters two and four. The key best practice principles applied in these systems are listed below:
• Hierarchical structure: Assessment frameworks should have a hierarchical structure consisting of the following elements:
- Overarching goal
- Objectives
- Sub objective
- Indicators
• Involve key stakeholders: The process of assessment should actively involve those affected or concerned by the development.
• Awareness: The assessment process should increase awareness about sustainable development amongst those affected or concerned by the development. This encourages a shared understanding to be developed, which in turn, enables sustainable development to be addressed more effectively.
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• Agreement: The assessment process should ensure that all those affected or concerned by the development are not only involved, but also actively participate in designing and agreeing objectives and indicators.
• Monitor progress towards achievement of objectives: Indicators should be used as part of the assessment framework to monitor and evaluate progress towards the achievement of sustainable development objectives.
• Support decision-making: The assessment frameworks should be used to inform decision-making. In order to check that appropriate decisions are being made, limited modelling may be necessary to check the performance of different options in order to ensure the most appropriate one is selected. The tool should support an iterative process where options can be tried and tested in order to develop, and evolve, the most appropriate solutions.
• Responsive: The tool should be able to respond to the local context, the users and the function of the building. It is therefore important that the tool is flexible enough to be used in different situations and care should be taken that the tool is not too prescriptive. In many situations, solutions and approaches may have to ‘emerge’ from an iterative design process.
• Tool development: A description of how and why the tool was developed should be provided.
• Logical: The tool must be structured in way that enables users to easily understand how the tool works and how this relates to buildings and sustainable development.
• Linkages: The assessment process should encourage investigation into understanding of linkages and interdependencies in systems.
• Justifiable: As far as possible, the content and emphasis in the tool should be justifiable though reference to research and other information.
• Strong and weak science: The tool should distinguish between areas where there is strong knowledge and areas where this is weak. In order to address differences in knowledge it may be appropriate to have a system of primary indicators and secondary indicators. Primary indicators should be used to monitor progress in wellestablished knowledge areas and secondary indicators used for areas where knowledge is not as strong, or where information may be unreliable.
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• Assumptions: where important assumptions are made these assumptions should be described.
• Reference materials: Where reference information has been material to the development of the tool, full references for this material should be included.
• Definitions: Key definitions should be included in the tool. In particular it is important to include definitions for terms alluded to in the overarching goal of the assessment framework, such as sustainable development.
5.2. Addressing Hypothesis Four
The development of a specification raises a number of considerations that can be discussed.
These are:
Sustainable development: The specification is helpful in that it provides a clear definition for sustainability and sustainable development. It also provides a clear set of sustainable development objectives. These objectives however have been developed from the UN’s
WSSD Plan. This means that the assessment tool will be aligned to UN policy. However, as discussed in Chapter two, there are concerns about whether the UN plan reflects sustainable development best practice and is comprehensive and rigorous enough to be used to implement sustainable development on the ground. A useful area of research would therefore be to analyse the UN WSSD and other sustainable development frameworks in order to develop sets of succinct sustainable development objectives for specific sectors such as education, health and building and construction. It is suggested that the implementation of sustainable development could be greatly supported if sector specific, practical objectives, and measures, were readily available. These would vary depending on context, and developing countries would have different objectives to those of developed countries.
Building and construction sustainable development objectives: The methodology used to generate building and construction objectives in the specification could be developed more rigorously and would be an interesting area to research further. However as the purpose in the specification was to develop a ’comprehensiveness checklist’ it is suggested that the methodology is adequate.
Criteria: The specification provides a useful set of checklists and criteria for guiding the development of an assessment system.
Structured process: The structured process described in the specification is useful as it provides a guide as to how the assessment framework should be used and integrated into the building and construction processes. This process is not explored earlier in the study and
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134 could be researched further. It is suggested that the level of detail developed in the specification is reasonable as the structured process is a supporting aspect of the assessment framework, which is the primary focus.
5.3. Concluding Hypothesis Four
The hypothesis that “a specification for an assessment tool, which aims to ensure that sustainable development, is addressed and incorporated in the briefing and design of buildings in developing countries can be developed” is demonstrated. The study shows that it is possible to develop a specification for an assessment tool that reflects the sustainable development context, sustainability theory and sustainable development assessment methodology.
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6. THE SUSTAINABLE BUILDING ASSESSMENT TOOL
6.1. Sub Problem Five and Hypothesis Five
Sub problem: How does the specification for an assessment tool developed in sub problem four compare with the Sustainable Building Assessment Tool (SBAT)?
Hypothesis: A comparison between the specification for an assessment tool and the SBAT will support the validation of the assessment tool specification and identify whether the SBAT is an appropriate tool for integrating sustainable development into the briefing and design of buildings in developing countries.
6.1.1. Introduction
The Sustainable Building Assessment Tool (SBAT) was developed in 1999. The initial idea and approach was developed as part of a school pilot project. The tool however, has evolved through use on a range of projects including leisure, education, residential and commercial buildings. This chapter will include a text version of the SBAT. A later, software version, of the
SBAT has been developed. This forms a component of the ‘Sustainable Buildings CD’ and is available from the CSIR in Pretoria, South Africa.
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The Sustainable Building Assessment Tool
1. Introduction
Non-renewable resources are being depleted and there is increasing environmental damage as result of human activities. It is therefore increasingly important that this is addressed, and that sustainability becomes a key issue in the way we live and work.
Building and construction can play an important role in supporting sustainability. This is done through careful planning in which design decisions, material specifications and so on are carefully evaluated in terms of their economic, social and environmental impact.
The Sustainable Building Assessment Tool (SBAT) has been designed to help evaluate the sustainability of buildings. This is done by assessing the performance of a building in relation to a number of economic, social and environmental criteria. The tool has been designed for use in developing countries.
The tool can be used in design stages of a new building, or for the refurbishment of an existing building. In the design stage it aims to encourage the development of more sustainable buildings by enabling different options to be evaluated rapidly and compared. It can also be used for existing buildings. This enables the building to be rated in terms of its sustainability and compared with other buildings and to benchmarks.
The SBAT can be used as:
• Part of a brief to the design team: by building owners and developers planning new buildings or refurbishments
• A decision support tool for: building design teams including Architects, Quantity
Surveyors, Structural Engineers and Mechanical and Electrical Engineers
• A way of ensuring that policies on sustainability are implemented and integrated into the construction environment: by government and other organisations.
The tool is designed to be easy to use and generates graphical reports, which enable targets and performance to be easily read. The SBAT can be used in a number of ways depending on the level of detail required. It can be used as a design tool by providing a checklist of the main ‘rules of thumb’ and criteria used to design for and assess sustainability in buildings. It can also be used to make a rapid outline assessment of the building and provide the framework for a more detailed analysis of the building if this is required.
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Sustainability is a complex issue and not fully understood. The tool therefore is likely to be developed and change over time. It’s development and use is based on the precautionary principle, that suggests that it is important to address and implement sustainability in building as a matter of urgency even if this is not fully understood.
2. Using the SBAT
The SBAT can be used for the following purposes:
• Briefing
• Design and Outline assessment
• Detailed Assessment
A. Briefing
To use SBAT as a briefing tool you need to fill in the table in the ‘Target Setting’ section of this document. This details the criteria that the SBAT assess. Target setting should occurr after a site has been identified, and outline brief for the building has been developed. To ensure that there is proper support from the stakeholders it is suggested that this process happens during a workshop with all of these present. Stakeholders should include, as a minimum, the client, users of building and the design team. Before this workshop each of the stakeholders should have visited the site and read and understood the outline brief for the building.
The Target Setting table should have an option selected for each of the criteria listed. So the group needs to discuss the importance of occupant comfort in terms of users and the site. If they decide that this is a very important issue, they might then tick the ‘essential’ box. In order to get a clear and shared understanding of the criteria, the description in Section five can be read.
The completed table forms your outline sustainability performance targets. To visualize this target and the different weightings, the radar graph under the Graphical Report can be filled in. To do this read the number at the top of the column in which the ‘tick’ appears. Then find the appropriate axes on the chart and plot the reading as a dot on this axis. Do this for each of the criteria. When you have completed this, join the dots. This will give you ‘target footprint’ which enables you to see, and compare the different weightings you have allocated. The further out the points are (ie 4’s or 5s) the more rigorous the targets are.
Once these targets have been agreed, this can be provided to the design team, as part of the briefing documents. The design team should then use this as well as other information to
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138 develop their designs. Once they have an outline specification and design they can check to see if this is meeting the targets by assessing the design. This is described next.
B. Design and Outline Assessment
The SBAT can be used to support decision-making during the design process in the following ways. Once the criteria have been read and understood the design team can develop sketch designs and an outline material/component specification. Where there are choices in design or choices of material, the relevant criteria can be referred to in order to come to a decision.
As soon as there is a full sketch design and outline material/component specification, an outline assessment can take place.
To do this go through each of the criteria listed in Section five and see if the existing design/specification complies with the criteria. If it does you can ‘tick’ the box adjacent to this.
In order to ‘read’ the performance of the building count up the number of ‘ticks’ under each heading ie under Occupant Comfort and record this. These numbers should then be plotted as dots on the relevant axis in the radar diagram in the Graphical Report. Once you have done this join the dots to get a ‘assessment footprint’. If you have already used the diagram to set a ‘target footprint’, make sure you use a different colour in order to distinguish from this!
If you have plotted a ‘target footprint’, comparing this with the ‘assessment footprint’ enables you to see if the targets are being met. If points on the ‘assessment footprint’ are nearer the center of the radar than the ‘target footprint’, the targets have not been met and the design needs to be revisited, in order to see if these targets can be met or exceeded.
C. Detailed Assessment
Detailed Assessment requires considerable more time than an outline assessment, however it can provide a more accurate and detailed picture of the potential performance of the building.
To carry this, detailed benchmark building performance information is required for similar building types for the performance areas described in the tool, such as water, energy, occupant comfort. This information needs to be analysed and developed into challenging performance targets, which replace the existing generic performance targets found in the
SBAT. Once these are set, design evaluations are likely to need more detailed calculations or modelling in order to arrive at the performance of the building (for instance of predicted mains potable water consumption). These figures then need to be compared to target performance figures provided in the SBAT in order to evaluate whether the design meets the performance targets set. Target footprints, and assessment footprints are plotted in the same ways as A and B above. The calculations or modelling tools required to assess the performance of the building are available and can be found in building literature or downloaded from the Internet.
A number of references are provided at the end of this document.
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3. Project Information
A Project
B Physical
D
E
Telephone
Fax
Description of function
F
G
Description of users
Description of location
Assessment based on
(information sources):
I Assessment carried out by:
Brief
Outline Assessment
Detailed Assessment
Name:
Telephone:
Fax:
Email:
Graphical Report
Materials and Components
Site and Landscaping
Recycling and Reuse
ENVIRONMENTAL
Energy
Local Economy
5
4
1
0
3
2
Efficiency of Use
Adaptability and Flexibility
Ongoing Costs
ECONOMIC
Capital Costs
Water Comfort
Education, Health and Safety
Participation and Control
Target
SOCIAL
Inclusive Environments
Access to Facilities
Assessment
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4. Target Setting
Social
Occupant Comfort
Inclusive
Environments
Access to
Facilities
Participation and
Control
Education Health and Safety
Economic
Local Economy
Efficiency of Use
Adaptability and
Flexibility
Ongoing Costs
Capital Costs
Environmental
Water
Energy
Waste
Site
Materials and
Components
Requirement
1
Requirement
2
Medium
Requirement
3
High
Requirement
4
Essential
5
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5. Building Performance: Social (SO)
The quality of environments in and around buildings has been shown to have a direct impact on health, happiness and productivity of people. Healthier, happier, more effective people contribute to sustainability by being more efficient and therefore reducing resource consumption and waste. However, the quality of this internal environment must be achieved with minimal cost to the environment. Occupant comfort is reliant on a number of factors including amount of fresh air, day lighting, air temperature, views, and the level of control that individuals have over their indoor environment.
SO1.1 Lighting
The main working spaces are well day lit. Effective solar control. Glare minimised.
Criteria: 5% day light factor
SO1.2 Ventilation
Adequate clean air supply to each inhabitant. Supply taken from unpolluted source
Criteria: All working spaces have equivalent of opening window area equivalent to
10% of floor area
SO1.3 Noise
Noise levels limited in working spaces to acceptable levels.
Criteria: Noise levels not over 45dB (A) for long continuous periods
SO1.4 Views
Design to all working areas to have access to a view out.
Criteria: All working spaces to be maximum of 6m from a window
SO1.5 Thermal comfort
Thermal comfort throughout year
Criteria: Indoor environment maintained within temperature range (range dependent on activities etc)
Buildings should be designed to accommodate, and be accessible to everyone, or specially designed buildings need to be provided. Ensuring that buildings are inclusive supports sustainability as replications is avoided and change of use supported. It also ensures that as legislation in this area tightens, expensive retrofits are not required in order to ensure compliance.
The building can be accessed by disabled people using public transport.
Criteria: Entrance located 100, or fewer metres to disabled accessible public transport
SO2.2 Routes, Changes in level
All routes between and within buildings can be easily navigated by physically disabled people and other people.
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Criteria: Adequate width, turning circles, no changes in level between or within buildings or, all changes in level catered for with appropriate ramps of 1:12 fall, or lifts, routes surfaces have smooth and even surface
SO2.3 Signage & Edges
Visually impaired and other people can move around and use the building easily and safely
Criteria: all edges i.e. between walls and floors and stair nosings clearly distinguished through the use of contrasting colour. Accessible signage provided.
SO2.4 Furniture and Fittings
Furniture and fittings can be easily used by disabled and other people
Criteria: Location, configuration and design of furniture and fittings specified
SO2.5 Toilets, Bathrooms and kitchens
Toilets and bathrooms are or can be easily adapted for use by disabled
Criteria: Spatial configuration of and equipment in spaces
SO3 Access to Facilities
Conventional living and working patterns require regular access to a range of services. Ensuring that these services can be accessed easily and in environmentally friendly ways supports sustainability by increasing efficiency and reducing environmental impact.
SO3.1 Childcare
Occupants of building can pick up / drop children easily, without having to make additional long distance car journeys.
Criteria: Distance between home and or work and schools and or crèches not more than 3km.
SO3.2 Banking
Occupants have easy access to banking facilities.
Criteria: Banking services (i.e. ATM) provided close by (within 3km) or Internet service or mobile service provided.
SO3.3 Retail
Occupants have easy access to retail facilities for everyday items (ie groceries).
Criteria: Relevant retail outlets provided within 3km or alternative Internet or delivery service provided.
SO3.4 Communication
Occupants have easy access to communications facilities during their working day or on their route home.
Criteria: Postal, telephone or email facilities close by (within 3km).
SO3.5 Work
Occupants do not have to undertake long vehicular journeys to get to and from work.
Criteria: Maximum distance between work and residence 10km.
SO4 Participation & Control
Ensuring that users are allowed to participate in decisions about their work environment helps ensure that they care for and manage this properly. Control over
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143 aspects of their local environment enables personal satisfaction and comfort. Both of these support sustainability by promoting proper management of buildings and increasing productivity.
Occupants of building have reasonable control over their environmental conditions
Criteria: Level of control over environmental conditions by individuals; access to openable windows, blinds, control of light and temperature
SO4.2 User manual and training
Occupants and managers of the building understand the building and it’s systems and how these should be operated.
Criteria: Building user manual, facilities management training, induction for new occupants
Occupants have access to spaces which enable formal / informal social interaction to take place easily.
Criteria: Design and location of spaces provided for informal and formal social interaction
SO4.4 Amenity
Amenities provided and easily accessible to building users and visitors
Criteria: Design and location of amenities
Space and equipment shared with local communities
Criteria: Accessibility of facilities by local communities
SO5 Education Health and Safety
Buildings need to cater for the well-being, development, health and safety of the people that use them. Learning and access to information is increasingly seen as a requirement of a competitive work force. All of these factors contribute to sustainability by helping ensure that people remain healthy and economically active, thus reducing the ‘costs’ (to society, the environment and the economy) of unemployment and ill health.
SO5.1 Education
Support for learning provided.
Criteria: Access to and provision of space, equipment and material to support learning
SO5.2 Security
Occupants are safe and feel safe in the building and on regularly used routes to and from the building.
Criteria: Spatial configuration, visual links, lighting, technological and physical security systems
SO5.3 Smoking
Smokers do not affect health of building users
Criteria: Avoidance of cross contamination
SO5.4 Health
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Internal environmental conditions do not affect health of occupants
Criteria: Materials, components and finishes screened for health hazards
SO5.5 Exercise and recreation
Occupants have easy access to sport and recreational facilities
Criteria: Facilities within 3km.
6. Building Performance: Economic (EC)
The construction and management of buildings can have a major impact on the economy of an area. The economy of an area can be stimulated and sustained by buildings that make use and develop local skills and resources.
Building makes use of local contractors
Criteria: Type and location of contractors used, percentage of total contractor cost spent on local contractors
EC1.2 Local building material supply
Building uses local materials
Criteria: Percentage of total construction materials such as cement, sand, bricks etc that are sourced locally
EC1.3 Local component, fittings and furniture manufacture
Building uses component, fittings and furniture sourced locally
Criteria: Percentage of building components i.e. windows and doors that are produced locally
Building creates opportunities for small emerging businesses. This includes outsourcing of catering, cleaning services and security as well as making space and equipment available for businesses to use for retail, education etc.
Criteria: Design, location of spaces, management plan
EC1.5 Repairs and maintenance
Building maintenance and repairs can be carried out by users or by local contractors.
Criteria: Percentage of building and furniture and fittings that can be serviced locally
EC2 Efficiency of Use
Buildings cost money and make use of resources whether they are used or not.
Effective and efficient use of buildings supports sustainability by reducing waste and the need for additional buildings.
Buildings should make good use of space
Criteria: m
2 per person
Space should be managed efficiently
Criteria: Effective space management systems
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EC2.3 Shared Use
Facility shared between a number of users
Criteria: Spatial, technological and managerial arrangements for shared use
EC2.4 Use of technology
Access to technology (ie email, internet, video conferencing) to reduce requirement for travel and space.
Criteria: Access to technology, reduction in travel and space requirements
Systems to ensure efficient use of space and services
Criteria: Hours of the week that the building is occupied
EC3 Adaptability and Flexibility
Most buildings can have a life span of at least 50 years. It is likely that within this time the use of the building will change, or that the feasibility of this will be investigated.
Buildings, which can accommodate change easily, support sustainability by reducing the requirement for physical adaptation and associated disruption, energy consumption and cost as well as the need for new buildings.
EC3.1 Spaces
Spaces should be readily adapted for different uses. For instance spaces may be required for work during the day, social activities in the evening and quite study during weekends and at night.
Criteria: Spatial configuration
EC3.2 Furniture
Internal spaces can be easily reconfigured to suite different organisation requirements / users
Criteria: Configuration and shape of spaces, construction of partitions.
EC3.3 Services
Services can configured to allow different internal arrangements and can be accessed easily to be extended / altered
Criteria: Location and access to services
EC3.4 Structure
Structure / load bearing elements configured to enable variety of different internal arrangements
Criteria: Location and size of structural elements
EC3.5 Vertical Circulation and Service Cores
Vertical circulation and service cores configured to enable range of different spatial arrangements
Criteria: Location and size of vertical circulation and service cores.
EC4.1 Maintenance
Level of requirement for ongoing maintenance of the building considered and understood. Costs for this limited through design, and planned for.
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Criteria: Lifecycle costs considered in specification of materials, components, and equipment. Design items such as light bulbs can be easily reached and replaced without use of expensive equipment).
EC4.2 Cleaning
Building can be kept clean easily and safely
Criteria: Window location and access, floor materials and access
EC4.3 Security / care taking
Building is reasonably secure without requiring large ongoing costs.
Criteria: Spatial layout and visual supervision by neighbouring occupied buildings
EC4.4 Insurance / water / energy / sewerage
Ongoing costs of water, energy and insurance minimised.
Criteria: Meters can be easily accessed. Building manual provides detail on when these should be read, to enable ongoing monitoring and improvement.
EC4.5 User awareness
Building occupants aware of levels of consumption and waste production
Criteria: Highly visual information (sign boards or intranet) displaying current, previous and targeted consumption and waste performance
Buildings are generally one of the most valuable assets that people, and often organisations and governments own. Money spent on buildings is not available for other uses such as health, education and business development. Often in addition, the high cost of buildings results in the services (i.e. health and education) and the accommodation (for work and living) being provided at costs beyond the reach of people, and enterprises with the limited resources.
Consultant fees not just calculated on total project cost basis. Incentives provided to consultants to reduce capital and ongoing costs.
Criteria: Professional fee structure
EC5.2 Build-ability
Building design cost efficient to build and minimise waste
Criteria: Building form. Replication of elements and components. Design / planning grid that relates to materials / component module sizes
Initial cost of building limited.
Criteria: Building design which enables building to be built at minimal initial cost, allowing building to be developed and grow, over time, as additional funding becomes available – buildings designed as a set of independent, interrelated components, building built as shell first with finishes etc to be added later.
Capital costs to building users and developers minimised
Criteria: Partnerships – cost savings through agreement with other users/partners
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Capital costs of the building minimised:
Criteria: Quantity of new space reduced through arrangements to use existing spaces and buildings.
Building Performance: Environmental (EN)
EN1 Water
Water is required for many activities. However the large-scale provision of conventional water supply has many environmental implications. Water needs to be stored (sometimes taking up large areas of valuable land and disturbing natural drainage patterns with associated problems from erosion etc); it also needs to be pumped (using energy) through a large network of pipes (that need to be maintained and repaired). Having delivered the water, parallel efforts are then required to dispose of this after it is used in reticulation and sewerage systems. Reducing water consumption supports sustainability by reducing the environmental impact required to deliver water, and dispose of this after use. Maintaining natural ground water systems also supports sustainability through maintaining existing ecosystems and avoiding the environmental impact associated with for disposal of storm water and runoff.
EN1.1 Rainwater
Water consumption reduced through use of rainwater
Criteria: Systems for capturing, storing and using rainwater
Water consumption reduced through efficient delivery devices:
Criteria: Specification of water efficient delivery devices.
Water consumption reduced through reuse
Criteria: Use of grey water systems
EN1.4 Runoff
Runoff and storm water run off minimised
Criteria: Design and specification to minimised runoff: Specification of pervious or absorbent materials for hard external surfaces.
EN1.5 Planting
Water consumption and existing ground water (water table etc) maintained.
Criteria: Low water requirement landscaping/planting scheme.
EN2 Energy
Buildings consume a large proportion of all energy produced. Conventional energy production is responsible for making a large contribution to environmental damage and non-renewable resource depletion. Using less energy or using renewable energy in buildings therefore can make a substantial contribution to sustainability.
EN2.1 Location
Building located to minimise transport energy requirements of users
Criteria: Building located within 400m of public transport
EN2.2 Ventilation System
Ventilation design and management to minimise energy requirements
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Criteria: All ventilation requirements met through passive systems.
EN2.3 Heating and Cooling System
Environmental control system design to minimise requirement for non-renewable energy
Criteria: Heating and cooling requirements met through passive environmental control design
EN2.4 Appliances and Fittings
Energy requirements of appliances, plant and fittings minimised
Criteria: Specification of energy efficient fittings, appliances, plant and lighting
Energy consumption of building supplemented / sourced from renewable sources
Criteria: Ten per cent of energy required for building obtained from renewable source
EN3 Waste
Raw materials and new components used in buildings consume resources and energy in their manufacture and processes. Buildings accommodate activities that consume large amounts of resources and products and produce large amounts of waste. Reducing the use of new materials and components in buildings and in the activities accommodated supports sustainability by reducing resource and energy consumption. Limiting waste and pollution in building and the activities accommodated in buildings reduces energy consumption and environmental damage.
EN3.1Toxic waste
Toxic waste processed safely and with minimal environmental impact
Criteria: Design and management for the safe disposal / recycling of toxic/harmful substances such as batteries, printer toners and vehicle oil.
Organic waste recycled locally
Criteria: Design and management that ensures 100% of organic waste produced, reused on site / arrangements made for local provider to carry this out.
Inorganic waste recycled locally
Criteria: Design and management that ensures a minimum of 30% of inorganic waste produced is recycled – arrangements made to sort, store and transport waste
EN3.4 Sewerage
Contribution to mains sewerage minimised
Criteria: Use of compost toilets, and other ‘local’ systems.
Construction waste minimised
Criteria: Design which minimises waste production ie prefabrication/using planning grid generated by component dimensions. Requirement for construction waste minimisation detailed in tender documentation.
EN4 Site
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Buildings have a footprint and a size that take up space that could otherwise be occupied by natural ecosystems which contribute to sustainability by helping to create and maintain an environment that supports life. (By, for instance, controlling the carbon dioxide and oxygen balance and maintaining temperatures within a limited range). Buildings can support sustainability by, limiting development to sites that have already been disturbed, and working with nature by including natural ecosystems within the development.
Building occupies already disturbed site
Criteria: Site has been previously built on / developed.
