Sustainable Construction To Protect The Environment
Sustainable Construction Principles
- Understand sustainable development and client benefits
- Adopt whole lifecycle thinking
- Design and construct to minimise environmental impact
- Select the most sustainable construction methods and solutions
Sustainable Construction encompasses issues as diverse as:
- Orientation of buildings
- Materials of construction
- Construction techniques
- Utilisation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
- Community involvement
- Local sourcing
What is Sustainable Development?
The classic definition of sustainable development comes from the Brundtland Report of the World Commission on Environment & Development of 1987, Our Common Future: “Sustainable development is development which meets the needs of the present generation without comprising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
The Greenhouse Effect
The greenhouse concept is simply that the composition of the gases that make up the atmosphere enveloping the earth is crucial to the existence of life, by acting as an insulator. This is because a precise gaseous composition allows heat which is radiated from the sun to be trapped in by the earth. Furthermore it allows the specific temperature range for life to flourish, as it allows the right amount of heat loss as well as retention to keep the balance of life stable.
Global Warming & Climate Change
While the Greenhouse Effect in balance is a good thing, the creation of an imbalance through the excessive emission of man-made greenhouse gases disturbs the balance. Accordingly, humanity currently faces one of its greatest challenges ever as accumulating greenhouse gases cause climate change and sea level rise. The most recent report confirms there is now very little doubt that manmade carbon dioxide is the main cause of climate change.
“Greenhouse gases are accumulating in the Earth’s atmosphere as a result of human activities, causing surface air temperatures and surface ocean temperatures to rise. Temperatures are, in fact, rising... Human-induced warming and associated sea-level rises are expected to continue throughout the 21st century”.
Source: national Academy of Sciences report on global warming to the Bush Administration, June 2001 - http://www.national academies.org
Desertification and Poverty Deforestation Rising Sea Levels
Variation of the Earth’s Surface Temperature over the Past 1000 Years
Figures from 1961 to 1990 are average Source: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Unsustainable economic activity has widespread undesirable impacts including:
- air pollution
- ozone depletion
- land, coastal and marine degradation
- ecosystems damage
- deforestation, habitat loss and depletion of natural resources
- fresh water availability loss
- desertification