Principles of Sustainable Development
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The New Sustainable Frontier: Principles of Sustainable Development Jonathan Herz, AIA, LEED AP GSA Office of Governmentwide Policy OfficeOffice of of Governmentwide Real Property Policy U.S.U.S. General General Services Services Administration Administration Real Property Sustainable Development Guide (2000) “Our Common Future” (1987) The Brundtland Commission “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it two key concepts: the concept of 'needs', in particular the essential needs of the world's poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and, the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment's ability to meet present and future needs.” OfficeOffice of of Governmentwide Real Property Policy U.S.U.S. General General Services Services Administration Administration Real Property Sustainable Development Guide (2000) World Business Council for Sustainable Development (1997) "Sustainable development involves the simultaneous pursuit of economic prosperity, environmental quality and social equity. Companies aiming for sustainability need to perform not against a single, financial bottom line, but against [this] triple bottom line." Ecology McDonough Braungart Design Protocol™ Equity Economy OfficeOffice of of Governmentwide Real Property Policy U.S.U.S. General General Services Services Administration Administration OfficeOffice of of Governmentwide Real Property Policy U.S.U.S. General General Services Services Administration Administration Sustainable Development and Society (2004) Respect Well-being Quality of Life “Neither we, nor any other people, will ever be respected till we respect ourselves and we will never respect ourselves till we have the means to live respectfully.” Frederick Douglass, 1881 OfficeOffice of of Governmentwide Real Property Policy U.S.U.S. General General Services Services Administration Administration Life cycle cost-effectiveness Life Cycle Cost Analysis & Life Cycle Assessment OfficeOffice of of Governmentwide Real Property Policy U.S.U.S. General General Services Services Administration Administration Some history “The immense mineral resources of some of those Territories ought to be developed as rapidly as possible… It is worthy of your serious consideration whether some extraordinary measures to promote that end can not be adopted...” Abraham Lincoln, addressing Congress, 1862 7 OfficeOffice of of Governmentwide Real Property Policy U.S.U.S. General General Services Services Administration Administration Some more history “The conservation of our natural resources and their proper use constitute the fundamental problem which underlies almost every other problem of our National life... We must show foresight... “As a nation we not only enjoy a wonderful measure of present prosperity but if this prosperity is used aright it is an earnest of future success such as no other nation will have.” - Theodore Roosevelt, 1907 OfficeOffice of of Governmentwide Real Property Policy U.S.U.S. General General Services Services Administration Administration Even more history “… Our conservation must be not just the classic conservation of protection and development, but a creative conservation of restoration and innovation. Its concern is not with nature alone, but with the total relation between man and the world around him. Its object is not just man's welfare but the dignity of man's spirit.” Lyndon B. Johnson, 1965 “We still think of air as free. But clean air is not free, and neither is clean water. The price tag on pollution control is high. Through our years of past carelessness we incurred a debt to nature, and now that debt is being called.” Richard Nixon, 1970 OfficeOffice of of Governmentwide Real Property Policy U.S.U.S. General General Services Services Administration Administration The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 “The Congress, recognizing the profound impact of man's activity on the interrelations of all components of the natural environment… [and] the critical importance of restoring and maintaining environmental quality to the overall welfare and development of man, declares that it is the continuing policy of the Federal Government… to create and maintain conditions under which man and nature can exist in productive harmony, and fulfill the social, economic, and other requirements of present and future generations of Americans.” OfficeOffice of of Governmentwide Real Property Policy U.S.U.S. General General Services Services Administration Administration Social and environmental legislation • Occupational Safety and Health National Historic Preservation Act 6 (OSHA) Clean Air Act (CAA) • Pollution Prevention Act (PPA) Clean