Should More Be Done To Encourage Green Development?

[BeccaHarper]

Since we only have one planet, it makes sense to do as much as we can to protect it, and yet we still seem to slow on the uptake of this fact. When it comes to greenhouse emissions, domestic emissions far exceed industrial emissions, meaning that your daily shower and boiling the kettle upwards of five times per day is doing more damage than the energy consumed by manufacturing. Moving towards more sustainable living arrangements should be an achievable goal, and yet these kinds of developments are few and far between.

 

The UK recently announced its first carbon neutral building development to be constructed in Hemel Hempstead. The Beacon is a 17-storey development that will make use of solar power, triple glazing, a mechanical heat and ventilation recovery system and rainwater harvesting. Residents will have access to on-site recycling facilities, electric bike and car sharing scheme and a fully-automated robotic parking system that takes up a fraction of the space of a traditional parking level.

 

While this is a step in the right direction, there are so many other developments going up in the UK and around the world that don’t have the same commitment to green energy sources. There need to be more incentives for buildings, investors and homebuyers to seek out greener alternatives. The Beacon is quite literally a beacon for green investment in the UK, as they are offering to cover the cost of conveyancing solicitors and valuation fees in a bid to attract more people.

A report published by the UK government revealed that many eco developments fail because there is a lack of communication between different sectors, and then home owners aren’t fully educated on how to make the most of the energy saving systems.

How would you resolve these failings within the green development industry?