APPENDIX 31
Memorandum from the Oxford Centre for
Sustainable Development (OCSD)
The Oxford Centre for Sustainable Development,
based in the School of the Built Environment at Oxford Brookes
University welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Committee's
new inquiry and wishes to submit the following as evidence.
BACKGROUND
1. The Oxford Centre for Sustainable Development
(OCSD) was set up in 1998 to undertake and promote research into
sustainability in the built environment, consolidating existing
long standing research groupings. The researchers in OCSD are
drawn from the School of the Built Environment in Oxford Brookes
University—they are grouped into four active teams (OCSD:
environment, cities, architecture and technology).
2. OCSD has successfully bid for research
funding from a wide range of sources and has experience in managing
major research projects for the EC, UK government, research councils
in addition to other consultancy-based projects. OCSD members
have expertise in a variety of research methods, including questionnaire
design, interviewing, measurement of the built environment and
statistical data analysis and have knowledge of a wide range of
data sources. Indeed, there is considerable experience in carrying
out complex, multi-disciplinary, multi-method research and employing
multivariate analysis.
3. Collaborative approaches to research,
working with a range of other disciplines and professionals have
been developed. Of particular note, OCSD has considerable international
research experience including collaborations with Universities
and organisations in the Americas (Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador,
Peru, USA); Asia (Hong Kong, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand); the
Middle East (Jordan); Africa (South Africa); and Europe (Holland,
Germany). Following its official launch in November 1999, attended
by over 100 academics and practitioners, OCSD produced a visioning
document summarising key priorities for research into sustainable
built environments.
RESPONSE TO
THE COMMITTEE'S
QUESTIONS
1. Question 1: Is a lack of public engagement
and understanding a real obstacle to the Government's progress
on its sustainable development agenda? Have there been any studies
to show this? Please refer to practical examples where possible.
2. Practical examples include a research
project: "Achieving the Sustainable Development of Brownfield
Sites". The OCSD "Cities" group is in the final
stages of completing this three-year research project.
3. Evidence gathered from an in-depth study
of five development projects suggests that lack of engagement
by the stakeholders involved in producing the built environment
is a major barrier to the creation of a more sustainable built
environment.
4. The aversion to the use and promotion
of new, more sustainable built forms, technologies and products
by many developers and regulators is not entirely due to inertia
and lack of demand from clients and consumers. Costs and the mistrust
of new methods and techniques formed a significant barrier to
incorporation. Whilst some of this scepticism may have genuine
roots it is clear that not all stakeholder attitudes were formed
from comprehensive factual knowledge. It was not unusual for rejection
to be based on one negative report or experience. This is not
surprising given the absence of easily accessible, accurate, up
to date and impartial information on the costs (capital and revenue),
availability and reliability of sustainable systems and materials.
5. Only those stakeholders with a firm commitment
to producing a more sustainable built form were willing to take
the time to investigate and acquire the necessary knowledge to
make informed decisions. The Beddington Zero Energy Development
(BedZED) in the London Borough of Sutton is an example of such
a commitment. The client in the case was the Peabody Trust. The
Trust and their diverse team of experts spent a substantial amount
of time to research the viability of the scheme. Similarly the
regulators with responsibilities for safety and maintenance also
had to undertake their own research to enable them to make informed
judgements.
6. It is recommended that whenever the Government
introduces new strategies and policies to drive the creation of
a more sustainable built environment then concomitantly it should
make available comprehensive up-to-date, relevant information
to enable risk takers engaged in producing and maintaining the
built environment, and their advisors, to consistently make well-informed
decisions. This may go some way to break down barriers in applying
proven sustainable methods, strategies and techniques.
7. Practical new examples include the research
project: "The contribution of "sustainable" new
developments to sustainable lifestyles: an evaluation of schemes
in the UK". OCSD: Cities has recently been granted an EPSRC
research award to carry the aforementioned research one step forward.