Building does not have harmful affect on neighbouring buildings
Criteria: No / minimal reduction to neighbouring building’s access to sunlight and natural ventilation
EN4.3 Vegetation
Building and site supports vegetation
Criteria: Area of vegetation provided and maintained equivalent or greater than that of the footprint of the building and hard surfaces.
EN4.4 Habitat
Building supports diversity of plant and animal life
Criteria: Number and range of different species supported.
Landscapes designed to function naturally
Criteria: No or minimal artificial inputs (fertilizer, pesticides etc) required to maintain landscape.
EN5 Materials and Components
The construction of buildings usually requires large quantities of materials and components. These may require large amounts of energy to produce. Their development may also require process that are harmful to the environment and consume non-renewable resources.
Majority of building materials and components used to have low embodied energy.
Criteria: Embodied energy of materials
EN5.2 Material / component sources
Majority of building components used are from ‘grown’ or renewable (ie timber, thatch) sources.
Criteria: Proportion of materials used from grown sources
Processes for processing / manufacturing materials has minimal negative impact on the environment.
Criteria: No materials used whose production involves large-scale direct pollution of the environment, and direct release of greenhouse gas emissions.
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EN5.4 Recycled / reused materials and components
Materials and components used in the building are from recycled sources
Indicator: Percentage of building materials (by volume) that are from recycled sources.
Building design and construction developed to minimally affect the environment
Criteria: Building and construction process designed to minimally impact the environment. Requirement for large-scale vegetation clearing and earth movement minimised.
8 Resources
GB Tool
Cole, R., and Larsson, N. 2000. GBC 2000 Assessment Manual: Volume 2: Office
Buildings. Green Buildings Challenge 2000. http://greenbuilding.ca/.
BREEAM
Baldwin, R., Yates, A., Howard, N., and Rao, S. 1998. BREEAM 98 for offices.
Construction Research Communications. London.
LEED
US Green Building Council 2000 Green Building Rating System Version 2.0
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design http://www.usgbc.org/.
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6.2. Addressing Hypothesis Five
6.2.1. Introduction
In this section the hypothesis set, namely ‘that a specification for an assessment tool, which aims to ensure that sustainable development, is addressed and incorporated in the briefing and design of buildings in developing countries can be developed’ will be discussed. In order to undertake this, the specification will be compared to the Sustainable Building Assessment
Tool. This comparison will allow the findings of the study described in the specification, to be tested and validated. It will also enable the different aspects of the SBAT to be explored in some detail, allowing weaknesses and strengthens to be hi-lighted. This will contribute to
Chapter seven of the study in which conclusions and recommendations are made. The form of the discussion will follow the structure developed in the specification of the tool. It will therefore have the following sections:
• Purpose of the Tool
• Scope of the Tool
• Components of the Tool
• Assessment Framework
• Structured Process
• Evaluation Criteria
6.2.2. Purpose of the Tool
The specification lists five key goals for the assessment tool. Of these, it is suggest, two are of key importance. The first is to ensure that there is adequate understanding about sustainable development and buildings amongst stakeholders, to enable informed discussion, and the development, and agreement, of sustainable development performance targets for the building.
The second is to ensure that the relationship between sustainable development and buildings and construction is made explicit and understandable. This includes understanding how buildings and construction can be used to support sustainable development. It encompasses a process of prioritising aspects of sustainable development and ensuring that these are reflected in the building performance targets set for the building. The specification proposes that once set, these targets should guide the design process and be used to monitor progress towards achieving targets.
The introduction to the SBAT does not make the purpose of the tool explicit. Although it does point out the importance of design decisions and suggests that SBAT can provide decision support, it does not make it clear that a key purpose of the tool is to integrate sustainability
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into building briefing and design processes. The SBAT also does not hi-light the value of developing awareness and support for sustainable development in building stakeholders. The specification therefore implies that although the SBAT may achieve many of the objectives listed for an assessment tool, it would benefit by making these explicit in the introduction to the tool.
6.2.3. Scope of the Tool
The specification of the tool includes a description of the scope of the tool, and suggests that this should be limited to: buildings, the design stage and architects. The SBAT does not define the scope of the tool. This is risky as it could lead to inappropriate use of the tool. It is clear however, that the tool has been developed specifically for developing countries.
It is suggested that the introduction to the SBAT describe the function and use envisaged for the tool. It should also express who the tool is aimed at. Finally, the SBAT should describe a scoped for the tool and include a warning that indicated that use of the tool beyond this scope would require more care and possible adaptation of the tool.
6.2.4. Components of the Tool
The specification of the tool makes it clear that there should be two components to the tool; an assessment framework and a structured process. The SBAT is not explicit about these components. However, implicit reference is made to a structured process in the guidelines included for use of the tool. This however does not provide a high level of detail. For instance there is no guidance on how to set up and run a target setting workshop with stakeholders.
The effectiveness of the tool, it is suggested, could be improved by showing how the tool could be integrated and used within conventional briefing and design processes. One way of addressing this would be to be to include a guide that showed how the use of the tool could be integrated into conventional architects’ work stages such as those outlined by the Royal
Institute of Architects or the South African Institute of Architects.
6.2.5. Assessment Framework
The specification states that it is important that the assessment framework provides a clear explanation of its theoretical foundation. It also suggests that a description of the development process of the tool would enable users to gain a better understanding of the tool.
The SBAT does not explain why it was developed. It also does not describe the basis and assumptions used in its development. No definitions for sustainability, sustainable development or sustainable buildings are included.
Explaining why the tool was developed would help justify the need for the tool and explain why a different approach was developed relative to other tools such as BREEAM and the
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GBTool. A clear definition of sustainable development would also help clarify the theoretical basis for the tool.
The SBAT claims it has been designed for developing countries. The introduction hints at some of the differences between developed and developing countries, this however could be more comprehensively described. This, it is suggested, would help ensure that users of the tool consider, and take into account, the local context.
The specification provides an outline structure for the assessment tool. Aspects of this can be found in the SBAT, such as the hierarchy of objectives and sub-objectives. This could however be developed further. For instance the SBAT could include an overarching goal that should be aimed at. This would provide the focus from which objectives and sub-objectives would then cascade.
The objectives generated in the specification can be compared with the objectives described in the SBAT. This is a valuable test of the comprehensiveness of the SBAT. This comparison has therefore been carried out and the detailed results can be found in the Appendix ten. The findings of this comparison indicate the following:
• Location: Many of the objectives that relate to location are not addressed in the
SBAT. This may be beyond the scope of the SBAT. However it would be useful if the
SBAT could hi-light the substantial impact that buildings and construction can make to sustainable development through providing employment and access to education,
if deliberately located in areas of high need.
• Site: Many of the objectives that relate to site are not addressed in the SBAT. This area therefore should be investigated in more detail. For instance, the tool could hilight the potential contributions that a site could make to the development of effective water and waste management and recycling systems.
• Management: The SBAT does not make reference to environmental management.
This should be addressed by ensuring that the criteria on materials and components requires all “grown” materials come from managed sources.
• Furniture and Fittings: This aspect is only referred to in passing in the SBAT. In order to ensure that this area is included, the SBAT should broaden the ‘Materials and Components’ set of criteria to include furniture and fittings.
• Demolition and Refurbishment: This aspect is not addressed in detail in the SBAT.
It is suggested that should be included as an aspect within the EC criteria. In addition
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• Waste Management: The comparison hi-lights the need in the SBAT for more detail on the design and management of waste management systems. In particular it would be useful if more information on system requirements could be provided such as space and service allocations.
• Water: This aspect is addressed in detail within the SBAT. However the SBAT does not have any criteria, which cover the consumption of water in the production or processing of materials and components. It also does not cover consumption of water during construction. With the increasing scarcity of water in some areas, these aspects may be increasingly important. It is therefore recommended that this be investigated for possible inclusion in the SBAT.
• Labour intensive processes: The comparison suggests that the SBAT does not address this aspect comprehensively enough. It is therefore suggested that this is addressed more thoroughly. For instance, labour intensive processes should be addressed in materials and components, construction, and building operation criteria.
• Construction energy efficiency: The SBAT does not address this, although it does include criteria for embodied energy. It is suggested that this area should be investigated to see whether this should be included in the SBAT.
• Design process: The comparison indicates that the design process may also have a role in supporting a number of sustainable development objectives. For instance this could support the development of a local, diverse economy, participation and education. This aspect is unlikely to have a high impact so should not be addressed as a high priority in terms of inclusion in the SBAT
• Efficiency: This aspect is not addressed as a specific issue in the SBAT, but is referred to under a number of criteria. It is recommended that the criteria in the SBAT be reviewed in order to ensure that they have a strong emphasis on efficiency.
• Indigenous technology: This aspect is not addressed at all in the SBAT. This should be investigated for possible inclusion.
• Evaluation and monitoring systems: The comparison indicates that the SBAT could have a stronger role in encouraging the development and implementation of
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156 ongoing performance management systems in order to ensure that sustainable development issues are addressed throughout the life of the building.
• Enabling environment: The comparison suggests that the design and construction process could, in a small way, support an enabling environment for sustainable development. It could do this by including criteria that support transparent, equitable and inclusive contract and tender processes and documentation.
• Services: Objectives generated by the matrix indicate that buildings may be able to support sustainable development within the services (ie energy, water) area. It would do this by supporting local, labour intensive, environmentally sound service providers.
This may not be possible in South Africa or many developing countries currently as there are a limited number of service providers, however the inclusion of this aspect into the SBAT could be investigated at a later stage when this becomes a possibility.
• Education for construction workers: The comparison indicates that there are opportunities for education during the construction process. This should be investigated for inclusion in the SBAT.
• Briefing and design process should be inclusive: The SBAT process is participatory, but no reference is made to making sure that it is inclusive. This should be addressed in the SBAT.
• Inclusive building envelope: The comparison indicates that the building envelope should be designed to be inclusive. This is currently not adequately covered by the existing criteria with the SBAT and it is recommended that this is addressed, and reference made to ensuring that views, window opening controls and so on are able to be accessed easily by everyone, including disabled people.
• Inclusive construction processes: The SBAT does not currently have a criterion requiring that the construction process is inclusive. This should be addressed, by ensuring that there are criteria to ensure inclusion, by for instance, requiring the appropriate involvement of youth, women and disabled people.
• Healthy location: The comparison indicates that it is important that the building is located in areas conducive to human health. This is not addressed by the SBAT and should be investigated for future inclusion.
• Healthy and safe construction practices: The SBAT does not include criteria in this area. It is therefore suggested that this is considered for inclusion.
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• Participative sites: The role of sites in contributing to participation and social cohesion is not addressed in the SBAT. This area should be considered for future inclusion.
• Participative operation: The role of building management in supporting participation and social cohesion is not explored in the SBAT. It is recommended that this investigated for possible inclusion under the SO criteria.
In addition, the specification provides a method for prioritising objectives. This has been applied to the objectives generated by the specification and the results are also illustrated in
Appendix eleven. This indicates that the following objectives should be prioritised in buildings in developing countries.
•
Water: Ensure that development manages the extraction, consumption and disposal of water in order not to adversely affect the bio-physical environment
• Employment and self-employment: Ensure that development supports increased access to employment and supports self employment and the development of small businesses
• Small-scale, local and diverse economies: Ensure that development supports the development of small scale, local and diverse economies
• Access: Ensure that development support increased access to land, adequate shelter, finance, information, public services, technology and communications where this is needed.
• Education: Ensure that development improves levels of education and awareness, including awareness of sustainable development
• Health, Safety and Security: Ensure that development considers human rights and supports improved health, safety and security.
The SBAT does not have prescribed priorities, as users of the tool set these. This is a useful feature for helping ensure effective participation in the use of the tool. This benefit, it is suggested, should not be lost. A way of continuing to achieve effective participation while making recommendations about priorities would be through the inclusion of case studies and sample target ‘foot prints’ that could be aimed for. This would support a better understanding
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158 of how buildings can be developed to support sustainable development and help ensure that prioritisation of objectives was appropriate.
The SBAT includes a set of indicators. However using the tool across a number of building types soon illustrates the need to alter these in order to make these more appropriate for the building and context in question. This flexibility is both a strength and a weakness. It is a weakness currently as comparisons of performance within a particular building type is difficult as indicators are not prescribed and particular targets are not set. This could change as a database of indicators and performance targets for a variety of building types and contexts is developed.
It is therefore suggested that the effectiveness of the SBAT could be substantially improved by developing an accompanying database of indicators and performance targets, which can be drawn on in setting targets. This should support design improvements in buildings over time as knowledge on indicators improves and performance targets are made increasingly challenging.
The lack of prescribed performance targets is also a strength. This is because the tool can be used in a much wider range of situations than similar tools such as BREEAM and the GBTool, which focus on particular building types such as office buildings, houses and schools.
Avoiding prescribed targets, it is suggested, helps ensure that there is greater participation from all parties interested in the building process. By ensuring specific targets are considered for each building it encourages the development of an approach in which the local context is taken into account and there is continuous improvement.
The specification provides a number of criteria for the selection of indicators. These criteria have been applied to the objectives included in the SBAT. The results of this are shown in
Appendix eleven. This suggests that the following sets of indicators work well:
• Occupant Comfort indicators (with the exception of thermal comfort and noise)
• Inclusive Environments
• Access to Facilities
• Participation and Control (with the exception of community involvement)
• Water
• Energy (with the exception of heating and ventilation)
• Site (with the exception of habitat and landscape inputs)
It however suggests that a number of sets of indicators included in the SBAT require further development. These are as follows:
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• Education, Health and Safety (with the exception of smoking)
• Local economy
• Efficiency of Use (with the exception of space use)
• Adaptability and Flexibility
• Ongoing Costs (with the exception of user awareness)
• Capital Costs
• Waste
• Materials and Components
There appear to be a number of problems with these indicators. Many of these have not been reduced into simple criteria that do not require extensive additional modelling or data collection. They also concern aspects of buildings where the knowledge base is currently weak. For instance there is little available information on assessing the flexibility and adaptability of buildings. Clearly in order for the SBAT to be more effective additional work is required to develop more precise objective criteria and simple, quick methodologies for capturing performance information.
6.2.6. Structured Process
The specification for the tool provides a high level of detail on how the assessment tool should be used. This describes how the use of the assessment tool fits into conventional briefing and design processes. It also describes actions that need to be taken before the tool is used and how the tool can be used to involve all interested parties in setting sustainability performance targets for the building (target setting workshop).
The SBAT does include some explanation as how the tool should be used for setting targets in the briefing stages and for decision support in design. It is suggested that the explanation provided is adequate. It is recommended that more information on how to use the tool could help increase it’s effectiveness. This information however should be packaged separately, allowing users to refer to this if they so wished.
Finally, the specification provides a set of principles that the tool should be aligned with. The
SBAT is examined with respect to these principles and the results of this can be found in
Appendix thirteen. A review of this suggests that, on the whole, the SBAT is in line with the principles outlined however there are a number of aspects that can be commented on:
• Overarching goal: The review indicates that the SBAT should provide a clear goal that buildings and construction processes should aim for in order to support sustainable development.
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• Tool development: The review suggests that the SBAT would benefit from a short description of the background to the development of tool. This would help explain the design of the SBAT and help ensure that it was used correctly.
• Assumptions and definitions: The review suggests that the SBAT should list assumptions made, include definitions, references and differentiate between areas where there is strong knowledge and weak knowledge.
6.3. Concluding Hypothesis Five
The hypothesis that a specification for an assessment tool, which aims to ensure that sustainable development, is addressed and incorporated in the briefing and design of buildings in developing countries can be developed is demonstrated. The specification is shown to be both comprehensive and robust through a detailed comparison with the
Sustainable Building Assessment Tool. It proves to be an effective framework that enables a thorough review of the SBAT. The comparison process highlighted ways that the Sustainable
Building Assessment Tool and the specification could be improved. Broad recommendations from this review will be included as recommendations in the next chapter, Chapter seven,
Conclusions and Recommendations.
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7. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
7.1. Conclusions
The thesis effectively proposes a specification for an assessment tool that integrates sustainable development into briefing and design of buildings in developing countries. The sub-problems investigated each of the aspects to compile and test the specification.
The first sub-problem: “What are the key aspects of the international and local context of
sustainable development useful in understanding how buildings and construction can support
sustainable development?”, investigated current international, British and South African plans for implementing sustainable development. It indicated that the existing international plan of action for addressing sustainable development, as developed by the World Summit on
Sustainable Development was complex and requires simplification in order to be applied to the building and construction sector. It demonstrated how this could be simplified into objectives that could be applied to buildings and construction. In addition, the study showed that implementing sustainable development in developing countries is dissimilar to developed countries and requires a different approach.
Hypothesis one: “The international and local context of sustainable development can inform
the development of a specification for an assessment tool that aims to integrate sustainable
development into building briefing and design processes.” is substantiated through the investigation of international, British and South African plans for implementing sustainable development.
The second sub problem: “What are key concepts in sustainability that are useful in
understanding how buildings and construction can support sustainable development?”
investigated concepts within sustainability. The chapter indicates that sustainability as being the ultimate goal of sustainable development. It also identifies characteristics of sustainability.
These findings are valuable as they helped to define the goal set, and the approach advocated, by the specification.
Hypothesis Two: “Concepts from sustainability can inform the development of a specification for an assessment tool that aims to integrate sustainable development into building briefing and design processes” is substantiated through the investigation of literature on sustainability.
The third sub problem: “What are the key features of existing sustainable development,
sustainability and development assessment systems and frameworks?” investigated current sustainable development and sustainability assessment systems and development
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162 frameworks. It is valuable for the study as it reveals methodologies and approaches that are worthy of inclusion in the specification.
Hypothesis Three: “Existing sustainable development, sustainability and development assessment systems and frameworks can inform the development of a specification for an assessment tool that integrates sustainable development into building briefing and design processes” is substantiated through an investigation of sustainable development assessment systems and development frameworks.
The fourth sub problem: “Can a specification for an assessment tool which aims to ensure
that sustainable development is addressed and incorporated in the briefing and design of buildings in developing countries, be developed by drawing on the sustainable development context (problem one), key sustainability concepts (sub problem 2) and key features of
sustainable development, sustainability and development frameworks (sub problem 3)? “ completes the main objective of the study through the development of specification. This incorporates knowledge from Chapters two, three and four in order to specify the objectives, scope, structure, components and methodology of assessment tool.
Hypotheses four: “A specification for an assessment tool, which aims to ensure that
sustainable development, is addressed and incorporated in the briefing and design of
buildings in developing countries can be developed” is substantiated through the development of a specification.
The fifth sub problem: ”How does the Sustainable Building Assessment Tool (SBAT) compare
with the specification for an assessment tool developed in (sub problem 4)?” tests the specification through comparison of this with the Sustainable Building Assessment Tool. This comparison shows the specification to be a robust and comprehensive framework enabling shortcomings in the SBAT to be identified and recommendations for improvement to be made. This is valuable for the study as it validates the specification.
Hypothesis five: “A comparison between the specification for an assessment tool and the
SBAT will assist in validating the specification and identify whether the SBAT is an appropriate tool for integrating sustainable development into the briefing and design of
buildings in developing countries” is substantiated by findings which reveal that the specification and the SBAT can be validated.
7.2. Recommendations
The study makes the following recommendations:
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The Sustainable Building Assessment Tool: It recommends that the Sustainable Buildings
Assessment Tool address the shortcomings identified by the specification. Detailed shortcomings and recommendations for the tool are made in Chapter six. In addition to addressing specific recommendations the study recommends that additional research be undertaken in order to develop associated components and methodologies that will assist in the implementation and effectiveness of the tool. This includes:
• Sustainable building and construction performance objectives and indicators
database: A database of objectives and indicators for different building types, contexts and construction methodologies should be developed. This should include reference framework (such as sustainable development or building and construction policy and plans) and up to date benchmark information. This data will support the effectiveness of the SBAT by enabling highly specific and challenging performance targets to be set for projects.
• Structured approach: It is recommended that the structured approach described by the specification be developed further and formalised through linking this with existing professional and legislated processes such as the South African Institute of Architects project stages and municipal planning requirements.
• Associated tools and methodologies: The study indicates that more specific and detailed tools and capacity development will be required in order to ensure that sustainable building and construction objectives are effectively integrated and addressed. In particular it is recommended that research be carried out in the priority areas identified in Chapter six of the study, such as water and employment creation.
The aim of this research should be to identify specific interventions that should be made within buildings and construction in the areas identified and should lead to the specification of tools and capacity development that will enable these to be implemented.
7.3. Areas for Future Research
It is recommended that the following areas be investigated for further study: a. The relationship between building briefing processes and sustainable development in developing countries b. The relationship between design methodologies and sustainable development in developing countries c. The relationship between construction methodologies and management and sustainable development in developing countries
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164 d. The relationship between building operation and sustainable development in developing countries e. The relationship between building reuse and demolition and sustainable development in developing countries.
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APPENDIX ONE: DEFINITION OF TERMS
Adaptability: Refers to the degree to which adjustments are possible in practices, processes, or structures of systems to projected or actual changes of climate. Adaptation can be spontaneous or planned, and be carried out in response to or in anticipation of changes in conditions. http://www.weathervane.rff.org/glossary/index.html
Architect: A person who designs and supervises the construction of building. Dictionary of buildings. Maclean, J.H., and Scott, J.S. 1995.
Assessment framework: A document designed to support the integration of particular goals and objectives (such as sustainable development objectives) in to particular fields (such as building and construction).
Benchmark: A measurable variable used as a baseline or reference in evaluating the performance of an organisation. Benchmarks may he drawn from internal experience or that of other organisations or from legal requirement and are often used to gauge changes in performance over time. http://glossary.eea.eu.int/EEAGlossary
Benchmarking: Developed in areas such as Total Quality Management (TQM), benchmarking involves the comparison, ranking or rating of different processes, units or organisation against standards. The aim of this is identify ways of improving the performance of operations, systems and processes. Elkington, J.1997.
Binding targets: Refer to environmental standards that are to be met in the future. http://www.weathervane.rff.org/glossary/index.html
Biodegradeable: Capable of decomposing rapidly by microorganisms under natural conditions
(aerobic and/or anaerobic). Most organic materials, such as food scraps and paper are biodegradable. http://glossary.eea.eu.int/EEAGlossary/B/biomass
Biodiversity: Assemblage of living organisms from all sources including terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part. http://glossary.eea.eu.int/EEAGlossary/B/biomass
Biological productivity: Refers to nature's ability to reproduce and regenerate living matter.
Biological productivity of a given land category (i.e. pasture, forest, etc.) is determined by dividing the total biological production (how much is grown and living on the land) by the total land area available in this category. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Biomass or biomatter: Is the amount of living organic matter of an ecosystem - usually measured in dry weight. http://www.redefiningprogress.org/programs/sustainability/glossary/terms.html
Biomass: The biodegradable fraction of products, waste and residues from agriculture (including vegetal and animal substances), forestry and related industries, as well as the biodegradable fraction of industrial and municipal waste. http://glossary.eea.eu.int/EEAGlossary/B/biomass
Brief: Set of instructions developed by a client to be used by an architect to design a building.
Buffer zone: The region near the border of a protected area; a transition zone between areas managed for different objectives http://glossary.eea.eu.int/EEAGlossary/B/biomass
Building: A building is any structure with a roof to provide shelter from the weather for its occupants or contents. Maclean, J.H., and Scott, J.S. 1995.
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Building lifecycle: Term used to describe the different stages in the development, use and demolition and reuse of buildings.
Building site: A plot of land for building or on which work for a building project is in hand.
Maclean, J.H., and Scott, J.S. 1995.
Building stakeholder: People actively involved in, or affected by the design and use of buildings such as occupants, owners and developers, a design team and local communities and government.
Carbon sequestration: Generally refers to capturing carbon -- in a carbon sink, such as the oceans, or a terrestrial sink such as forests or soils -- so as to keep the carbon out of the atmosphere. http://www.weathervane.rff.org/glossary/index.html
Carrying capacity: Is conventionally defined as the maximum population size of a given species that an area can support without reducing its ability to support that same species in the future. In the human context, William Catton defines it as the maximum "load" (population x per capita impact) that can safely and persistently be imposed on the environment by people. http://www.redefiningprogress.org/programs/sustainability/glossary/terms.html
Conservation: Maintenance or sustainable use of the earth's resources that maintains ecosystems, species and genetic diversity and the evolutionary and other processes that shaped them. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Construction: The activity of erecting buildings and other structures, including commercial, industrial and residential work. Maclean, J.H., and Scott, J.S. 1995.
Consumption: Refers to all the goods and services used by households. This includes purchased commodities at the household level (such as food, clothing, and utilities), the goods and services paid for by government (such as defense, education, social services and health care), and the resources consumed by businesses to increase their assets (such as business equipment and housing). http://www.redefiningprogress.org/programs/sustainability/glossary/terms.html
Contractor: A person (or company) who agrees to do something in return for payment Maclean,
J.H., and Scott, J.S. 1995.
