Foresight: delivering a sustainable built environment
From Future of Local Services to the Public
Contents |
Summary
The Foresight Sustainable Energy Management and the Built Environment Project was announced in the Energy Challenge (DTI, July 2006). As part of the scoping phase activities, Foresight held three workshops, at the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, London in November 2006. The workshops brought together a diverse group of experts and invited them to offer their views on what the project scope might be. Over a hundred experts, from business, government, academia and the voluntary sector, participated in the workshops.
The workshop asked the questions:
- How can we deliver a sustainable built environment which sources, manages and delivers energy, minimising carbon emissions and maximising resource efficiency, while delivering the level of service (quality, comfort, reliability, security) required to maintain economic growth and quality of life?
- How do we develop the UK built environment over the next 5 decades to meet people's energy needs and expectations via sustainable and cost-effective energy services (within the EU and wider international context)?
- In the context of behavioural change caused by technological advance, communication and limited resources, what are the socio-economic technological, regulatory and infrastructure requirements on Sustainable Energy and the Built Environment to meet societal needs 10, 20, 50 years in the future?
These questions helped to define the central project question:
'To explore how the UK built environment could evolve to help manage the transition over the next five decades to secure, sustainable, low carbon energy systems that meet the needs of society, the requirements of the economy, and the expectation of individuals.'
Factors Driving Change
- Social factors, such as attitudes to energy management and consumption and shifting patterns of population.
- Political factors, mainly the need to develop an international response to the challenges posed by global warming and energy, and the need for strong political leadership in the UK to ensure that behaviours change.
- Technological factors, mainly referred to the availability and deployment of technology fixes to improve sustainable energy use.
- Economic factors, such as the increase in fuel prices, the cost of global warming and new business models.
- Environmental factors, the urban form and existing building stock.
Challenges
- Creating sustainable systems of energy (and other) consumption
- Informing people about the need for sustainable energy management and about their responsibilities
- Balancing sustainability and prosperity
- Engaging the private sector
- Improving energy efficiency
- Creating a sustainable building stock
- Understanding how to profile the energy efficiency of existing building stock
- Educating and engaging the public
- Putting environmental sustainability at the heart of business and the economy
- Encouraging low and zero carbon living
- Measuring efficiency and sustainability
- Learning about whole life cycle energy costs
- Generating and distributing energy
- Securing energy
