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Our Policies

Integrated Urban, Architectural and Engineering Design

Integrated Design

• Adopt an integrated design approach and include “sustainable/green” design criteria in project programmes e.g. establish development densities balancing elements such as land consumption, service constraints such as water supply, sanitation, transportation networks and open space requirements; set building footprint design criteria; set energy & water consumption targets in the design criteria.
• Use market research and focus group discussions to identity owner needs and preferences and inform the design.
• Respond to and where feasible address concerns raised by interested and affected parties in the development design.

Estate Pattern & Design

• Establish a building footprint (the ratio of combined internal floor area of all dwellings on the site to their footprint (as measured by the total ground floor internal area))1 or residential (dwelling units/acre) and non-residential densities (floor area ratios to total buildable land available) 2 that support conservation of land resources. 
• Provide a variety of housing sizes and types3
• Provide safe connections for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers to local community service centres
• Provide open spaces for recreational activities (parks and playfields)4
• Orient the estate layout to create optimum conditions for the use of passive and active solar design strategies
• Design exterior lighting to reduce sky-glare

Energy and Carbon Dioxide Emissions

• Use design to maximize the energy efficiency of housing units through innovation in the use of site topography, building configuration & placement and design of the building envelope (roof, walls, windows & doors), adoption of passive solar design and use of active solar systems.
• Design to maximize interior daylighting
• Provision of fittings that increase efficiency of internal & external lighting e.g. can be used with energy efficient lamps, include light reflectors or diffusers and controls
• Investigate feasibility of alternative technologies to reduce the energy consumption of estate infrastructure and residential structures e.g. solar powered street lighting; district cooling systems;
• Set design energy consumption targets as part of the design criteria for projects.
• For each project investigate feasibility of on-site renewable energy generation.

Water and Sanitation

• The quality of the water supply to meet national water quality requirements or in their absence the WHO Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality. If necessary provide additional treatment facilities. http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/guidelines/en/index.html  and http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/gdwq3rev/en/index.html
• Water treatment facilities to be constructed, operated and maintained in accordance with national requirements and internationally accepted standards
• Water distribution facilities to be constructed, operated and maintained in accordance with national requirements and internationally accepted standards e.g. American Water Works Association Standard G200-04: Distribution Systems Operation and Management. Ensure water line and sewer lines are laid to prevent cross contamination.
• Design to minimise water use in housing units through installation of water efficient appliances and fittings e.g. lower volume toilet cisterns, tap fittings with reduced flow rates5
• Minimise potable water consumption for landscape irrigation through:
  • Capture and use of stormwater for irrigation and incorporation of stormwater management structures into estate landscaping e.g. vegetated swales;
  • Where feasible use of greywater and reuse of treated wastewater for irrigation;
  • Integration of elements of on-site wastewater treatment into estate landscaping e.g. constructed wetlands;
  • Landscaping with drought tolerant plant species to reduce the need for permanent irrigation systems and/or install drip irrigation systems.
• Set water consumption targets (for housing units and irrigation) in the design criteria for the project
• Design estate infrastructure to separate storm water system from sewerage system
• Design stormwater infrastructure to incorporate attenuation methods (e.g.swales; reed ponds; permeable paving; rainwater harvesting) to minimize stormwater runoff, reduce velocity of runoff, increase soil infiltration and reduce contaminants  refer to IFC General EHS Guidelines pp; LEED for Neigbhourhood Development pp 115 – 117 and New Construction pp 18 - 19:  UK Code for Sustainable Housing Technical Guide pp 106 - 111; Sustainable Building Technical Guide (2006) pp 55 - 57;
• At a minimum, design drainage infrastructure to ensure that run-off rates and annual volumes of run-off post development will be no greater than the previous conditions for the site.
• Investigate feasibility of providing separate systems for the collection and management of sewage and greywater 
• Greywater collection, treatment and use to follow WHO Guidelines for the Safe Use of Wastewater, Excreta and Greywater (2006) http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/wastewater/gsuww/en/index.html
• Establish estate sewerage management & treatment systems where capacity of municipal sewerage infrastructure is constrained. E.g. onsite interceptor tanks from which liquid effluents are transported to centralized treatment facility, or complete sewerage collection, storage & treatment facility.  Refer to IFC Sector EHS Guidelines for Water and Sanitation p 5 – 14 and 16 – 17.
• The quality of any treated wastewater discharged to surface waters must meet applicable national requirements or internationally accepted standards e.g. US EPA regulations at 40 CFR Part 133 regarding Secondary Treatment http://www.epa.gov/lawsregs/search/40cfr.html  and Council Directive 9/271/EEC of 21 May 1991 Concerning Urban Waste-Water Treatment http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/water-urbanwaste/directiv.html or the following indicative guidelines from the IFC General EHS Guidelines (April 2007)
  
  

