Sustainable
Design International is a professional
and multi-disciplinary design, engineering, research
and consultancy practice - specializing in the theory
and implementation of a Sustainable Human Environment
(social, built & virtual).
Our Organization
- with physical locations in Ireland, Italy and Turkey,
but operational throughout the European Union
(EU) and European Economic Area (EEA).
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We can
advise, assist and support you ....
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by bringing
clarity, understanding and coherence to your initial
considerations of sustainability - in other
words, we will help you to get started, and to improve
thereafter. See the programme for a recent high-level decision-makers workshop which we organized recently in Portugal ; |
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by
introducing a phased approach to sustainability
- at a pace which suits your local situation and business
circumstances ; |
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by developing
your strategic forward planning - whether you are
a small, medium or large enterprise, and whether you
operate in Europe or beyond ; |
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by elaborating the new
social, economic, environmental, institutional, political
and legal ethic of sustainability, which will most
definitely impact on your business and/or commercial
operations in the future - whether you like it or
not ; |
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by illustrating to you the concepts of .... Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Institutional Innovation, the Creative Workplace, Social Partnership, Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIA) and Life Cycle Costing .... important business tools for the 'real' implementation of sustainable human and social development. |
For
more information, please contact us by phone at +
353-1-838 6078
C J Walsh B Arch FRIAI MIBCI MIFS MIFireE
Chief
Technical Consultant
C
J Walsh is a Member of :
European Union 2004 Expert Working Group on Urban Environment Research
Institute of International & European Affairs in Dublin (Life Member)
European Union 2003 (EYPD) Expert Group on Accessibility
External Review Panel for Structural Engineering International (IABSE)
CIB Working Commission 14 - Fire
CIB Working Commission 108 - Climate Change & Built Environment
National Fire Protection Association - USA
External Review Panel for Fire Technology (NFPA)
Towards Implementation
of a
Sustainable Human Environment (Social, Built & Virtual)
Click
Here to Search for Related Books & Audio-Visual
Material
Social
Wellbeing for All !
Social Wellbeing is a general condition - in a community,
society or culture - of health, happiness, creativity,
responsible fulfilment, and sustainable development.
A
'Social Environment' ?
Sustainable Human & Social Development
Development which meets the responsible needs, i.e. the
Human & Social Rights*, of this generation
- without stealing the life and living resources from
future generations, especially our children ... and their
children.
*As
defined in the 1948
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UN
OHCHR).
There
are, therefore, two dimensions to Sustainable Development
-
Individual / Human
and Group / Social.
Individual Welfare
A person's general feeling of health, happiness and fulfilment.
" to be without some of
the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness
"
bertrand
russell
Human Health
[ World Health
Organization ]
A state of complete physical, mental and social
wellbeing, and not just the absence of disease
or infirmity.
A
Fragmented 'Built Environment' ?
Concept Drawing by E. Siré, Architect, Sweden
The
big picture on this planet over the next century, and
the long-term goal in Europe mandated by EU Legislation,
is to convert to Sustainable Human & Social
Development - a sustainable 'built environment'
within a flourishing 'natural environment', each co-existing
with the other in harmony and dynamic balance, and each
in their own way, capable of providing a high level of
Social Wellbeing for All. Previous
injury to the natural environment must be healed in order
to arrive at this outcome; and initial damage repair by
human intervention, sufficient only to promote a process
of natural self-healing and self-management, is our clear
recommendation .....
Sustainable
Construction
is the response, in built form, to the concept of sustainable
development ...........
It is Sustainable Design - a quantum
leap in design philosophy - which will direct the future
course of this innovative approach to construction.
The United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development
has already identified four aspects of 'sustainable development',
i.e. social, economic, environmental
and institutional. We would add a fifth - political
..... and a sixth - legal.
Supported
by an Ethical Framework, there are five
(the first five of eight below) prerequisite Essential
Requirements, which are most relevant to the
Construction Sector, in order to achieve a Sustainable
Human Environment ....
| (i) |
Social
Justice, Solidarity & Inclusion for All ; |
| (ii) |
Economic
Equity for All ; |
| (iii) |
Past Damage Repair & New Positive 'Environmental Impact' ; |
| (iv) |
Open, Innovative & Transparent Institutions ; |
| (v) |
Accountable & Representative Governance ; |
| (vi) |
Effective International Law. |
| (vii) |
Judicial
Independence & Integrity ; |
| (viii) |
Lasting
Peace. |
Actually
bringing about a sustainable 'built environment' will
involve radically re-targeting improvements in the processes
of planning, design, construction / de-construction, operation,
management and maintenance, and then reliably monitoring
'real' performance. We do this by means of Construction
Related Sustainability Performance Indicators .
