Sustainability: breaking the barriers

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Sustainability breaking the barriers

• Professor Sarah Sayce
• Kingston University

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Sustainability- breaking the barriers

• Background - where we are coming from
• C-SCAIPE what it is and what it is aiming to do
• A research agenda?

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Where we are coming from

• 10 years ago, sustainability was a non-concept
  for most within property though construction
  industry was beginning to think green
• Research pointed to some awareness that green
  issues might in the future affect yields and
  rents
• Significant disconnect between construction and
  property investment practitioners
• Buildings v assets (the life cycle issue)

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Where we were in 2000 .
Circle of Blame
Sir Martin Laings Sustainable Construction Task
Group
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All Change

• Corporate Social Responsibility rising rapidly
  through business practice and governmental policy
  and legislation and initially led by
  environmental concerns

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The Rise of Legislation
1990 1992 1995 1997 1999 2000 2001 200
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2004 2005 2006 2007 2009

• Environmental Protection Act
• UN Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit
• Environment Act
• Disability Discrimination Act
• UN Kyoto Earth Summit
• UK Sustainability Strategy
• - A Better Quality of Life
• Contaminated Land Registration Act
• Finance Act Climate Change Levy
• Pension Act changes
• EU Green Paper promoting CSR
• EU Directive on the Energy Performance of
  Buildings

• Planning Compulsory Purchase Act (adopts many
  Agenda 21 principles)
• EU directive on Landfill
• Sustainable Secure Buildings Bill
• Planning Policy Statement Creating Sustainable
  Communities
• Building Regs, Pt L Energy Updated
• Skills for Sustainable Communities The Egan
  Review
• Un Environment Programme Announcement of
  Responsible Investment Principles (OFR)
• European Union, Emission Trading Scheme
• G8 Summit, Gleneagles
• EU Green Paper Promoting CSR
• Company Law Reform Bill
• EU Directive on Environmental Liability
• EU Directive on the Eco-Design Requirements for
  Energy-Using Products (EuPs)
• Home Information Packs
• EU Directive on the Energy Performance of
  Buildings

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All Change

• Recognition now more widespread of Triple Bottom
  Line sustainability and requirement to balance
  economic, social and environmental needs
• Response has been difficult for our industry
• Current global preoccupation with climate change
  possibly obscures other issues..

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Climate Change Concerns

• Buildings contribute 50 of all carbon emissions
  in the UK yet few new buildings are truly energy
  efficient
• The legacy issue the 2 /98 conundrum
• Energy
• embedded
• In use
• transport
• Climate change may render many of our commercial
  buildings unusable yet doesnt flow through the
  value chain
• As we gain energy efficiency so consumption
  rises
• Energy has been cheap as of running costs

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Kingstons Involvement

• Focused on the demand side of the industry the
  competitive advantage
• Working with industry and investors and RICS
• Work on existing buildings re-use (the 98)
• Dissemination and awareness raising
• an appraisal model to evaluate how sustainability
  criteria can feed through rental growth and
  depreciation and to value.

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Sustainable Property Appraisal Project
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Sustainability criteria for commercial property

• Project identified key criteria

• Waste
• Water
• Occupier
• Pollutants
• Contextual Fit

• Energy efficiency
• Accessibility
• Adaptability
• Climate control

• These are not quantified in conventional
  investment appraisals

• Future Proofing Property Questionnaire
• identifies performance against criteria

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Sustainability criteria for commercial property

• Working with several investors to model the
  worth under sustainability criteria alongside
  conventional appraisals
• Demonstrates differential performance
• Provide data to lead to possibility of an index
  of performance
• .but still a long way to go..

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Educating for future (?current) needs

• Our research (and that of others) raised our
  awareness of need to adjust our curriculum and
  teaching
• View that higher education has been slow to
  act....
• And that the response has been mono-disciplinary

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Higher Education has been slow to act

• As we approach the first anniversary of the
  World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD)
  in Johannesburg and reflect on its impact, one
  thing is clear political leadership the world
  over has so far proved incapable of rising to the
  challenge of sustainability (UNED-UK, 2002). And
  yet in all likelihood most of the hundred or so
  leaders who attended will have a higher education
  degree from some of the worlds most prestigious
  universities
• Martin Jucker, 2004

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Higher Education has been slow to act

• At Harvard, some students worry that their
  coursework does not include enough on green
  building. ... Another problem is that sustainable
  development issues are cross-disciplinary and
  Harvards professional schools do not much care
  to speak to each another
• The Economist May 6th 2006

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Educating for future (?current) needs

• Led to a bid to set up Centre for Sustainable
  Communities Achieved through Integrated
  Professional Education (C-SCAIPE)
• Bid supported by RICS (and others)
• One of 74 Centre for Excellence in Teaching
  Learning
• 5 year funding

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C-SCAIPE

• Aims to
• Promote a deeper understanding of the
  requirements of professional education in order
  to produce graduates capable of working to create
  more sustainable communities.
• An holistic view of sustainable principles
  embedded within curricula and teaching delivery
• based on live projects embracing a
  multi-disciplinary, inter-professional
  perspective.

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C-SCAIPE

• Key objectives
• Enabling staff to undertake pedagogic and
  sustainability practice
• Breaking down barriers between professional
  grouping in the university
• Working with /for industry on research
• Connections with communities

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C-SCAIPE- the story so far

• A physical Centre at the heart of the University
  nearly complete
• Refurbishment on
• Sustainability principles
• Created at heart of the
• University
• Debating Chamber and
• inter-active Learning
• Resource Centre

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C-SCAIPE- the story so far

• Reviewed part of what we teach and how we teach
  it
• Set up alumni-mentor scheme
• Survey of students on perceptions
• Joint projects - including with e.g. Social Work
  and Planning
• Research with and for investors and owners on
  portfolio and asset management

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C-SCAIPE- next steps

• Survey how the needs of employers are developing
• Set up a student consultancy to work with
  practice on live projects
• CPD based on sustainability
• Work with the professions to attempt more
  integrated approaches to professional education

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Next steps

• Practitioner involvement
• Live Projects
• Research
• CPD materials Venu
• Materials within LRC
• Any questions?