Community participation: Process whereby a community or communities are encouraged to voluntarily take part in decision making and implementation of development programmes especially when the community of the beneficiary. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Composting: The controlled biological decomposition of organic material in the presence of air to form a humus-like material. Controlled methods of composting include mechanical mixing and aerating, ventilating the materials by dropping them through a vertical series of aerated chambers, or placing the compost in piles out in the open air and mixing it or turning it periodically. http://glossary.eea.eu.int/EEAGlossary
Descriptive indicator: Descriptive indicators show the development of a variable, but are not connected with a concrete policy target. http://glossary.eea.eu.int/EEAGlossary
Developing countries:, Or less developed countries (LDCs), are those countries which are in the process of becoming industrialized but have constrained resources with which to combat their environmental problems http://www.weathervane.rff.org/glossary/index.html
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Differentiation: In the context of the Framework Convention refers to differing national circumstances that might imply differing obligations. It can refer to North-South distinctions, or to differences within the rich Annex 1 countries. The differences can reflect population, income, economic composition, or energy http://www.weathervane.rff.org/glossary/index.html
Disability: A disability is any restriction or lack (resulting from an impairment) of ability to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being (WHO). The term 'disability’ can also summarise a great number of different functional limitations occurring in any population in any country of the world. People may be disabled by physical, intellectual or sensory impairment, medical conditions or mental illness. (Standard Rules on the Equalisation of
Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, United Nations, 1994) It is also defined as the disadvantage or restriction caused by contemporary social organisation which takes no or little account of people who have impairments and thus excludes them from the mainstream of social activities (Disabled Peoples International) http://www.fao.org/scripts/Rural_D/query/Glo_Select.idc
Downstream: Refers to any point in the economy, and in particular, at the level of energy consumers rather than suppliers. It is commonly interpreted to be industrial boilers, electric utilities and other major energy users, but also applies, in theory, to all consumers of gasoline, coal, electricity etc. Conversely, upstream refers to the point (or close to it) where fossil fuels enter the economy. In the U.S., it means at the input to oil refineries, at coal processing plants and where natural gas enters pipelines. http://www.weathervane.rff.org/glossary/index.html
DPSIR: The causal framework for describing the interactions between society and the environment adopted by the European Environment Agency: Driving forces, Pressures, States,
Impacts, Responses (extension of the PSR model developed by OECD). http://glossary.eea.eu.int/EEAGlossary
Ecodevelopment: Development at regional and local levels, consistent with the potentials of the area involved, with attention given to the adequate and rational use of natural resources, technological styles and organizational forms that respect the natural ecosystems and local social and cultural patterns. http://www.fao.org/scripts/Rural_D/query/Glo_Select.idc
Eco-labelling: Special product labels that indicate that a product meets standards of environmental soundness that are supported by extensive research into the product's impact on the environment http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Ecology: Study of natural environment and of the relations of organisms to each other and to their surroundings. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Ecological approach: Natural processes that recycle nutrients in various in various chemical forms from the non-living environment to living natural resource planning and management activities that assure consideration of the relationships among all organisms, including humans and their environment. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Ecological diversity: Variety of forests, deserts, grasslands, oceans, streams, lakes, and other biological communities interacting with one another and with their nonliving environment. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Ecological integrity: Degree to which an ecosystem has the ability to be self-sustaining over the long term. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Ecological footprint: Land (and water) area of the planet or particular area required for the support either of humankind’s current lifestyle or the consumption pattern of a particular
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Environment Statistics.
Ecological land use planning: Method for deciding how land should be used; development of an integrated model that considers geological, ecological health, and social variables. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Ecological processes: Actions or events that link organisms, including humans, and their environment, including production, decay, nutrient cycling, disturbance and successional development. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Ecological zone: A large natural unit controlled by a set of common processes, mostly climatic and dominated by life forms with similar physical adaptations to those processes. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Ecosphere: Entire global ecosystem that comprises atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere as interacting components. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Ecosystem: Is the complex of plant, animal, fungal, and microorganism communities and their associated non-living environment interacting as an ecological unit. Ecosystems have no fixed boundaries; instead, their parameters are set according to the scientific, management, or policy question being examined. Depending upon the purpose of analysis, a single lake, a watershed, or an entire region could be considered an ecosystem. http://www.weathervane.rff.org/glossary/index.html
Ecosystem approach: Comprehensive and holistic approach to understanding and anticipating ecological change, assessing the full range of consequences, and developing appropriate responses. It recognises the complexity of ecosystems and interdependence of component parts. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Ecosystem diversity: Variety of ecosystems in which species or communities of organisms, occur. It also includes an ecosystem structure and function. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Ecosystem restoration: Returning an ecosystem from a non-sustainable to a sustainable condition. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Ecosystem sustainability: Ability to sustain biodiversity, productivity, health, resilience to stress, renewability, yields of desired values, resource uses, products or services from an ecosystem, while maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem over time. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Ecotourism: Tourism that focuses on nature-related, non-consumptive activities or experiences such as bird watching. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Efficiency indicator: Indicators that relate environmental pressures to human activities. These indicators provide insight in the efficiency of products and processes: Efficiency in terms of the resources used, the emissions and waste generated per unit of output. http://glossary.eea.eu.int/EEAGlossary
Embodied energy: Of a commodity is the energy that is used during the entire life cycle of the commodity for manufacturing, transporting, and disposing of the commodity. http://www.redefiningprogress.org/programs/sustainability/glossary/terms.html
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Erosion: Is the process of soil and nutrient loss that leads to a decline in the ability of the land to support life. Can also be used metaphorically to refer to depletion (e.g. of natural capital). http://www.redefiningprogress.org/programs/sustainability/glossary/terms.html
Effluent: A liquid waste material that is a by-product of human activity (e.g. liquid industrial discharge or sewage) http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Environmental degradation: Depletion or destruction of a potentially renewable resource such as soil, grassland, forest or wildlife by using it at a faster rate than it is naturally replenished. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Environmental impact assessment: Critical appraisal of the likely ecological effects of a proposed project, activity, or policy, both positive and negative. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Environmental indicator: Selected key statistic that represents or summarizes the state of the environment, natural resource sustainability or related human activity. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Environment: Components of the earth, including air, land and water, all layers of the atmosphere, all organic and inorganic matter and living organisms, and the interacting systems that include all these organisms http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Environmental accounting: 1) National accounting: physical and monetary accounts of environmental assets and the costs of their depletion and degradation. 2) Corporate accounting: the term usually refers to environmental auditing, but may also include the costing of environmental impacts caused by the corporation. http://glossary.eea.eu.int/EEAGlossary
Environmental impact assessment: A technique used for identifying the environmental effects of development projects. As a result of Directive 85/337/EEC (as amended 1997), this is now a legislative procedure to be applied to the assessment of the environmental effects of certain public and private projects which are likely to have significant effects on the environment. An EIA requires a scoping study to be undertaken in order to focus the assessment. This can be carried out in the field or as a desk study depending on the nature/scale of the project. http://glossary.eea.eu.int/EEAGlossary
Environmental management system: A means of ensuring effective implementation of an environmental management plan or procedures and compliance with environmental policy objectives and targets. A key feature on any effective environmental management system (EMS) is the preparation of documented system procedures and instructions to ensure effective communication and continuity of implementation. There are certification systems for EMS ISO
14001 and EC´s EMAS scheme (EMAS is now compatible with ISO 14001) which demonstrate that a system is operated to an internationally recognised standard. Alternatively a customised system can be developped addressing the particular needs of the operation. http://glossary.eea.eu.int/EEAGlossary
Financial capital: The financial resources which are available to people (whether savings, supplies of credit, or regular remittance of pensions) and which provide them with diferent livelihood options. Adapted from Scoones. I. 1998.
Fossil fuels: Are coal, natural gas and fuels made from crude oil (such as petrol and diesel). http://www.redefiningprogress.org/programs/sustainability/glossary/terms.html
Full cost accounting: A tool to identify, quantify and allocate the direct and indirect environmental costs of ongoing company operations. Full cost accounting helps identify and
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Gaia: Greek Goddess of the earth. Also name given to a hypothesis proposed by James
Lovelock which views the planet as a self regulating and self-organising organism. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Gaia Hypothesis: This postulates that they physical and chemical condition of the surface of the
Earth, of the atmosphere, and of the oceans has been and is actively made fit and comfortable by life itself. This contrasts with conventional wisdom, which held that life adapted to the planetary conditions as it, and they evolved their separate ways. Lovelock, J.1987
Genetic diversity: Infinite variation of possible genetic combinations among individuals. Genetic diversity is what enables a species to adapt to ecological change. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Global warming: Modification of climates due to retention of an increased proportion of radiation on land, and increasing temperatures. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Greenhouse effect: Is the progressive, gradual warming of the earth's atmospheric temperature, caused by the insulating effect of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that have proportionately increased in the atmosphere. The greenhouse effect disturbs the way the Earth’s climate maintains the balance between incoming and outgoing energy by allowing short-wave radiation from the sun to penetrate through to warm the earth, but preventing the resulting longwave radiation from escaping back into the atmosphere. http://www.weathervane.rff.org/glossary/index.html
Greenhouse gases: Include the common gases of carbon dioxide and water vapor, but also rarer gases such as methane and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) whose properties relate to the transmission or reflection of different types of radiation. The increase in such gases in the atmosphere, which contributes to global warming, is a result of the burning of fossil fuels, the emission of pollutants into the atmosphere, and deforestation. http://www.weathervane.rff.org/glossary/index.html
Green taxes: Economics jargon for a group of financial instruments favoured by those who see market forces as the best form of forcing business to pay for pollution. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Gross domestic product (GDP): Unduplicated value of production originating within the boundaries of a country, regardless of the ownership of the factors of production. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Gross national product (GNP): Unduplicated value of production by nationally-owned factors of production, regardless of where it takes place. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Ground water: All water, which is below the surface of the ground in the saturation zone and in direct contact with the ground of the soil. http://glossary.eea.eu.int/EEAGlossary
Greenhouse effect: Warming of the atmosphere due to the reduction in outgoing solar radiation resulting from concentrations of gases such as carbon dioxide http://glossary.eea.eu.int/EEAGlossary
Habitat: The place where an organism lives or the place one would go to find it. The habitat is the organism’s address, and the ecological niche its profession, biologically speaking. Odum,
E.P.1959. p. 53.
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Hazardous waste: Waste that poses a risk to human or ecological health. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Human Capital: The skills, knowledge, ability to labour and good health important to the ability to pursue different livelihood strategies. Adapted from Scoones, I. 1998.
Human Development Index (HDI): Measure based on three indicators: (a) longevity, as measured by life expectancy at birth, (b) educational and combined primary, secondary and tertiary enrolment ratios (one-third weight) and (c) standard of living, as measured by real gross domestic product (GDP) per capita (in purchasing power. United Nations. 1997. Glossary of
Environment Statistics.
Human well-being: A condition in which all members of society are able to determine and meet their needs and have a large range of choices to meet their potential. Prescott-Allen, R. 2001.
Hydrological cycle: Is the natural cycle of water from evaporation, transpiration in the atmosphere, condensation (rain and snow), and flows back to the ocean (e.g. rivers). http://www.redefiningprogress.org/programs/sustainability/glossary/terms.html
ICT: Information and Communication Technologies - generally refers to Internet-based computer technologies and applications http://www.fao.org/scripts/Rural_D/query/Glo_Select.idc
Indicators: A variable, pointer, or index. Its fluctuation reveals the variations in key elements of a system. The position and trend of the indicator in relation to reference points or values indicate the present state and dynamics of the system. Indicators provide a bridge between objectives and action. 2. Signals - of processes, inputs, outputs, effects, results, outcomes, impacts, etc. - that enable such phenomena to be judged or measured. Both qualitative and quantitative indicators are needed for management learning, policy review, monitoring and evaluation Indicators for sustainable development of marine capture fisheries. FAO.1999.
Indigenous: People, plants or animals that originate naturally in a region. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Indigenous ecological and environmental knowledge: Through a traditional way of life over many generations, indigenous people have developed an in-depth knowledge of the ecosystems in which they live. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Infiltration: Penetration of water into the ground. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Internet: Worldwide collection of interconnected, heterogeneous computer networks. http://www.fao.org/scripts/Rural_D/query/Glo_Select.idc
Intranet: A collection of interconnected computer networks at a local level. http://www.fao.org/scripts/Rural_D/query/Glo_Select.idc
Landfill: Tipping of wastes into holes in the ground. A relatively cheap way of using domestic waste and more hazardous chemicals. Landfill sites to handle more difficult wastes are now engineered, managed and monitored to prevent poisons leaking out. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Lifecycle: Consecutive or interlinked stages of a product or service, from the extraction of natural resources to the disposal of the final product. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
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Lifecycle assessment: The overall process of assessing the lifecycle impacts associated with a system, function, product or service. Elkington, J.1997.
Life support systems: According to the World Conservation Union (IUCN), refer to the biophysical processes "that sustain the productivity, adaptability and capacity for renewal of lands, waters, and / or the biosphere as a whole." http://www.redefiningprogress.org/programs/sustainability/glossary/terms.html
Management: The art of taking measures affecting a resource and its exploitation with a view to achieving certain objectives, such as the maximization of the production of that resource.
Management includes, for example, fishery regulations such as catch quotas or closed seasons.
Managers are those who practice management. Cooke, J.G.1984.
Monitoring: 1) A combination of observation and measurement for the performance of a plan, programme, or measure, and its compliance with environmental policy and legislation. 2) The provision of the necessary information about progress of implementation of a project, plan, etc. in order to ensure that project management and cooperation partners are able to follow the implementation of the projects and if necessary adjust activities, inputs and budgets, in order to obtain the objectives laid down for the project. http://glossary.eea.eu.int/EEAGlossary
Municipal wastewater: Discharge of effluent from waste water treatment plants which receive waste water from households, commercial establishments, and industries. Combined sewer/separate storm overflows are included in this category. http://glossary.eea.eu.int/EEAGlossary
Municipal waste: Waste from households, as well as other waste which, because of its nature or composition, is similar to waste from household. http://glossary.eea.eu.int/EEAGlossary
Modelling: An investigative technique using a mathematical or physical representation of a system or theory that accounts for all or some its known properties. Models are often used to test the effect of changes of system components on the overall performance of the system. http://glossary.eea.eu.int/EEAGlossary
Natural Capital: Refers to the existing air, water, land and energy resources from which all resources derive. Main functions include resource production (such as fish, timber or cereals), waste assimilation (such as CO2 absorption, sewage decomposition), and life support services
(UV protection, biodiversity, water cleansing, climate stability). http://www.redefiningprogress.org/programs/sustainability/glossary/terms.html
Non-renewable resource: Natural resource that cannot be replaced, regenerated, or brought back to its original state once it has been extracted. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Non-renewable: Minerals, oil, gas and coal. Their use as material and energy sources leads to depletion of the Earth’s reserves and are characterised that they do not renew in human relevant periods. http://glossary.eea.eu.int/EEAGlossary
Noise pollution: Harmful or unwanted sounds in the environment, which in specific locals, can be measured and averaged over a period of time http://glossary.eea.eu.int/EEAGlossary
Natural Capital: The natural assets (i.e. stocks of resources such as land, water, wildlife, biodiversity, and other environmental resources) providing inputs for economic production and from which resource flows useful for livelihoods are derived. Natural assets in their role of providing natural resource inputs and environmental services for economic production The natural resource stock from which resource flows useful for livelihoods are derived (e.g. land, water, wildlife, biodiversity, environmental resources). Adapted from Scoones. I. 1998
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Objective: Expresses the object of an action or what is intended to be achieved. Any objective will include explicit statements against which progress can be measured, and identify which things are truly important and the way they inter-relate; quantified objectives are referred to as targets. Natural resource that does not have a barrier to its use. Scialabba N. (ed.), 1998. p.256
Ozone: At the ground level is a form of air pollution that is produced when nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons react in sunlight. It is not to be confused with stratospheric ozone, which is found 9 to 18 miles high in the Earth’s atmosphere and protects people from harmful radiation from the sun. Ground-level ozone pollution, or smog, is mainly a problem during hot summer days. http://www.fao.org/fi/glossary
Ozone layer: A thin layer of ozone that lies about 25 kilometres above the earth, in the stratosphere. It forms a prospective screen against harmful radiation, filtering out ultraviolet rays from the sun. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Performance indicator: Performance indicators compare actual conditions with a specific set of reference conditions. They measure the 'distance(s)' between the current environmental situation and the desired situation (target): 'distance to target' assessment. http://glossary.eea.eu.int/EEAGlossary
Performance: Accomplishment; fulfilment; functioning, usually with regard to effectiveness.
Indicators of performance will be interpreted in relation to reference points and objectives. FAO.
1998. p113
Photovoltaics: Light-sensitive panels used to generate electricity from the sun. Used to power electronics in satellites, navigation buoys, oil rigs and ocean-going yachts but is still too expensive for most domestic or general industrial uses. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Physical Capital: The basic infrastructure (transport, shelter, water, energy, and communications) and the production equipment and means which enable people to pursue their livelihoods Adapted from Scoones, I.1998
Policy: A set of government or corporate objectives and guidelines deliberately chosen to influence future decisions http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Pollution: The poisoning of land, air or water with anything that reduces its ability to support life. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Population: A group of organisms of the same species living within a specified region. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Precautionary principle: 1) Principle adopted by the UN Conference on Environment and
Development (1992) that in order to protect the environment, a precautionary approach should be widely applied, meaning that where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage to the environment, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing costeffective measures to prevent environmental degradation. 2) The precautionary principle permits a lower level of proof of harm to be used in policy-making whenever the consequences of waiting for higher levels of proof may be very costly and/or irreversible. http://glossary.eea.eu.int/EEAGlossary
Recycling: 1) A resource recovery method involving the collection and treatment of a waste product for use as raw material in the manufacture of the same or a similar product. 2) the EU waste strategy distinguishes between: reuse meant as a material reuse without any structural changes in materials; recycling meant as a material recycling, only, and with a reference to
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Renewable resources are energy sources that do not use exhaustible fuels. Sources of renewable energy include water, wind, solar energy and geothermal energy, as well as some combustible materials, such as landfill gas, biomass, and municipal solid waste http://www.weathervane.rff.org/glossary/index.html
Renewable resources: Resources which renew themselves within a human time-scale, such as trees and freshwater, and have the potential to be used on a sustainable basis without depletion. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Resilience: Capacity for a natural area to recover from disturbance. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Resource depletion: For renewable resources, the part of the harvest, logging, catch and so forth above the sustainable level of the resource stock; for non-renewable resources, the quantity of resources extracted. Portion of rainfall, melted snow or irrigation water that flows across the ground’s surface and is eventually returned to streams. Run-off can pick up pollutants from air or land and carry them to receiving waters. http://glossary.eea.eu.int/EEAGlossary
Reuse: Material reuse without any structural changes in materials. http://glossary.eea.eu.int/EEAGlossary
Runoff: Storm water running off from the ground surface. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Social Capital: A measure of the ability of people to work together for a common purpose in groups or organisations. A key element of social capital is the sense of mutual trust. Elkington,
J.1997
Solar energy: Energy from the sun which can be captured and used. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Solid waste: Wastes disposed of on land. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
State indicator: Indicator for the condition of different environmental compartments and systems in physical (e.g. temperature), chemical (e.g. atmospheric CO2 concentrations) or biological (fish stocks) variables http://glossary.eea.eu.int/EEAGlossary
Species: Group of related individuals with common hereditary morphology, chromosome number and structure, physiology and way of life, separated from neighbouring groups by a barrier that is generally-related in nature. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Species diversity: Total number of different species in a given area. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Species richness: Number of species in a region, site or sample http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Stewardship: Management of natural resources that conserves them for future generations.
Usually used to distinguish from short-term, utilitarian management objectives http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
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Structured process: A process designed to ensure that the assessment framework and target setting document are used in effective ways to integrate sustainable development into building and construction processes. This involves ensuring that it uses the right information, involves the right people at the right time and influences decision-making.
Surface water: Water found on the surface of the land, for example rivers, lakes and dams. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Sustainability: The ability of an ecosystem to maintain ecological processes and functions, biodiversity and productivity over time. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Sustainable Building Assessment Tool or SBAT: A tool that has been developed to support the integration of sustainable development into building briefing and design processes.
Sustainable development: Term coined by the World Commission on Environment and
Development to denote development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs; development that does not require a continuous input from the outside to sustain itself. - there is no consensus on the definition of SD.
Ekins, P., Hillman, M., and Hutchinson, R.1992.
Sustainable resource use: Use of resources (I.e. organisms or ecosystems) in a way and at a rate that does not lead to the long-term decline of biodiversity, thereby maintaining its potential to meet the needs and aspirations of present and future generations http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Sustainability: There are over 100 definitions of sustainability and sustainable development, but the best known is that of the World Commission on Environment and Development. This suggests that development is sustainable where it “meets the needs of present without compromising that ability of future generations to meet their own needs” http://globalsustainability.org/Education/Definitions/
Sustainability indicator: A variable, a pointer, an index of a complex phenomenon. Its fluctuations reveal the variations in components of the ecosystem, the resource or the sector. The position and trend of the indicator in relation to the criteria indicate the present state and dynamics of the system. Ideally, composite indicators are needed, the position and trajectory of which, within a system of reference of related criteria, would allow simple holistic assessment of sustainability. One can distinguish indicators of state of the system, pressure (or stress, driving forces) on the system, and response (reflecting action taken to mitigate, reduce, eliminate or compensate for the stress). http://glossary.eea.eu.int/EEAGlossary/S/sustainability_indicator
Species: Group of related individuals with common hereditary morphology, chromosome number and structure, physiology and way of life, separated from neighbouring groups by a barrier that is generally-related in nature. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Sustainable use: The use of components of biological diversity in a way and at a rate that does not lead to the long-term decline of biological diversity, thereby maintaining its potential to meet the needs and aspirations of present and future generations. FAO.1998.
Target setting document: A document consisting of sustainable development objectives and targets that have been discussed and agreed by building stakeholders for a building project.
Target setting workshop: A workshop involving key stakeholders of a building project where an
assessment framework is used to discuss and agree sustainable development objectives and targets for a building project in order to produce a target setting document.
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Tender: Offer made by a contractor to do certain work for a prices. Maclean, J.H., and Scott, J.S.
1995.
Tendering: The process of sending out drawings and bills of quantities to contractors for them to prepare a tender price. Maclean, J.H., and Scott, J.S. 1995.
Toxic: Any substance entering or that may enter the environment in a quantity or concentration or under conditions constituting a danger to the environment or human life or health. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Trend: A persistent tendency in the slope of a time series. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Urban: A place or area that ahs a population of at least 1,000 people concentrated within a continuously built up areaa, at a density of at least 400 per square kilometre. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Urban wastewater: The liquid wastes deriving from domestic, commercial and industrial activities of an urban settlement. 2) Urban waste water means domestic waste water or the mixture of domestic waste water with industrial waste water and/or run-off rain water. http://glossary.eea.eu.int/EEAGlossary
Vulnerable: Official designation of any indigenous species, subspecies or any geographically separate population that is particularly at risk because of low or declining numbers, small range , or some other reason but is not a threatened. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Waste: Physical waste is product that is caught but does not have market value. It is a by-product of the production process, which is not utilized. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Water consumption: Water abstracted, which is no longer available for use because it has evaporated, transpired, been incorporated into products and crops, consumed by man or livestock, ejected directly into sea, or otherwise removed from freshwater resources. Water losses during transport of water between the points or points of abstractions and point or points of use are excluded. http://glossary.eea.eu.int/EEAGlossary
Water erosion: Process of soil erosion beginning when raindrops bombard bare soil, loosening and washing away soil particles and culminating eventually in gully formation, most severe in areas with long dry seasons and agricultural practices that leave little vegetation cover on the soil. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Water harvesting: Any system to collect and concentrate rainwater or any other precipitation. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Water infiltration: Water moving down into pore spaces in the soil. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Water table: A more or less horizontal layer in the soil below which all spaces between soil particles are saturated with water. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
Zero emissions: Industrial or other waste producing processes which completely recycle or capture wastes so that none are released to the environment except in completely benign forms. http://www.iucnrosa.org.zw/work/vesats/m2/m2gloss.htm
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APPENDIX TWO: AGENDA 21 CHAPTERS
1 Preamble
Social and economic Dimensions
2. International cooperation to accelerate sustainable development in developing countries and related domestic policies
3. Combating poverty
4. Changing consumption patterns
5. Demographic dynamics and sustainability
6. Protecting and promoting human health conditions
7. Promoting sustainable human settlement development8. Integrating environment and development in decision-making
Conservation and Management of Resources for Development
9. Protection of the atmosphere
10. Integrated approach to the planning and management of land resources
11. Combating deforestation
12. Managing fragile ecosystems: combating desertification and drought
13. Managing fragile ecosystems: sustainable mountain development
14. Promoting sustainable agriculture and rural development
15. Conservation of biological diversity
16. Environmentally sound management of biotechnology
17. Protection of the oceans, all kinds of seas, including enclosed and semi-enclosed seas, and coastal areas and the protection, rational use and development of their living resources
18. Protection of the quality and supply of freshwater resources: application of integrated approaches to the development, management and use of water resources
19. Environmentally sound management of toxic chemicals, including prevention of illegal international traffic in toxic and dangerous products
20. Environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes including prevention of illegal international traffic in hazardous waste.
