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Our responsibilities and considerations as a developer are: 1) To successfully design and build Zero-emission, low-energy affordable ecological houses that require little or no change of lifestyle for the occupant to sustain the property's basic function of heating, hot water, ventilation and lighting, and that are designed to be sympathetic to the surrounding environment. 2) To significantly reduce the carbon emissions associated with the property. 3) To only use sustainable resources such as solar and wind energy, eliminating the need for gas and oil to power and heat our homes. 4) To promote the use of rainwater for all non-potable water applications such as toilet flushing and washing, which is estimated to be around 85%. 5) To use as many sustainable, recycled, reclaimed and/or refurbished materials as possible - building blocks made of pulverised fuel ash (PFA), foundations made from recycled glass and roofs made from recycled PVC. 6) To relocate any earth excavated on-site to other areas of the development, therefore reducing the need for excessive and unnecessary land-fill waste. 7) To keep all construction waste to a minimal. Any waste associated with the development of a particular site is to be collected, monitored and responsibly dealt with by a designated waste recycling company who will distribute coloured skips reserved for specific types of waste - plastic, wood & paper, earth etc. 8) To plant new trees wherever possible, promoting wildlife and the natural cycle of nature. 9) To include a unique refuse sorting facilities for each property after its completion and promotes its use. This waste is collected two or three, times a week by a designated recycling company free-of-charge and is properly sorted and relocated for recycling wherever possible. 10) To continuously maintain the upkeep all of the property's external eco-components such as cleaning the leaf filters for the rainwater management systems, cleaning the solar collectors and photovoltaic arrays upholding their efficiency, and pruning all plants around the development. 11) To monitor the performance of all properties - the actual energy generated by means of the photovoltaic array, wind turbines and solar water heater as well as the water collected and used over the course of a year. This information would be noted and used to calculate a more accurate reference for any future projects. This monitoring will also include the monitoring of the internal and external temperatures throughout the year, heat loss calculations, sound resistance, and the actual electricity requirement to maintain the property. This collected information would help us to evolve the design and improve the building's performance for future developments. 12) To set a new standard in building design and safety, which we hope, will be recognised by all. 13) To illustrate the ease of utilising 'eco' technologies and methods when designing/building and to educate others into the obvious choice for using these 'greener' alternatives.
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY: We recognise our responsibility
as a property developer to minimise any potential adverse environmental
impact of our operations. We are committed to upholding our policies as
a good corporate citizen for the greater benefit of the communities in
which we operate. 1) Researching new technologies and products ensuring better practice and end products 2) The continual improvement in our environmental performance and policy 3) Maintain environmental awareness throughout the company 4) Developing a 'green' culture in which environmental awareness and the protection of the environment is a common objective shared with our clients, contractors, suppliers, partners, and within the communities in which we operate 5) Monitoring, reviewing and reporting our environmental performance on a project-by-project and/or annual basis 6) Enhancing and safeguarding the natural environment 7) Using construction methods and materials wherever possible that are sustainable, recycled, reclaimed, refurbished and/or have low impact or low embodied energy requirements in our operations 8) Implementing strategies to meet all of the company's environmental policy commitments 9) Encouraging and empowering individual employees to adopt environmentally-responsible working practices
We recognise that our business activities may have a direct or indirect impact on biodiversity. We will take a balanced approach to managing our business activities in order to minimise any negative impacts on biodiversity and to enhance biodiversity wherever possible. We make the
following commitments: 2) As a developer we will work closely with planning authorities and local communities to address biodiversity issues 3) As a contractor we will endeavour to minimise any impacts on biodiversity on the sites on which we operate and on any neighbouring site which could be affected by our activities 4) As a purchaser of raw materials or manufactured products we are committed to managing the supply chain to minimise upstream impacts on biodiversity 5) We will also endeavour to minimise energy consumption and hence limit greenhouse gas emissions and the rate of depletion of natural resources
In support we
will: 2) Use biodiversity Action Plans where appropriate
Implementation:
Monitoring:
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