Contents page

Content
Page Number
1. Introduction - Sustainable Development, What is it?
3 - 4
2. Climate Change - Environment

Climate Change Levy
Key Performance Indicators
Breeam
Code for Sustainable Homes
Critical Path Tools
Energy Performance Certificates
Considerate Constructor Scheme

5 - 7

7
7 - 8
8
8
8
8
8
3. Case Study 1 - Hurricane Sandy
9
4. Waste Management - Economic
10
5. Life Cycle Assessment
11
6. Life Cycle Cost
11
7. Community Cohesion and Integration - Social
12
8. Key Sustainability Drivers

Agenda 21
The Club of Rome – Limits to Growth 1972
World Commission on Environment and Development
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
Kyoto Protocol

13
13 - 14
14
14
14

9. UK Legislation and Policy
15 - 17
10. Sustainability Timeline
18 - 20
11. Case Study 2 - Environmental Plan, Site Specific
21 - 24
12. Conclusion
25 - 26
13. Bibliography
27
14. Verification
28

1. Sustainable development, what is it?

The term “Sustainable development” widely became popularized in 1987, when the United Nations Commission on Environment and Development also known as the Brundtland report drew attention to the fact that economic development often has a detrimental effect on society and the planet. The report defined sustainable development as: “Development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.
The report by the United Nations General Assembly gave the term political salience; and in 1992 leaders set out the principles of sustainable development at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio De Janeiro – Brazil (Drexhage and Murphy, 2010).
Achieving Sustainability requires us to live within the limits of the earth’s capacity to provide the materials for our activities and to absorb the waste and pollution that our activities generate (Halliday, 2008).
We are presented with a major challenge with regards to the built environment. The design, construction, use and demolition of a building is a huge factor in human impact on the environment both directly through material and energy consumption, pollution and waste, and indirectly through the pressures of inefficient infrastructures (Halliday, 2008).
Sustainable development is based on the idea that the quality of people’s lives, and the state of our communities, is affected by a combination of economic, social and environmental factors. It is vital that a healthy balance is maintained, if more focus and attention is applied to one the rest will fail (unsustainable development). We are already seeing the damage this kind of approach can cause, from large-scale financial crises caused by irresponsible banking, to changes in global climate resulting from our dependence on fossil fuel-based energy sources. The longer we pursue unsustainable development, the more frequent and severe its consequences are likely to become, which is why we need to take action now. Sustainable development is often driven by one particular need without considering the harsh reality of future impacts. Sustainable development can be seen as a way of living from nature's income rather than its capital account.
Balance of the “Three E’s” (Social, Economic and Environment)

Focusing on single issues will consequently lead to:
Imbalance
Missed opportunities
Highly perverse outcomes

2. Climate Change Environment

During the 1992 Rio Earth summit, 170 heads of state and government recognised that climate change is a serious problem. It was agreed and signed that we could no longer wait for scientific uncertainties. However there is an on going debate on the subject of ‘climate change’, many people believe that it is just part of our planets cycle, after all we have lived through two ice ages?
Whatever the opinion it is hard to believe that climate change should just be brushed under the carpet. Global climate is already causing noticeable effects on the