Home > About Us > Sustainability

Sustainability

The concept of living within a system which is sustainable for the foreseeable future, is not new. It appears to have developed during the hunter gatherer period of human activity (when sustaining the environment was no particular problem, due to lack of technological advancement). Indeed, destruction of the environment by humans at that time would have been extremely difficult. Nevertheless, sound environmental and ecological practices can be seen in the beliefs of people leading a late Stone Age type of existence, for example North American Indians. Several chiefs of North American tribes became famous for their expressed wisdom and are often quoted today on matters of environmental protection and sustainable living practices.

In New Zealand it was, and to some extent still is, a long held belief by Maori that a pantheon of gods ordered their universe, of whom Tane was the god dealing with matters of the land. All things which lived upon the land were considered to be sons and daughters of Tane. Trees of the forest, crops and fruits, as well as birds in the air and people of the land (tangata whenua), all were the children of Tane. It follows therefore, that activities, such the destruction of a tree, the taking of fruit, bringing in a crop, or the capture of a bird, would involve a serious act against a sibling. This would obviously require the assent of the god and, as a consequence, all these acts would be preceded by seeking permission from Tane, involving certain incantations by the person doing the act and the blessings of weapons and implements and other acts by a tohunga, or other person of mana.

The concept of humans being in balance with nature is something which has been revived in Western society. The concept is being reinforced daily as the evidence of imbalance grows and the effect of that imbalance, for example environmental pollution, becomes more evident.

Politically the environmental movement has spawned so-called green parties throughout the world and in many places these parties have been gaining increasing support. In response, the major political parties almost everywhere now profess to follow certain green policies. In Auckland the regional and local authorities have stated aims of an environmental nature, but in practice, environmental concerns can often take second place to profit-making or politically inspired development, which means that public watchdog organizations, such as Civic Trust Auckland still have an essential part to play and will do so for the foreseeable future.

The latest political catchphrase is sustainability.

Wikipedia, the free Web encyclopedia, has much to say concerning this concept and is worth a visit. It notes that the term appears to have been invented in 1712 by a German forester and scientist Hans Carl von Gilinscee.

A number of common principles are embedded in most charters, or action programs to achieve sustainable development such as:

• Undertake transparent and systematic dealings, with risk uncertainty and irreversibility.
• ensure appropriate assessment appreciation and restoration of nature
• integrate environmental social human and economic goals
• provide equal opportunity and community participation leading to a sustainable community
• conserve biodiversity and ecological integrity
• ensure equity between generations
• recognize the global integration of localities
• commit to best practice
• ensure no net loss of human or natural capital
• live by the principle of continuous improvement
• aspire to good governance

Sustainability involves almost all forms of human activity. Civic Trust Auckland is concerned with many of these, but two will be discussed, in order to illustrate the concept.

Sustainability in terms of building design deals with the nature of building materials, the energy content in their creation, delivery and erection, the longevity of materials and the way in which materials may be biodegradable, decay, or may remain as a hazard if dumped, following building demolition.

Design sustainability also deals with the extent to which buildings are efficient throughout their lives, both in terms of energy efficiency and utility of usage.

Sometimes the desire to create sustainability in a building leads to a contradiction. An example is that it is desirable for a building to be thermally efficient, with external walls and roofs insulated. This leads to walls and other building elements being hermetically sealed. On the other hand it is known to be virtually impossible to construct a building which is entirely watertight. It is therefore desirable, particularly for walls to be allowed to breathe, so that if there is moisture penetration, it is allowed to evaporate. Hence we have a conundrum which local authorities and government are attempting to address in the current review of the Building Act and its associated regulations.

Another example is that it is desirable to have good natural light in order to avoid the need for artificial light during the day. This requires a generous amount of glazing. Glazing however is acoustically and thermally inefficient and should therefore be minimized. Glass and the metal framing within which it is supported are both expensive to create in energy terms. Timber, an alternative product, is usually thought of as environmentally friendly for use in window framing and elsewhere. In actual fact, if used externally it will probably need to be treated by the use of unfriendly salts. It will need to be painted and the paint might be an unfriendly product. It will probably not last as long as metal and consequently whole of life cost may be high. The usual source of timber is a forest, which may, or may not be managed in a sustainable way.

It follows that the apparently simple decision as to whether it is best to choose aluminium framed joinery or timber framed joinery is actually quite a complex task, in terms of sustainability. Similarly the apparently simple choice between large or small windows and many other design decisions of similar type are also quite complex problems in terms of whole of life original, ongoing and demolition costs.

Sustainability is more than just a concept; it is a way of life. It is becoming more and more necessary to live sustainably and in due course it will become essential to do so. Civic Trust Auckland encourages the adoption of sustainable practice in all fields of endeavour, particularly town planning, building construction, transport and waste.