Erik Bichard

Changing behaviour and offering incentives is the key to advancing sustainable home building. Sustainability guru Professor Erik Bichard explains.

The resistance to sustainable change is due to many different factors. Generally, there is a misplaced faith in the ability of technology, governments, and economic systems to save us in time to avert the looming chaos that will be caused by climate change, resource depletion and the demand for global social justice.

But there is something else that is hindering the search for sustainable solutions and it is often overlooked. There is a flaw in the human character that gives us the ability to ignore, or react with painful slowness, to a mountain of evidence that tells us that we are facing clear and present dangers.

You may recognise some of the ways we manage to do this. There is the joy of satisfying our part of a system that encourages us to try to make savings, even if this means that the downstream costs of a project rocket and consume more resources. The reluctance to invest in renewable or community-scale energy schemes is a good example of this.

People also hate the idea that they are being taken for mugs if they invest time or money in solutions when others (neighbours, competitors, whole countries) don’t bother. Few can see how their small, insignificant effort will make any difference to the unfeasibly large problems of the world. Many can think of large numbers of other people (4X4 drivers, the Chinese and the Americans, or big business) that should be singled out for harsh treatment before it is their turn to account for their actions.

This invites the obvious question; are we all doomed because of a design fault that has made the bulk of humanity into determined but deluded people who are selfish and irrational? The answer is…no. But we do need to find a way out of the behavioural habits that make us appear so.

In the end, most people just want to live a better life, and in the current climate, most of the things we are invited to do in the name of sustainability seem to be leading us to a worse life. Almost anything that arises these days illustrates the point. A topical example would be the opposition to Lifetime Homes, the government’s proposals to design better access for housing.

The evidence for Lifetime Homes was published by the government as part of the consultation document ‘The Future of the Code for Sustainable Homes’ in July 2007. The ability to avoid resource intensive refurbishment by allowing people to continue to live in their homes while coping with declining mobility seems obvious. The 16 features that will be required for new houses to meet the Lifetime Homes standard by 2013 (and all social housing by 2011) will include having a ground-floor toilet, a wider stairway that could be adapted to take a stair-lift, and a level or gently-sloping approach to the front door.

The reaction was somewhat predictable. Roger Humber of the House Builders Federation (HBF) was quoted in the Guardian saying that “this is yet another potentially costly policy initiative, in addition to the code for sustainable homes, renewable energy requirements, higher densities and more social housing.” Executive Chairman of the Home Builders Federation Stewart Baseley said on the HBF website that “the critical issue facing people in the housing market today is affordability. Many young people are struggling to get on the property ladder. A disproportionate, one-size-fits-all approach to applying Lifetime Homes standards would adversely affect homebuilders’ efforts to keep housing affordable and meet the needs of customers in younger age groups.”

Those that still think that the presentation of more evidence would have sorted out this latest obstacle on the path to sustainable living would be perplexed to understand why the house builders managed to miss the huge weight of evidence in favour of a sustainable design process. One example, dating back 10 years now was produced by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI). It stated that there are four rules to apply to any development. Paraphrasing, the RMI said, first, always avoid designing anything that has just one function. This is the pay once, get many benefits principle. Second; rush into the design at your peril. Once the first 1% of expenditure is committed, something like 70% of the whole life cost of the building is set in stone. Next; design should always reflect the likelihood that the built environment will need to adapt to change over time. Finally, the old linier cascade where the banker talks to developer, who talks to architect, who talks to contractor, who talks to estate agent, who finally meets the occupier, is counterproductive. A discussion between all of these stakeholders prior to the design stage will always yield a more sustainable result.

Should this type of reasoning be the guiding influence on sustainable decisions? Of course, but it isn’t. This is because short-termism, the natural but unwarranted resistance to change, and the failure to perceive that whole life considerations of our built realm is as much a human failing as it is a policy or a market failing.

The solution is as human as the problem. We need to introduce more incentives to break down the understandable but ultimately destructive resistance to sustainable change. This strategy will convert those who once saw sustainable innovation as a problem, into people that see a better situation than the one they are currently defending. There are many forms of inducements. The offer of money is obvious, but we also thrive on peer praise linked to other types of material rewards. The future has a happy ending only if we offer positive alternatives.

Professor Erik Bichard, Regeneration and Sustainable Development, Salford University You can hear him speak at Procurement for Housing’s annual conference and exhibition: Sustainable efficiency: do you buy it? on Tuesday 13 May 2008 at the ICC in Birmingham.

The PfH conference is open to all housing organisations including PfH Members and non-Members. To register call 01457 891 906 or email info@procurementforhousing.co.uk.