• The quality of any treated wastewater used for land application must meet relevant public health-based guidance from the World Health Organisation and applicable national requirements – WHO guidelines for the Safe Use of Wastewater, Excreta and Greywater (2006) http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/wastewater/gsuww/en/index.html
• Solid waste from sewerage collection and treatment systems must be treated/stabilized (anaerobic or aerobic digestion) before use (e.g. land application) or disposal.
• The processing, disposal and re-use of these solid wastes should be consistent with national requirements or internationally accepted guidance and standards e.g. US EPA regulations at 40 CFR Part 503 – Standards for the Use or Disposal of Sewage Sludge http://www.epa.gov/lawsregs/search/40cfr.html ; Council Directive 91/271/EEC of 21 May 1991 Concerning Urban Waste-Water Treatment http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/water-urbanwaste/directiv.html  ; and US EPA Emerging Technologies for Biosolids Management, 832-R-06-005, September 2006 http://www.epa.gov/OW-OWM.html/mtb/epa-biosolids.pdf.
• If solid wastes are to be used for land application then quality must be consistent with WHO guidelines for the Safe Use of Wastewater, Excreta and Greywater (2006) http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/wastewater/gsuww/en/index.html and applicable national requirements.
• Design of water and sewerage treatment facilities and wastewater disposal methods to include measures to prevent accidents and injuries, reduce worker & community exposure to chemicals, hazardous atmospheres, pathogens and vectors e.g.fire & explosion prevention measure at sewerage collection & treatment facilities; drip irrigation if reusing greywater or wastewater; provision of adequate ventilation for hazardous chemicals storage areas and locations where hazardous emissions are likely; provision of pressurized water (such as hoses or showers) and eye wash stations (refer to IFC General EHS guidelines and also Water and Sanitation Guidelines pp 4, 10 – 17)

Air Emissions

• For on-site generators the Small Combustion Facilities Emissions Guidelines given in the IFC EHS General Guidelines p 7 will apply where the generator has a rated heat input capacity of between 3MWth and 50 MWth and it operates for more than 500 hours per year or an annual capacity utilization of more than 30%.

• Stack heights for generators should be designed according to good industry international practice – refer to Annex 1.1.3 of the IFC General EHS Guideline p16.

Hazardous Materials

• Provide appropriately designed facilities (such as secondary containment, adequate ventilation) for the storage of hazardous materials required for estate management e.g. fuel, water treatment chemicals, sewerage treatment chemicals, estate maintenance, fertilizers, pesticides – refer to IFC General EHS Guidelines pp 39 – 41 and IFC Sector EHS Guidelines for Water and Sanitation pp 4, 11-12.

Waste

• Provide recycling stations for collecting materials that can be recycled or reused locally. At a minimum provide facilities for the separation and collection of biodegradable wastes for composting and use on the estate grounds.
• Provide an appropriately designed collection and storage point for household hazardous wastes e.g. paints, solvents, oils, compact fluorescent bulbs, batteries – refer to IFC General EHS Guidelines pp 48 – 50.

Biodiversity Conservation, Slope Protection & Cultural Heritage

• Estate design will include measures to conserve and enhance existing stands of biodiversity value, including measures to restore degraded habitats.
• For sites with wetlands or water bodies the project must be designed to conserve them through the inclusion of appropriate buffer zones (not less than 100 feet) and stormwater management measures to minimize impacts from increased volumes & velocities of surface water run-off and contaminated surface water run-off.
• Areas of natural habitat6 will not be significantly converted or degraded unless:
  • There are no technically or financially feasible alternatives
  • The overall benefits of the project outweigh the costs, including those to the environment and biodiversity
  • Any conversion or degradation is appropriately mitigated
  • Measures will be designed to achieve no new loss of biodiversity where feasible
• Landscaping will not intentionally or accidentally introduce new alien species or any alien species with a high risk of invasive behaviour and will remove any existing invasive species.
• On sites with pre-project slopes greater than 15%  do not disturb slopes greater than 40% and areas within 50 feet of the top of the slope and 75 feet from the toe of the slope
• Estate designs will include measures to restore degraded slopes
• Details will be provided under the Special Specifications in the contract documentation regarding habitats and areas of cultural value to be protected and how they should be protected during construction

Building Materials Specifications

• Design to maximize the use of locally available materials – preferably from within a 500 mile radius of the project7.
• Investigate availability of construction waste and industrial waste materials for use in infrastructure
• Preferentially source the use of building materials with lower environmental8 & health impact –
  • Non or low volatile organic compounds (VOC) emitting adhesives, sealants, paints & coatings,
  • Formaldehyde-free composite wood & agrifiber products
  • Timber products from suppliers who have certified sustainable forestry management system established (e.g. Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) www.fsc.org) or are participating in programmes supporting the sustainable trade in timber (e.g. Global Forest and Trade Network (GFTN) www.gftn.panda.org or EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade initiative FLEGT)
  • Materials with recycled content
  • Air conditioning systems using refrigerant gases with zero ozone depleting & global warming potential. 
  • Fire protection systems that do not use ozone depleting substances (halons & HBFCs)
  • Insulating materials produced with non-ozone depleting substances
  • Mined/quarried materials - supplier has an environmental management system in place – environmental permits. 
• No timber from trees species listed on national protection, the CITES or Global Trees Campaign (www.globaltrees.org ) lists will be used.

Community Health & Safety

• Service infrastructure designed to reduce exposure to safety & health risks associated with estate infrastructure e.g.  limiting access to facilities, protecting quality of water supplies, ensuring security of water supplies, speed restrictions
• If greywater and sewerage wastewater are to be used implement irrigation systems that reduce potential exposure to pathogens e.g. drip irrigation.
• Ensure that landscaping and stormwater management measures do not create breeding ground for mosquitoes.