Environment & Sustainability Statements

Sustainability is the ability to satisfy the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to satisfy their own needs. Sustainable development uses a triple bottom line approach which takes into account economic, environmental and social sustainability.

Building sustainability begins with examining your footprint by looking at the energy, water, and materials these buildings use. From there, builders need to start thinking about how the buildings will be sustained in the future by producing less adverse impacts on our planet’s natural resources.

Buildings must also prove themselves with good indoor air quality and high thermal efficiency without compromising aesthetics or liveability. Sustainable building is about answering these questions before taking the first step so everyone can continue to enjoy them for generations to come.

Sustainability is about meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The 3 main sustainability principles are;

– environmental sustainability which includes issues such as renewable energy, recycling, clean air and water etc.

– economic sustainability which focuses on ensuring that sustainability will not prevent growth or cause business decline, sustainability is advantageous to the growth of a profitable business.

– social sustainability which involves being considerate of people’s needs, ensuring that sustainability isn’t only about the environmental impact but also social sustainability.

A sustainability statement is a comprehensive statement that demonstrates how you have applied sustainability principles. There are many areas that should be covered within a sustainability report including energy, water, materials and construction stages to name but a few.

All materials and their carbon footprint are assessed, as well as the carbon footprint of any goods and services associated with your project. All water used should be included, as well as how you have treated and recycled all of your waste. The sustainability of the construction process itself is also considered including transport costs, resource use on site and a whole host of other issues.

When you commission a sustainability statement, it is important to know what areas are going to be covered. You should also consider how the sustainability statement will be reviewed and assessed.

All new constructions in places with strict planning regulations demand detailed sustainability statements. They cover all the information including; traffic counts, building material and environmental impact. A sustainability statement differs from SAP calculations and SBEM calculations in the sense that the sustainability statement does not only focus on energy. They focus on other features including; drainage strategy, ecological impact, water efficiency calculations, food risk analysis and community impact. The aim of the report is to highlight to a developer how local objectives can be addressed in relation to CO2 emissions, renewable energy targets as well as any environmental issues. A report is generally prepared during the pre-planning stage and is produced for the final application.

There are a number of different sustainability statements that can be produced depending on your requirements:

A planning sustainability statement can be used to demonstrate sustainability in a simple and concise way for new developments. They provide a way of communicating sustainability information in the planning process and allows major developments to be both sustainable and more likely to get permission.

A design sustainability statement is for when sustainability features need to be included in your building planning application. This statement is for sustainability features to be included in your building plans. A sustainability statement does not need to be too complicated. For example, if you do not have space on your development’s plan for solar panels or wind turbines then just include the information within the sustainability statement instead.

Sustainability is the degree to which a building’s construction or renovation encourages sustainability. This could be by using materials that have sustainability benefits, such as recycled timber, or it could include features that encourage sustainability, for instance having solar panels.

Sustainability statements are now a requirement for all new developments with strict planning regulations. Whilst there is no set standard as to what should be included, they must now include factual information and an explanation of why sustainability features were included where applicable.