We need more sustainability focused designs to become more sustainable in daily life.

As more and more people are realising the importance of becoming more sustainable in todays world we need to realise that it really is not as easy as it might sound.

Now to achieve the best sustainable living circumstance on a daily basis it really needs to be accompanied by some integrated sustainable design. Some of you might not see the difference between the two but one can very easily influence the other…

Sustainable Design focuses on integrating sustainable energy into everyday life as well as creating physical objects that are less wasteful and more durable for the long term. There are hundreds of ways and things that can be done to contribute to designing more sustainable physical products and the built environment. Here we’re just going to focus down onto how houses can be built or adapted with the introduction of sustainability elements.

• Using building materials from a local source

• Using materials that could be recycled at end-of-life

• Using timber from sustainable forests (re-plant as they fell a tree etc.)

• Reducing use of non-renewable energy

• Installing/Using renewable energy

• Conserve Water

• Enhance Indoor Environmental Quality

• Adding/Conserving Green Space

In turn this helps us automatically do more towards sustainability in our daily lives:

• Reduce personal waste

• Use more local products/shops

• Recycle products

• Reduce our use of disposables

• Think about the energy we use

• Reduce our household bills

• Add more green areas to your property

• Grow your own produce e.g. herbs

Just a few very general ideas there… Let me know in the comments if you’ve implemented anything big or small at home!