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Green Developments
At Belize Reserve a passive cooling/heating system in primarily timber properties ensures a minimum energy requirement
Climate change is irrefutable but, say the experts, the rise in temperature can be halted if we act now to reduce the carbon emissions that lead to the earth’s warming. Heeding the message, several developers worldwide are building zero-carbon properties in their aim to create sustainable homes for the future.
In a YouGov poll undertaken for The Daily Telegraph, in November last year, the overwhelming majority of Britons said that they believed global warming is taking place – 85% agree with only 8% disagreeing and 7% saying “don’t know”. In the UK, political reactions to global warming that impact on homeowners have been to implement a target for all new homes to be zero-carbon by 2016.
The British public appears largely supportive of the government’s initiative. Research by insurance company Royal & SunAlliance found that 70% of homeowners want all new builds to be eco-friendly; one in five of us would pay more for an eco-friendly house; and 20% of homeowners would ‘make sure’ a new house bought is eco-friendly. But what about the properties that we buy overseas?
"Ultimately, we are seeking to use the simplest, most efficient, longest-lasting, and easiest to maintain and sustain, energy solutions and construction methods throughout the resort.” Lucy Searle
If the R&SA survey is indicative of a general trend it seems reasonable to assume that we would our second homes or investment properties abroad to be eco-friendly too. But, firstly, what does that mean? The words green, eco-friendly and sustainable are generally used synonymously to describe a development or property that has an environmental agenda, such as to reduce energy usage and therefore carbon emissions, which contribute to climate change.
Whatgreenhome.com, a newly launched website that lists sustainable private properties worldwide for sale, as well as providing news, features and comment, contends that in order to reduce carbon emissions properties should be built to utilise the natural resources of the sun for warmth, be well-insulated, be appropriately oriented to benefit from natural breezes for cooling, and be constructed from sustainable materials, for example wood from forested sources.
In doing so, Whatgreenhome.com argues, our energy use in the home, which accounts for 50% of the total use, could be reduced by as much as 88% in the UK if the German PassivHaus system of housebuilding was adopted. Other measures, including waste recycling and water conservation, undertaken on a personal as well as on a larger housing development scale, will add to an overall reduction in each and everyone’s carbon footprint.
An example of where such exemplary sustainable practices – probably the best yet – are being implemented is at Mata de Sesimbra close to Lisbon, on Portugal’s Silver Coast. A partnership development between One Planet Living (OPL) and developers Pelicano, it will be home to 8,000 zero-carbon, zero-waste houses and apartments. At its centre will be a sustainable transport system, the reforestation of 4,800 hectares, and the creation of 11,000 jobs locally.
Phase one of the development is under construction. Prices start from £60,000 for a one-bedroom apartment.
OPL is a combined venture by the WWF and BioRegional, whose aim it is to build on the work of both organisations to promote the concepts of sustainable development and ecological footprinting, notably by establishing a set of sustainable communities in diverse contexts across the globe. Projects will be delivered via partnerships with private developers, community groups and the public sector and require a commit to and adoption of the 10 guiding principles of One Planet Living, which act as a framework to highlight the sustainability challenge in a given situation and as a mechanism for developing and presenting solutions.
