Residents in rural areas have often perceived large-scale property developments as a threat to the beauty of the local natural landscape and wildlife and eyesores on the skyline. However, in 2022 there is increasingly an extensive range of eco-friendly sustainable building solutions out there that property developers can use. To discover more, read our guide on how to reduce your impact on the environment as a property developer today.
Examples of sustainable renewable home energy alternatives to fossil fuels include solar panel installation for solar energy, wind energy, hydropower which creates electricity under the sea, and geothermal energy. Although installing new homes with renewable energy systems may initially seem expensive for property developers, using renewable energy will mean the homes on your development site are much cleaner and won’t pump out toxic fuels into the Earth’s atmosphere. Property developers should take a progressive approach and embrace modern sustainable building alternatives.
Work with Recycled Building Materials
Fortunately for property developers, there is plenty of choices when picking recycled construction materials. Recycling brings a broad range of benefits for the environment. Sadly, many of the world’s natural resources used for building materials such as wood, timber, paper, metals are currently low in supply and rapidly running out. However, property developers can use recycled materials such as wood, plastics, metals, bricks, glass, plasterboards, insulation to build sturdy, reliable homes in 2022.
Investors or people looking to move into the properties on the development site your company is overseeing will do lots of research before committing to spending their money on buying a property on your site. Property Developers must be able to answer questions about sustainability and the building materials used to make the homes. Using sustainable building materials will reassure potential buyers who harbour strong personal feelings about the importance of supporting environmental sustainability so our grandchildren can enjoy the picturesque natural beauty of our planet.
Focus on Biodiversity to Preserve the Ecosystems
Your company destroying the natural habitats of local wildlife and flora when building homes on a development site certainly isn’t a positive PR move and doesn’t look good at all. There is now legislation to ensure that property developers building new property developments in England commit biodiversity and demonstrate a 10% increase in biodiversity on or near development sites.
Biodiversity net gain is all about future developments being sustainable and improving wildlife habitats. The DEFRA Biodiversity Metric measures the biodiversity quality on the site and will indicate whether a property development puts local wildlife under threat. Check out Biodiversity Net Gain Plan if you are looking to hire the services of a reliable ecological firm to carry out rapid biodiversity assessments for a fair price on your site. They will also be able to reassure you that your developer company’s project meets biodiversity net gain standards set out in the UK government’s 2019 Environment Bill for England.
Your company’s new property development project may quickly become unpopular with residents if they believe there is evidence that it will spoil the local natural environments. In the past, fellow residents have been known to hold protests, show opposition in local council meetings, and even lie in front of diggers to prevent new developments being built that have not made commitments to sustainability and protecting the natural beauty of the area. Focussing on net gain and providing wildlife with a biodiverse environment is a great way to demonstrate to others that your property developer firm is fully committed to sustainable building solutions in 2022.
Sustainable Fuels and Ensuring Homes are Energy Efficient
In the UK, it’s certainly no secret that the wintertime tends to be long, cold, and soaking wet every year. Not only is heating your home rather expensive, but it can cause real harm to the environment in some cases too. Traditional methods of heating houses such as coal, gas, and oil use up a lot of fossil fuels. Carbon dioxide gas is released during the process of burning fossil fuels, and therefore it is incredibly damaging for the environment and contributes heavily to global warming.
In 2022, property developers have to come up with inventive ways to build modern homes, so they use as few fossil fuels as possible for energy purposes. In fact, in an ideal world, you should be able to heat and provide your home with electricity sustainably without having to use any fossil fuels at all. Examples of sustainable renewable home energy alternatives to fossil fuels include solar energy, wind energy, hydropower which creates electricity under the sea, and geothermal energy. Although installing new homes with renewable energy systems may initially seem expensive for property developers, using renewable energy will mean the homes on your development site are much cleaner and won’t pump out toxic fuels into the Earth’s atmosphere. Property developers should take a progressive approach and embrace modern sustainable building alternatives.
Incorporate Sustainable Policies into Your Company’s Core Values
On your company website, it’s a wise idea to include a section where clients can read through your company’s core values and get a true sense of what your company is like and what you stand for. Make sustainable policies part of your core values so that your firm’s stance on providing sustainable building solutions remains very clear and univocal.
Stay Up to Date with the Latest Sustainable Solutions
All Property Developers need to demonstrate that they are focused on the future and up to date with the latest developments in the world. Whether staying up to date with the latest digital technology, office practices, modern building design ideas, or sustainability solutions, other businesses may decide not to do business with your company if your values on sustainability fail to align with their own. Successful, ambitious property developers today need to reflect on how they can ensure their company stays on point with providing customers with modern sustainable homes. Your business needs to join the sustainable revolution.
Offer Residents Sustainable Ways to Deal with Household Waste
In your development plans, you may be asked about how the development site will support sustainable living on a day-to-day basis after it is completed. Placing recycling bin points in the site plans and sustainable ways residents can dispose of their household waste will demonstrate to the local planning authority that your company is committed to building sustainable homes and doing your bit to save the planet.
Traditionally, homes in many property developments and estates built in the UK have burnt tons of fossil fuels and operated in unsustainable ways contributing to global warming. Buck the trend and be sustainable in 2022.
