Image showing the name of our sustainability division  -  Sustainable Design International, with locations in Ireland & Italy Image showing the name of our sustainability division  -  Sustainable Design International, with locations in Ireland & Italy Image showing the name of our sustainability division  -  Sustainable Design International, with locations in Ireland & Italy
Image showing the name of our sustainability division  -  Sustainable Design International, with locations in Ireland & Italy Image showing the name of our sustainability division  -  Sustainable Design International, with locations in Ireland & Italy Image showing the name of our sustainability division  -  Sustainable Design International, with locations in Ireland & Italy
Click here to go directly to the Worldwatch Institute  -  USA
Click here to go directly to CIB Working Commission 82: Futures Studies in Construction  -  Finland

Click here to go to the HomePage of our Organization - Aims & Objectives, Legal Status & other Information
Clcik here to go to the Contents of this Division at the bottom of the WebPage




Click here to go directly to CIB Task Group 27: FutureSite  -  The Netherlands

Click here to go directly to the Sustainable Building Resource Network  -  Italy

Click here to go directly to CIB Task Group 39 :  De-Construction  -  USA

Click here to go directly to the European CRISP Thematic Network  -  France

Click here to go directly to the International Network of Engineers and Scientists for Global Responsibility  -  Germany

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Click here to go directly to the Assembly of First Nations  -  North America

Click here to go directly to Information Management Tools produced by UNESCO in Paris

Click here to go directly to the UN Atlas of the Oceans

Click here to go directly to UN-HABITAT (United Nations Human Settlements Programme)  -  Nairobi, Kenya.












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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).

Bookmark this Page: www.sustainable-design.it !

We can advise, assist and support you ....

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 ;
by introducing a phased approach to sustainability - at a pace which suits your local situation and business circumstances ;
by developing your strategic forward planning - whether you are a small, medium or large enterprise, and whether you operate in Europe or beyond ;
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 ;
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

e-mail  Sustainable Design International e-mail  Sustainable Design International




  Click here to download the United Nations Human Development Report 2001

United Nations Human Development Reports
Click here to download the United Nations Human Development Report 2001
(PDF File, 2.9Mb)



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.



    United Nations 2000 Millennium Development Goals (MDG's)
    Click Here to Download PDF
    (PDF File, 23kb)

    United Nations Millennium Project WebSite


    The European Union could, and should, be doing much more !

    European Commission Staff Working Document - SEC(2005) 456 of 2005-04-12

    EU Report on Millennium Development Goals - 2000 to 2004
    EU Contribution to the Review of the MDG's at the UN 2005 High Level Event

    Click Here to Download PDF
    (PDF File, 484kb)





    UNFPA - State of World Population 2002
    Click Here to Download PDF
    (PDF File, 3.01Mb)


    United Nations Atlas of the Oceans


    Click here to go directly to the WSSD WebSite
    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 !!

    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)

    (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)




    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)




    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)

     

     

     

    1998 UNECE Aarhus Convention - Implementation Guide
    Click Here to Download PDF
    (PDF File, 1.71Mb)

    National Reporting to UN CSD Biological Diversity
    Click Here to Download PDF
    (PDF File, 548kb)
    Click Here to Download PDF
    (PDF File, 550kb)


    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.

    Search this Site | Update | Home | Copyright Guidelines & Legal Disclaimer

    Click Here to Search for Related Books & Audio-Visual Material

     

    Click here to go to '2004 Rio de Janeiro Declaration on Sustainable Social Development, Disability & Ageing'. Click here to go to '1998 European Charter on Sustainable Design & Construction'.
    Click here to go to 'Publications, Documents & Related Themes of Sustainability'. Click here to go to 'Guideline Framework on Social Justice & Inclusion'.  For specific application within the European Union.
    Click here to go to 'International Conference Papers'.  See CJ Walsh's major international contributions over more than 10 years. Click here to go to 'Social Partnerships'.  For specific application within the European Union.
       
    Click here to go to " 'Person-Centredness' of the Built Environment" - a core value of sustainable design. Click here to go to 'The Precautionary Approach'.  The Precautionary Principle is a working legal concept within the European Union.
    Click here to go to 'Action Programme on Sustainable Design & Construction'. Click here to go to 'CIB Report 225 (1998): Sustainable Development & Construction'.  Published by the International Council for Building Research (CIB).
    Click here to go to 'Construction Related Sustainability Performance Indicators'. Click here to go to 'UN-Habitat Working Paper (2003): Urban Slums & Poverty'.  Published by United Nations Habitat.
    Click here to go to 'A Focused Research & Technical Control Agenda.  For specific application within the European Union. Click here to go to 'Repairing Past Damage to the Natural Environment'.
       
    Click here to go to 'Towards a Sustainable Social Environment'. Click here to go to 'Sustainable Engineering, Science & Technology'.
    Click here to go to ' Towards a Sustainable Virtual Environment'. Click here to go to 'Sustainable Energy in the Built Environment'.
    Click here to go to " 'SEED' Research Group at the Institute of European Affairs, Dublin". Click here to go to 'Protection of Indigenous Cultures & Methods of Building'.  Page under development.



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  • Click here to download the United Nations Human Development Report 2001