House of Commons - Northern Ireland Affairs - Appendices to the Minutes of Evidence

Select Committee on Northern Ireland Affairs Appendices to the Minutes of Evidence

APPENDIX 6

Memorandum submitted by the World Wildlife Fund

INTRODUCTION

WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the planet's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature by conserving the world's biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable resources is sustainable and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.

WWF believes that minimising the environmental impact of our homes is crucial in the pursuit of the wider attainment of sustainable development. The WWF One Million Sustainable Homes (OMSH) campaign aims to bring sustainable homes from the fringes of the housing sector to the mainstream. WWF is working with government, industry and consumers to ensure that one million sustainable homes are developed across the UK by 2012—both refurbished and new homes.

WWF welcomes the Committee's Inquiry into social housing and wishes to contribute specifically to the Committee's consideration of the quality of housing stock.

THE NEED FOR SUSTAINABLE HOMES

WWF's Living Planet Report 2002[2] revealed that since 1970, the world's natural ecosystems have suffered serious decline. Its Living Planet Index records an average 37% reduction in the abundance of forest, freshwater and marine species.

The same report compares the human consumption of natural resources with the earth's biological capacity to regenerate them. This is known as our ecological footprint. The average global ecological footprint is 2.3 hectares per person. New research has recorded Northern Ireland's ecological footprint[3] as the highest in the UK, at 5.63 hectares pp. Simply expressed, this means that if everyone in the world consumed resources at the same level as we do in Northern Ireland, we would need three planets to support us.

The majority of the existing NI housing stock has significant social and environmental impacts. In environmental terms, housing in the UK contributes around 27% of the total CO2 associated with energy use, and domestic energy use is projected to rise by 6% by 2010. It is therefore essential to reduce emissions from existing houses and from new homes.

In social terms, this clearly has consequences for people who have difficulty in affording to heat their homes properly. Despite a 13% improvement in the energy efficiency of NI's housing stock since 1996, the 2001 House Condition Survey[4] showed that 203,000 NI households (32% of the total) were still in Fuel Poverty, compared with 9% in England.

Other significant impacts related to the construction and refurbishment of houses include:

— the construction industry in the UK currently uses around 40 million cubic metres of timber every year, with a high proportion of this for housing. Much of this timber comes from forests around the world that are not managed in a sustainable way;

— the widespread use of toxic chemicals in building materials, which can generate risks to the occupants and the environment;

— quarrying to provide raw materials like aggregates; and

— the profligate use of water in houses that are not designed with water efficiency in mind.

IMPROVING HOUSING CONDITIONS IN NI

The "Decent Homes" standard introduced by government in England in March 2002 does not apply in Northern Ireland. However, measured against the "Decent Homes" criteria, some 206,000 NI homes failed to meet the standard. Of the 110,000 dwellings owned by the NI Housing Executive (NIHE), the primary provider of social housing, over 64% failed to achieve the standard, almost all due to inefficient heating systems.

The Housing Executive has recognised the shortfall in the availability of social housing and estimates a need over the next five years to increase the building and replacement programme by over 2000 dwellings per year. [5]

The Housing Executive has committed itself to embrace the principles of the Egan Report[6] which recommended that the main opportunities for improvements in house building performance exist in the social housing sector. WWF endorses this commitment and recommends that NIHE strives to demonstrate that it will place sustainable building at the heart of its construction and refurbishment programme.

A DEFINITION FOR SUSTAINABLE HOMES

At the outset of the OMSH campaign, WWF initiated a stakeholder dialogue to assess the barriers to mainstreaming sustainable homes. One of the principal barriers identified was a lack of consensus around the definition of sustainable homes. Through the consultation process, WWF found a general consensus that the Building Research Establishment's (BRE) EcoHomes standard was a good starting point. While EcoHomes is not perfect, it does begin to address the fundamental impact of housing on the environment, and BRE is committed to developing and improving the standard over time.

WWF supports the "Very Good" and "Excellent" standards as a good measure of new and refurbished homes which have significantly less impact on the environment. EcoHomes covers areas of energy, transport, pollution, materials, water, ecology and land use, health and well-being. WWF also supports BRE's Sustainability Checklists for Developments which complements EcoHomes and considers the wider impacts of development such as the provision of local employment and facilities, the impact of infrastructure and community engagement. More information about both tools can be found at www.bre.co.uk/breeam.

In England the Housing Corporation has committed to a minimum requirement of EcoHomes "Pass" for all new developments that it funds. This will rise to "Very Good" by 2006[7]. WWF believes that the NHIE should commit to a similar requirement for all new build that it funds.

One of the best known examples of sustainable homes in the UK is the Beddington Zero Energy Development (BedZED) project in Sutton. BedZED homes make sustainable living easy, attractive and affordable through the provision of:

— high density housing combined with high levels of amenity, green roof terraces and gardens and generous access to sunlight;

— office accommodation to encourage local economic development and reduce the need for commuting;

— energy efficient design and renewable energy supply;

— a "green transport plan" for residents and workers to reduce dependence on fossil fuels;

— advanced IT connections and shared office facilities, making homeworking attractive; and

— a mix of social, shared ownership and reasonably priced homes for sale.

A recent WWF report, One Planet Living in the Thames Gateway[8] has applied the lessons of the BedZED development to improve potential performance. The report demonstrated that for as little as a 1% extra build cost, house builders can deliver a 32% reduction in CO2 emissions, a 39% reduction in water usage and up to a 25% reduction in household waste.

A 2003 US study researching the financial benefits of green design in 100 buildings around the USA calculated gains of up to $50-$70 per square foot[9]. The authors concluded that the total financial benefits of green buildings are over 10 times the average initial investment required to design and construct them. The average premium for the design and construction of the green buildings in the study was slightly less than 2%.

The economic benefits of sustainable housing need not be confined to new buildings. English Heritage presented evidence to a public inquiry in Lancashire which demonstrated the viability of restoring Victorian terraced housing to modern standards. Their research showed that the likely maintenance bill over 30 years for a typical terraced home would be a minimum of £25,000 less than the cost of replacing it with a newly built home and maintaining that home over the same period. [10]

WWF is part-funding a feasibility study for a "One Planet Living Centre" in Northern Ireland. The study will be conducted by BioRegional, one of the partners of the BedZED eco-village. The development will form part of an international initiative to establish a network of such communities. Working with local stakeholders to ensure that the scheme matches local needs and aspirations, the development is intended to include up to 150 homes, together with workspace, outdoor leisure activities and aims to be free of private cars. It will also develop zero carbon and zero waste strategies, including the use of renewable energy and district heating systems.

WWF RECOMMENDATIONS

— The NIHE should lead by example and strive to demonstrate that it will place sustainability at the heart of its construction and refurbishment programme. It should integrate sustainability principles into all its investment decisions, including decisions about which developments to fund.

— The NIHE should identify practical support measures to enable social housing providers to contribute to sustainable development, eg through training programmes.

— In line with the Housing Corporation's commitment in England, the NIHE should require minimum EcoHomes standards to be met for all new developments it funds, with progressive targets for future improvement.

— The NIHE should use the whole life costing method for projects, accepting that those which may have a slightly higher initial cost will be cheaper for both residents (in terms of running costs) and maintenance over their useful life.

— The NIHE should commit to bringing its existing stock up to a minimum of the Decent Homes standard or equivalent. It should also strive to bring existing stock up to EcoHomes standards over the longer term. This would ensure that residents in existing homes benefit from greater efficiency resulting in cheaper running costs and a healthier environment.

22 March 2004