Many towns and villages are compiling a Neighbourhood Plan and the issue of sustainability plays an important role in how we plan for the future development of our communities.

Architecture has a huge impact on how we live our lives and so in an effort to unravel the jargon, we bring you an article from ARCO2, a Cornish based RIBA Chartered Architects Practice who place sustainability at the heart and soul of everything they do.

What is Sustainability?

Sustainability has many interpretations; for some it is the long term maintenance of responsibility, which has environmental, economic and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of stewardship, the responsible management of resource use.

For others it was defined by the Brundtland Commission of the United Nations in 1987 as "...development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

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One Planet Living

ARCO2 have adopted the BioRegional and WWF global initiative based upon 10 principles of sustainability known as One Planet Living.

1. Zero Carbon – Our climate is changing because of human-induced build up of CO2 in the atmosphere

2. Zero Waste – waste creates disposal problems and squanders valuable resources

3. Sustainable Transport – car and aeroplanes contribute to climate change, air and noise pollution

4. Local and Sustainable Materials – destructive resource exploitation in construction and manufacturing increases environmental damage and reduces benefits to local community

5. Local and Sustainable Food – industrial agriculture produces food of uncertain quality, harms local ecosystems, and may have high transport impacts

6. Sustainable Water – local supplies of freshwater are often insufficient to meet human needs, due to pollution, disruption of hydrological cycles, and depletion

7. Land use and Wildlife – loss of biodiversity due to development in natural areas and over-exploitation of natural resources

8. Culture and Community – loss of local identity and knowledge

9. Equity and Local Economy – some in the industrialised world live in relative poverty, while many in the developing world cannot meet their basic needs from what they produce or sell

10. Health and Happiness – rising wealth and greater health and happiness increasingly diverge, raising questions about the basis of well being and contentment

Whilst architecture cannot adhere to all of these principles, they act as a benchmark when undertaking new projects. For example all ARCO2’s buildings aim to be:

• Repeatable without resource depletion,

• Efficient in the use of energy,

• Low in embodied energy,

• Low impact on the environment,

• Beneficial to the local community in terms of resources/ skills

• Aesthetically inspiring.