Achieving Sustainable Development in Construction - Essay Example

?Achieving Sustainable Development in Construction Definition and History of Sustainable Development Sustainable development is a complex phenomenon,not to be implemented in a vacuum. It requires integration of sustainable development with environmental issues through the implementation of complex policies so that a balance could be maintained between economic development, environmental security and social stability. In UK planning system, the notion of sustainable development is thoroughly expressed from national level, through the regional level, and finally touching the Local Development Framework. Nevertheless, how far a principle of sustainable development is adhered to in local planning could be different from one area to the other. The concept of sustainable development can be traced from various meetings held during the 1970s and 1980s. The 1972 UN Stockholm Conference on the human environment was one such initiative taken for the first time on global scale over the negative impacts of human functions causing harm to the environment. The concept of environmental security was advanced through the 1980 World Conservation Strategy planned by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature in collaboration with the UN Environment Program and the World Wildlife Fund, for the welfare of mankind. Later, in 1987, the UN-sponsored Bruntland Commission issued a report, Our Common Future that attracted the attention on global poverty and degrading environment, which culminated in grabbing global attention through the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development, in Rio de Janeiro. It paved the way on reaching global agreements over sustainable principles and action agenda over it (The Sustainability Report par. 3-7). The Brundtland Report 1987 The Brundtland Report (WCED 1987: 5)) has stressed on specific aspects of the definition of sustainable development, which is for “ensuring a better quality of life” to be attained through improved economic and environmental conditions. Sustainable development should be beneficial “for everyone”, assuring socially sustainable development. Stress is on sustainable development “for future generations”, which means all the three aspects, social, economic and environmental should be sustainable for attaining equal development of the present generation along with posterity (Lafferty 5). The Bruntland Report strives for “Common Action” on environmental policy by adhering to two methods, first, by following the ‘standard agenda’ on environmental policy, law, and institutions that create positive environmental impacts. Secondly, it advocates adhering to such policies that help in creating that positive impact. These two approaches indicate a unique way of addressing the problems and at organizations on resolving them (Lafferty 5). It is critical for the sustainability motive under the policy that its ecological aspects are discussed at the same time when other aspects such as the economic, business, energy, agricultural, industrial, and other aspects on the ditto agendas and in the same national and global level institutions are analyzed. The Bruntland Report admits it to be the leading challenge of the 1990s to include the objectives of sustainable development in the terms of reference of the government-formed committees to formulate concerned states’ policies and planning besides managing with leading sectoral and global policies. Not only this, the concerned states are expected to take full responsibility of implementing such policies, programs, and budgets to support development that is ecologically and economically sustainable (Lafferty 5). United Nations Conference on Environment & Development, Rio de Janeiro 1992 It was an unusual UN conference on environment and development held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, known as the Earth Summit. It was extraordinary because of its huge attendance and range of the issues discussed. After a lapse of twenty year in organizing another global scale conference on environment, the UN prompted the global governments to reconsider economic development and search means to stop the loss of non-renewable natural resources and control pollution. Special about the Rio de Janeiro Conference 1992 was that masses from various countries prompted their leaders to participate in the Conference to take critical leads so that future of the planet remained healthy (UNCED par. 1) The Earth Summit identified the complex issues at stake, namely poverty and over-exploitation of resources by rich countries putting additional burden on the environment. The participating countries felt the need to revise their national and global policies to include economic repercussions of any environmental action. It paved the way for gaining eco-efficiency in various private and public ventures worldwide (UNCED par. 1). The two-week Earth Summit was the result of a process, started in December 1989, of planning, awareness and discussions among all Member States of the United Nations, clearing the road to the adoption of Agenda 21, a comprehensive action plan to attain sustainable development globally. Strenuous efforts have been made to reinforce Agenda 21 and appraisal of the program was planned in June 1997 by the UN General Assembly (UNCED par. 3). The 1992 Rio de Janeiro Conference has made a huge impact on the subsequent conferences by evaluating the link between human rights, population, social development, women and human settlements — and the urgency for environmentally sustainable development. The World Conference