Sustainability Flashcards
Definition of sustainable development
Brundtland report defines as
Development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
What’s an environmental consideration in relation to sustainability?
Preventing harmful impact to the environment through careful use of natural resources, minimising waste and reducing energy usage.
What’s an economic consideration in relation to sustainability?
Does the development represent overall value for money?
Efficient use of resources and labour and ensuring the design and construction meet the functional needs of the users.
What’s a social consideration for sustainability?
The development should respond to the needs of the wider community.
How can you measure sustainability?
Assessing the performance of social, environmental and economic principles.
Construction sustainability assessment such as BREEAM.
What is the Paris Agreement?
It sets out a global framework to avoid dangerous climate change by limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees.
What’s a U-value?
Measures how effective a material is as an insulator.
Name some sustainable assessment schemes
LEED - leadership in energy and environmental design
BREEAM
SKA
CEEQUAL
What is CEEQUAL?
Sustainability assessment scheme.
Civil engineering infrastructure and landscaping.
What’s BREEAM?
International scheme
Provides independent third party certification of the assessment of sustainability performance of buildings.
Latest version of BREEAM?
BREEAM New Construction V6 that came into effect August 2022.
BREEAM headline assessment categories
Energy
Management
Materials
Transport
Pollution
Water
Innovation
Land use and ecology
Health and wellbeing.
Waste
BREEAM rating thresholds
Outstanding >85%
Excellent > 70%
Very good > 55%
Good > 45%
Pass > 30%
Unclassified <30
Define ‘Net Zero Carbon’ in the context of new build construction.
UK Green Building Council definition:
“When the amount of carbon emissions associated with a buildings production and construction stages up to practical completion is zero or negative. Through the use of offsets or the net export of on-site renewable energy.
Define ‘net zero carbon’ in the context of operational energy for a building in use.
When the amount of carbon emissions associated with a building’s operational energy on an annual basis is zero or negative.
A net zero carbon building is highly energy efficient and powered from on-site and/or off-site renewable energy, with any remaining balance offset.
