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CSM80002: Environment Sustainability in Construction
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Environment Sustainability in Construction (CSM80002)
Added on 2020-02-24
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Running head: CASE STUDY ON ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITYCase Study on Environmental SustainabilityName of Student:Name of University:Author’s Note:
1CASE STUDY ON ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTANABILITYIntroduction:Environmental sustainability basically involves individuals, communities as also thecountries which act in order to protect the natural world. This is done because the environmentalcapacity to support the human life needs to be preserved for the coming generations. It is anextremely important topic because the people understand the complete impact of the businessesand the individual persons that it can have on the environment. The economic developmenttaking place cannot compromise the need for the future generations. The concept of sustainabledevelopment aimed at encouraging people to maintain the ecological balance and reduceanything that causes problems to the environment.Based on historic reports, the industrialised countries account for the bulk of emissions ofgreen house gases. The consequential reductions in the emissions however can be attained onlythrough an approach which comprises the new markets as well. Environmental sustainabilityinvolves taking actions in order to protect the natural world; the emphasis needs to be given onpreserving the environment’s capability to support the human life. It also includes the decisionsthat actually reduce the detrimental impact of the business on the environment. It is concernedwith the development of the processes that help the businesses become completely sustainable infuture. The impact of sustainability requires to be tackled carefully and also its solution needs tobe understood. In order to implement positive changes, it is necessary at first to establish abusiness case in order to assess the feasibility of environmentally sustainable practices.Executing a cost benefit analysis will help in comparison of the benefits of practices which areecologically sustainable.
2CASE STUDY ON ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTANABILITYThere is also a competitive edge which is possessed by the environmentally sustainablebusinesses. It is felt at the time of attracting the customers and investors. This is due to theexisting awareness of the present day customers about the environmental and social issues asalso information about the businesses that act responsibly in the community. Increasingawareness is present among the investors as well regarding the issues and is responsible fordevelopment of an increasing trend towards the investment in environmentally sustainablecompanies.The consumer conscience contributes significantly to the method by which the peoplechoose the services which they wish to buy and also from which business. It is also influenced byseveral numbers of factors that include the popular opinion, the media, friends, family as also thepersonal values. Consumers are better educated about the impact of their actions and the activeof the business can have on the surroundings.Triple bottom line:The triple bottom line is basically an accounting framework that incorporates threeparticular performance dimensions, namely social, fiscal and ecological. Triple bottom linebasically means three lines, namely social line, economic line and the environmental line. TheTBL framework is different from the traditional framework of reporting as it includes theenvironmental or ecological frameworks as also the social measures which are difficult to assignas suitable means of measurement. There is another connotation for the triple bottom line. It isalso known as the three P’s. These include the concept of people, planet and profits (Glac 2015).There is not a common unit of measuring the three P’s. There cannot be unsuitable unitsof measuring the social capital or the environmental or the ecological health. Thus finding a unit
3CASE STUDY ON ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTANABILITYof measurement which is common to all the three P’s is a challenging task. There have beendiscussions where the monetizing of all the dimensions of the TBL has been discussed. Thesocial welfare as also the environmental damage is discussed. It was suggested that dollar beconsidered as a common unit of measurement for the three factors. Despite this, objections werefaced from many sections of the people as to putting a dollar value on the wetlands or the specieswhich are endanged or even on philosophical grounds. The search for the correct price for thelost wetlands or even for the endangered species is questioned (Savitz 2013.).Another solution that has been given to the problem is the calculation of the TBL in indexform. In case this procedure is adopted, all the incompatible units can be eliminated and auniversally accepted method of accounting can be adopted. It facilitates the comparison ofentities, the comparison of several factors including the company performance, in case of citiesas well as development projects and several other benchmarks. There are several innovationindices, focussing on the calculation of the necessary factors. Indices also include the concept ofsubjectivity (Griggs et al. 2013).Economic Measures:The economic variables usually are concerned with the concept of bottom line, flow ofmoney and other economic aspects. It also includes the aspects of taxes, incomes, expenses,business climate factors, employment as well as the diversity in business. Some examples of theeconomic measures include the concept of the personal income, the size of establishment, churnof establishment, growth of job opportunities, and percentage specific sector firms as also therevenue accounting to the causal gross state product.Environmental Measures:
4CASE STUDY ON ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTANABILITYThe variables relating to the environment represent the measurements of the naturalresources and also comprise of the influences to the viability. It includes the air and waterquality, consumption of energy, natural resources, solid and toxic waste as also the land use andthe land cover. Wide range of trends available for each of the available for each of the ecologicalvariables assist organisations assist the impact of a project on the particular area chosen.Social Measures:The social variables are nothing but the social dimensions of a particular region orcommunity and can include educational measurements, equity and also access to the socialresources, well-being, health, quality of life as also the social capital. The potential variablesinclude the rates of unemployment, participation rate of female labour force, median income ofhousehold, the percentage of higher-secondary qualified population, violent crimes per capita,health adjusted life expectancy and so on (Willard, 2012).The triple bottom line is basically used by businesses in order to acquire anecdotalevidences of greater long term profitability. The business utility of the triple bottom line is hugeand far reaching.Sustainable development:Sustainability is basically defined as the expectations of bettering the social and theecological performance of the present generation without compromising on the capability of thefuture generations to meet their social and economic needs. The concept of the sustainabledevelopment can be interpreted in many different ways. It basically needs to balance thedifferent competing needs against awareness regarding the environmental, social and economiclimitations a society faces (Rogers, Jalal and Boyd 2012). In the Common future or the
5CASE STUDY ON ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTANABILITYBrundtland report also the Common Future, the concept of sustainable development wasdiscussed. In many cases the concept of sustainable development has been considered by manyresearchers as the maintenance of essential ecological procedures, preservation of the geneticdiversity and also the sustainable use of species and ecosystems. Sustainability is a normativeconcept regarding how humans need to react in connection to nature. At the same time they alsoneed to be responsible for future generations (Holden, Linnerud and Banister 2017).Relationship of TBL with Sustainable Development:There are basically three conditions that need to be met in case of a sustainable society.The rates of the use of the renewable resources should not exceed the rates of their generation.The rates of the non-renewable resources should not exceed the rate at which sustainablesubstitutes are developed and the rates of emission of pollution should in no way exceed the totalassimilative capacity of the environment (Gimenez, Sierra and Rodon 2012). Significance of TBL in Sustainable development:TBL is a significant contributory factor in the sustainable development. The TBLframework is implemented in the business in order to expand the stakeholders’ knowledge of thecompany further than the existing ideas. It goes beyond the economic or financial aspects anddiscusses the impact of a company on different aspects of the world around it. The concept ofTBL involves the additional reporting framework, the reports are clearly stated and it isrelatively easier to communicate with the stakeholders of the company (Griggs et al. 2013). Theinformation that are discussed in the reports need to be re-evaluated at periodic intervals in orderto ensure that the expectations which are outlined in the report are met. In case the impact of acertain constraint is not significant, the company needs to evaluate the reason behind the low
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