on Human Rights, conducted in Vienna in 1993, for instance, highlighted the right of people to a safe environment and the right to development, contrasting demands that had faced pressures from some Member States until Rio Conference (UNCED par. 4). Impact of the Construction Industry Environmental Impact Sustainable design and construction can accomplish a critical role in reducing the effect of large new constructions on the environment and climate change. The core policy strategy of the governments should be to integrate the environmental concerns along with construction for development. It requires various issues to be resolved in the provision of sustainable design and construction (BDFCS 107). The planning strategy needs to include all the issues stated above to be pursued by the governments for adherence purpose. For example in the UK, huge constructions, particularly related to educational and health, need to include BREEM or Code for sustainable homes assessment. Besides, for extra-large construction projects, it will be mandatory to get a BREEAM for Communities assessment. Measures taken by the various city councils to reduce the impact of pollution caused by new construction includes fulfilling Level 6 of the Code for Sustainable Homes from 2016 onwards. For commercial construction activity also, it will be mandatory to get a BREEAM “Excellent” rating from 2016 (BDFCS 107). Social Impact Urban designing plays a very critical part in the designing of the city to add on the positive qualities; it can also reduce the loss caused by unplanned expansion. Quality in urban designing can play a significant part in connecting and sustaining regions socially and from community perspective. It creates a feeling of belongingness leading to social interaction and adherence to healthy living standards. Past standards of development can no more be relevant with the new urban designing. Therefore, new standards need to be established and checked for adherence through such methodologies as Building for Life and Lifetime Homes (BDFCS 123). Such policies need to be framed that provide smooth access by developing routes that link the roads with each other and are easily traversable, encourage clear access by providing easily identifiable places, routes, intersections and points of reference, provide a well-designed, integrated and effective development that objectively specifies public and private areas, provide an all-inclusive built surrounding consisting of quality-rich buildings and areas that include green infrastructure, development of multi-purpose, refreshing and well-managed public spaces facilitating various mediums of transport, parking and servicing, and developing adaptable spaces as per future needs related to society, technology, economy and environment (BDFCS, 123). Economic Impact The economic impact of sustainable development in the construction industry depends to a large extent on the solutions of the major economic issues. These include making provision for the land, as emerging from the needs of a booming economy while at the same time fulfilling the equal demand needs of land for residential, employment, social and physical infrastructure by creating employment possibilities, as based on specific needs of varied employment alternatives. Economic impact can be created by developing transport infrastructure to meet the employment and communities’ needs, particularly the public transport connectivity for specific community areas and by reducing the traffic. Thus, economic impact can be seen by focusing only on selected areas that demand urgent attention in the matter of regeneration and renewal projects for the entire city (BDFCS 126). UK Government and Industry Vision of Construction The government wants to pursue a policy of sustainable design and construction that reduces to the minimum the environmental impact of construction so that aims in the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions could be attained. Taking the cue from one of the UK leading cities, the Bristol city, it has established a wide criteria for the design and construction of the new development by stipulating principles for the disposal of waste. In the context of reducing the impact of construction on the environment and climate change, the vision of the government includes: Attaining energy-efficiency and its integration by using renewable and low-carbon energy; Waste recycling happening concurrently with construction activity; Efficient use of water and reducing the flooding risk; The kind, strength and source of materials to be used; Elasticity and suitability to change the design as per future needs; Possibility of including bio-diversity-effective measures like green roofs (BDFCS 107). The Strategic Forum for Construction (SFfC) The Strategic Forum for Construction has stipulated Baselines for the disposal of construction waste to landfill and carbon emissions on building locations. The Baselines provide a clear path for both the government and construction industry on fulfilling the collective aims over Strategy for Sustainable Construction (Press Release SFfC par. 1). Targets were fixed on reducing construction waste to half and carbon emission by 15% by 2012 under the Strategy for Sustainable Construction. Both targets had 2008 as the baseline year from which to measure progress. Progress on these fronts can be measured to take actions to be followed by monitoring. On the same lines, water consumption on construction locations and other related products used in construction can be quantified. Overall, pursuing such a strategy for sustainable construction can prove