Environmental Planning

David Green has over fifteen years experience in environmental planing and design. The most important precursor to work in this field is that the client has established their environmemtal strategy and understands their environmental goals in terms of product, client and image. Environmental planning and design is then the next logical step in the environental management process which will achieve the strategic enironmental objectives.

Environmental planning will best achieve the objectives where environment receives full recognition and integration in a multi disciplinary planning team. But there are often barriers to the complete integration of environmental issues into the business process. This may be due to green protectionism created by the environmental management staff, leading to a green wall between environment and the main business. More commonly, senior management may seek to reduce the influence of environmental aspects on the main business process. Environment is seen as a necessary evil and can then only be bolted on to the business, thus minimising interference with the main economic and social functions. But these artifical barriers should not be allowed to develop or must be broken down if environmental planning is to achieve the strategic environmental objectives and if environmental management and planning is to garner added business value . If integration cannot be achieved, all that may be achieved is environmental compliance.

Environmental planning will achieve best results when it is the creative result of efforts from several functional disciplines with a common purpose. Essentiallly the designs should aim for environmental, economic and social sustainability. Ideally this should be achieved with maximm benefits and minimum deleterious effects in all three aspects. Such planning, although initiated in response to drivers from manufacturing industries, can have equal applicability in construction, energy, urban development, power supply, transportation, agriculture or travel and tourism.   

It is usefull to consider several concepts to be harnessed in the creation of interdisciplinary design teams.

Early recognition of the validity of intrinsic environmental aspects that will enhance the project or product for the end user. This will also avoid having to bolt-on potentially more expensive environmental fixes at a later stage.

Interdisciplinary teams should have equal emphasis in all disciplines which will assist in maintaining momentum and with equal credit for results, loss of morale in any one subject area can be avoided.

End user requirements should be the focus of the planning and design, not just the environental aspects, because the end user will also have economic and social considerations. All three must be dovetailed together to optimise the environmental input to business value.

Small projects build momentum and should be the starting point for improvements in environmental performance. Pilot projects undertaken in specific areas of the business and designed from the "bottom-up" will have grater impact than "top-down" grand ideas or hobby-horses from senior management. Ownership and stewardship of the results and successes should remain with the interdisciplinary design team or workforce. Management must priovide the recognition, encouragement, resources and leadiership to support and publicise the achievements. Cross fertilisation and the proliferation of new ideas from other teams can then follow with mutual appreciation and training. Continuing support and commitment is however required from the upper management.

Measuring the successes (and failures) should be relatively simple to carry out and report and easy to interpret. Whole life cycle analysis has its place but may not be necessary in the early stages (although desirable where a degree of accounting or academic rigour is required). The measurements should be simple, comparative, easily understandable and readily communicated. All business stakeholders should be encouraged and trained to interpret the measurements in terms of environmental performance; benefits as well as reduced impacts. The measurements should be fed back into the management process for review and optimisation of plans and designs. 

David Green has used the above concepts in environmental planning and design projects in construction, urban development, power supply and transportation industries throughout Asia over the past fifteen years to further the understanding of environmental planning in the business and local government management process.