Water Act (CWA) • Resource Conservation and Superfund (CERCLA) Recovery Act (RCRA) Toxic Substances Control Act • Emergency Planning and (TSCA) Community Right-to-Know Act Endangered Species Act (ESA) (EPCRA) Energy Policy Act • Government Performance and From Environmental Health Risks Results Act and Safety Risks EO 13123 • Chief Financial Officers and EO 12898: Environmental Justice Accountability for Tax Dollars Acts Safe Drinking Water Act • Energy Policy Act of 2005 EO 13045: Protection of Children • Davis-Bacon and Related Acts Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic • Fair Labor Standards Act Act (FFDCA) • Javits-Wagner-O’Day (JWOD) Act OfficeOffice of of Governmentwide Real Property Policy U.S.U.S. General General Services Services Administration Administration Economic decision-making Logrolling - The trading of influence or votes among legislators to achieve passage of projects that are of interest to one another. Cost Benefit Analysis and Circular A-94 — promotes efficient resource allocation through well-informed decision making, provides general guidance for conducting benefit-cost and cost-effectiveness analyses. OfficeOffice of of Governmentwide Real Property Policy U.S.U.S. General General Services Services Administration Administration Economic decision-making: LCCA and LCA LIFE CYCLE COST ANALYSIS (LCCA) - “The cost of a capital asset is its full life-cycle cost, including all direct and indirect costs for planning, procurement… operations and maintenance… and disposal.” OMB Circular A-11, Part 7 “Capital Programming Guide” LIFE-CYCLE ASSESSMENT (LCA) - “LCCA should be applied within a life-cycle assessment framework that accounts for both the costs over the asset life and the environmental consequences of investment decisions on upstream (e.g., extraction, production, transportation, and construction), ongoing (e.g., health impacts on tenants and the community), and downstream (e.g., decommissioning and disposal) costs.” GSA Bulletin FMR 2008-B5 – “Real Property Asset Management Guiding Principles” OfficeOffice of of Governmentwide Real Property Policy U.S.U.S. General General Services Services Administration Administration Where are we today? “Living Planet Report 2008” WWF–World Wide Fund For Nature OfficeOffice of of Governmentwide Real Property Policy U.S.U.S. General General Services Services Administration Administration Where are we today? Climate Change Between 1970 and 2004, GHG emissions due to human activities increased 70%, increasing water scarcity, ocean warming and acidification, sea level rise, extreme weather, public and ecosystems health, and national security. Toxification of the Planet In 2007, 253,000 Tons of Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxic chemicals were released, including lead, mercury, PCBs, and dioxins. OfficeOffice of of Governmentwide Real Property Policy U.S.U.S. General General Services Services Administration Administration Where are we today? Natural Resources Depletion The average person uses 5.7 ac of biologically productive land, but only 4.7 ac/person exists. We are consuming both our natural ‘income’ and our ‘natural capital. Unjust Distribution of Resources • The poorest 2.3 billion (36%) get less than 3% • The richest 1 billion (15.6%) get more than 80% (of which the U.S. (4.7%) consumes 41%) • The middle 3.1 billion (48.4%) get 17%. OfficeOffice of of Governmentwide Real Property Policy U.S.U.S. General General Services Services Administration Administration The planet will be here for a long, long, LONG time after we're gone, and it will heal itself, it will cleanse itself, 'cause that's what it does. The planet has been through a lot worse than us… The planet isn't going anywhere. WE ARE! George Carlin OfficeOffice of of Governmentwide Real Property Policy U.S.U.S. General General Services Services Administration Administration Our world is a closed system OfficeOffice of of Governmentwide Real Property Policy U.S.U.S. General General Services Services Administration Administration What does “sustainable” mean? Sustainable (adj) - Capable of being carried on for a prolonged duration, or for the foreseeable future. Environmentally Sustainable World 1. Consumption of renewable resources at a rate below their regeneration rate or carrying capacity, 2. Consumption of non-renewable resources at a rate below that at which they can be replaced by renewable substitutes, 3. Waste generation below the ecosphere’s assimilative capacity, and, 4. Maintaining critical ecosystems that provide essential life support. OfficeOffice of of Governmentwide Real Property Policy U.S.U.S. General General Services Services Administration Administration What do sustainable operations look like? SUSTAINABLE SCALE •Natural