21. Environmentally sound management of solid wastes and sewage-related issues
22. Safe and environmentally sound management of radioactive wastes
Strengthening the Role of Major Groups
21. Preamble
24. Global action for women towards sustainable and equitable development
25. Children and youth in sustainable development
26. Recognizing and strengthening the role of indigenous people and their communities
27. Strengthening the role of non-governmental organizations: partners for sustainable development
28. Local authorities' initiatives in support of Agenda 21
29. Strengthening the role of workers and their trade unions
30. Strengthening the role of business and industry31. Scientific and technological community
32. Strengthening the role of farmers
Means of Implementation
33. Financial resources and mechanisms
34. Transfer of environmentally sound technology, cooperation and capacity-building
35. Science for sustainable development
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36. Promoting education, public awareness and training
37. National mechanisms and international cooperation for capacity-building in developing countries
38. International institutional arrangements
39. International legal instruments and mechanisms
40. Information for decision-making
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APPENDIX THREE: WORLDS SUMMIT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES
Focus Description
Environmental
Sustainability
Size, productivity and biodiversity
Ensure that development conserves or increased the size, biodiversity and productivity of the bio-physical environment
Resource
Management
Resource extraction and processing
Waste & pollution
Water
Energy
Ensure that development supports the management of the bio-physical environment
Ensure that development minimises the use/support of environmentally damaging resource extraction and processing practices
Ensure that development manages the production of waste to ensure that this does not adversely affect the bio-physical environment
Ensure that development manages the extraction, consumption and disposal of water in order not to adversely affect the bio-physical environment
Ensure that development manages the production and consumption of energy in order not to adversely affect the bio-physical environment
Economic
Sustainability State
Employment and self employment
Efficiency and effectiveness
Indigenous knowledge and technology
Sustainable development accounting
An enabling environment
Small-scale, local and diverse economies
Social
Sustainability
Access
Ensure that development supports increased access to employment and supports self employment and the development of small businesses
Ensure that development (including technology specified) and is designed and managed to be highly efficient and effective, achieving high productivity levels with few resources and limited waste and pollution
Ensure that development takes into account and draws on, where appropriate, indigenous knowledge and technology.
Ensure that development is based on a scientific approach and measures and monitors social, environmental and economic impacts and that this is used to inform the development.
Develop an enabling environment for sustainable development including developing transparent, equitable supportive policies and processes and forward planning.
Ensure that development supports the development of small scale, local and diverse economies
Education
Ensure that development support increased access to land, adequate shelter, finance, information, public services, technology and communications where this is needed.
Ensure that development improves levels of education and awareness, including awareness of sustainable development
Inclusive
Health, Safety and
Security
Participation
Ensure that development processes and benefits are inclusive
Ensure that development considers human rights and supports improved health, safety and security.
Ensure that development supports partnerships, interaction and involves, and is influenced by, the people that it affects.
7l, 38a, 38b, 40d, 40m, 42b, 43b, 44a, 44b, 44c, 44e,
44f, 44g, 44h,44i, 44t, 45i, 63n, 70b, 70e,
10f, 24, 25c, 38g, 38h, 40b, 40c, 40p, 43, 43a, 45a,
45b, 45c, 45d, 63n, 70a
38a, 38b, 39a, 39b, 39c, 39d, 39e,42b,
22a, 22b, 23a, 23b, 23c, 23d, 23e, 23f, 23g, 39b,
38b, 38c, 68
25, 25c, 25e, 26a, 26b, 26c, 26d, 26e, 26f, 26g, 27,
28,29, 66a, 66b, 66c, 66d
9a, 9b, 9c, 9d, 9f, 9g, 20b, 20c, 20d, 20e, 20g, 20h,
20j, 20k, 20l, 20m, 20n, 20o, 20p, 20q, 20r, 20s, 21b,
63j, 63k, 63l,
10b, 10c, 16a, 43c,
10a, 10e, 10b, 15f, 16a, 16d, 52,105, 11353f,
7e, 19g, 40h, 40r, 42e, 44j, 44m, 45h, 70c,
7a, 7b, 7c, 18a, 18c, 10b, 19e, 44o,97d, 98, 101,
109, 110, 111,112, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 135,
136,
4, 710d, 10e, 16b, 17,19a, 19c, 21a, 37a, 37b, 37c,
37d, 37e, 41, 46a, 47a, 53a, 53b, 63b, 63g, 69,
71,99, 114, 137, 138, 139
7i, 42d, 43e, 53f, 95,96,
5, 7c, 7h, 7i, 9a, 10d, 11a, 11e, 40i, 40l, 52, 63f, 63g,
63j, 67a, 67b, 67c,
7g, 7j, 8d, 10c, 7d, 16c, 16d, 18d, 19d, 20a, 20m,
40d, 63e, 107, 108, 116, 117, 119, 121, 122, 123,
124, 125, 126, 127
3, 5, 7d, 7e, 11a, 7f, 42c, 44k, 46b, 65, 120,
5, 7, 7a, 7f, 7m, 8, 12,13, 21a, 22b, 25c, 40a, 46a,
53a, 53b, 53c, 53d, 53e, 53f, 53g, 53h, 53i, 53j, 53k,
53l, 53m, 53o, 55, 56, 57, 63a, 63b, 63c, 63d, 63e,
100,118,
7, 7k 18b, 25b, 37f, 37g, 40f, 42e, 44k, 46b, 106, 128
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APPENDIX FOUR: OBJECTIVES AND INDICATORS OF THE UK SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY
Objectives
A SUSTAINABLE ECONOMY
A Doing more or less: improving resource efficiency
Greater resource efficiency
Energy efficiency of the economy
Indicators
Move away from disposal of waste towards waste reduction, reuse, recycling and recovery
B Economic stability and competitiveness
Our economy must continue to grow
Deliver low inflation
Government borrowing at stable and prudent level
Promote UK competitiveness
UK resource use
Energy efficiency of economy
Energy use per household
Waste arisings and management
Waste by sector
Household waste and recycling
Materials recycling
Hazardous waste
Total output of the economy (GDP and GDP per head)
Rate of inflation
Public sector net borrowing and net debt
Labour productivity
UK imports, exports, trade balance
Total and social investment as a percentage of GDP Investment (in modern plant and machinery, as well as research and development) is vital to our future prosperity
Also invest in "social assets
C Developing skills and rewarding work
Equip people with the skills to fulfil their potential
Raise educational standards at all levels and close the widening gap between high and low achievers
Social investment as a per cent of GDP
Qualifications at age 19
16 year-olds with no qualifications
Adult literacy/numeracy
Learning participation To become a learning society - in a rapidly changing world people need the skills to adapt, and opportunities to update them throughout their lives
Boost workplace learning
Maintain high and stable levels of employment so everyone can share greater job opportunities
Fairness at work
Businesses recognised as Investors In People
Proportion of people of working age who are in work
Proportion of people of working age in workless households
Proportion of people of working age out of work for more than two years
Proportion of lone parents, long-term ill and disabled people who are economically active
People in employment working long hours
Low pay
Work fatalities and injury rates; working days lost through illness
UK companies implementing ethical trading codes of conduct
Maintain a safe and healthy environment for workers
" Raise quality of life of workers in global supply chains of companies importing into the UK
D Sustainable production and consumption
Give consumers better information and encourage purchasing initiatives which help to move the market
" Contextual indicator
Take-up of best practice in key sectors
Consumer information
Encourage businesses to assess environmental impacts and set targets, and produce environmental reports
Need housing which is more energy-efficient, uses fewer resources and creates less waste
Greater use of sustainable construction materials
Need more efficient appliances
Minimise the impact of pesticides on human health
Encourage environmentally sensitive land management by farmers
Organic production methods
Encourage production, marketing, purchase and use of vehicles that are more fuel efficient
UK tourism industry to grow significantly in ways which are economically, socially and environmentally beneficial
Address transport issues; integrate tourism with public transport
Reduce environmental impact of chemicals
Consumer expenditure
Energy and water consumption by sector/Waste and hazardous emissions by sector
Adoption of environmental management systems (ISO 14001) and the EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS)
Corporate environmental engagement
Environmental reporting
Household water use and peak demand
Thermal efficiency of housing stock
Primary aggregates per unit of construction value
Construction and demolition waste going to landfill
Energy efficiency of new appliances
Pesticide residues in food
Area under agreement under the Environmentally Sensitive Area and Countryside Stewardship agri-environment schemes
Area converted to organic production
Energy efficiency of road passenger travel/Average fuel consumption of new cars
Sustainable tourism
Leisure trips by mode of transport
Overseas travel
Chemical releases to the environment
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Develop distribution systems which support economic growth, protect the environment and benefit society
BUILDING SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES
E Promoting economic vitality and employment
Improve economic performance and enhance regional competitiveness
Closing the gap between the poorest communities and the rest
Tackling poverty and social exclusion
Freight transport by mode
Heavy goods vehicle mileage intensity
Regional variations in GDP
Index of local deprivation
Promoting local business diversity
Reducing disproportionate unemployment among ethnic minorities
F Better health for all
Improve health of the population overall
Deliver key health targets
Environmental factors affecting health
Address major factors leading to health inequalities
Provide people with access to effective healthcare, based on patients' needs, and not on where they live or their ability to pay
G Travel
Improve choice in transport; improve access to education, jobs, leisure and services; and reduce the need to travel
Indicators of success in tackling poverty and social exclusion
Truancies and exclusions from school/teenage pregnancies
New business start-ups net of closures
Ethnic minority employment and unemployment
Expected years of healthy life
Death rates from cancer, circulatory disease, accidents and suicides
Respiratory illness
Health inequalities
NHS hospital waiting lists
Road traffic
Passenger travel by mode
How children get to school
Average journey length by purpose
Traffic congestion
Distance travelled relative to income
The cost of traffic congestion
The link between rising prosperity and increased travel must be broken
J Access
Need better access to services
Ensure that disabled people have access to a wider range of goods, services and facilities
Arts and sport should be accessible to everyone
Reduce the proportion of unfit (housing) stock
Ensure that everyone has the opportunity of a decent home
" Improving significantly the energy efficiency of all residential accommodation
K Shaping our surroundings
Re-using previously developed land, in order to protect the countryside and encourage urban regeneration
Bring empty homes back into use and convert buildings to new uses
Shopping, leisure and entertainment, offices and other key town centre uses should, wherever possible, be located within existing centres
Contextual indicators
People finding access difficult
Access to services in rural areas
Access for disabled people
Participation in sport and cultural activities
Homes judged unfit to live in
Temporary accommodation/rough sleepers
Fuel poverty
New homes built on previously developed land
Vacant land and properties and derelict land
New retail floor space in town centres and out of town
Population growth
Household growth
Buildings of Grade I and II* at risk of decay Ensure that development takes account of history and look for opportunities to conserve local heritage
Attractive streets and buildings, low levels of traffic, noise and pollution, green spaces, and community safety
Reduce both crime and fear of crime
Quality of surroundings
Access to local green space
Noise levels
Level of crime
Fear of crime
Number of local authorities with LA21 strategies
L Involvement and stronger institutions
All local communities to have sustainable development strategies in place by 2000
Voluntary and community activity can promote social inclusion and cohesion
Help build a sense of community by encouraging and supporting all forms of community involvement
MANAGING THE ENVIRONMENT AND
RESOURCES
M An integrated approach
Must not store up pollutant problems for the future
(8.6)
Voluntary activity
Community spirit
Concentrations of persistent organic pollutants
Dangerous substances in water
Radioactive waste stocks
Discharges from the nuclear industry
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N Climate change and energy supply
Climate change must be kept within limits which global society can accommodate
Assess vulnerability to changed weather patterns and higher sea levels and develop adaptation strategies
Continue to reduce our emissions of greenhouse gases now, and plan for greater reductions in the longer term
In the longer term more energy will have to come from new and renewable sources
Fossil fuel resources managed in an environmentallyacceptable way
P Air and atmosphere
Reduce air pollution and ensure air quality continues to improve through the longer term
Ensure that polluting emissions do not cause harm to human health or the environment
Rise in global temperature
Sea level rise
Emissions of greenhouse gases
Carbon dioxide emissions by end user
Electricity from renewable sources
Depletion of fossil fuels
Days when air pollution is moderate or higher
Concentrations of selected air pollutants
Emissions of selected air pollutants
Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides emissions
Acidification in the UK
Q Freshwater
Improving river quality
Safeguarding resources and ensuring affordable supplies
Avoiding waste of water
Ensure that abstraction controls play a full part in protecting the best wildlife and amenity sites
R Seas oceans and coasts
Reduce or eliminate inputs of hazardous and radioactive substances of most concern
Aim to raise consistent compliance with the European
Bathing Water Directive
Protection of marine habitats and species
Improve the management and conservation of fish stocks
Work with other countries to achieve effective management and conservation of fish stocks
S Landscape and wildlife
Minimise the loss of soils to new development
Soil protection
Reverse the long-term decline in populations of farmland and woodland birds
Reverse the decline in UK wildlife and habitats
Protection for individual landscape features such as hedges, dry stone walls and ponds
Strengthen protection for special sites
Protecting the wider landscape
Promoting public access and enjoyment of the landscape
Contextual indicator
Continuing expansion of UK woodland area
Protecting and expanding ancient and semi-natural woodlands
Better management of existing woodlands
Sustainable forestry management overseas
Aim to maximise efficient use of materials and greater use of recycled and waste materials
All mineral working sites are restored to a standard suitable for a specific beneficial afteruse
SENDING THE RIGHT SIGNALS
T Sending the right signals
Integrating the environment into each department's policies and operations
Help promote women's interests and fairness at work
Contextual indicator
Explore the scope for using economic instruments to deliver more sustainable development, and avoid
"perverse subsidies" which work against sustainable development
Cost-effective ways to comply with pollution abatement and aim to move to cleaner processes in the long term
Where new regulation is used it will conform to the
Rivers of good or fair quality
Nutrients in water
Water demand and availability
Water affordability
Water leakage
Abstractions by purpose
Sites affected by water abstraction
Estuarine water quality, marine inputs
Compliance with Bathing Water Directive
Biodiversity in coastal/marine areas
Fish stocks around the UK fished within safe limits
State of the world's fisheries
Net loss of soils to development
Concentrations of organic matter in agricultural topsoils
Populations of wild birds
Trends in plant diversity
Biodiversity action plans
Landscape features - hedges, stone walls and ponds
Extent and management of SSSIs
Countryside quality
Access to the countryside
Native species at risk
Area of woodland in the UK
Area of ancient semi-natural woodland in GB
Sustainable management of woodland
Number of countries with national forest programmes
Amount of secondary/ recycled aggregates used compared with virgin aggregates
Land covered by restoration and aftercare conditions
Greening government operations
Women in public appointments and senior positions
Prices of key resources - fuel
Real changes in the cost of transport
Expenditure on pollution abatement
Enforcement of regulations
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Improve awareness of sustainable development
Encourage individuals to do their bit
INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION AND
DEVELOPMENT
U International co-operation and development
Work with others to eliminate global poverty and raise living standards in developing countries
Contextual indicator
Work with others to tackle global pressures on the environment and resources
International conventions aimed at protecting the environment: UK commitment to Multilateral
Environmental Agreements
Contextual indicators
Public understanding and awareness
Awareness in schools
Individual action for sustainable development
Global poverty
Net Official Development Assistance (oda)
Global population
UK public expenditure on global environment protection
Implementation of multilateral environmental agreements
International emissions of carbon dioxide per head
World and UK materials consumption levels per head
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APPENDIX FIVE: SOUTH AFRICA STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT REPORT
2002 INDICATORS
Theme Indicator
Greenhouse gas emissions (carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane)
Energy use (fossil fuels vs. non-fossil fuels)
Size of the national net carbon sink
Climate Change Malaria: morbidity and mortality
Mean annual temperature
Cost of carbon abatement
Stratospheric Ozone
Air Quality
Cost of natural disaster relief
Energy intensity
Consumption of ozone depleting substances
UV-B trends
Stratospheric ozone level
Ambient Sulphur Dioxide Concentration
Ambient Nitrogen Dioxide Concentration
Threatened and extinct species per taxonomic group
Species Diversity
Habitat Change
Resource Value
Endemic species per taxonomic group
Alien (non-indigenous) species per taxonomic group
Population trends of selected species
Distribution and abundance of selected alien (non-indigenous) species
Extent of conserved areas
Extent of natural areas remaining
Disturbance regimes : fire frequency
Disturbance regimes : flood and drought
Contribution to job creation : conservation areas
Contribution to job creation : eradication of alien species
Economic contribution of commercially utilised indigenous species
Economic contribution of commercially utilised freshwater species
Economic contribution of commercially utilised marine, coastal & estuarine species
Environmental Management
Human Settlements
Vulnerability
Water Quantity
Water Quality
Economic contribution of commercially utilised terrestrial species
Multi-lateral environmental agreements
Budgetary allocation to natural resource management
Budgetary allocation to environmental education
Budgetary allocation to environmental research
Inclusion of Integrated Environmental Management (IEM) into IDPs and SDIs
Conciliation Cases
Voluntary adoption of environmental management systems
Voluntary use of environmental accounting & reporting
Government capacity for environmental management
Environmental reporting by government departments
Green space per settlement
Contaminated land per settlement
Housing density
Urban and rural population
Proportion of urban area in South Africa
GDP per capita
Life expectancy
Adult literacy rate
Employment rate
Population growth rate
HIV / AIDS incidence
Household energy use
Access to water
Access to sanitation
Intensity of use of surface water resources
Intensity of use of ground water resources
Total surface water used per sector
Total ground water used per sector
Total surface water resources available per capita
People dependent on ground water resources
Surface water affordability
Surface water salinity
Ground water salinity
Surface water nutrients
Ground water nutrients
Surface water microbiology
Ground water microbiology
Surface water toxicity
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Theme Indicator
Riparian vegetation
Freshwater Ecosystem Integrity Aquatic macro-invertebrate composition
Fish community health
Land Use
Aquatic habitat integrity
Land cover
Land productivity vs. potential
Desertification
Soil loss
Land Condition
Resource Management
Soil acidification
Soil salinisation
Land degradation
Persistent organic pollutants
Catches and Maximum Sustainable Yield per fishery sector
Distribution and abundance of resource species
Catch per unit effort per fishery sector
Commercial fishing rights supporting SMME
Resource Quality
Natural Heritage Resources
Waste Generation
Waste Reduction
Estuarine Health Index (State of South African estuaries)
Pollutant loading entering the seas from land based sources
Blue Flag beaches
Concentrations of heavy metals in sediments or biological tissues
Oil pollution accidents along the coast
Land cover change in the coastal zone
Population density change in the coastal zone
Status of natural heritage resources
Investment into natural heritage resources
Visitors to natural heritage resources
General waste produced per income group per year
General waste produced per capita per year
Hazardous waste produced per sector per year
Waste recycling
Value of waste recycled
General waste correctly disposed through landfill
Hazardous waste correctly disposed
Available landfill lifespan
Provincial expenditure on waste management
Provincial waste collection capacity
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APPENDIX SIX: AGENDA 21 INDICATORS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Chapter of Agenda 21 Driving Force indicators State indicators Response Indicators
Economic Category
Chapter 3: Combating poverty
-Unemployment rate -Head count index of poverty
-Poverty gap index
-Squared poverty gap index
-Gini index of income inequality
-Ratio of average female wage to male wage
-Population density Chapter 5: Demographic dynamics and sustainability
Chapter 36: Promoting education, public awareness and training
Chapter 6: Protecting and promoting human health
Chapter 7: Promoting sustainable human settlement development
Economic
Category
-Population growth rate
-Net migration rate
-Total fertility rate
-Rate of change of school-age population
-Primary school enrolment ratio (gross and net)
-Secondary school enrolment ratio (gross and net)
-Adult literacy rate
-Rate of growth of urban population
-Per capita consumption of fossil fuel by motor vehicle transport
-Human and economic loss due to natural disasters
-Children reaching grade 5 of primary education
-School life expectancy
-Difference between male and female school enrolment ratios
-Women per hundred men in the labour force
-Basic sanitation: Percent of population with adequate excreta disposal facilities
-Access to safe drinking water
-Life expectancy at birth
-Adequate birth weight
-Infant mortality rate
-Maternal mortality rate
-Nutritional status of children
-Percent of population in urban areas
-Area and population of urban formal and informal settlements
-Floor area per person
-House price to income ratio
-GDP spent on education
-Immunization against infectious childhood diseases
-Contraceptive prevalence
-Proportion of potentially hazardous chemicals monitored in food
-National health expenditure devoted to local health care
-Total national health expenditure related to GNP
-Infrastructure expenditure per capita
Chapter 2: International cooperation to accelerate sustainable development in countries and related domestic policies
Chapter 4: Changing consumption patterns
Chapter 33: Financial resources and mechanisms
Chapter 34: Transfer of environmentally sound technology, cooperation and capacity-building
Environmental category
Chapter 18: Protection of
-GDP per capita
-Net investment share in
GDP
-Sum of exports and imports as a percent of
GDP
-Annual energy consumption
-Share of natural-resource intensive industries in manufacturing value-added
-Net resources transfer /
GNP
-Total ODA given or received as a percentage of
GNP
-Capital goods imports
-Foreign direct investments
-Annual withdrawals of
-Environmentally adjusted
Net Domestic Product
-Share of manufactured goods in total merchandise exports
-Proven mineral reserves
-Proven fossil fuel energy reserves
-Lifetime of proven energy reserves
-Intensity of material use
-Share of manufacturing value-added in GDP
-Share of consumption of renewable energy resources
-Debt / GNP
-Debt service / export
-Share of environmentally sound capital goods imports
-Groundwater reserves
-Environmental protection expenditures as a percent of GDP
-Amount of new or additional funding for sustainable development
-Technical cooperation grants
-Waste-water treatment
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Chapter of Agenda 21
the quality and supply of freshwater resources
Chapter 17: Protection of the oceans, all kinds of seas and coastal areas
Chapter 10: Integrated approach to the planning and management of land resources
Chapter 12: Managing fragile ecosystems: combating desertification and drought
Chapter 13: Managing fragile ecosystems: sustainable mountain development
Chapter 14: Promoting sustainable agriculture and rural development
Chapter 11 : Combating deforestation
Chapter 15: Conservation of biological diversity
Chapter 16:
Environmentally sound management of biotechnology
Chapter 9: Protection of the atmosphere
Chapter 21:
Environmentally sound management of solid wastes and sewagerelated issues
Chapter 19:
Environmentally sound management of toxic chemicals
Chapter 20:
Environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes
Chapter 22: Safe and environmentally sound management of radioactive wastes
Institutional category
Chapter 8: Integrating environment and development in decisionmaking
Driving Force indicators
ground and surface water
-Domestic consumption of water per capita
-Population growth in coastal areas
-Discharges of oil into coastal waters
-Releases of nitrogen and phosphorus to coastal waters
-Land use change
-Population living below poverty line in dryland areas
-Population change in mountain areas
-Use of agricultural pesticides
-Use of fertilizers
-Irrigation percent of arable land
-Energy use in agriculture
-Wood harvesting intensity
-Generation of hazardous wastes
-Imports and exports of hazardous wastes
-Generation of radioactive wastes
State indicators
-Concentration of faecal coliform in freshwater
-Biochemical oxygen demand in water bodies
-Maximum sustained yield for fisheries
-Algae index
Response Indicators
coverage
-Density of hydrological networks natural resource management
-National monthly rainfall index
-Satellite derived vegetation index
-Land affected by desertification
-Sustainable use of natural resources in mountain areas
-Welfare of mountain populations
-Arable land per capita
-Area affected by salinization and waterlogging
-Agricultural education
-Forest area change
-Threatened species as a percent of total native species
-Emissions of greenhouse gasses
-Emissions of sulphur oxides
-Emissions on nitrogen oxides
-Consumption of ozone depleting substances
-Generation of industrial and municipal solid waste
-Household waste disposed per capita
-Ambient concentrations of pollutants in urban areas
-Chemically induced acute poisonings
-Area of land contaminated by hazardous wastes
-Managed forest area ratio
-Protected forest area as a percent of total forest area
-Protected area as a percent of total area
-R & D expenditure for biotechnology
-Existence of national biosafety regulations or guidelines
-Expenditure on air pollution abatement
-Expenditure on waste management
-Waste recycling and reuse
-Municipal waste disposal
-Number of chemicals banned or severely restricted
-Expenditure on hazardous waste treatment
-Sustainable development strategies
-Programme of integrated environmental and economic accounting
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Chapter of Agenda 21
Chapter 35: Science for sustainable development
Driving Force indicators
Chapter 37: National mechanisms and international cooperation for capacity-building in developing countries
Chapter 38: International institutional arrangements
Chapter 39: International legal instruments and mechanisms
Chapter 40: Information for decision-making
Chapter 23-32:
Strengthening the role of major groups
State indicators
-Potential scientists and engineers per million population
-Main telephone lines per
100 inhabitants
-Access to information
Response Indicators
-Mandated Environmental
Impact Assessment
-National councils for sustainable development
-Scientists and engineers engaged in R & D per million population
-Expenditure on R & D as a percent of GDP
-Ratification of global agreements
-Implementation of ratified global agreements
-Programmes for national environmental statistics
-Representation of major groups in national councils for sustainable development
-Representatives of ethnic minorities and indigenous people in national councils for sustainable development
-Contribution of NGOs to sustainable development
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APPENDIX SEVEN: COUNCIL FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT THEME
INDICATOR FRAMEWORK
1
SOCIAL
Theme Sub-theme Indicator
Equity
Health (6)
Education (36)
Housing (7)
Security
Population (5)
Theme
Atmosphere (9)
Land (10)
Oceans, Seas and
Coasts (17)
Fresh Water (18)
Biodiversity (15)
Poverty (3)
Gender Equality (24)
Nutritional Status
Mortality
Sanitation
Drinking Water
Healthcare Delivery
Education Level
Literacy
Living Conditions
Crime (36, 24)
Population Change
Percent of Population Living below Poverty Line
Gini Index of Income Inequality
Unemployment Rate
Ratio of Average Female Wage to Male Wage
Nutritional Status of Children
Mortality Rate Under 5 Years Old
Life Expectancy at Birth
Percent of Population with Adequate Sewage Disposal
Facilities
Population with Access to Safe Drinking Water
Percent of Population with Access to Primary Health Care
Facilities
Immunization Against Infectious Childhood Diseases
Contraceptive Prevalence Rate
Children Reaching Grade 5 of Primary Education
Adult Secondary Education Achievement Level
Adult Literacy Rate
Floor Area per Person
Number of Recorded Crimes per 100,000 Population
Population Growth Rate
Population of Urban Formal and Informal Settlements
ENVIRONMENTAL
Sub-theme Indicator
Climate Change
Ozone Layer Depletion
Air Quality
Agriculture (14)
Forests (11)
Desertification (12)
Urbanization (7)
Coastal Zone
Fisheries
Water Quantity
Water Quality
Ecosystem
Species
Emissions of Greenhouse Gases
Consumption of Ozone Depleting Substances
Ambient Concentration of Air Pollutants in Urban Areas
Arable and Permanent Crop Land Area
Use of Fertilizers
Use of Agricultural Pesticides
Forest Area as a Percent of Land Area
Wood Harvesting Intensity
Land Affected by Desertification
Area of Urban Formal and Informal Settlements
Algae Concentration in Coastal Waters
Percent of Total Population Living in Coastal Areas
Annual Catch by Major Species
Annual Withdrawal of Ground and Surface Water as a
Percent of Total Available Water
BOD in Water Bodies
Concentration of Faecal Coliform in Freshwater
Area of Selected Key Ecosystems
Protected Area as a % of Total Area
Abundance of Selected Key Species
ECONOMIC
Theme Sub-theme
Economic Performance
Economic Structure
(2)
Trade
Financial Status (33)
Indicator
GDP per Capita
Investment Share in GDP
Balance of Trade in Goods and Services
Debt to GNP Ratio
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(2)
Consumption and
Production Patterns
(4)
Material Consumption
Energy Use
Waste Generation and
Management (19-22)
Transportation
Total ODA Given or Received as a Percent of GNP
Intensity of Material Use
Annual Energy Consumption per Capita
Share of Consumption of Renewable Energy Resources
Intensity of Energy Use
Generation of Industrial and Municipal Solid Waste
Generation of Hazardous Waste
Management of Radioactive Waste
Waste Recycling and Reuse
Distance Traveled per Capita by Mode of Transport
INSTITUTIONAL
Theme Sub-theme Indicator
Institutional
Framework (38, 39)
Strategic Implementation of SD (8) National Sustainable Development Strategy
International Cooperation
Information Access (40)
Implementation of Ratified Global Agreements
Number of Internet Subscribers per 1000 Inhabitants
Communication Infrastructure (40) Main Telephone Lines per 1000 Inhabitants
Institutional Capacity
(37)
Science and Technology (35) Expenditure on Research and Development as a
Percent of GDP
Economic and Human Loss Due to Natural Disasters Disaster Preparedness and
Response
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APPENDIX EIGHT: GLOBAL REPORTING INITIATIVE INDICATORS
Core indicators Additional indicators
DIRECT ECONOMIC IMPACTS
Customers
Monetary flow indicator:
Net sales
Geographic breakdown of sale
Suppliers
Cost of all goods, materials, and services purchase
Percentage of contracts that were paid in accordance with agreed terms, excluding agreed penalty arrangements
Employees
Total payroll and benefits(including wages, pension, other benefits, and redundancy payments) broken down by country or region
Providers of Capital
Distributions to providers of capital broken down by interest in debt ad borrowings, and dividends on all classes, of shares, with any arrears of bad dept to be disclosed.
