Sustainable Development is a compact, efficient, and environmentally sensitive pattern of development that provides people with additional travel, housing, and employment choices by focusing future growth away from rural areas and closer to existing and planned job centers and public facilities.

The concept of sustainable development implies, first, the integration of environmental issues with the imperatives of economic development in order to meet the immediate needs of populations today without undermining the aspirations of future generations. However, the definition of the term “smart green development” has been expanded to include the ideas of fairness and interdependence, not only between generations, but between the countries and peoples of the Earth. Social, cultural, economic and natural environments, whose harmonious development is essential to the welfare of humanity and of nature, are also included in the concept.
Sustainable development can only be achieved in a long-term perspective. However, this cannot be done reactively, but rather through applying the principles of proactive and strategic planning and management. It is therefore essential to establish clear principles at all levels of participation and decision-making, together with clear objectives and measures that are part of a long-term approach and take into consideration the various countries’ ability to act and to pay.

The design, construction, and maintenance of buildings has a tremendous impact on our environment and our natural resources. The challenge will be to build them smart, so they use a minimum of nonrenewable energy, produce a minimum of pollution, and cost a minimum of energy dollars, while increasing the comfort, health, and safety of the people who live and work in them. Further, buildings are a major source of the pollution that causes urban air quality problems, and the pollutants that contribute to climate change. They account for 49 percent of sulfur dioxide emissions, 25 percent of nitrous oxide emissions, and 10 percent of particulate emissions, all of which damage urban air quality. Buildings produce 35 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions – the chief pollutant blamed for climate change.

Traditional building practices often overlook the interrelationships between a building, its components, its surroundings, and its occupants. “Typical” buildings consume more of our resources than necessary, negatively impact the environment, and generate a large amount of waste. A standard wood-framed home consumes over one acre of forest and the waste created during construction averages from 3 to 7 tons.” Often, these buildings are costly to operate in terms of energy and water consumption. And they can result in poor indoor air quality, which can lead to health problems.

Green building practices offer an opportunity to create environmentally-sound and resource-efficient buildings by using an integrated approach to design. Green buildings promote resource conservation, including energy efficiency, renewable energy, and water conservation features; consider environmental impacts and waste minimization; create a healthy and comfortable environment; reduce operation and maintenance costs; and address issues such as historical preservation, access to public transportation and other community infrastructure systems. The entire life-cycle of the building and its components is considered, as well as the economic and environmental impact and performance. More and more designers, builders, and building owners are becoming interested and involved in green building. National and local programs encouraging green building are growing and reporting successes, while hundreds of demonstration projects and private buildings across the country provide tangible examples of what green building can accomplish in terms of comfort, aesthetics, and energy and resource efficiency.

Sustainable community consists of smart and sustainable building, manufacturing facility, transportation and home. Sustainable building deals with effective and efficient heating ventilating, and air conditioning, lighting, metering, safety &security and networking.

Sustainable manufacturing facility deals with effective and efficient control systems, motion & drives, industrial metering and industrial networks. Smart Green transportation deals with effective and efficient management of transportation, shuttle bus services and effective utilization of public transportation.

Sustainable home deals with effective and efficient home appliance, digital AV, healthcare, lighting, power controller/smart meter, wireless mobile, network &wired connectivity and security.

What Is Sustainability and Why Is It Important?

Sustainability is the process of maintaining change in a balanced environment, in which the exploitation of resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of technological development and institutional change are all in harmony and enhance both current and future potential to meet human needs and aspirations.

When we hear the word “sustainability” we tend to think of renewable fuel sources, reducing carbon emissions, protecting environments and a way of keeping the delicate ecosystems of our planet in balance. In short, sustainability looks to protect our natural environment, human and ecological health, while driving innovation and not compromising our way of life.

Sustainability and sustainable development focuses on balancing that fine line between competing needs – our need to move forward technologically and economically, and the needs to protect the environments in which we and others live. The world is under pressure from numerous directions – population growth, financial constraints, resource scarcity, social justice, climate change and ecosystem fragility. These are felt by businesses in some form and need to be addressed. At the same time, it is clear that every decision we make has consequences – social, environmental, economic and reputational – that sooner or later impact us all.

Why aren’t more companies doing these things?

