Tell me no lies

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Nakheel has an environmental plan for its Waterfront project.

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The Emirates Green Building Council's Mario Seneviratne.

Does the construction industry live up to the well-rehearsed speeches and persuasive prose, and act upon its environmental promises? Or is the current green push just a load of hot air?

There is a certain perception among some areas of the public, with regard to the green building agenda. It is the perception that the construction industry cannot "go green", and that any publicised attempt to do so is nothing more than a cynical bid to appeal to the burgeoning environmental conscience of the market place.

Some GCC countries have come under heavy criticism by groups such as the World Wildlife Fund for their sustainability record - or lack of - as the issue has leapt to the forefront of the construction agenda over the past few years.

It goes without saying, however, that sustainability is not an issue that is confined to the GCC. By definition, it is a truly global issue.

It is not simply about striving to meet a minimum standard. It is not about ensuring that a particular set of criteria are met in order to make the first rung of the Leed certification ladder, allowing the developer in question to shout to the market: "Yes, ours is a conscientious operation, and yes, we are green." There are more urgent issues at the forefront of sustainable construction.

It is about designing and constructing buildings that will, in the words of Michael Nates, senior general manager for Environmental, Health and Safety, and Sustainability at Nakheel, "help us to find a way to live on the planet that is different to how we have been for the past 15 to 20 years."

The issue of sustainability must be considered early in the design stage, before pencil is even put to paper. British eco pioneer Wayne Hemingway told Construction Week last year of how "a place isn't sustainable unless people absolutely love it." He told how in the UK "the Victorians built places which, 100-odd years later, are not being knocked down."

Nates agrees with the sentiments of Hemingway: "When I say sustainable I don't just mean green buildings," he says. "I mean a place for people to live, to have lives and livelihoods. A place that people are passionate to protect and care for. A place that provides everything from food and shelter, all the way up to helping people self-actualise. The relationship between the built environment and the natural environment is often seen as one of domination. In order for it to work, it needs to be a partnership."

As Nates says, sustainability must be about people, as well as materials and resources. For this reason, the concept of sustainability must be an ongoing concern, from design all the way through to completion and, as Wayne Hemingway said, it must also be considered beyond completion, as developers look to how the building is going to serve its community for many years to come.

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