very effective in conserving reusable resources (Press Release SFfC par. 1-4). These steps have offered an opportunity to construction industry to increase the effective usage of the construction site and logistics as well to reduce the impact of increased fuel costs and exhibit its dedication to the customers on controlling carbon emissions. It can be achieved by putting hours in analyzing Environment Agency and Defra statistics to help in quantifying construction, demolition and excavation (CD&E) waste to landfill, which would boost resource-efficiency and reduce the quantity of waste turning up for landfill (Press Release SFfC par. 5-6). As per the target under the Strategy for Sustainable Construction project started in June 2008, it is estimated that in 2008 the CD&E waste turning up for landfill in England was 12.55 million tones, which would be reduced 50% by 2012 to 6.28 tones. Next job under the project is to analyze the leading waste lines adding to the 2008 baseline to prioritize actions accordingly. Carbon reduction is expected to be 15% by 2012, which comes to 750,000 tones (Press Release SFfC par. 7-9). The UK Green Building Council (UK-GBC) The UK Green Building Council (UK-GBC) is actively pursuing along with members including CIRIA, the Construction Industry Environmental Forum (CIFE), and Construction Excellence, and other stakeholders to evolve a “Roadmap to Sustainability”, to create a common vision of sustainable construct environment that stipulates guidelines for the construction industry, its clients and policy makers to walk on the assigned road to construction sustainability. The organizations namely Constructing Excellence, CIRIA and CIEF have been communicating and collaborating with Government to encourage the Strategy and its leading sustainability purpose via the construction industry and the built environment sector (SfSC 57). The national networks of these organizations have advanced the lead messages of the Strategy by organizing events, newsletters and websites. In near future, Constructing Excellence, CIRIA and the CIEF will further the cause of sustainable construction by promoting the missions and principles of the Strategy to member organizations and at the industry-wide scale. The Department of Health has identified the risk to global climate from the change, which is a serious environmental issue and as an outcome, it is expected that the design and framework of healthcare projects should consider adaptation and mitigation principles. This methodology has been rooted in the new Procure21+ capital procurement design for new dwellings to cooperate by remaining on the front foot for the growth of sustainable healthcare schemes for the posterity. The Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) are advocating the Strategy by remaining in sync with the strategic aim and working in collaboration with the other public sector undertakings while showing consideration to the needs of businesses (SfSC 57). Reporting and Monitoring The Strategy for Sustainable Construction, Progress Report meets a target, as stipulated in the original Strategy to report on developments in 2009. It was also expressed to report the developments of 2011. Aims, actions and achievements were expected to be reviewed and reframed as per the new requirements. The Strategic Forum for Construction is performing surveillance on industry’s growth in regard to the actions and achievements by following the Strategy. BIS will strive to accomplish the same job for actions and deliverables meant for the public sector. In sync with this purpose, the Centre of Expertise in Sustainable Procurement (CESP) was constituted in 2008 besides appointing a Chief Sustainability Officer to lead the organization by targeting environmental sustainability in public sector undertakings. It has fixed the landmark for itself of advocating the Government mission of becoming one of the EU leaders in sustainable procurement by the finish of 2009; and of attaining ambitious growth targets for sustainable functioning on the Government property. CESP is showing the way to other Government departments on data gathering and inspection, forwarding this data to the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC – the Government’s autonomous body). The SDC has been issuing reports on developments made by the central Government functions against the aims of the Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate (SOGE) which CESP builds upon. A Delivery Board has been constituted to overlook the Strategy for Sustainable Construction by including senior members of industry, Government departments, and the Sustainable Development Commission (SfSC 60). The 2012 Construction Commitment Strategy The Strategic Forum for Construction also looks after the delivery of the Construction Commitments under the strategy. The responsibility for the aims, actions and outputs inherent in the Strategy for Sustainable Construction, remains with the concerned organizations such as the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs). It is one of the accountabilities of RDAs to sign up to 2012 construction commitment strategy framed by the strategic forum for construction. The construction industry is expected to adhere to construction commitments based on 6 principles in its attempt to become an improved industry by attaining the goals of best practices by drawing together the six major fields critical for completing projects on time, given budget, and risk-free. The construction industry needs to meet the set targets by adopting the Commitments. The Strategic Forum will collaborate with Constructing