Sustainability pushes us out of our comfort zone, requiring critical self-analysis and integrated thinking. It challenges the status quo and requires future scenario planning – something that our industry is not good at. Driving sustainability to strengthen a business can involve difficult decision-making, not always based on evidence but often on gut-instinct. Visionary leadership is needed at the top an organisation to empower new thinking from individuals within it. Integrate sustainability into business strategy and execution. Sustainability is all about integrated thinking – opportunities, interconnections, risks, solutions, impacts. It improves efficiency, productivity and value. It supports and enhances the governance systems most companies have in place. Organisations that have used it to strengthen their businesses have aligned their values, mission and goals with sustainability.

What are Sustainability Issues?

The areas that can be addressed under the heading of “sustainability issues” include environmental, social and economic aspects. Beyond smart cities with a team of experts supports its clients to develop, quantify, implement research and analysed these issues.

They include:

Carbon Neutrality through Information Communication Technologies (ICT)
Resource efficiency: energy, water, waste, oil.
Carbon footprint
Smart Green Buildings
Smart Green Cities
Zero carbon technologies: Achieves zero net carbon emissions from energy use on site, on annual basis (ex: PV systems).
Carbon neutral technologies: These technologies emit the amount of carbon at the point of use as it takes in during its lifetime (ex: biomass)
Low Carbon Technologies: Achieves a reduction in carbon emissions of 50% or more from energy use on site on an annual basis (ex: CHP, GSHP).
Urban regeneration
Community development
Climate change
Preserve open space
Preserve species habitat
Improve asset value
Increase infrastructure vitality

The importance of these issues varies between different communities, localities and organizations. Beyond smart cities explores these issues in ways which are meaningful to people, providing solutions that enable people, communities and environments to respond appropriately.

Economic Benefits of Sustainable Development

Increased asset Value
Tenant retention and satisfaction
Shareholder value
Employee satisfaction and morale
Stakeholder relations
Higher return on investment
Net operating income (NOI) via lower operating costs
Productivity improvements

Reduction of Cost

Competitive first costs
Integrated design allows high benefit at low cost by achieving synergies between disciplines and between technologies
Reduce operating costs
- Lower utility costs significantly
- LEED for existing buildings (EB) and new constructions (NC) have an average annual net savings of between 25% to 45%, depending on the extent of compliance to the LEED Credits.
Optimize life-cycle economic performance

Increase Returns

• Increase building valuation and ROI

Increased building value
Higher asking rents
Higher ROI

• Decrease vacancy, improve retention

Marketing advantages
Higher occupancy rates
Decreased absenteeism
Employee performance is better in day lighted office buildings
Providing a healthy workplace
Improves employee satisfaction
Reduce liability
Improve risk management

Corporate Intangible Values

In addition to tangible values, intangible values are:

Acknowledgment to employees their company is committed to providing them a safe, healthy and efficient building
Acknowledgement to stakeholders that the corporation is committed to positively impacting the bottom line
Acknowledgement to the surrounding community that the corporation is committed to sustainability

How can Sustainability & Environmental Specialists Help

Beyond smart cities believes that societies should aim, through broad-based consensus-building, to define which of the core features are most important to them, what the best balance is between the state and the market, how each socio-cultural and economic setting can move from here to there. We can help in this approach by engaging stakeholders and global organizations to create sustainable governance programs and policies for implementation on national, regional, or local levels. Our involvement in the development of sustainable governance insures impartiality, while we pursue appropriate mandates with national priorities.

Beyond smart cities has the capacity to facilitate global and interregional programs for smart green governance that allocate support for policy formulation, decentralization and strengthening of civil society. Beyond smart cities draws from its experience in management development, government policy consulting, and sustainable development implementation to assist government entities that aim to better their societies.

Services

Beyond smart cities is dedicated to advancing and catalyzing sustainability in India and other part of built environment. We offer a range of programs and services:

Smart Green building documentation, team coaching & technical consulting for projects
Integrated Design Process facilitation & project visioning.
Impartial research and advice on innovative building products & technologies
Policy development related to efficient building practices, economic development & carbon reduction strategies
Custom training & education for policy makers, building owners, capital planners, consultants, contractors & businesses

What is Sustainable Development ?

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