Brave new world

Imagine a place where everyone lived happy, healthy lives within their fair share of the Earth’s resources. This isn’t just pie in the sky, says Simon McWhirter of WWF-UK.

We’re swamped by news stories about how our constant plundering of the planet’s resources is outstripping its ability to replenish itself. And it isn’t just scaremongering; WWF has shown that if everyone consumed the Earth’s natural resources at the rate we do in the UK, we’d need three planets to absorb the ravages.

But this urgency of living within the limits of one planet doesn’t need to be a frightening thought - it can be a blueprint for a more desirable future. It’s what WWF and BioRegional have dubbed One Planet Living, and it’s centred on ten principles spanning everything from the design and construction of our homes to integrated transport networks, food and water, our health - and even our happiness [see box].

To prove that One Planet Living isn’t just an academic concept bandied about by environmentalists, we’re developing OPL pioneering communities on every continent, as global exemplars for regional development. We know that climate change will hit the most vulnerable communities first, so ensuring sustainable growth in developing countries is paramount. We’re working with Shanghai developers in the inner city and its outskirts to craft detailed project plans there. The first bricks of the flagship €1 billion carbon-neutral tourist resort at Mata de Sesimbra, near Lisbon, will be laid out next year, and plans are well advanced for a housing development in Brighton [see GF61, p4]. We’re also collaborating with the organisers of the 2012 London Olympics to help it host the first ‘One Planet Olympics’.

Next spring, WWF will launch a major OPL campaign to change our attitudes to energy use in our homes and communities. But this time we’re not only talking to the general public. It’s not hard for individuals to reduce their ecological footprint with a bit of sensible guidance. Rather, it’s the ‘designers’ of the framework in which we live - government and business - who must now play a major part in bringing this about.

When environment secretary David Miliband wrote in a letter to the prime minister that he sees Defra’s mission as “enabling a move towards what WWF has called One Planet Living”, it was an important acknowledgement of the concept in the political arena. But we want it to gain more ground. We’re calling on government to institute a national carbon budget that sets year on year reductions in emissions within a demanding cap - and we’ll continue to campaign for financial incentives such as green mortgages, to drive consumer demand for energy efficiency in the home.

As for businesses, our main focus will be on energy services. From 1 June, all homes bought and sold must have an energy efficiency rating similar to the A-G standards on white goods, for the first time making it a sales feature for people selling their homes. To take this further, we’re working with high street DIY and construction retailers on ways to flag up the products and services that can raise the energy rating of a house. Recycled newspaper insulation, hot water boiler jackets and low-energy light bulbs will be a much more attractive shopping proposition when they’re linked to an increase in long-term property value. This in turn will boost the market for these innovations.

Simply keeping up with the CSR reporting race isn’t enough for companies to really differentiate themselves. True sectoral advantage comes from taking bold steps, and so it makes sense for business and industry to participate in OPL. Now that people are beginning to understand the huge benefits of sustainability, the days are numbered for the throwaway, energy-guzzling society anyway. There is now a smarter, more efficient way of living - and of doing business.

Simon McWhirter is senior campaign officer at WWF-UK.

9 November 2006

Simon McWhirter