Excellence in the Built Environment to encourage the use of these Commitments as a design for all construction projects. Construction companies need to show their interest in the Commitments by following the principles, as laid down in the procedure by signing up (SFfC 1). The Strategy for Sustainable Construction The Strategy for Sustainable Construction will assist in delivering the objectives established in the UK’s Sustainable Development Strategy. It is collaboration between industry and Government leading role, and its purpose is to promote leadership and viewpoint transformation, besides providing huge leverage to both the construction industry and the overall economy (SFfC 7). This Strategy boosts the Action Plan for Civil Engineering published in July 2007. The Strategy does not include some of the wider problems arising for developers like planning, the control of the present built environment and transport policy. The Strategy follows a robust business case for the sustainable construction agenda, based on: • Better margins by using resources with relative efficiency; • Firms getting opportunities from sustainable products or kinds of functioning; • Boosting company reputation and cover in the market place by tackling problems in the context of Corporate and Social Responsibility. The purpose of the Strategy is targeted at clearing the ambiguities over the current policy structure and indicating the path of Government policy. Its objective is to attain the common vision of sustainable construction by: • Clearing the view of business on the Government’s stand by working together on various regulations and go-aheads over sustainability; • Establishing and dedicating to higher parameters to help attain sustainability in particular fields; • Dedicating to particular commitments by industry and Government to move ahead with the sustainable construction agenda (SFfC 8). Environmental Taxation Environmental taxes are applied on the basis of internalization by charging right price over the usage of environment. Tax rate depends on the degree of marginal loss or outside costs. External costs are difficult to measure because of information deficiency of the market, the spatial and short-term differences in externalities, and also due to lack of scientific certainties in the link between emissions and environmental impacts. Generally, environment taxes are framed by taking the “second best” way (EEA). Environmental aims are set as an outcome of a political course and the tax rate is fixed at a mark that should result in getting these aims, in stead of equaling marginal external costs. Environmental taxes and levies are market based instruments (MBIs) which should be decided as based on environmental and economic policy aims cost efficiently. In March 2007, the European Commission issued a Green Paper (COM140 final, 2007) on furthering the use of MBIs over the Member States to back up environment and energy policies. Charges, on the contrary, are generally put to cover the costs of monitoring and enforcing environmental regulations, for example quarry operators pay a charge to get a license to work. The charge includes the cost of research on environmental impact appraisals and monitoring adherence with permit needs. The income from the charge is given straight to the administrative body deputed to perform these regulatory functions rather than to the Finance Ministry for dissemination. MBIs such as taxes and charges are means of attaining environmental and economic policy aims cost efficiently. Environmental Taxes on Construction Industry Environmental taxes on construction goods can be a major factor in attaining increased sustainability in the construction industry. In the UK, many tax improvements have been accomplished keeping the environmental purpose in mind, which include national environmental taxes on landfill, industrial energy use (the Climate Change Levy) and the extraction of aggregates (DEFRA 6). The landfill tax began in 1996 in the United Kingdom with the aim of internalizing the externalities related to landfill. The start tax rate was taken from approximations of external costs, and based on discussions with stakeholders of the industry including local bodies and environmental groups. The tax is imposed on all waste that is deposited at licensed landfill locations, but with certain exemptions. Two tax rates are applied, a lower rate of 2 GBP per tone that is levied on inert waste, generally construction waste, and a standard rate levied on all other kinds of waste, initially 7 GBP per tone, getting higher by 1 GBP per tone every year. From 2005 onwards, to help attain the objectives of the Landfill Directive, the standard rate was revised by at least 3 GBP per tone each year until it reaches 35 GBP per tone. The given rate in 2005 was 13 GBP per tone. To make the tax revenue impartial, its enforcement was linked with cuts in employer’s national insurance shares. Some revenue-streams have been stipulated for waste management study and investment initiatives in landfill fields. The UK Treasury is searching ways to earmark revenues from the increasing tax to assist businesses attend to problems of waste management, especially methods to better utilization of resource via waste reduction. The growth in the UK landfill tax shows the difficulty of using external costs as the basis for tax rate structure, as it has distracted that method, and applied the second best method by increasing standard tax rates way ahead what had earlier been decided as right (DEFRA 7). The construction industry produces more waste than any other sector in the United