8. The four-year project will investigate
whether or not a sustainable built environment is more likely
to engender sustainable behaviour than a "conventional"
development and if not why not. This research may show that an
understanding and awareness of what sustainability means in practice
may be a critical element in determining the behaviour of those
living and working in that environment.
9. This project forms part of work being
undertaken by the "Sustainable Urban Form Consortium",
which is lead by OCSD and funded by EPSRC. The consortium is a
£1.75 million EPSRC funded initiative with four-year funding
(with continuation funding after 2007 likely). It is lead by OCSD
will research the extent and ways in which urban form contributes
to environmental, social and economic sustainability via 15 UK
case studies.
10. Esfandiari, P. (1998) Dilemmas in
Greening Business, unpublished PhD thesis, Oxford Brookes
University, Oxford. An in depth study of property companies from
small (capital value <£10 million) to large (capital value
>£500 million).
11. Twenty eight property companies and
nine financial institutions were interviewed in depth, a further
66 telephone interviews were conducted with property companies,
financial institutions and government departments, and all their
published documents were analysed.
12. The research concluded that businesses
were concerned about the natural environment, but this interest
was suppressed in business decisions because of a number of barriers,
including scientific uncertainty, eg about effectiveness, institutional
barriers including unwillingness to fund innovation (risk aversion),
poor communications between businesses and stakeholders, poor
communications within the business sector and poor communications
within individual organisations.
13. There was also a low level of awareness
of the issues and in particular what businesses could do about
it.
14. Berry, H. (2002) Waste Management
in the Housing Sector of the Construction Industry, unpublished
MSc dissertation, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford. A recent
study of private and public sector house builders' adoption of
waste management practices found that, despite good intentions
(such as knowledge of industry best practice guidance, and the
adoption of EMS), the on-the-ground practice was constrained by
attitudes to cost and contractual obligations.
15. Question 2. Is there a need for
a national strategy for education for sustainable development?
Would additional infrastructure be required to deliver a coherent,
national strategy?
16. Yes, at ALL levels. Education does not
stop at school or university level. Education for sustainable
development (ESD) is important at a professional level both for
SD "practitioners" (architects, engineers, planners)
and "end-users" (building owners/managers, company directors,
general public). However, an ESD strategy can only be successful
if sufficient incentives are in place to encourage good practice
(an example is Berry's dissertation above).
17. Question 3. Are existing awareness
raising Government campaigns such as "Are you doing your
bit" effective and well targeted? Have past campaigns been
evaluated? How could they be improved in the future?
18. Evidence from the MORI study (September
2002) for the Strategy Unit of Public Attitudes to Recycling and
Waste Management shows the importance of motivations, understanding
household dynamics, and links to other areas of public concern.
19. Question 4: Are there existing education
programmes relating to sustainable development which might be
considered good practice? These might include in-house training
schemes for ESD for employees and stakeholders within businesses,
the civil service, and other organisations. Are there elements
of successful, strategic communication programmes in other areas
which could be applied to ESD? For example, from other Government
awareness campaigns such as those for drink driving, AIDS and
smoking.
20. OCSD is a good example. It undertakes
research, consultancy and education, and is an exemplar of integrated
and multidisciplinary working (a key to sustainability).
21. Sustainable Development is taught through
Masters Courses (on Energy Efficient Building, Urban Design, Development
Practices and International Studies of Vernacular Architecture)
in various ways.
22. An established MSc programme in Environmental
Assessment and Management (an inter-disciplinary course between
Social Science (Planning) and Biological and Molecular Sciences)
will soon be complemented by a new inter-disciplinary Masters
being developed specifically on Sustainable Development.
23. The professional institutions and accrediting
bodies that oversee courses offered by the School of the Built
Environment (RIBA/ARB, RTPI and RICS) have introduced changes
in recent years to require sustainable development to be part
of the curriculum in undergraduate education. For example, sustainability
is a compulsory unit in undergraduate programmes in Land use planning
and Environmental policy.
24. In addition, OCSD offers education at
CPD level and can provide information and guidance on sustainable
development issues to building and planning professionals, companies
and public interest groups.
February 2003
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