The World Congress of Architects adopted the “Decaration of Interdependence for a Sustainable Future” in June, 1993. “In recognition that : – A sustainable society restores, preserves, and enhances nature and culture for the benefit of all life, present and future; a diverse and healthy environment is intrinsically valuable and essential to a healthy society; today’s society is seriously degrading the environment and is not sustainable; – We are ecologically interdependent with the whole natural environment; we are socially, culturally, and economically interdependent with all of humanity; sustainability, in the context of this interdependence, requires partnership, equity, and balance among all parties; – Buildings and the built environment play a major role in the human impact on the natural environment and on the quality of life; sustainable design integrates consideration of resource and energy efficiency, healthy buildings and materials, ecologically and socially sensitive land-use, and an aesthetic sensitivity that inspires, affirms, and ennobles; sustainable design can significantly reduce adverse human impacts on the natural environment while simultaneously improving quality of life and economic well being; We commit ourselves, as members of the world’s architectural and building-design professions, individually and through our professional organisations, to: – Place environmental and social sustainability at the core of our practices and professional responsibilities – Develop and continually improve practices, procedures, products, curricula, services, and standards that will enable the implementation of sustainable design – Educate our fellow professionals, the building industry, clients, students, and the general public about the critical importance and substantial opportunities of sustainable design – Establish policies, regulations, and practices in government and business that ensure sustainable design becomes normal practice – Bring all existing and future elements of the built environment – in their design, production, use, and eventual reuse – up to sustainable design standards.” The link below contains the full text of this declaration along with Guidelines for Further Development of the Declaration.
weblink: declaration and guidelines • from: Architectural Institute of BC • in detail XlnkS582 XlnkC189B