Increase/decrease in retained earnings at end of period
Public sector
Total sum of taxes of all types broken down by country
Supplier breakdown by organisation and country
Total spent on no-core business infrastructure development (This is infrastructure built outside the main business activities for the reporting entity such as a school, or hospital for employees and their families.
Donations to community, civil. Society, and other groups broken by case and in-kind donations per type of group.
ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE
Materials
Total materials use other than water by type
Percentage of materials used that are waste(processed or unprocessed) from sources to the reporting organisation.
Energy
Direct energy. use segmented by primary source Initiatives to use renewable energy sources and increase energy efficiency.
Energy consumption footprint of major products Indirect energy use. report on all energy used to produce and deliver energy products purchased by the organisation.
Water
Total water use
Location and size of land owned, leased, or managed in biodiversity-rich habitats
Biodiversity
Description of the major impacts on biodiversity associated with activities and/or products and services in terrestial, freshwater and marine environments.
Other indirect (upstream/downstream) energy use and implications, such as organisational travel, product lifecycle management, and use of energy-intensive materials
Water sources and related ecosystem/habitats significantly affected by use of water
Annual withdrawals of ground and surface water as a percentage of annual renewable quantity of water available from sources
Total recycling and reuse of water
Total amount of land owned. Leased, or managed for production activities
Amount of impermeable surfaces as a percentage of land purchased or elapsed.
Emissions, Effluents, and Waste
Greenhouse emissions
Use of and emissions of ozone-depleting substances
Impacts of activities and operations on protected and sensitive areas
Changes in natural habitats resulting from activities and operations and percentage protected ore restored.
Objectives, programmes, and targets for protecting and resourcting native ecosystems and species in degraded areas.
Number of IUCN Red list species with habitats in areas affected by operations
Business units currently operating of planning operations in and or around protected or sensitive areas
Other relevant indirect greenhouse gas emissions
All production transport, import, or export of any waste deemed “hazardous” under the terms of the Basel
Convention Annex I, II, VIII.
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Core indicators
Nox. Sox, and other significant emissions by type
Additional indicators
Water Sources and related ecosystems/habitats significantly affected by discharge of water and waste.
Total amount of waste by type and destination
Significant discharges to water by type
Significant spills of chemicals, oils and fuels in terms of total number and total volume
Suppliers
Products and Services
Significant environmental impacts of principal products and services
Percentage of the weight or products sold that is reclaimable at the end of the product’s useful life and the percentage that is already reclaimed.
Compliance
Incidents of and fines for non-compliance with all applicable international declarations / conventions/treaties.
And national, sub-national, regional, and local regulations associated with environmental issues
Transport
Performance of suppliers relative to environment components of programmes and procedures described in response to Government Structure and Management
Systems section.
Significant environmental impacts of transportation used for logistical purposes
Total environmental expenditure by type
Employee benefits beyond those legally mandated
Overall
SOCIAL PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
Employment
Breakdown of workforce, where possible, by region/country and status (employee/non-employee), employment type
(full time/part time), and by employment contract (indefinite or permanent/fixed terms or temporary). Also identify workforce retained in conjunction with other employers
(temporary agency workers or workers in co-employment relationships), segmented by region/country.
Net employment creation and average turnover segmented by region/country
Labour / Management Relations
Percentage of employees represented by independent trade union organisations of other bona fide employee representations broken down geographically or percentage of employees covered by collective bargaining agreements broken down by region/country
Policy and procedures involving information, consultation and negotiations with employees over changes in the reporting organisations (eg restructuring)
Health and Safety
Practices on recording and notification of occupational accidents and diseases, and how they related to the ILO
Code on Recording and Notification of Occupation
Accidents and Diseases.
Description of formal joint health and safety committees comprising management and worker representative and proportion of workers covered by such committees
Standard injury lost day and absentee rates and number of work-related fatalities (including subcontracted workers)
Description of policies or programmes (for the workplace and beyond) on HIV/AIDS
Training and Education
Average hours of training per year per employee by category of employee
Provision for formal worker representation in decisionmaking or management, including corporate governance.
Description of programmes to support the continued employability of employees and to manage career endings
Specific policies and programmes for skills management and lifelong learning
Diversity and Opportunity
Description of equal opportunities policies or programmes as well as monitoring systems to ensure compliance and results of monitoring
Composition of senior management and corporate governance bodies(including the boards of directors),
Including female / male ration and other indicators of diversity as culturally appropriate.
Social Performance Indicators: Human Rights
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Core indicators
Strategy and Management
Description of polices, guidelines, corporate structure and procedures to deal with all aspects of human rights relevant to operations, including monitoring mechanisms and results
Evidence of consideration of human rights impacts as part of investment and procurement decisions, including selection of suppliers/contractors
Descriptions of policies and programmes to evaluate and address human rights performance within the supply chain and contractors, including monitoring systems and results of monitoring.
Non-Discrimination
Description of global policy and procedures / programmes preventing all forms of discrimination in operations, including monitoring systems and results of monitoring.
Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining
Description of freedom of association policy and extent to which this policy is universally applied independent of local laws, as well as description of procedures / programmes to address this issue.
Child Labour
Description of policy excluding child labour as defined by the ILO Convention 138 and extent to which this policy is visibly stated and applied as well description of procedures/ programmes to address this issue, including monitoring systems and results of monitoring.
Forced and Compulsory Labour
Description of policy to prevent forced and compulsory labour and extent to which this policy is visibly stated and applied as well description of procedures/ programmes to address this issue, including monitoring systems and results of monitoring.
Disciplinary Practices
Security Practices
Indigenous rights
Additional indicators
Employee training on polices and practices concerning all aspects of human rights relevant to operations.
Description of appeal practices, including, but not limited to, human rights issues
Description of non-retaliation policy and effective, confidential employee grievance systems(including, but not limited to, its impact on human rights)
Human rights training for security personnel
Description of policies, guidelines, and procedures to address the needs of indigenous people
Description of jointly managed community grievance mechanisms/authority
Share of operating revenues from the area of operation that are redistributed to local communities
Community
Description of polices to mange impact on communities in areas affected by activities, as well as description of procedures/programmes to address this issue, including monitoring systems and results of monitoring.
Bribery and Corruption
Description of policy, procedures/management systems, and compliance mechanisms for organisations and employees addressing bribery and corruption.
Political Contributions
Description of policy, procedures/management systems and compliance mechanisms for managing political lobbying and contributions
Competition and Pricing
Social Indicators: Product Responsibility
Customer Health and Safety
Description of policy for preserving customer health and safety during the use of products and services, and extent to which this policy is visibly states and applied, as well as description of procedures /programmes to address this
Amount of money paid to political parties and institutions whose prime function is to fund political parties or their candidates
Court decisions regarding cases pertaining to anti-trust and monopoly regulations
Description of policy, procedures/management systems and compliance mechanisms for preventing antcompetitive behaviour
Number and type of instance non-compliance with regulations concerning customer health and safety, including the penalties and fines assessed for these breaches
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Core indicators issue, including monitoring systems and results of monitoring
Products and Services
Description of policy, procedures/management systems, compliance mechanisms related to product information and labelling
Advertising
Respect for Privacy
Description of policy, procedures/management systems, and compliance mechanism for consumer privacy.
Additional indicators
Number of complaints upheld by regulatory or similar officinal bodies to oversee or regulate the health and safety of products and services
Voluntary code compliance, product labels or wards with respect to social and /or environmental responsibility that the reporter is qualified to use or has received
Number and type of instance of non-compliance with regulations concerning product information and labelling, including any penalties of fines assessed for these breaches
Description of policy, procedures / management systems and compliance mechanisms related to customer satisfaction including results of surveys measuring customer satisfaction. Identify geographical areas covered by policy.
Description of polices, procedures/management systems , and compliance mechanisms for adherence to standards and voluntary codes related to advertising
Number of substantiated complaints regarding breaches of consumer privacy.
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APPENDIX NINE: EXAMPLE OF A COMPLETED LOG FRAME
Narrative Summary
Objectively Verifiable
Indicators
Means of Verification Risks and Assumptions
Goal: Integrated community with happy children and adults
Number of stressed families Reports from village clinic Birth rate continues decreases by 50%
Other communities adopt similar ideas and counsellors
Newspaper articles
Purpose:
Children have fun, are busy and safe because there are more recreational facilities in the village.
75% of young children use the swing at least once a month
90% young children using the swing feel happier
User survey Participatory Safe recreation leads to evaluation with the children happiness and community integration
Facilities don’t create conflict
Outputs:
1. Capacity within community to manage the building and long-term maintenance of the swing
6-monthly meetings after Minutes of meetings Ditto completion with >5 members.
Maintenance and annual
People see the benefit of it
Easy maintenance
New members become involved at a rate of 2 a year.
safety inspection records
Swing maintained and in use over minimum 5 year period.
2. A safe, well-built swing
Activities
1.1 Establish community committee
Swing completed and in use in 12 months.
Minimal number of minor accidents only.
Minimal number of minor repairs needed.
Safety certificate on completion
Accident records; bruises, Children like and use it minor cuts & hospitalisation Children don’t fight
Maintenance log
No vandalism
Swing works
Planning team set up by x
Committee chosen by x
Monthly meetings during planning & building phase with >8 members.
Minutes of meetings
Attendance records
Enthusiasm is maintained
People support project
1.2 Set budget
1.3 Raise funds
Budget Accounts
Enough money raised by x Income/receipts
Low inflation
Money is raised
1.4 Set up systems for maintenance Rota agreed amongst parents Quarterly rota pinned on to maintain swing by x library notice board
Enough parents can be identified
2.1 Consult children
2.2 Design it
Ideas generated and incorporated in design
Designed by x
Plan discussed with designers
Design in hand
1
Box 6, learning log frame principles, http://62.189.42.51/DFIDstage/FOI/tools/chapter_05.htm
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2.3 Get planning permission
2.4 Commission builder
Planning permission by x
Tenders issued by x
Contract awarded by x
2.5 Build it
2.6 Test it
Completion by x
Tested by builders by x
2.7 Safety inspection on completion Inspection by x
Survey carried out by x 2.8 Carry out user survey and participatory evaluation with the children
Permit in hand
Documentation
Permission given
Good builder
No strikes
Documentation
Verbal report
Certificate in hand No accidents
Findings displayed in public library
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APPENDIX TEN: BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES
Sustainable development objective: Size, productivity & biodiversity
Ensure that development conserves or increased the size, biodiversity and productivity of the biophysical environment
Ref: 1C
Building and construction objective: Locate building where it conserves or increase the size, biodiversity and productivity of the biophysical environment
Aspects: Already disturbed sites, urban areas
Ref: 1D
Building and construction objective: Site layout designed to conserve or increase the size, biodiversity and productivity of the biophysical environment
Aspects: Area of natural environment provided on sites, landscaping
Ref: 1E
Building and construction objective: Size and form designed to conserve or increase the size, biodiversity and productivity of the biophysical environment
Aspects: Building footprint, vegetated roofs
Ref: 1F
Building and construction objective: Building envelope designed to conserve or increase the size, biodiversity and productivity of the biophysical environment
Aspects: Plant boxes, balconies
Ref: 1H
Building and construction objective: Specify furniture and fittings which conserve or increase the size, biodiversity and productivity of the biophysical environment
Aspects: Use of grown materials in furniture and fittings
Ref: 1I
Building and construction objective: Specify services which conserve or increase the size, biodiversity and productivity of the biophysical environment
Aspects: Energy from biomass
Ref: 1J
Building and construction objective: Specify materials and components to conserve or increase the size, biodiversity and productivity of the biophysical environment
Aspects: Use of grown materials in materials and components
Ref: 1K
Building and construction objective: Construction process to conserve or increase the size, biodiversity and productivity of the biophysical environment
Aspects: Area of construction site, environmental impact of construction processes
Ref: 1L
Building and construction objective: Building operation to conserve or increase the size, biodiversity and productivity of the biophysical environment
Aspects: Energy sources, landscaping maintenance & management
Ref: 1M
Building and construction objective: Demolition and refurbishment to conserve or increase the size, biodiversity and productivity of the biophysical environment
Aspects: Area of demolition/refurbishment site, environmental impact demolition/refurbishment processes
Sustainable development objective: Resource management
Ensure that development supports the management of the biophysical environment
Ref: 2C
Building and construction objective: Locate building where it will support appropriate and effective management of the biophysical environment
Aspects: Building location
Ref: 2D
Building and construction objective: Site layout to support effective management of the biophysical environment
Aspects: Ecosystems, biological control
Ref: 2H
Building and construction objective: Ensure that all materials used in furniture and fittings come from managed sources
Aspects: Managed sources
Ref: 2I
Building and construction objective: Ensure that resources that are used for services come from managed sources
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Aspects: Biomass, water
Ref: 2J
Building and construction objective: Ensure that materials and components come from managed sources
Aspects: Biomass
Ref: 2L
Building and construction objective: Ensure that building operation processes use materials from managed sources
Aspects: Cleaning, maintenance, energy
Sustainable development objective: Resource extraction and processing
Ensure that development minimises the use/support of environmentally damaging resource extraction and processing practices
Ref: 3H
Building and construction objective: Specify furniture and fittings that are produced in ways that minimises the use/support of environmentally damaging resource extraction and processing practices
Aspects: Resource extraction and processing
Ref: 3I
Building and construction objective: Specify services that that minimises the use/support of environmentally damaging resource extraction and processing practices
Aspects: Energy, water
Ref: 3J
Building and construction objective: Specify materials and components that minimises the use/support of environmentally damaging resource extraction and processing practices environmental damage.
Aspects: Resource extraction and processing
Ref: 3K
Building and construction objective: Design construction that minimises the use/support of environmentally damaging resource extraction and processing practices
Aspects: Use of mechanical equipment
Ref: 3L
Building and construction objective: Design building to operate in ways that minimises the use/support of environmentally damaging resource extraction and processing practices
Aspects: Energy sources
Ref: 3M
Building and construction objective: Design demolition / refurbishment so as to minimises the use/support of environmentally damaging resource extraction and processing practices
Aspects: Use of mechanical equipment
Sustainable development objective: Waste & pollution
Ensure that development manages the production of waste to ensure that this does not cause environmental damage
Ref: 4C
Building and construction objective: Location to support minimisation of waste and ease of recycling
Aspects: Local recycling service providers
Ref: 4D
Building and construction objective: Site to support minimisation of waste and ease of recycling
Aspects: Sorting and storage of waste, composting, links to agriculture/landscaping
Ref: 4G
Building and construction objective: Internal space to support minimisation of waste and ease of recycling
Aspects: Storing and sorting spaces, horizontal and vertical circulation
Ref: 4H
Building and construction objective: Furniture and fittings to support minimisation of waste and ease of recycling
Aspects: Packaging, recycled content, end of life strategies
Ref: 4I
Building and construction objective: Services to maximise to support minimisation of waste and recycling
Aspects: energy sources
Ref: 4J
Building and construction objective: Materials and components to support minimisation of waste and ease of recycling
Aspects: Packaging, recycled content, end of life strategies
Ref: 4K
Building and construction objective: Construction to support waste minimisation and ease of recycling
Aspects: Material storage and ordering, space for sorting and storage, packaging, training and awareness
Ref: 4L
Building and construction objective: Operation to support waste minimisation and ease of recycling
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Aspects: Policy, programmes and monitoring, training and awareness, procurement policy: packaging, reuse
Ref: 4M
Building and construction objective: Demolition or refurbishment to support waste minimisation and ease of recycling
Aspects: Upgrading existing building to reduce waste production and improve recycling, material storage and ordering, space for sorting and storage, packaging, training and awareness, recycling and reuse of components and materials
Sustainable development objective: Water
Ensure that development manages the extraction, consumption and disposal of water in order not to adversely affect the biophysical environment
Ref: 5C
Building and construction objective: Location to support the efficient use of water, capture of rainwater and disposal of wastewater
Aspects: Rainfall, topography, geology
Ref: 5D
Building and construction objective: Site design to support the efficient use of water, capture of rainwater and disposal of wastewater
Aspects: Landscaping
Ref: 5E
Building and construction objective: Size and form to support the efficient use of water, capture of rainwater and disposal of wastewater
Aspects: Roof designs, water tanks
Ref: 5F
Building and construction objective: Envelope design to support the efficient use of water, capture of rainwater and disposal of wastewater
Aspects: Roof design
Ref: 5I
Building and construction objective: Services design to support the efficient use of water and capture of rainwater and disposal of wastewater
Aspects: Grey water, rainwater storage, water efficient delivery devices, non- water sanitation processes
Ref: 5J
Building and construction objective: Materials and construction to support efficient use of water and capture of rainwater and disposal of wastewater
Aspects: water consumption used in manufacture, source of water
Ref: 5K
Building and construction objective: Construction to support efficient use of water and capture of rainwater and disposal of wastewater
Aspects: Water consumption, dry construction
Ref: 5L
Building and construction objective: Operation to support the efficient use of water and capture of rainwater and disposal of wastewater
Aspects: Awareness, information, and communication
Ref: 5M
Building and construction objective: Demolition and refurbishment to support efficient use of water and capture of rainwater and disposal of wastewater
Aspects: Demolition / refurbishment processes
Sustainable development objective: Energy
Ensure that development manages the production and consumption of energy in order not to adversely affect the biophysical environment
Ref: 6C
Building and construction objective: Location to maximise energy efficiency and use of renewable energy
Aspects: Distance from generating source, local sources of renewable energy
Ref: 6D
Building and construction objective: Site layout to maximise energy efficiency and use of renewable energy
Aspects: Passive environmental control strategies, renewable energy sources
Ref: 6E
Building and construction objective: Size and form to maximise energy efficiency and use of renewable energy
Aspects: Passive environmental control strategies, renewable energy sources
Ref: 6E
Building and construction objective: Size and form to maximise energy efficiency and use of renewable energy
Aspects: Passive environmental control strategies, renewable energy sources
U n i i v e r r s i i t t y o f f
P r r e t t o r r i i a e t t d
-
G i i b b e r r d
,
,
J (
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0
0
3
)
)
Ref: 6G
Building and construction objective: Internal space to maximise energy efficiency and use of renewable energy
Aspects: Passive environmental control strategies, renewable energy sources
Ref: 6H
Building and construction objective: Furniture and fittings to maximise energy efficiency and use of renewable energy
Aspects: Embodied energy, source of energy used for manufacture
Ref: 6I
Building and construction objective: Services to maximise energy efficiency and use of renewable energy
Aspects: Renewable energy, energy sources, energy efficient appliances
Ref: 6J
Building and construction objective: Materials and component to maximise energy efficiency and use of renewable energy
Aspects: Embodied energy, thermal efficiency
Ref: 6K
Building and construction objective: Construction to maximise energy efficiency and use of renewable energy
Aspects: Energy efficient construction methods, source of energy
Ref: 6L
Building and construction objective: Operation to maximise energy efficiency and use of renewable energy
Aspects: Energy consumption monitoring, passive environmental control systems, building management systems, programmes and procedures, awareness, training
Ref: 6M
Building and construction objective: Demolition and refurbishment to maximise energy efficiency and use of renewable energy
Aspects: Component and material recycling, upgrading existing building for better energy efficiency, energy efficient construction / demolition methods, source of energy
Sustainable development objective: Employment and self-employment
Ensure that development supports increased access to employment and supports self-employment and the development of small businesses
Ref: 7A
Building and construction objective: Briefing process should support employment and self-employment
Aspects: Local skills and small enterprise audit.
