Buildings

The location and design of a development and its public space make a major contribution to its sustainability performance. However this can be undermined if the individual buildings are poorly designed, use unsustainable materials or are resource inefficient.

Strong and environmentally friendly individual buildings make robust developments. But to continue good environmental performance in the community for the future, it is vital to create buildings that inspire and start a collective sustainable journey.

The Government is bringing forward a Code for Sustainable Housing, which will apply to all housing which is publicly funded. It will also be available to developers wishing to benchmark the sustainability of their new homes, for internal, corporate social responsibility and external marketing purposes. Once this is published, it will be incorporated into this section in addition to the BREEAM/Ecohomes standard which is currently used.

Use of the BREEAM/Ecohomes standard gives the Developer the opportunity to be recognised for providing homes which exceed minimum legislative requirements, with an industry recognised rating.

The Building category of the checklist addresses:

• The environmental rating of the individual building

Useful resources:

• Future Foundations
• BREEAM/Ecohomes website
• Code for Sustainable Homes