When it comes to building homes, builders today need to care about more than simply putting a house together. Social responsibility is changing the building landscape for the better and is a key pillar in looking toward a better future for ourselves and the world we live in.
What Is Social Responsibility
Social Responsibility means to act in a way that benefits society at large. It has become increasingly prevalent in modern times, as successful businesses desire to become more than just profit machines and use their resources to benefit the world at large.
Social responsibility has helped make the world a better place by contributing to much needed investment in initiatives such as social justice, alleviating global poverty, and the environment.
Social responsibility is more than just a corporate buzz-word, it is a way of living that is an important consideration in every aspect of life from business to education as well as our homes.
Social Responsibility In Practice
Melbourne based cafe STREAT been leaders in making social responsibility a core part of their business mission, since their inception.
STREAT began a mission to improve the lives of young people at risk of falling victim to homelessness, substance abuse and the justice system by giving them opportunities for ongoing employment, education and training. STREAT’s initiatives have positively Impacted the lives of thousands of young Australians.
With this mission proving successful, STREAT further enhanced their commitment to social responsibility through creating a Planet Plan. The Planet Plan is the company’s mission to reduce their environmental footprint and create a more sustainable business. It’s goals include to dramatically reduce the waste it produces, switch to 100% renewable materials, and swap unsustainable transport methods for the use of electric vehicles, public transport, and bicycles where necessary.
STREAT is a window into the future of what a successful business should look like, with a focus on making the planet more livable for future generations becoming a necessity for growth in today’s society. Need some inspiration pop out to visit, enjoy a meal and experience this first hand.
How Social Responsibility Has Changed The Building Industry
As our cities grow exponentially, there has been much thought about how to increase the quality of life for those living in the new urban fringes. It is now standard for new housing developments to incorporate green spaces such as parks, gardens and even man-made lakes to satisfy our thirst for nature. For some, this does not go far enough, as the relative isolation of new housing estates distanced from the opportunities of a connected city has been linked to an increase in crime in the disconnected new estates.
Due to this, there is pressure on developers to give more thought to the lifestyle of the residents of the houses they’re building. This has led to new housing developments becoming whole communities with better access to jobs, schools, transport, community centres and resources for the elderly.
Concern about the environment is also paramount, with sustainable building practices, passive design and biophilic design becoming widespread in new developments. Such developments are important for the future of not only the building industry but the world at large, as the positive environmental impact will reduce our carbon footprint, making the world more livable for generations to come.
Social Responsibility For Homes
As with what is happening in businesses at large, the building industry is moving at rapid pace towards socially responsible practices to keep up with a society that demands radical change to continue as we know it.
Biophilic Design
There is a natural connection between humans and nature that until recently was largely lost in the buildings we live and work in. Biophilic design is reversing the trend and bringing us back to nature.
The aim of biophilic design is to incorporate nature into buildings, creating self-sustaining ecosystems within them. This is done both in the physical sense, which involves creating natural ecosystems in and around buildings, and through emulation, which involves creating artificial ecosystems within buildings that mimic natural environments. The aim of doing so is to allow humans to play the part in nature that we are biologically wired to.
Apart from the immense benefits of planting more trees and making the world greener, biophilic design has been linked to an increase in happiness and sense of purpose among people who live and/or work in these buildings.
Passive Design
Passive design harnesses the power of the environment to create a more sustainable home that relies significantly less, if at all, on artificial temperature control.
This is done in a number of ways, including paying attention to the orientation, layout and materials of the home so it is able to harness the power of the sun at the right times of the day and year.
The benefits of hiring passive home builders on the environment include less pollution caused by heating and air conditioning, thanks to the harnessing of natural heat in winter and cooling in summer.
Environmentally Sustainable Homes
There are a number of ways in which new homes can be more sustainable and have a positive impact on the environment, including (but not limited to) the principles of biophilic and passive design.
The importance of moving towards building environmentally sustainable construction has increased rapidly in recent years as the effects of climate change become increasingly prominent across all areas of life. It looks set to be even more so in the coming years as the world becomes more aware of how we can reverse our negative impact on the environment.
Ways in which homes can become more environmentally sustainable include building with recycled materials, passively saving water through the use of smart taps, and investing in higher quality materials for more natural temperature control.
Sustainable builders in Melbourne, Green Edge is committed to social responsibility, and that means using what we do to create a more sustainable and better world for current and future generations to enjoy. If you’d like to find out how your next home build can contribute to a future we can all be proud of, get in contact with our green builders today.