We know that we have just over a decade to address these global emergencies, or we risk catastrophic damage to the natural world. Yet as the earth’s life support systems come under increasing threat, the scale and intensity of urban development, infrastructure and building construction globally continues to expand, resulting in greater greenhouse gas generation and loss of habitat each year.
For everyone working in construction and the built environment, meeting the needs of our societies without breaching the earth’s ecological boundaries will demand a paradigm shift in our behaviour. If we are to reduce and eventually reverse the environmental damage we are causing, we will need to re-imagine our buildings, cities and infrastructures as indivisible components of a larger, constantly regenerating and self-sustaining system.
Such a transformation cannot happen without a wide-ranging declaration of intent, followed by committed action, international cooperation and open source knowledge sharing. A united declaration will support more effective lobbying of policy makers and governments to show leadership and commit resources. The next few years will decisive in shaping our collective future - now is the moment to act.
Built Environment Declares can be used by everyone involved in the sector: architects, designers, landscape architects, engineers, project managers, surveyors, developers and estate managers, contractors, suppliers, students, academics etc.
Since May 2019, over 1000 architectural practices in the UK have made a declaration of climate and biodiversity emergency, acknowledging the extreme seriousness of our situation and making a public commitment to positive change. They have been joined by Structural, Civil and Building Services Engineering practices, Landscape Architects, Contractors, Interior Designers, Suppliers and Project Managers in the UK and internationally, amounting to over 7000 practices worldwide.