Ref: 7B
Building and construction objective: Design process should support employment and self employment
Aspects: Design team members
Ref: 7C
Building and construction objective: Building should be located where is will support employment and self employment
Aspects: Areas of high unemployment
Ref: 7D
Building and construction objective: Site layout should support employment and self-employment
Aspects: Labour intensive landscape maintenance, security
Ref: 7E
Building and construction objective: Building size and form should support employment and self-employment
Aspects: Maintenance and cleaning, type of maintenance/cleaning equipment required
Ref: 7F
Building and construction objective: Building envelope should support employment and self-employment
Aspects: Small product manufacturers
Ref: 7G
Building and construction objective: Internal space should support employment and self-employment
Aspects: Provision of low cost space, outsourcing, access to affordable facilities and services, support and training
Ref: 7H
Building and construction objective: Furniture and Fittings provided should support employment and self-employment
Aspects: Labour intensive, small product manufacturers
Ref: 7I
Building and construction objective: Services provided should support employment and self-employment
Aspects: Energy producers, water supply companies, telecommunications companies
Ref: 7J
Building and construction objective: Materials and components should support employment and self-employment
Aspects: Labour intensive materials and components, small product manufacturers
Ref: 7K
U n i i v e r r s i i t t y o f f
P r r e t t o r r i i a e t t d
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Building and construction objective: Construction process should support employment and self-employment
Aspects: Labour intensive construction processes, contractors
Ref: 7L
Building and construction objective: Building operation should support employment and self-employment
Aspects: Labour intensive maintenance and management systems, maintenance contractors
Ref: 7M
Building and construction objective: Building refurbishment or demolition should support employment
Aspects: labour intensive methods, contractors
Sustainable development objective: Efficiency and Effectiveness
Ensure that development (including technology specified) and is designed and managed to be highly efficient and effective, achieving high productivity levels with few resources and limited waste and pollution.
Ref: 8A
Building and construction objective: Briefing process should investigate how activities accommodated in building are as efficient as possible. The briefing process should be efficient and effective.
Aspects: Involvement of user group, comparative studies
Ref: 8B
Building and construction objective: The design process should investigate how activities accommodated in building are as efficient as possible. The design process should be efficient and effective.
Aspects: Involvement of user group, comparative studies
Ref: 8C
Building and construction objective: Location of the building should support efficiency and effectiveness
Aspects: Symbiotic partnerships, suppliers, consumers, transport links
Ref: 8D
Building and construction objective: Site layout should support efficiency and effectiveness
Aspects: Location and relationship between different functions and buildings
Ref: 8E
Building and construction objective: Building size and shape should support efficiency and effectiveness
Aspects: Area to volume ration, number of corners, access
Ref: 8F
Building and construction objective: Building envelope should support efficiency and effectiveness
Aspects: Multipurpose design, thermal, acoustic, structural efficiency
Ref: 8G
Building and construction objective: Space provided in building should support efficiency and effectiveness
Aspects: Amount of space, proportions of space, spatial configuration
Ref: 8H
Building and construction objective: Furniture and fittings should be provided to support efficiency and effectiveness
Aspects: Modular furniture, number of furniture types, multipurpose
Ref: 8I
Building and construction objective: Services should be support efficiency and effectiveness
Aspects: Location of services, controls for services, service runs
Ref: 8J
Building and construction objective: Materials and components should support efficiency and effectiveness
Aspects: Modular, coordinated
Ref: 8K
Building and construction objective: Construction processes should be efficient and effective
Aspects: Construction methods, programming and management
Ref: 8L
Building and construction objective: Building operation should support efficiency and effectiveness
Aspects: Monitoring, benchmarks, technology, motivation, awareness
Ref: 8M
Building and construction objective: Demolition or refurbishment should support efficiency and effectiveness
Aspects: Existing buildings upgraded to be more efficient and effective, construction and demolition processes
Sustainable development objective: Indigenous knowledge and technology
Ensure that development takes into account and draws on, where appropriate, indigenous knowledge and technology.
Ref: 9A
Building and construction objective: The briefing process should draw on indigenous processes, technology and knowledge
Aspects: Involvement of user group, comparative studies
U n i i v e r r s i i t t y o f f
P r r e t t o r r i i a e t t d
-
G i i b b e r r d
,
,
J (
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3
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Ref: 9B
Building and construction objective: The design process should draw on indigenous processes, technology and knowledge
Aspects: Involvement of user group, comparative studies
Ref: 9H
Building and construction objective: Specification and design of furniture and fittings should draw on indigenous processes, technology and knowledge
Aspects: Indigenous processes, technology and knowledge
Ref: 9I
Building and construction objective: Services strategies should draw on indigenous processes, technology and knowledge
Aspects: indigenous processes, technology and knowledge
Ref: 9J
Building and construction objective: Specification and design of materials and components should draw on indigenous processes, technology and knowledge
Aspects: indigenous processes, technology and knowledge
Ref: 9K
Building and construction objective: Construction processes should draw on indigenous processes, technology and knowledge
Aspects: indigenous processes, technology and knowledge
Ref: 9L
Building and construction objective: Building operation should draw on indigenous processes, technology and knowledge
Aspects: indigenous processes, technology and knowledge
Ref: 9M
Building and construction objective: Building demolition / refurbishment should draw on indigenous processes, technology and knowledge
Aspects: indigenous processes, technology and knowledge
Sustainable development objective: An enabling environment
Develop an enabling environment for sustainable development including the development of transparent and equitable supportive policies and processes and forward planning.
Ref: 10A
Building and construction objective: Briefing processes to support enabling environment for sustainable development
Aspects: Transparent and participatory policies, processes and planning
Ref: 10B
Building and construction objective: Design processes to support enabling environment for sustainable development
Aspects: Transparent and participatory policies, processes and planning
Ref: 10K
Building and construction objective: Construction processes to support enabling environment for sustainable development
Aspects: Transparent and participatory policies, processes and planning
Ref: 10L
Building and construction objective: Building operation processes to support enabling environment for sustainable development
Aspects: Transparent and participatory policies, processes and planning
Ref: 10M
Building and construction objective: Building refurbishment / demolition processes to support enabling environment for sustainable development
Aspects: Transparent and participatory policies, processes and planning
Sustainable development objective: Sustainable development accounting
Ensure that development is based on a scientific approach and measures and monitors social, environmental and economic impacts and that this is used to inform the development.
Ref: 11A
Building and construction objective: Briefing process should include clear building performance accounting systems
Aspects: Performance indicators, reporting, responsible parties
Ref: 11B
Building and construction objective: Design process should include evaluation and reporting points in terms of sustainable development objectives
Aspects: Assessment tools, indicators
Ref: 11C
Building and construction objective: Location selection should take into account social and environmental accounting
Aspects: Transport studies, environmental impact assessments
Ref: 10D
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Building and construction objective: Site layout design should take into account social and environmental accounting
Aspects: Transport studies, pedestrian studies
Ref: 11E
Building and construction objective: Building form and size should take into account social and environmental accounting
Aspects: Volume to surface area, organisational studies
Ref: 11F
Building and construction objective: Building envelope should take into account social and environmental accounting
Aspects: Energy, light, ventilation modelling
Ref: 11G
Building and construction objective: Internal space design should take into account social and environmental accounting
Aspects: Organisational studies, pedestrian circulation studies
Ref: 11H
Building and construction objective: Furniture design and fittings should take into account social and environmental accounting
Aspects: Assessments, indicators
Ref: 11I
Building and construction objective: Services selection and design should take into account social and environmental accounting
Aspects: Lifecycle analysis, scenario planning, ecological accounting
Ref: 11J
Building and construction objective: Materials and components selection should take into account social and environmental accounting
Aspects: Lifecycle analysis, ecological accounting, assessment tools
Ref: 11K
Building and construction objective: Construction processes take into account social and environmental accounting
Aspects: Environmental management plans
Ref: 11L
Building and construction objective: Operation processes should take into account social and environmental accounting
Aspects: Existing buildings upgraded to be more efficient and effective, construction and demolition processes
Ref: 11M
Building and construction objective: Demolition or refurbishment should use social and environmental accounting and management plans
Aspects: Environmental management plans
Sustainable development objective: Small-scale, local and diverse economies
Ensure that development supports the development of small scale, local and diverse economies
Ref: 12A
Building and construction objective: Briefing processes designed to support the development of a small scale, local and diverse economy
Aspects: Local audits
Ref: 12B
Building and construction objective: Design processes designed to support the development of a small scale, local and diverse economy
Aspects: Design team members
Ref: 12C
Building and construction objective: Location designed to support the development of a small scale, local and diverse economy
Aspects: Local businesses
Ref: 12D
Building and construction objective: Site layout designed to support the development of a small scale, local and diverse economy
Aspects: Sites for small businesses
Ref: 12E
Building and construction objective: Building size and form designed to support the development of a small scale, local and diverse economy
Aspects: Local suppliers and manufacturers
Ref: 12F
Building and construction objective: Building envelope designed to support the development of a small scale, local and diverse economy
Aspects: Local small providers
U n i i v e r r s i i t t y o f f
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Ref: 12G
Building and construction objective: Furniture and fittings designed to support the development of a small scale, local and diverse economy
Aspects: Local small providers
Ref: 12H
Building and construction objective: Internal space designed to support the development of a small scale, local and diverse economy
Aspects: Size, cost, spatial configuration
Ref: 12I
Building and construction objective: Services designed to support the development of a small scale, local and diverse economy
Aspects: Local small providers
Ref: 12J
Building and construction objective: Material and component selection designed to support the development of a small scale, local and diverse economy
Aspects: Local small providers
Ref: 12K
Building and construction objective: Construction designed to support the development of a small scale, local and diverse economy
Aspects: Number of tender packages, local contractors
Ref: 12L
Building and construction objective: Building operation designed to support the development of a small scale, local and diverse economy
Aspects: Outsourcing, local service suppliers
Ref: 12M
Building and construction objective: Demolition or refurbishment designed to support the development of a small scale, local and diverse economy
Aspects: Local contractors and service providers
Sustainable development objective: Access
Ensure that development support increased access to land, adequate shelter, finance, information, public services, technology and communications where this is needed.
Ref: 13A
Building and construction objective: Briefing processes to establish local needs in terms of access to land, adequate shelter, finance, information, public services, technology and communications
Aspects: Local audit
Ref: 13B
Building and construction objective: Design process to address local needs in terms of access to land, adequate shelter, finance, information, public services, technology and communications where possible
Aspects: Design processes, participants
Ref: 13C
Building and construction objective: Site location to support increased access to facilities
Aspects: Levels of access to facilities in location
Ref: 13D
Building and construction objective: Site design to support increased access to facilities
Aspects Access to productive land, adequate shelter, finance, information, public services, technology and communications
Ref: 13E
Building and construction objective: Building size and form to support increased access to facilities
Aspects: Access to productive land, adequate shelter, finance, information, public services, technology and communications
Ref: 13G
Building and construction objective: Internal space to support increased access to facilities
Aspects: Location of space, configuration, access and entrances, security
Ref: 13I
Building and construction objective: Services to support increased access to facilities
Aspects: Communications, electricity, water
Ref: 13L
Building and construction objective: Building operation to support increased access to facilities
Aspects: Management, security, agreements with government departments, service providers, non-governmental organisations, metering
Sustainable development objective: Education
Ensure that development improves levels of education and awareness, including awareness of sustainable development
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Ref: 14A
Building and construction objective: Briefing process should be used to education building users about sustainable development and buildings
Aspects: Material, presentations, participants
Ref: 14B
Building and construction objective: Design process should be used to educate building users and mangers about the building and it’s systems
Aspects: Building information, diagrams, models, participants
Ref: 14C
Building and construction objective: Building should be located where educational facilities provided in the building can be used easily
Aspects: Distance from users, location in terms of public transport
Ref: 14D
Building and construction objective: Site layout should support access to education
Aspects: Location and access to education facility, educational information about buildings, landscaping, ecosystems, sculpture
Ref: 14G
Building and construction objective: Space should be provide for education
Aspects: Amount, location, configuration
Ref: 14H
Building and construction objective: Furniture and fittings should be supplied that are support education
Aspects: Computers, TV, Video, projectors, books, posters, notice boards
Ref: 14I
Building and construction objective: Services should be provided to support access to facilities and services
Aspects: Telephone, electricity, Internet access
Ref: 14K
Building and construction objective: Construction process should provide appropriate education for construction workers
Aspects: Construction management, skills, health and safety
Ref: 14L
Building and construction objective: Operation should support easy access to education
Aspects: Hours of access, management system
Ref: 14M
Building and construction objective: Demolition or refurbishment of the building should support education
Aspects: Construction training, introduction of educational space in existing buildings
Sustainable development objective: Inclusive
Ensure that development processes and benefits are inclusive Ensure that development processes and benefits are inclusive
Ref: 15A
Building and construction objective: Briefing process should be inclusive
Aspects: Invitees to workshops, location of workshops, presentation media
Ref: 15B
Building and construction objective: Design process should be inclusive
Aspects: Selection of design team, presentation media of design ideas and information
Ref: 15C
Building and construction objective: Building should be located where everyone can easily access it
Aspects: Distance from users, Access to accessible public transport
Ref: 15D
Building and construction objective: Building site layout should be inclusive
Aspects: Paths, signage, distances, furniture, lighting, facilities
Ref: 15F
Building and construction objective: Building envelope should ensure that where possible everyone’s needs and safety are considered
Aspects: Fenestration design, door and window controls, location and design of entrances, signage
Ref: 15G
Building and construction objective: Internal space provided should be able to be used easily by everyone
Aspects: Vertical and horizontal circulation, furniture layouts, room sizes and spatial configuration
Ref: 15H
Building and construction objective: Furniture and fittings should be able to be used easily by everyone
Aspects: Hand rails, stair nosings, contrasting edges, tables, chairs, equipment, specialised support equipment (ie hearing loops), sanitary and kitchen fittings
U n i i v e r r s i i t t y o f f
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Ref: 15I
Building and construction objective: Services provided should be able to be easily used by everyone
Aspects: Internet access screens, service use instructions
Ref: 15J
Building and construction objective: Materials and components should ensure that the building can be used easily and safely
Aspects: Acoustic qualities, visual qualities, floor material slip resistance, ironmongery, clear door widths
Ref: 15K
Building and construction objective: Construction process should be as inclusive as possible
Aspects: Procurement process, monitoring process, health and safety, equipment
Ref: 15L
Building and construction objective: The building should be operated to ensure that the building can be used by everyone easily and safely
Aspects: Emergency egress plans, health and safety, facilities management and reception awareness training
Ref: 15M
Building and construction objective: Demolition or refurbishment of the building should be inclusive
Aspects: Upgrading for better access in existing buildings, procurement and monitoring processes
Sustainable development objective: Health, safety and security
Ensure that development considers human rights and supports improved health, safety and security.
Ref: 16C
Building and construction objective: Building should be located in an environment that is conducive to health in its users
Aspects: Environmental pollution, views, exercise
Ref: 16D
Building and construction objective: Site layout should be conducive to health in building users
Aspects: Views, natural light, landscaping, facilities for exercise, health and recreation
Ref: 16E
Building and construction objective: Building size and form should be conducive to human health
Aspects: Access to external space, views, natural daylight, natural ventilation
Ref: 16F
Building and construction objective: Building envelope should be conducive to human health
Aspects: Control over natural ventilation and lighting, access to outside spaces, Quality of light, sunlight, ventilation
Ref: 16G
Building and construction objective: Space provided should be conducive to human health
Aspects: Amount of space, privacy, configuration of space, acoustic quality
Ref: 16H
Building and construction objective: Furniture and Fittings used in the building should be conducive to human health
Aspects: materials used, production methods, ergonomics, computer screens
Ref: 16I
Building and construction objective: Services provided in the building should be conducive to human health
Aspects: Water quality, light quality, and air quality
Ref: 16J
Building and construction objective: Materials and components should be conducive to human health
Aspects: Materials and components used, production processes
Ref: 16K
Building and construction objective: Construction processes should be conducive to health
Aspects: Health and safety processes
Ref: 16L
Building and construction objective: The operation of the building should be conducive to human health
Aspects: maintenance of services ie water supply, HVAC, cleaning schedules and materials, health and safety procedures, awareness and education.
Ref: 16M
Building and construction objective: Demolition or refurbishment of the building should be conduce to human health
Aspects: Upgrading existing building for improved health, construction health and safety, removal of hazardous / toxic materials
Sustainable development objective: Participation
Ensure that development supports partnerships, interaction and involves, and is influenced by, the people that it affects.
Ref: 17A
Building and construction objective: Briefing process should support participation
Aspects: presentations, workshop formats, invitees
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Ref: 17B
Building and construction objective: Design development should support participation
Aspects: Design presentations, format invitees
Ref: 17C
Building and construction objective: Location should support participation
Aspects: Community support for development, access to shared facilities
Ref: 17D
Building and construction objective: Site should support participation
Aspects: Shared facilities, recreational spaces, relationship between buildings and external circulation
Ref: 17E
Building and construction objective: Size and building form should support participation
Aspects: Informal and formal social interaction
Ref: 17F
Building and construction objective: Building envelope should support participation and control
Aspects: Opening windows, blinds
Ref: 17G
Building and construction objective: Internal space should support participation and control
Aspects: Privacy, information points, meeting spaces, shared spaces, location of shared support facilities, toilets, kitchenettes, recreational space, vertical circulation, design and location of horizontal circulation
Ref: 17H
Building and construction objective: Furniture and fittings should support participation and control
Aspects: Moveable furniture, pin boards easy social interaction, location of shared equipment (ie photocopiers)
Ref: 17I
Building and construction objective: Services should be support participation and control
Aspects: Building performance information on waste, energy
Ref: 17K
Building and construction objective: Construction should support participation and control
Aspects: Interaction between contractor and local community, construction management
Ref: 17L
Building and construction objective: Operation should support participation and control
Aspects: Information, communication
Ref: 17M
Building and construction objective: Refurbishment or Demolitions should support social cohesion
Aspects: Upgrading of existing building to support social cohesion, construction management, and interaction with local community
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APPENDIX ELEVEN: BUILDINGS AND CONSTRUCTION SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES ANALYSIS
Objective Addresses social and economic
Priorities
(as defined in the
Millenium
Goals)
Can be achieved with limited resources
& technical capacity
Addresses other social/ economic/ environme ntal objectives
Objective rating
Included
In SBAT?
If so, under which criteria?
Comments
N Y Y 2 EN4.1
Environmental
1C Locate building where it conserves or increased the size, biodiversity and productivity of the natural environment and ecosystems.
1D Size and form designed to conserve or increase the size, biodiversity and productivity of the the bio-physical environment
1E Building envelope designed to conserve or increased the size, biodiversity and productivity of the bio-physical environment
1H Specify furniture and fittings which conserve or increase the size, biodiversity and productivity of the bio-physical environment
1I Specify services which conserve or increase the size, biodiversity and productivity of the bio-physical environment
1J Specify materials and components to conserve or increase the size, biodiversity and productivity of the bio-physical environment.
1I Construction process to conserve or increase the size, biodiversity and productivity of the bio-physical environment
1J Building operation to conserve or increase the size, biodiversity and productivity of the bio-physical environment
1 m
Building demolition or refurbishment to conserve or increase the size, biodiversity and productivity of the bio-physical environment
2C Locate building where it will support appropriate and effective management of the bio-physical environment
2D Site layout to support effective management of the bio-physical environment.
N Y Y 2 EN4.3
N N Y 1 EN4.3
N N Y 1 EN2.5
N Y Y 2 EN5.2
N Y Y 2 EN5.5
N Y Y 2 EC
EN
SO
EN5.4
EN5.5 materials and components
N Y Y 2 Partially addressed by
EN4.4
EN4.5
N Y Y 2 Partially addressed by
EN4.4
EN4.5
N N Y 1 Partially addressed by
EN5.2
2H Ensure that all materials used in furniture and fittings come from managed sources within the biophysical environment
2I Ensure that resources that are used for services come from managed sources within the biophysical environment
2J Ensure that materials and components come from managed sources within the bio-physical environment
2L Ensure that building operation processes use materials from managed sources within the biophysical environment
N N Y 1 Partially addressed by
EN5.2
N N Y 1 Partially addressed by
EN5.2
N N Y 1
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Objective
3H Specify furniture and fittings that are produced in ways that minimises the use/support of environmentally damaging resource extraction and processing practices
3I Specify services that that minimises the use/support of environmentally damaging resource extraction and processing practices
3J Specify materials and components that minimises the use/support of environmentally damaging resource extraction and processing practices environmental damage.
3K Design construction that minimises the use/support of environmentally damaging resource extraction and processing practices
3L Design building to operate in ways that minimises the use/support of environmentally damaging resource extraction and processing practices
3
M
Design demolition / refurbishment so as to minimises the use/support of environmentally damaging resource extraction and processing practices
4C Location to support minimisation of waste and ease of recycling
4D Site to support minimisation of waste and ease of recycling
4
G
Internal space to support minimisation of waste and ease of recycling
4H Furniture and fittings to support minimisation of waste and ease of recycling
4I Services to maximise to support minimisation of waste and ease of recycling
4J Materials and components to support minimisation of waste and ease of recycling
4K Construction to support waste minimisation and ease of recycling
4L Operation to support waste minimisation and ease of recycling
4
M
Demolition or refurbishment to support waste minimisation and ease of recycling
5C Location to support the efficient use of water, capture of rainwater and disposal of wastewater
5D Site design to support the efficient use of water, capture of rainwater and disposal of wastewater
5E Size and form to support the efficient use of water, capture of rainwater and disposal of wastewater
Addresses social and economic
Priorities
(as defined in the
Millenium
Goals)
Can be achieved with limited resources
& technical capacity
Addresses other social/ economic/ environme ntal objectives
Objective rating
Included
In SBAT?
If so, under which criteria?
Comments
N Y N 1 Partially addressed by
EN5.2,
EN5.3
N N N 0 EN1
EN3
N
N
Y
Y
N
N
1
1
EN5.3
N Y N 1 Particularl y addressed by EC4.5
SO4.2
N Y N 1
N Y N 1
N Y N 1 EN3.3
N Y N 1
N Y N 1
N N N 0
N Y N 1 EN5.4
N Y N 1
N Y N 1 EN3
N Y N 1 SO4.2
Y Y Y 3
Y Y Y 3 EN1.4
EN1.3
EN1.4
Y Y Y 3 EN1.1
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Objective Addresses social and economic
Priorities
(as defined in the
Millenium
Goals)
Can be achieved with limited resources
& technical capacity
Addresses other social/ economic/ environme ntal objectives
Objective rating
Included
In SBAT?
If so, under which criteria?
Comments
efficient use of water, capture of rainwater and disposal of wastewater
5I Services design to support the efficient use of water and capture of rainwater and disposal of wastewater
5J Materials and construction to support efficient use of water and capture of rainwater and disposal of wastewater
5K Construction to support efficient use of water and capture of rainwater and disposal of wastewater
5L Operation to support the efficient use of water and capture of rainwater and disposal of wastewater
5
M
Demolition and refurbishment to support efficient use of water and capture of rainwater and disposal of wastewater
6C Location to maximise energy efficiency and use of renewable energy
6D Site layout to maximise energy efficiency and use of renewable energy
6E Size and form to maximise energy
6
G efficiency and use of renewable energy
Internal space to maximise energy efficiency and use of renewable energy
6H Furniture and fittings to maximise energy efficiency and use of renewable energy
6I Services to maximise energy efficiency and use of renewable energy
6J Materials and component to maximise energy efficiency and use of renewable energy
6K Construction to maximise energy efficiency and use of renewable energy
6L Operation to maximise energy
6
M efficiency and use of renewable energy
Demolition and refurbishment to maximise energy efficiency and use of renewable energy
7A Briefing process should support employment and self employment
7B Design process should support employment and self employment
7C Building should be located where is will support employment and self employment
7D Site layout should support employment and self-employment
7E Building size and form should support employment and selfemployment
Y N Y 2 EN1.1
EN1.3.3
EN1.2
Y N N 1
Y N N 1
Y N Y 2 EN
Y N Y 2
N N Y 1 EN2.1
N N Y 1 EN4.2
N N Y 1 EN2.2
EN2.3
N N Y 1 EN2.2
EN2.3
N N Y 1 EN5.1
N N Y 1 EN2.2-5
N N Y 1 EN5.1
N N Y 1
N N Y 1 EN
EC
SO
N N Y 1
Y Y Y 3
Y Y Y 3
Y Y Y 3
Y Y Y 3 Partially
E4.5
Y Y Y 3
U n i i v e r r s i i t t y o f f
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Objective Addresses social and economic
Priorities
Can be achieved with limited
Addresses other social/ economic/
Objective rating
Included
In SBAT?
If so, under
Comments
(as defined in the
Millenium
Goals) resources
& technical capacity environme ntal objectives which criteria?
Y Y Y 3 7F Building envelope should support employment and self-employment
7
G
Internal space should support employment and self-employment
7H Furniture and Fittings provided should support employment and self-employment
Y Y Y 3 EC1.4
Y Y Y 3 EC1.3
Y N Y 2 employment and self-employment
7J Materials and components should support employment and selfemployment
7K Construction process should support employment
7L Building operation should support employment
7
M
Building refurbishment or demolition should support employment
8A Briefing process should investigate how activities accommodated in building are as efficient as possible. The briefing process should be efficient and effective.
8B The design process should investigate how activities accommodated in building are as efficient as possible. The design process should be efficient and effective.
