Community
How can we build our homes and communities so that they co-exist harmoniously with Nature? What does it mean to create a sustainable house, a sustainable community, a sustainable city? For each additional day that we live, design and build unsustainably, we pull another fibre out of the fabric of Earth’s ecosystems.
 

21 Sustainable Property Management
Solutions for the 21st Century

1 Ecological inventory, prior to design

2 Designing with nature - soil, shade, habitat, trees, sun

3 Energy efficient architecture - insulation, passive solar, triple-glazed windows, solar windows

4 Renewable energy generation - solar shingles, wind, ground-source, cogeneration, hydrogen, tidal

5 Water efficiency & recycling

6 Advanced sewage - Hydroxyl, Solar Aquatics, Hill-Murray, composting toilets, source control

7 Waste recycling & management systems

8 Sustainably sourced building materials

9 Non-toxic materials - walls, carpets, equipment, furniture, paints

10 Sustainably sourced timber (Forest Stewardship Council)

11 Eco-friendly office, school, health supplies - ready market

12 Site remediation

13 Ozone-layer-friendly solutions (no halons, CFCs, HCFCs, HFCs)

14 Daylighting - increased staff fulfilment

15 Landscaping, habitat enhancement, food, native species

16 Presence of water in design - increased staff fulfilment

17 Sustainable transportation solutions - TDM, cycling, car- pooling

18 Sustainable materials flows - paper, solvents, water

19 Information flow - newsletter, email bulletin, website

20 Caretaker training - eco-management certification

21 Eco-auditing - C02, off-gassing, wastes, absenteeism, travel , etc.