Some examples ........
Equality
of Opportunity for Every Person in Society ( E.U.)
To
advance the principle of sustainable development, and
in order to combat discrimination and remove physical
restrictions on participation in society ~ by the year
2010, every new building shall be fully and independently
accessible with regard to mobility, usability, communications
and information.
Fire
Protection in Buildings ( E.U.)
To
advance the principle of sustainable development, and
in order to provide a high level of protection and improvement
of the quality of the environment ~ by the year 2010,
every new building shall be designed, constructed and
managed so as to ensure the least adverse environmental
impact in the event of fire.
Indoor
Climate / Air Quality in Buildings ( E.U.)
To
advance the principle of sustainable development,
and in order to provide a high level of human
health protection ~ by the year 2010, radon activity
( incl. Rn-222, Rn-220, RnD ) in every new building
shall, on average, fall within the range of 10 - 40
Bq/m3 , but shall at no time exceed 60
Bq/m3 .
Fundamental
Matrix
Construction
Related Sustainability Performance Indicators
First developed by Sustainable
Design International to manage the wide range
of
information generated by, and required for, the Construction
Sector.
Performance
under a broad range of criteria, which link back to
each of the Essential Requirements, is quantified
and aggregated. An overall Sustainability
Performance Rating is determined, and a Sustainability
Label may then be awarded to an individual building,
a group of buildings, a community or a village, a
district of a town or city, and finally a region.
Sustainability Label
2005
- Of growing concern to us, as we begin a New Year,
is the continuing narrow scope of investigation and
examination of Sustainability - at
European and International Levels - in all of the
Major Business / Industrial Sectors .... and particularly
at Political and Institutional Levels in the Countries
of the so-called 'Developed' World. Effective
Implementation is receiving hardly any attention
! And there is nothing to even suggest
that the Millennium Development Goals,
or the performance targets of the 1997
Kyoto Protocol, will be met.
The European Union could, and should,
be doing much more !
World
Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD)
Johannesburg, 26th August - 4th September 2002
Synchronicity
In Johannesburg, negative global-political and macro-economic
pressures
were just too powerful. More to the point, they were
not adequately challenged !!
To begin to understand the disappointing outcome from
the 2002 WSSD,
go to This
Page on our WebSite.
!!
Practical & Effective Implementation !!
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Sustainable
Human & Social Development
Towards
an Open, Balanced & Flexible Interim Understanding. |
I
- Discussion Notes
Click
Here to Download PDF
(PDF File, 177kb) |
| II
- Discussion Overheads
Click
Here to Download PDF
(PDF File, 92kb)
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(Construction
Related) Sustainability Performance Indicators
What is the difference between Policy
and Objectives ?
How is an Indicator structured ? Some examples.
Application equally valid in other sectors.
Click
Here to Download PDF
(PDF File, 61kb)
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Master
Control Panel of Sustainability
To
Overview, and Adjust / Re-Balance Overall Sustainability
Performance.
A Master Control Panel is required at any number
of different levels.
Click
Here to Download PDF
(PDF File, 36kb)
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Policy
Integration ~ Regional implementation
Click
Here to Download PDF
(PDF File, 398kb)
|
the
CITY as REGION
One of many Submissions by CJ
Walsh to the
European Union's 2004 Working Group on Urban
Environment Research.
Click
Here to Download PDF
(PDF File, 40kb)
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| 1998
UNECE Aarhus Convention - Implementation Guide |
Click
Here to Download PDF
(PDF File, 1.71Mb) |
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| National
Reporting to UN CSD |
Biological
Diversity |
Click
Here to Download PDF
(PDF File, 548kb)
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Click
Here to Download PDF
(PDF File, 550kb) |
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| UN-HABITAT
- Best Practices & Local Leadership Programme |
Nothing
less than a concerted and relentless surge of creativity,
research and innovation - throughout the entire European
Construction Sector - will be necessary to achieve
a ........
Sustainable
'Built Environment'
Contents
of this Division
For reasons of client confidentiality, information
concerning the day-to-day
activity of the practice is not available.
Please contact
us directly to discuss your project, and
our fees.
Regular visitors to this WebSite should periodically
'refresh' content. It is our policy to
continuously review and update existing material.
New items are always in course of preparation.
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