8C Location of the building should support efficiency and effectiveness
8D Site layout should support efficiency and effectiveness
8E Building size and shape should support efficiency and effectiveness
8F Building envelope should support efficiency and effectiveness
8
G
Space provided in building should support efficiency and effectiveness
8H Furniture and fittings should be provided to support efficiency and effectiveness
8I Services should be support efficiency and effectiveness
8J Materials and components should support efficiency and
8K effectiveness
Construction processes should be efficient and effective
8L Building operation should support efficiency and effectiveness
8
M
Demolition or refurbishment should support efficiency and effectiveness
9A The briefing process should draw on indigenous processes, technology and knowledge
9B The design process should draw on indigenous processes, technology and knowledge
9H Specification and design of furniture and fittings should draw
Y Y Y 3
Y Y Y 3
Y Y Y 3 PartiallyE
C1.4
Y Y Y 3
N N Y 1
N N Y 1
N N Y 1 SO3
N N Y 1
N N Y 1 EC5.2
N N Y 1
N N Y 1 EC2.1
N N Y 1 EC3.2
N N Y 1
N N Y 1
N N Y 1
N N Y 1
N N Y 1
N Y N 1
N Y N 1
N Y N 1
U n i i v e r r s i i t t y o f f
P r r e t t o r r i i a e t t d
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G i i b b e r r d
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,
J (
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Objective Addresses social and economic
Priorities
(as defined in the
Millenium
Goals)
Can be achieved with limited resources
& technical capacity
Addresses other social/ economic/ environme ntal objectives
Objective rating
Included
In SBAT?
If so, under which criteria?
Comments
on indigenous processes, technology and knowledge
9I Services strategies should draw on indigenous processes, technology and knowledge
9J Specification and design of materials and components should draw on indigenous processes, technology and knowledge
9K Construction processes should draw on indigenous processes, technology and knowledge
9L Building operation should draw on indigenous processes, technology and knowledge
9
M
Building demolition / refurbishment should draw on indigenous processes, technology and knowledge
10
A
Briefing process should include clear building performance accounting systems
N Y N 1
N Y N 1
N Y N 1
N Y N 1
N Y N 1
Y N Y 2 SBAT, as a whole addresses this
Y N Y 2 “ 10
B
Design process should include evaluation and reporting points in terms of sustainable development objectives
10
C
10
D
10
E
10
F
10
G
10
H
Site layout design should take into account social and environmental accounting
Building form and size should take into account social and environmental accounting
Building envelope should take into account social and environmental accounting
Internal space design should take into account social and environmental accounting
Furniture design and fittings should take into account social and environmental accounting
Y N Y 2 “
Y N Y 2 “
Y N Y 2 “
Y N Y 2 “
Y N Y 2 “
10
I
10
J
10
K
Services selection and design should take into account social and environmental accounting
Materials and components selection should take into account social and environmental accounting
Construction processes should take into account social and environmental accounting
Y N Y 2 “
Y N Y 2 “
Y N Y 2 “
10
L
Operation processes should take into account social and environmental accounting
Demolition or refurbishment
Y N Y 2 “
10
M should use social and environmental accounting and management plans
Briefing processes to support
Y N Y 2 “
11
A
11 enabling environment for sustainable development
N Y N 1 Partially covered by
Design processes to support N Y N 1
SBAT process
“
U n i i v e r r s i i t t y o f f
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,
J (
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12
K
12
L
11
L
11
M
B
11
K
12
H
12
I
12
J
12
A
12
B
12
C
12
D
12
E
12
F
12
G
12
M
13
A
Objective Addresses social and economic
Priorities
(as defined in the
Millenium
Goals)
Can be achieved with limited resources
& technical capacity
Addresses other social/ economic/ environme ntal objectives
Objective rating
Included
In SBAT?
If so, under which criteria?
Comments
enabling environment for sustainable development
Construction processes to support enabling environment for sustainable development
Building operation processes to support enabling environment for sustainable development
Building refurbishment / demolition processes to support enabling environment for sustainable development
Briefing processes designed to support the development of a small scale, local and diverse economy
Design processes designed to support the development of a small scale, local and diverse economy
Location designed to support the development of a small scale, local and diverse economy
Site layout designed to support the development of a small scale, local and diverse economy
Building size and form designed to support the development of a small scale, local and diverse economy
Building envelope designed to support the development of a small scale, local and diverse economy
Furniture and fittings designed to support the development of a small scale, local and diverse economy
Internal space designed to support the development of a small scale, local and diverse economy
Services designed to support the development of a small scale, local and diverse economy
Material and component selection designed to support the development of a small scale, local and diverse economy
Construction designed to support the development of a small scale, local and diverse economy
Building operation designed to support the development of a small scale, local and diverse economy
Demolition or refurbishment designed to support the development of a small scale, local and diverse economy
Briefing processes to establish local needs in terms of access to land, adequate shelter, finance, information, public services, technology and communications
N Y N 1 “
N Y N 1 “
N Y N 1 “
Y Y Y 3 “
Y Y Y 2 “
Y Y Y 3 “
Y Y Y 3 “
Y Y Y 3 EC1
Y Y Y 3 EC1
Y Y Y 3 EC1
Y Y Y 3 EC1
Y Y Y 3
Y Y Y 3 EC1.2
Y Y Y 3 EC1.1
Y Y Y 3 EC1.4
Y Y Y 3 EC1.1 whole addresses this
U n i i v e r r s i i t t y o f f
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G i i b b e r r d
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,
J (
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Objective Addresses social and economic
Priorities
Can be achieved with limited
Addresses other social/ economic/
Objective rating
Included
In SBAT?
If so, under
Comments
(as defined in the
Millenium
Goals) resources
& technical capacity environme ntal objectives which criteria?
Y Y Y 3 “ 13
B
13
C
Design process to address local needs in terms of access to land, adequate shelter, finance, information, public services, technology and communications where possible
Site location to support increased access to faclities
Y Y Y 3 SO3,
SO4.5
13
I
13
L
14
A
13
D
13
E
13
G
Site design to support increased access to facilities
Building size and form to support increased access to facilities
Internal space to support increased access to facilities
Services to support increased access to facilities
Building operation to support increased access to facilities
Briefing process should be used to educate building users about sustainable development and buildings
Y N Y 2 SO4.5
Y N Y 2 SO4.5
Y N Y 2 SO4.5
Y N Y 2 SO4.5
Y N Y 2 SO4.5
14
B
14
C
Design process should be used to educate building users and mangers about the building and it’s systems
Building should be located where educational facilities provided in the building can be used easily
Site layout should support access to education
Y Y Y 3 SBAT process, addresses this
Y Y Y 3 SBAT process, addresses this
Y Y Y 3
14
D
14
G
14
H
14
I
14
K
Y Y Y 3
Space should be provided to support education
Furniture and fittings should be supplied that support education
Services should be provided to support access to education
Construction process should provide appropriate education for construction workers
Operation should support easy access to education
Demolition or refurbishment of the building should support education
Y Y Y 3 SO5.1
Y Y Y 3 SO5.1
Y Y Y 3 SO5.1
Y Y Y 3
15
A
15
B
15
C
14
L
14
M
Y Y Y 3 SO5.1
Y Y Y 3
Briefing process should be inclusive
Design process should be inclusive
Building should be located where everyone can easily access it
Y Y N 2
Y Y N 2
Y N N 1 SO2.1
15
H
15
I
15
J
15
D
15
F
15
G
Building site layout should be inclusive
Building envelope should be inclusive
Internal space provided should be able to be used easily by everyone
Furniture and fittings should be able to be used easily by everyone
Services provided should be able to be easily used by everyone
Materials and components should ensure that the building can be easily used by everyone
Y N N 1 SO2.2
Y N N 1
Y N N 1 SO2.2
SO2.3
Y N N 1 SO2.4
Y N N 1
Y N N 1
15 Construction process should be as Y y N 2
U n i i v e r r s i i t t y o f f
P r r e t t o r r i i a e t t d
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K
16
I
16
J
16
K
16
L
16
M
17
A
16
D
16
E
16
H
15
M
16
C
17
B
17
H
17
I
17
K
17
L
17
M
17
E
17
F
17
G
17
C
17
D
Objective Addresses social and economic
Priorities
(as defined in the
Millenium
Goals)
Can be achieved with limited resources
& technical capacity
Addresses other social/ economic/ environme ntal objectives
Objective rating
Included
In SBAT?
If so, under which criteria?
Comments
inclusive as possible
The building should be operated to ensure that the building can be used by everyone easily and safely
Demolition or refurbishment of the building should be inclusive
Building should be located in an environment that is conducive to health in its users
Site layout should be conducive to health in building users
Building size and form should be conducive to human health
Furniture and Fittings used in the building should be conducive to human health
Services provided in the building should be conducive to human health
Materials and components should be conducive to human health
Construction processes should be conducive to health
The operation of the building should be conducive to human health
Demolition or refurbishment of the building should be conducive to human health
Briefing process should support participation
Design development should support participation y N N 1
Y N N 1
Y Y Y 3
Y Y Y 3
Y Y Y 3
Y Y Y 3 SO5.4
Y Y Y 3
Y Y Y 3 SO5.4
Y Y Y 3
Y Y Y 3
Y Y N 2
N Y N 1 SBAT process, addresses this
N Y N 1 SBAT process, addresses this
N Y N 1 SO4.5 Building location should support participation
Site should support participation N Y N 1
Size and building form should support participation
Building envelope should support participation
Internal space should support participation
Furniture and fittings should support participation
Services should be support participation and control
Construction should support participation
Operation should support participation
Refurbishment or Demolitions should support participation
N Y N 1
N Y N 1 SO1.2
N Y N 1 SO4.3,4,5
N Y N 1
N Y N 1 SO4.3,4,5
N Y N 1
N Y N 1
N Y N 1
U n i i v e r r s i i t t y o f f
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APPENDIX TWELVE: SUSTAINABLE BUILDING ASSESSMENT TOOL
INDICATOR ANALYSIS
SBAT reference
Criteria and indicator The indicator is easy to understan d by all stakeholde rs
The information required for the indicator is readily available and easy to capture
The indicator requires minimal additional modelling, calculatio n or investigati on
The method of measuri ng the indicato rs is objectiv e
Have a target against which it can be compar ed
SO1.1 Lighting
The main working spaces are well day lit. Effective daylight/solar control. Glare minimised.
Criteria: Daylight factor 5%.
SO1.2 Ventilation
Adequate clean air supply to each inhabitant. Supply taken from unpolluted source
Criteria: All working spaces have equivalent of opening window area equivalent to
10% of floor area
SO1.3 Noise
Noise levels limited in teaching and learning spaces to acceptable levels.
Criteria: Office type environment background noise not over 35-45dba,
Working environment not over 50dba.
SO1.4 Views
Design to all working areas to have access to a view out.
Criteria: All working spaces to be maximum of 6m from a window
SO1.5 Thermal comfort
Thermal comfort throughout year
Criteria: Indoor environment maintained within temperature range
(range dependent on activities etc)
Rating
Y Y N Y 4
Y Y Y Y 5
Y Y Y Y 5
Y Y Y Y 5
The building is can be access by the disabled using public transport.
Criteria: Entrance located
100, or less metres to disabled accessible public transport
SO2.2 Routes, Changes in level
All routes between and within buildings can be easily navigated by the disabled.
Critieria: Adequate width, turning circles. No changes in level between or within buildings or, all changes in level catered for with appropriate ramps of 1:12
Y Y Y Y 5
U n i i v e r r s i i t t y o f f
P r r e t t o r r i i a e t t d
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SBAT reference
Criteria and indicator The indicator is easy to understan d by all stakeholde rs
The information required for the indicator is readily available and easy to capture
The indicator requires minimal additional modelling, calculatio n or investigati on
The method of measuri ng the indicato rs is objectiv e
Have a target against which it can be compar ed
Rating
fall, or lifts, routes surfaces have smooth and even surface
SO2.3 Edges
The visually impaired can move around and use the building easily
Criteria: all edges i.e. between walls and floors and stair nosings clearly distinguished through the use of contrasting colour.
Accessible signage provided.
SO2.4 Furniture and Fittings
Furniture and fittings can be easily used by the disabled
Criteria: Type and location of furniture and fittings specified
SO2.5 Toilets, Bathrooms and kitchens
Toilets and bathrooms are or can be easily adapted for disable access
Criteria: Access, and spatial configuration of spaces
SO3.1 Childcare
Occupants of building can pick up / drop children easily, without having to make additional long distance car journeys.
Criteria: distance between residential/work and schools/creches not more than 3km
SO3.2 Banking
Occupants have easy access to banking facilities.
Criteria: Banking services
(i.e. ATM) provided close by (within 3km) / internet service , mobile service provided.
SO3.3 Retail
Occupants have easy access to retail facilities for everyday items (ie groceries).
Criteria: Relevant retail outlets provided within 3km
/ alternative internet / delivery service provided.
SO3.4 Communication
Occupants have easy access to communications facilities during their working day or on their route home.
Criteria: Postal, telephone or email facilities close by
Y Y Y Y 4
Y Y Y Y 5
Y Y Y Y 5
Y Y Y Y 5
Y Y Y Y 5
U n i i v e r r s i i t t y o f f
P r r e t t o r r i i a e t t d
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G i i b b e r r d
,
,
J (
( 2
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)
SBAT reference
Criteria and indicator The indicator is easy to understan d by all stakeholde rs
The information required for the indicator is readily available and easy to capture
The indicator requires minimal additional modelling, calculatio n or investigati on
The method of measuri ng the indicato rs is objectiv e
Have a target against which it can be compar ed
Rating
(within 3km).
SO3.5 Work
Occupants do not have to undertake long vehicular journeys to get to and from work.
Criteria; Distance (20km)
Y Y Y Y 5
Occupants of building have reasonable control over their environmental conditions
Criteria: Level of control over environmental conditions by individuals; access to openable windows, blinds, control of light and temperature
SO4.2 User manual and training
Occupants of the building understand the building and it’s systems and work with these.
Criteria; building user manual, induction for new occupants
Y Y N N 2
Occupants have access to spaces which enable formal / informal social interaction to take place easily.
Criteria: design and location of spaces provided for informal / formal social interaction
SO4.4 Amenity
Amenities easily accessible
Criteria: design and location of amenities
Y Y N N 2
Spaces equipment shared with local communities
Criteria: Accessibility of facilities by local communities
SO5.1 Education
Access to / support for learning provided.
Criteria: Access to learning.
SO5.2 Security
Occupants are safe and feel safe in the building and on regularly used routes to and from the building.
Criteria: Spatial configuration, visual links, lighting, technological and physical security systems
SO5.3 Smoking
Smokers do not affect health of building users
Criteria: Avoidance of cross contamination
Y Y Y N 3
Y Y Y Y 5
U n i i v e r r s i i t t y o f f
P r r e t t o r r i i a e t t d
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SBAT reference
Criteria and indicator
SO5.4 Health
Internal environmental conditions do not affect health of occupants
Criteria: Materials, components and finishes screened for health hazards
SO5.5 Exercise and recreation
Occupants have easy access to sport/recreational facilities
Criteria: facilities within
3km
Building makes use of local contractors
Criteria : Type and location of contractors used, percentage of total contractor cost spent on local contractors
EC1.2 Local building material supply
Building uses local materials
Criteria: Percentage of total construction materials such as cement, sand, bricks etc that are sourced locally
EC1.3 Local component, fittings and furniture manufacture
Building uses component, fittings and furniture sourced locally
Criteria: Percentage of building components i.e. windows and doors that are produced locally
Y
The indicator is easy to understan d by all stakeholde rs
The information required for the indicator is readily available and easy to capture
The indicator requires minimal additional modelling, calculatio n or investigati on
The method of measuri ng the indicato rs is objectiv e
N N Y
Have a target against which it can be compar ed
Rating
N 2
Building creates opportunities small emerging businesses. This includes outsourcing catering, cleaning services and security as well as making space and equipment available for businesses to use for retail, education etc.
Criteria: Design, location of spaces, management plan
EC1.5 Repairs and maintenance
Building maintenance and repairs can be carried out by users / local contractors.
Criteria: Percentage of building and furniture and fittings that can be serviced locally
Y Y N Y 3
Buildings / layout should make good use of space
Criteria: M2 / person
U n i i v e r r s i i t t y o f f
P r r e t t o r r i i a e t t d
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SBAT reference
Criteria and indicator The indicator is easy to understan d by all stakeholde rs
The information required for the indicator is readily available and easy to capture
The indicator requires minimal additional modelling, calculatio n or investigati on
The method of measuri ng the indicato rs is objectiv e
Have a target against which it can be compar ed
Rating
Space should be managed efficiently
Criteria: Effective space management systems
EC2.3 Shared Use
Facility shared between a number of users
Criteria: Spatial, technological and managerial arrangements for shared use
EC2.4 Use of technology
Access to technology (ie email, internet, video conferencing) to reduce requirement for travel and space.
Criteria: Access to technology, reduction in travel and space requirements
Systems to ensure efficient use of space and services
Criteria: Hours of the week that the building is occupied
EC3.1 Spaces
Spaces should be available should be readily adapted for different uses. For instance spaces may be required for work during the day, social activities in the evening and quite study during weekends and at night.
Criteria: Spatial configuration
EC3.2 Furniture
Internal spaces can be easily reconfigured to suite different organisation requirements / users
Criteria: Configuration and shape of spaces, construction of partitions.
EC3.3 Services
Services can configured to allow different internal arrangements and can be accessed easily to be extended / altered
Criteria: Location and access to services
EC3.4 Structure
Structure / load bearing elements configured to enable variety of different internal arrangements
Criteria: Location and size of structural elements
EC3.5 Vertical Circulation and
Y Y N N 2
Y Y N N 2
Y Y N N 2
Y Y N N 2
Y Y N N N 2
U n i i v e r r s i i t t y o f f
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SBAT reference
Criteria and indicator
Service Cores
Vertical circulation and service cores configured to enable range of different spatial arrangements
Criteria: Location and size of vertical circulation and service cores.
EC4.1 Maintenance
Level of requirement for ongoing maintenance of the building considered and understood. Costs for this limited through design, and planned for.
Criteria: Lifecycle costs considered in specification of materials, components, and equipment. Design items such as light bulbs can be easily reached and replaced without use of expensive equipment).
EC4.2 Cleaning
Building can be kept clean easily and safely
Criteria: Window location and access, floor materials and access
EC4.3 Security / care taking
Building is reasonable secure without requiring large ongoing costs.
Criteria: Spatial layout and visual supervision by neighbouring occupied buildings
EC4.4 Insurance / water / energy / sewerage
Ongoing costs of water, energy and insurance minimised.
Criteria: Meters can be easily accessed. Building manual provides detail on when these should be read, to enable ongoing monitoring and improvement.
EC4.5 User awareness
Criteria: Highly visual information (sign boards or intranet) displaying current, previous and targeted consumption and waste performance
Y
The indicator is easy to understan d by all stakeholde rs
The information required for the indicator is readily available and easy to capture
The indicator requires minimal additional modelling, calculatio n or investigati on
N N
The method of measuri ng the indicato rs is objectiv e
N
Have a target against which it can be compar ed
Rating
N 1
Consultant fees not just calculated on total project cost basis. Incentives provided to consultants to reduce capital cost and ongoing costs.
Criteria: Professional fee
U n i i v e r r s i i t t y o f f
P r r e t t o r r i i a e t t d
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G i i b b e r r d
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J (
( 2
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SBAT reference
Criteria and indicator The indicator is easy to understan d by all stakeholde rs
The information required for the indicator is readily available and easy to capture
The indicator requires minimal additional modelling, calculatio n or investigati on
The method of measuri ng the indicato rs is objectiv e
Have a target against which it can be compar ed
Rating
structure
EC5.2 Build-ability
Building design cost efficient to build and minimise waste
Criteria: Building form simple. Replication of elements and components.
Design / planning grid that relates to materials / component module sizes
N Y N N 1
N N N N 0
Initial cost of building limited. Criteria: Building design which enables building to be built a minimal initial cost, allowing building to be developed and grow, over time, as additional funding becomes available – buildings designed as a set of independent, interrelated components, building built as shell first with finishes etc to be added later.
EC5.5 Sharing arrangements
Capital costs of the building minimised:
Criteria: Quantity of new space reduced through arrangements to use existing spaces and buildings
EN1.1 Rainwater
Water consumption reduced through use of rainwater
Criteria: Systems for capturing, storing and using rainwater
EN1.2 Water use
Water consumption reduced through efficient delivery devices:
Criteria: Specification of water efficient delivery devices.
EN1.3
EN1.4
Grey water
Water consumption reduced through reuse
Criteria: Use of grey water systems
Runoff
Runoff and Storm water run off minimised
Criteria: Design and specification to minimised runoff: Specification of pervious or absorbent materials for hard external surfaces. Design and management of runoff
EN1.5
Y Y Y Y 5
Y Y Y Y 5
Y Y Y Y 5
Y Y N Y 3
Y 4
U n i i v e r r s i i t t y o f f
P r r e t t o r r i i a e t t d
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J (
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SBAT reference
Criteria and indicator The indicator is easy to understan d by all stakeholde rs
The information required for the indicator is readily available and easy to capture
The indicator requires minimal additional modelling, calculatio n or investigati on
The method of measuri ng the indicato rs is objectiv e
Have a target against which it can be compar ed
Rating
EN2.1 Location
Building located to minimise transport energy requirements of users
EN2.2
Criteria: Building located within 400m of public transport
Ventilation System
Ventilation design and management to minimised energy requirements
Criteria : All ventilation requirements met through passive systems.
EN2.3
Water consumption and existing ground water
(water table etc) maintained.
Criteria: Low water requirement landscaping/planting scheme.
EN2.4
EN2.5
EN3.1
Cooling System
Environmental control system design to minimise requirement for nonrenewable energy
Criteria: Heating and cooling requirements met through passive environmental control design
Appliances and Fittings
Energy requirements of appliances, plant and fittings minimised
Criteria: Specification of energy efficient fittings, appliances, plant and lighting
Renewable Energy
Energy consumption of building supplemented / sourced from renewable sources
Criteria: Ten per cent of energy required for building obtained from renewable source
Toxic waste
Toxic waste processed safely and with minimal environmental impact
Criteria: Design and management for the safe disposal / recycling of toxic/harmful substances such as batteries, printer toners and vehicle oil.
EN3.3 Organic waste
Organic waste recycled locally
Criteria: Design and
Y Y Y Y 5
Y Y Y Y 5
U n i i v e r r s i i t t y o f f
P r r e t t o r r i i a e t t d
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SBAT reference
EN3.3
EN3.4
EN3.5
EN4.1
EN4.2
EN4.3
EN4.4
Criteria and indicator The indicator is easy to understan d by all stakeholde rs
The information required for the indicator is readily available and easy to capture
The indicator requires minimal additional modelling, calculatio n or investigati on
The method of measuri ng the indicato rs is objectiv e
Have a target against which it can be compar ed
Rating
management that ensures
100% of organic waste produced to be recycled and reused on site / arrangements made for local provider to carry this out.
Inorganic waste
Inorganic waste recycled locally
Criteria: Design and management that ensures a minimum of 30% of inorganic waste produced is recycled – arrangements made to sort, store and transport waste
Sewerage
Contribution to mains sewerage minimised
Criteria: Use of compost toilets, and other ‘local’ systems.
Construction waste:
Construction waste minimised
Criteria: Design which minimises waste production ie prefabrication/using components planning grid.
Requirement for construction waste minimisation detailed in tender documentation.
Brownfield site
Building occupies already disturbed site
Criteria: Site has been previously built on / developed
Neighbouring buildings
Building does not have harmful affect on neighbouring buildings
Criteria: No / minimal reduction to neighbouring buildings access to sunlight and natural ventilation
Vegetation
Building and site supports vegetation
Criteria: Area of vegetation provided and maintained equivalent or greater than that of the footprint of the building and hard surfaces
Habitat
Building supports diversity of plant and animal life
Criteria: Number and range of different species supported.
Y Y Y Y 5
Y Y Y Y 5
Y Y N N 3
Y Y Y Y 5
Landscapes designed to
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SBAT reference
EN5.2
EN5.4
Criteria and indicator The indicator is easy to understan d by all stakeholde rs
The information required for the indicator is readily available and easy to capture
The indicator requires minimal additional modelling, calculatio n or investigati on
The method of measuri ng the indicato rs is objectiv e
Have a target against which it can be compar ed
Rating
function naturally
Criteria: No or minimum artificial inputs (fertilizer, pesticides etc) required to maintain landscape.
Majority of building materials and components used have low embodied energy.
Criteria: Embodied energy of materials
Material / component sources
Majority of building components used are from
‘grown’ or renewable (ie timber, thatch) sources.
Criteria: Proportion of materials
Processes for processing / manufacturing materials has minimal negative impact on the environment.
Criteria: No materials used whose production involves large-scale direct pollution of the environment, and
direct release of greenhouse gas emissions.
Recycled / reused materials and components
Materials and components used in the building are from recycled sources
Indicator: 10% of 1 of the 5 main building materials (by volume) are from recycled sources. processes Y
Building design and construction developed to minimally affect the environment
Criteria: Building and construction process designed to minimally impact the environment.
Requirement for largescale vegetation clearing and earth movement minimised.
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APPENDIX THIRTEEN: ASSESSMENT TOOL PRINCIPLES ANALYSIS OF
SUSTAINABLE BUILDING ASSESSMENT TOOL
Sustainable Development Principles
Participatory: The process of development should involve local people and reflect their priorities and needs
Social exclusion: Development should take care not to exclude any groups such as women and disabled people from being fully involved.
