Economic

Economic sustainability addresses the issue of financial viability and wealth creation and its distribution within and among communities.

Economic Viability

Financial Viability

To understand financial viability under prevailing market conditions.

Questions to consider

• Is sufficient working capital available?

At what design stage should this issue be considered?

VISION

Funding Security

To understand the relative contributions from private and public funds

Questions to consider

• What proportion of the funding is provided by the private sector, or is funding solely from the public sector?

At what design stage should this issue be considered?

VISION

Expenditure on improving environmental and societal performance.

Investment in improving environmental and societal performance beyond best practice.

Questions to consider

• What proportion of capital expenditure or pre-tax profit is allocated for this purpose?
• How, or in what way, does this support long term sustainability objectives?

At what design stage should this issue be considered?

VISION

Environmental and societal related R&D expenditure.

The contribution of a project through dedicated investment in research and development pertaining to sustainability issues (renewable energy, materials minimisation, and social impact).

Questions to consider

• What proportion of project expenditure allocated to R&D activities?

At what design stage should this issue be considered?

VISION

Service Contracts

This refers to the trend towards increasing the service component of products, so provide a benefit without the outright purchase of a product by means of rental agreements (photocopiers, printers, telephones, carpeting and air conditioning and heating services).

Questions to consider

• Are all opportunities being made to use service contracts where applicable?
• What percentage by value of total goods and services comprises service contracts?

At what design stage should this issue be considered?

OPERATION

Whole life costing

Whole life costing considers not only the capital cost but also the running costs of particular design solutions. This is particularly important when reviewing the financial viability of energy efficient technologies as the capital costs are often much higher than the alternative less efficient options but the fuel costs will be considerably less.

Questions to consider

• Has whole life costing been carried out?

At what design stage should this issue be considered?

DESIGN

Funding Sources

Funding sources are often available from the government for renewable technologies, These sources tend to vary annually and also sometimes have a bias toward a particular technology which may not be appropriate for your college.

The following websites provide advice on obtaining grants

www.carbontrust.co.uk

www.lowcarbonbuildingsphase2.org.uk

Questions to consider

• Has funding been investigated for new or novel energy efficient technologies?
• Is the technology appropriate?

At what design stage should this issue be considered?

DESIGN