Kingdom, contributing 101 million tones out of the total 288.6 million tonnes of waste generated by the UK in 2008 (DEFRA 7). Figure 1: Waste Statistics Regulation return to Eurostat Advantages and disadvantages of Environmental taxation Efficiency Environmental tax helps companies choose high or low-cost abaters. Besides, regulator comes to know the relative abatement cost of a firm through discussion only, which can create the risk of ‘regulatory capture’ wherein the firms may not be transparent in disclosing the information to reduce the abatement cost, which they are not supposed to do. Other than providing ‘static efficiency’, an environmental tax may offer ever-changing incentives for firms to cut abatement costs to minimize emissions, and therefore, tax payments as well. The command and control methodology offers no such incentives, as after fulfilling the standard for emissions, there is no need to minimize them further (Leicester 14-15). Revenue-increase and the “double dividend” Revenue-generation from emissions can be used on government spending. Further, it helps in generating ‘revenue-recycling effect’, which is called as a ‘double dividend’ of lessened environmental loss and effective tax system, all at no net cost to the exchequer. The double dividend also denotes that environmental taxes could be imposed at no cost or a step further to negative total economic cost. It authenticates the application of environmental taxes beyond the externalities issue. Nevertheless, there is no unanimity over this outlook. The leading counterargument was the possibility of ‘tax-interaction effect’, of environmental taxes that, for instance, increase the cost of energy like a carbon tax or climate change levy would generally increase product cost indirectly because energy is a leading source of production (Leicester 14-15). This cuts down actual wages and therefore, labor supply in a competitive economy. Latest research has evaluated the comparative significance of the revenue-recycling and tax-interaction impacts under distinct assumptions to evaluate the situations under which a double dividend could appear (Leicester 15). Non-uniformities Emissions could differ in their impacts either over time or over regions. Efficiency would demand tax rates also to differ side by side; using the same tax structure for all polluters would denote that some pay very high in comparison to the external costs they create and others pay very less. A resembling issue can emerge with a CAC system also. In principle, it should be possible to frame a tax system where the rate differs over space or time to consider these variations. As most emissions will create different effects, a simple single-rate emissions tax may still show inaccuracies (Leicester 15). Uncertainty An environmental tax may not create the right degree of abatement if there is no surety over the marginal damage cost (MDC) and Marginal abatement costs (MAC) lines or over the limit to which polluters will behave. This may need the government to reschedule tax rates to attain the preferred result, and will denote the presence of inefficiencies until this is attained. The government may not always be keen to reach the same socially optimal degree of emissions in the economic efficiency context analyzed till now. Generally, countries maintain stated emissions targets or aims to achieve and so forming a CAC policy to attain these targets will offer surety over the result which a tax will not. There is the possibility of a trade-off between the fear of missing the target and producing excess emissions from using a tax method, till the rates are sufficiently manipulated, and the inefficiencies present in using a CAC methodology to reach a target which may not be very economically optimal. If the fines for letting go a target are hard, governments may opt for the surety of a CAC system (Leicester 15). Distributional entailments The use of environmental taxes that affect domestic consumers is mostly debatable because of the fact that they affect more harshly on the poor than on the affluent; they are considered to be regressive. Even environmental taxes that are outwardly charged from the firms are mostly shifted to consumers by charging higher prices for the goods sold. Such issues are handled with taxes like petrol duties and VAT on domestic fuel. Such issues need to be analyzed for the severity of their effect (Leicester 16). Works Cited BDFCS. Bristol Development Framework Core Strategy. 21 June 2011. 21 May 2012. . Lafferty, William M. The Brundtland report 1987. Adapting Government Practice to the Goals of Sustainable Development. University of Oslo, Norway. 2002. 21 May 2012. . Leicester, Andrew. The UK Tax System and the Environment. The Institute for Fiscal Studies, October 2006. 21 May 2012. . Press Release SFfC. Strategic Forum for Construction Announces 2008 Baselines for Measuring Waste and Carbon Targets in the Strategy for Sustainable Construction. Strategic Forum for Construction. 23 March 2010. 21 May 2012 . SFfC. Construction Commitments. 21 May 2012. . SfSC. 14: Embedding and Reporting Progress: Strategy for Sustainable Construction. Strategic Forum for Construction. 7 September 2011. 21 May 2012. . SfSC. Strategy for Sustainable Construction. June 2008. 21 May 2012. < http://www.bis.gov.uk/files/file46535.pdf>. The Sustainability Report. A Brief History of Sustainable Development 2000. 21 May 2012 < http://www.sustreport.org/background/history.html>. UNCED. The Earth Summit: UN Conference on Environment & Development (1992). United Nations Conference on Environment & Development, Rio de Janeiro 1992. 21 May 2012. . Read More