Transparent: The process for reaching decisions and carrying out actions should be as transparent as possible
Local resources: where possible development should draw on existing local skills, knowledge and resources
Precautionary principle: Development action and intervention should be guided by the precautionary principle and should not wait until there is a comprehensive understanding of an area.
Top down and bottoms up: The structure of the tool should as far as possible ensure that users maintain a picture of the overall tool and building process while they work through the tool.
Sustainability Assessment System Principles
Hierarchical structure: Assessment frameworks should have a hierarchical structure consisting of the following elements:
- Overarching goal
- Objectives
- Sub objective
- Indicators
Involve key stakeholders: The assessment process should involve the major stakeholders.
Awareness: The assessment process should increase awareness about sustainable development amongst those affected or concerned by the development. This encourages a shared understanding to be developed, which in turn, enables sustainable development to be addressed more effectively
Agreement: The assessment process should ensure that all those affected or concerned by the development are not only are involved, but also actively participate in designing and agreeing objectives and indicators.
Monitor progress towards achievement of
objectives: Indicators should be used as part of the assessment framework to monitor and evaluate progress towards the achievement of sustainable development objectives.
Support decision-making: The assessment frameworks should be used to inform decision-making.
In order to check that appropriate decisions are being made, limited modelling may be necessary to check the performance of different options in order to ensure the most appropriate one is selected. The tool should support an iterative process where options can be tried and tested in order to develop, and evolve, the most appropriate solutions.
Responsive: The tool should be able to respond to the local context, the users and the function of the building. It is therefore important that the tool is flexible enough to be used in different situations and care should be taken that the tool is not too prescriptive. In many situations, solutions and approaches may have to ‘emerge’ from an iterative design process.
Tool development: A description of how and why the tool was developed should be provided.
Compliance
Partially
Partially
Yes
Partially
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
The suggested process for using the SBAT is participatory. However it does not suggest that there is extensive involvement of local people or analysis of local needs.
The SBAT has a strong a set of inclusive environment criteria, however it does not indicate that the process of using the SBAT should be inclusive.
The target setting process and reporting interface of the SBAT help ensure that the process and decision are easily and clearly understood.
SBAT suggests drawing on local resources but does not place a heavy emphasis on local knowledge.
Many aspects of the SBAT require action that are considered important for sustainable development, even though there may not be a full understanding of the area.
The reporting interface of the SBAT allows for holistic reports to be generated easily of all aspects being investigated.
The SBAT has a hierarchical structure with objectives and sub objectives. However it does not provide an overarching goal.
This occurs through the target setting workshops
This should occur through the target setting workshops
This should occur through the target setting workshops
This should occur through the design development stages when the SBAT is used for decision support.
During design development stages.
The target setting stage should take into account and reflect the local context.
No
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Logical: The tool must be structured in way that enables users to easily understand how the tool works and how this relates to buildings and sustainability.
Linkages: The assessment process should encourage investigation into understanding of linkages and interdependencies in and between systems.
Direction: The tool should provide a clear indication on the direction that the development of building should take.
Partially
No
Partially A direction is indicated through the objectives, however this could be made more explicit through a description of an overarching goal those buildings and construction processes should aim for.
No Justifiable: As far as possible the content and emphasis in the tool should be justifiable though reference to research and other information
Strong and weak science: The tool should make distinguish in areas of where there is a strong knowledge and information base from where this does not exist. In order to address it may be appropriate to have a system of primary indicators and secondary indicators, where primary indicators are used to monitor progress in well developed areas, while secondary indicators are used to where areas may become more important in the future.
Assumptions: where important assumptions are made these assumptions should be described.
Reference materials: Where reference information has been material to the development of the tool this should be referred to.
Definitions: Key definitions should be included in the tool
No
No
No
No
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SUSTAINABLE BUILDING ASSESSMENT TOOL (SBAT- P) V1
PROJECT
Project title:
ASSESSMENT
Date:
Building type (specify): Residential/Community/Commercial
Internal area (m2):
Number of users:
Building life cycle stage (specify): Design/Construction/Operation
Company / organisation:
Telephone:
Email:
Fax:
Materials & Components
Site
Occupant Comfort
2.5
Inclusive Environments
2.0
Access to Facilities
1.5
1.0
Waste Participation & Control
0.5
0.0
Energy Education, Health & Safety
Water
Capital Costs
Ongoing Costs
Local Economy
Efficiency
Adaptability
Social 1.0
Economic
Overall
1.4
1.2
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Building Performance - Economic
Criteria
EC 1 Local economy
EC 1.1
Local contractors
Indicative performance measure
Explanatory notes
EC 1.2
Local materials
EC 1.3
Local components
% value of the building constructed by local (within 50km) small (employees<20) contractors
% of materials (sand, bricks, blocks, roofing material) sourced from within 50km
% of components (windows, doors etc) made locally (in the country)
EC 1.4
Local furniture/fittings % of furniture and fittings made locally (in the country)
EC 1.5
Maintenance % of maintenance and repairs by value that can, and are undertaken, by local contractors (within 50km)
Measured Points
0.0
0 0.0
0
0
0
0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
80
1.6
0.8
EC 2 Efficiency
EC 2.1
EC 2.2
Capacity
Occupancy
Explanatory notes
% capacity of building used on a daily basis (actual number of users / number of users at full capacity*100)
% of time building is occupied and used (actual average number of hours used / all potential hours building could be used (24) *100)
Space provision per user not more than 10% above national average for building type (100%) EC 2.3
Space per occupant
EC 2.4
Communication Site/building has access to internet and telephone (100%), telephone only (50%)
EC 2.5
Material & Components Building design coordinated with material / component sizes in order to minimise wastage. Walls (50%), Roof and floors
(50%)
Explanatory notes
EC 3 Adaptability
EC 3.1
Vertical heights
EC 3.2
External space
% of spaces that have a floor to ceiling height of 3000mm or more
Design facilitates flexible external space use (100%)
EC 3.3
Internal partition Non loadbearing internal partitions that can be easily adapted (loose partioning (100%), studwall (50%), masonary
(25%)
Building with modular stucture, envelope (fenestration) & services allowing easly internal adaptaptation (100%) EC 3.4
Modular planning
EC 3.5
Furniture Modular, limited variety furniture - can be easily configured for different uses (100%)
EC 4 Ongoing costs
EC 4.1
Induction
Explanatory notes
All new users receive induction training on building systems (50%), Detailed building user manual (50%)
EC4.2
Consumption & waste % of users exposed on a monthly basis to building performance figures (water (25%), electricity (25%), waste (25%),
EC 4.2
EC4.3
Cleaning
SO 4.5 Procurement
EC 5
EC 5.1
Metering
Maintenance &
Capital Costs
Local need accidents (25%)
Easily monitored localised metering system for water (50%) and energy (50%)
% of building that can be cleaned and maintained easily and safely using simple equipment and local non-hazardous materials
% of value of all materials/equipment used in the building on a daily basis supplied by local (within the country) manufacturers
Explanatory notes
Five percent capital cost allocated to address urgent local issues (employment, training etc) during construction
EC5.2
EC 5.3
EC5.4
EC 5.5
Procurement
Building costs
Technology
Existing Buildings process (100%)
Tender / construction packaged to ensure involvement of small local contractors/manufacturers (100%)
Capital cost not more than fifteen % above national average building costs for the building type (100%)
3% or more of capital costs allocated to new sustainable/indigenous technology (100%)
Existing buildings reused (100%)
0
80
0
0
0
80
34
0
0
0
80
56
34
0
0
80
50
80
0
0.0
0.8
0.0
0.0
1.1
0.0
0.8
0.3
0.0
0.0
1.7
0.0
0.8
0.6
0.3
0.0
2.1
0.0
0.8
0.5
0.8
0.0
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Building Performance - Social
SO 1
Criteria
Occupant Comfort
SO 1.1 Daylighting
Indicative performance measure
% of occupied spaces that are within distance 2H from window, where H is the height of the window or where there is good daylight from skylights
Explanatory notes
Measured Points Quantified modelled or measured performance data
0.2
http://greenbuilding.ca/
20 0.2
0 0.0
SO 1.2 Ventilation
SO 1.3 Noise
% of occupied spaces have equivalent of opening window area equivalent to 10% of floor area or adequate mechanical system, with upolluted air source
% of occupied spaces where external/internal/reverberation noise does not impinge on normal conversation (50dbA)
SO 1.5 Thermal comfort
SO 1.5 Views
SO 2 Inclusive Environment
SO 2.1 Public Transport
Tempreture of occupied space does not exceed 28 or go below 19 o
C for less than 5 days per year (100%)
% of occupied space that is 6m from an external window (not a skylight) with a view
Explanatory notes
% of building (s) within 400m of disabled accessible (20%) and affordable (80%) public transport
SO 2.2 Information
SO 2.3 Space
SO 2.4 Toilets
SO 2.5 Fittings & Furniture
Comprehensive signage provided (50%), Signage high contrast, clear print signage in appropriate locations and language(s) / use of understandable symbols / manned reception at all entrances (50%)
% of occupied spaces that are accessible to ambulant disabled / wheelchair users
% of occupied space with fully accessible toilets within 50m along easily accessible route
% of commonly used furniture and fittings (reception desk, kitchenette, auditorium) fully accessible
SO 3 Access to Facilities
SO 3.1 Children
SO 3.2 Banking
SO 3.3 Retail
SO 3.4 Communication
SO 3.5 Exercise
All users can walk (100%) / use public transport (50%) to get to their childrens' schools and creches
All users can walk (100%) / use public transport (50%) to get to banking facilities
All users can walk (100%) / use public transport (50%) to get to food retail
Explanatory notes
All users can walk (100%) / use public transport (50%) to get to communication facilities (post/telephone/internet)
All users can walk (100%) / use public transport (50%) to get to recreation/excercise facilities
SO 4 Participation & Contro
Explanatory notes
SO 4.1 Environmental control % of occupied space able to control their thermal environment (adjacent to openable windows/thermal controls)
SO 4.2 Lighting control % of occupied space able to control their light (adjacent to controllable blinds etc/local lighting control)
SO 4.3 Social spaces
SO 4.4 Sharing facilties
SO 4.5 User group
Social informal meeting spaces (parks / staff canteens / cafes) provided locally (within 400m) (100%)
5% or more of facilities shared with other users / organisations on a weekly basis (100%)
Users actively involved in the design process (50%) / Active and representative management user group (50%)
0
0
0
0
34
80
0
0
0
80
34
0
0
0
80
0
34
0
0.0
0.0
0.0
1.1
0.0
0.3
0.8
0.0
0.0
1.1
0.0
0.8
0.3
0.0
0.0
1.1
0.0
0.8
0.0
0.3
0.0
SO 5 Education, Health & Sa
SO 5.1 Education
Explanatory notes
Two percent or more space/facilities available for education (seminar rooms / reading / libraries) per occupied space
(75%). Construction training provided on site (25%)
SO 5.2 Safety
SO 5.3 Awareness
SO 5.4 Materials
SO 5.5 Accidents
All well used routes in and around building well lit (25%), all routes in and around buildings visually supervised (25%), secure perimeter and access control (50%), No crime (100%)
% of users who can access information on health & safety issues (ie HIV/AIDS), training and employment opportunities easily (posters/personnel/intranet site)
All materials/components used have no negative effects on indoor air quality (100%)
Process in place for recording all occupational accidents and diseases and addressing these
0
0
34
80
0
0
1.1
0.0
0.3
0.8
0.0
0.0
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Building Performance - Environmental
Criteria
EN 1 Water
EN 1.1 Rainwater
EN 1.2 Water use
EN 1.3 Runoff
EN 3 Waste
EN 3.1 Toxic waste
EN 3.2 Organic waste
EN 3.3 Inorganic waste
EN 3.4 Sewerage
EN 3.5 Construction waste
EN 4 Site
EN 4.1 Brownfield site
EN 4.3 Vegetation
EN 4.4 Food gardens
EN 4.5 Landscape inputs
Indicative performance measure
% of water consumed sourced from rainwater harvested on site
% of equipment (taps, washing machines, urinals showerheads) that are water efficient
% of carparking, paths, roads and roofs that have absorbant/semi absorbant/permeable surfaces
Explanatory notes
EN 1.4 Greywater
EN 1.5 Planting
EN 2 Energy
EN 2.1 Location
(grassed/thatched/looselaid paving/ absorbant materials)
% of water from washing/relatively clean processes recycled and reused
% of planting (other than food gardens) on site with low / appropriate water requirements
EN 2.2 Ventilation
EN 2.3 Heating & Cooling
EN 2.4 Appliances & fittings % of appliances / lighting fixtures that are classed as highly energy efficient ( ie energy star rating)
EN 2.5 Renewable energy % of building energy requirements met from renewable sources
Explanatory notes
% of users who walk / cycle / use public transport to commute to the building
% of building ventilation requirements met through natural / passive ventilation
% of occupied space which relies solely on passive environmental control (no or minimal energy consumption)
% of toxic waste (batteries, ink cartridges, flourescent lamps) recycled
% of organic waste recycled
% of inorganic waste recycled.
% of sewerage recycled on site
% of damaged building materials / waste developed in construction recycled on site
% of proposed site already disturbed / brownfield (previously developed)
EN 4.2 Neighbouring buildings No neighbouring buildings negatively affected (access to sunlight, daylight, ventilation) (100%)
% of area of area covered in vegetation (include green roofs, internal planting) relative to whole site
Food gardens on site (100%)
Explanatory notes
Explanatory notes
% of landscape that does not require mechanical equipment (ie lawn cutting) and or artificial inputs such as weed killers and pesticides
Measured Points
1.1
0
0
80
34
0
0
34
80
0
0
0
0
80
34
0
0
0
0
80
0
0.0
0.0
0.8
0.3
0.0
1.1
0.0
0.3
0.8
0.0
0.0
1.1
0.0
0.0
0.8
0.3
0.0
0.8
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.8
0.0
EN 5 Materials & Componen
EN 5.1 Embodied energy
Explanatory notes
Materials with high embodied energy (aluminium,plastics) make up less than 1% of weight of building (100%)
EN 5.2 Material sources % of materials and components by volume from grown sources (animal/plant)
EN 5.3 Ozone depletion
EN 5.4 Recyled / reuse
No materials and components used requiring ozone depleting processes (100%)
% of materials and components (by weight) reused / from recycled sources
EN 5.5 Construction process Volume / area of site disturbed during construction less than 2X volume/area of new building (100%)
0
80
80
0
0
1.6
0.0
0.8
0.8
0.0
0.0
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Instructions
Objective
The objective of the tool is to provide an indication of the performance of a building or the design of a building in terms of sustainability
Scope
The tool should be ideally be used on a building that has just been completed.
It can be used at other stages of a building's lifecycle but some criteria may not be relevant
The tool can be used on most building types such as schools, housing and offices, conventionally used by people to live and work in
Instructions
Step One
Setting the Project Up
Complete the project and assessment sections of the A. Report section
Refer to definitions below
Step Two
Entering Measurements
Complete each of the sections B. Social, C. Economic and D. Environmental
Should you require a description of the broad criteria used refer to Criteria Notes.
Under the column Measured indicate the percentage compliance from 0 to 100 % for each of the relevant criteria
If you do not have the information required for the criteria enter O%
Should you have detailed modelled or measured quantified performance data relevant to the criteria enter this under
Quantified modelled or measured performance data. Where possible ensure that this data aligns with protocols provided in the green building assessment methodology (see http:greenbuildings.ca)
Detailed technical performance information on your building should also be entered directly into the powerpoint accompanying this document
Step Three
Reading the Report
On completion return to the A. Report section. The spidergraph should now have filled and values should have appeared in all boxes.
Social provides an indication of the social performance of the building in terms of sustainability
Economic provides an indication of the economic performance of the building in terms of sustainability
Environmental provides an indication of the environmental performance of the building in terms of sustainability
Overall provides an indication of the overall building performance in terms of sustainability
Definitions
Occupied Space: Space that is normally used by people for living or working in
User: People who regularly use the building
Contact
Should you wish to comment on this tool, please contact:
Jeremy Gibberd, FPM, CSIR
Tel: 012 841 2839 Fax: 012 841 3504
Email: [email protected]
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Criteria Notes
Reference
SO1
SO2
SO3
SO4
Criteria
Occupant
Comfort
Description
The quality of environments in and around buildings has been shown to have a direct impact on health, happiness and productivity of people. Healthier, happier, more effective people contribute to sustainability by being more efficient and therefore reducing resource consumption and waste.
Inclusive
Environments
Access to
Facilities
Buildings should be designed to accommodate and be accessible to everyone, or specially designed buildings need to be provided. Ensuring that buildings are inclusive supports sustainability as replication is avoided and change of use supported. It also ensures that as legislation in this area tightens, expensive retrofits are not required in order to ensure compliance
Conventional living and working patterns require regular access to a range of services. Ensuring that these services can be accessed easily and in environmentally friendly ways supports sustainability by increasing efficiency and reducing environmental impact.
Participation & Enablingusers to participate in decisions about their environment helps ensure that they care for and
Control manage this properly. Control over aspects of their local environment enables personal satisfaction and comfort. Both of these support sustainability by promoting proper management of buildings and increasing productivity.
Examples of quantified performance indicators
SO5
Education
Health and
Safety
Buildings need to cater for the well-being, development, health and safety of the people that use them.
Learning and access to information is increasingly seen as a requirement of a competitive work force.
All of these factors contribute to sustainability by helping ensure that people remain healthy and economically active, thus reducing the ‘costs’ (to society, the environment and the economy) of unemployment and ill health.
EC1
EC2
EC3
EC4
EC5
EN1
EN2
EN3
EN4
EN5
Local
Economy
Efficiency
The construction and management of buildings can have a major impact on the economy of an area.
The economy of an area can be stimulated and sustained by buildings that make use of, and develop, local skills and resources.
Buildings cost money and make use of resources whether they are used or not. Effective and efficient use of buildings supports sustainability by reducing waste and the need for additional buildings.
Adaptability and Flexibility
Most buildings can have a life span of at least 50 years. It is likely that within this time the use of the building will change, or that the feasibility of this will be investigated. Buildings, which can accommodate change easily, support sustainability by reducing the requirement for physical adaptation and associated disruption, energy consumption and cost as well as the need for new buildings.
Ongoing
Costs
Building cost money to operate. These costs include cleaning, maintenance, security and energy.
These costs are often indicative of consumption and waste in the building. It is therefore important to monitor them. In addition operational budgets can be used to support the development of local economies.
Capital Costs Buildings are generally one of the most valuable assets that people, and often organisations and governments own. Money spent on buildings is not available for other uses such as health, education and business development. In addition,expensive buildings may mean that the services (i.e. health and education) they contain or the accommodation (for work and living) they provide is beyond the means of most users.
Water
Energy
Waste
Site
The large-scale provision of conventional water supply has many environmental implications. Water needs to be stored (sometimes taking up large areas of valuable land and disturbing natural drainage patterns with associated problems from erosion etc); it also needs to be pumped (using energy) through a large network of pipes (that need to be maintained and repaired). Having delivered the water, parallel efforts are then required to dispose of this after it is used in reticulation and sewerage systems. Reducing water consumption supports sustainability by reducing the environmental impact required to deliver water, and dispose of this after use. Maintaining natural ground water systems also supports sustainability through maintaining existing ecosystems and avoiding the environmental impact associated with for disposal of storm water and runoff.
Buildings consume a large proportion of all energy produced. Conventional energy production is responsible for making a large contribution to environmental damage and non-renewable resource depletion. Using less energy or using renewable energy in buildings therefore can make a substantial contribution
Raw materials and new components used in buildings consume resources and energy in their manufacture and processes. Buildings accommodate activities that consume large amounts of resources and products and produce large amounts of waste. Reducing the use of new materials and components in buildings and in the activities accommodated and reducing waste by recycling and reuse supports sustainability by reducing the energy consumption and resource consumption.
Buildings have a footprint and a size that take up space that could otherwise be occupied by natural ecosystems which contribute to sustainability by helping create and maintain an environment that supports life. (By, for instance, controlling the carbon dioxide and oxygen balance and maintaining temperatures within a limited range). Buildings can support sustainability by, limiting development to sites that have already been disturbed, and working with nature by including aspects of natural ecosystems within the development.
Materials and
Components
The construction of buildings usually requires large quantities of materials and components. These may require large amounts of energy to produce. Their manufacture may also require processes that are harmful to the environment and consume non-renewable resources. It is therefore important to carefully select materials and components and construction methods.
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Instructions
• This presentation should be completed after finishing the
SBAT assessment (Excel document attached) of your building as it requires information from this.
• The italic text included in this document provides guidance please delete this as you complete presentation
• Ensure that the complete presentation is no larger than
2MB if you want to send it by email and 10MB if you send a CD. If it is larger than this substitute / reduce the resolution of information to reduce the size of the document.
• Submit this document with the completed SBAT (Excel document) report.
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Project Title
Building Type (Residential/Community/Commercial)
Country
Date building completed / projected completion date
Images / drawings can be inserted on this page, however make sure that the text above can be read easily
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Introduction
• Provide brief description / background /
objectives of the project
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Context
• Provide description of
context, with pictures
/ diagrams.
• In particular include
aspects that have strongly influenced the design of the project
U n i i v e r r s i i t t y o f f P r r e t t o r r i i a e t t d -
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G i i b b e r r d
,
, J
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( 2 0
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)
Drawings
• Include one or two simple plan / section or
other drawings that explain the project
U n i i v e r r s i i t t y o f f P r r e t t o r r i i a e t t d -
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G i i b b e r r d
,
, J
(
( 2 0
0
3 )
)
Photographs
• Include up to 6 photographs that help
explain the project
U n i i v e r r s i i t t y o f f P r r e t t o r r i i a e t t d -
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G i i b b e r r d
,
, J
(
( 2 0
0
3 )
)
Overall Performance
Copy and paste spider graph from A. report of the SBAT (excel document) here.
In the boxes below, copy across the overall value and the classification also from A. report of the SBAT (excel document).
Overall Score
U n i i v e r r s i i t t y o f f P r r e t t o r r i i a e t t d -
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G i i b b e r r d
,
, J
(
( 2 0
0
3 )
)
Social
Performance
Social Performance
Paste Social Performance values from Report
A of the SBAT (excel document)
Aspects
•List key
characteristics of building with high performance in terms of social aspects of sustainable development
Evidence of high performance
• Provide evidence of
performance ie quantitative measures. Include benchmarks
(& references) that can be used for comparison purposes
U n i i v e r r s i i t t y o f f P r r e t t o r r i i a e t t d -
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G i i b b e r r d
,
, J
(
( 2 0
0
3 )
)
Economic Performance
Economic
Performance
Paste Economic Performance values from
Report A of the SBAT (excel document)
Aspects
•List key
characteristics of building with high performance in terms of economic aspects of sustainable development
Evidence of high performance
• Provide evidence of
performance ie quantitative measures. Include benchmarks
(& references) that can be used for comparison purposes
U n i i v e r r s i i t t y o f f P r r e t t o r r i i a e t t d -
-
G i i b b e r r d
,
, J
(
( 2 0
0
3 )
)
Environmental Performance
Environmental
Performance
Paste Environmental Performance values from
Report A of the SBAT (excel document)
Aspects
•List key
characteristics of building with high performance in environmental aspects of sustainable development
Evidence of high performance
• Provide evidence of
performance ie quantitative measures. Include benchmarks
(& references) that can be used for comparison purposes
U n i i v e r r s i i t t y o f f P r r e t t o r r i i a e t t d -
-
G i i b b e r r d
,
, J
(
( 2 0
0
3 )
)
Key Feature 1
• Use the Key Feature
slides to show innovative
/ excellent / exceptional aspects of your project in terms of support for sustainable development
• Insert text description /
performance data here
• Insert photographs /
drawings / diagrams / tables etc to the right
U n i i v e r r s i i t t y o f f P r r e t t o r r i i a e t t d -
-
G i i b b e r r d
,
, J
(
( 2 0
0
3 )
)
Key Feature 1
• Use the Key Feature
slides to show innovative
/ excellent / exceptional aspects of your project in terms of support for sustainable development
• Insert text description
here
• Insert photographs /
drawings / diagrams / etc to the right
U n i i v e r r s i i t t y o f f P r r e t t o r r i i a e t t d -
-
G i i b b e r r d
,
, J
(
( 2 0
0
3 )
)
Key Feature 1
• Use the Key Feature
slides to show innovative
/ excellent / exceptional aspects of your project in terms of support for sustainable development
• Insert text description
here
• Insert photographs /
drawings / diagrams / etc to the right
U n i i v e r r s i i t t y o f f P r r e t t o r r i i a e t t d -
-
G i i b b e r r d
,
, J
(
( 2 0
0
3 )
)
Team & Contact Details
Insert development team details in these boxes (Add boxes as required)
Insert contact details of person carrying out the assessment who will act as contact person. Include: Person,
Organisation, Address,Telephone, Fax, Email
* Your assessment is very important for improving the work of artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project