Promoting the "environmentalisation" of the entire world economic system,

For the ESCP Europe annual seminar in Paris 16-17 March 2012

Here is an approach to human life and activity under new rules concerning sustainable environment. Keywords assembled by Charis Savvides, elytron arc+urb uc

“The emerging 'environmentalisation' of our civilization and the n

eed for vigorous action in the interest of the entire global community will inevitably have multiple political consequences. Perhaps the most important of them will be a gradual change in the status of the United Nations. Inevitably, it must assume some aspects of a world government.”

Mikhail Gorbachev, Club of Rome member, State of the World Forum, 1996

Constantinos Doxiadis, Ecumenopolis in 2100

in “Ecumenopolis: the inevitable city of the future” Athens Center of Ekistics, 1974

Fields of action:

1. The environmentalisation of old social functions

• Sustainable water management (manage water resources while taking into account the needs of present and future users)
• Miscellaneous sustainable services (services about sustainability, certification project, etc)
• Sustainable transport (or green transport refers to any means of transport with low impact on the environment, and includes walking and cycling, transit oriented development, green vehicles, Car-sharing, and building or protecting urban transport systems that are fuel-efficient, space-saving and promote healthy lifestyles)
• Sustainable housing (Managing and controlling energy/CO2, pollution, water, health and well-being, materials, surface water run-off, ecology, waste)
• Sustainable school and education - research buildings (Linking Architecture and Education: Sustainable Design of Learning Environments)
• Sustainable healthcare facilities (Sustainability must be a consideration for the design of all health care facilities. Many sustainable design features can be incorporated into health care facility design, including day lighting, energy and water conservation, nontoxic materials and finishes, and sustainable operations and maintenance)

• 2. The environmentalisation of old economic sectors (undertake environmentally sustainable and practically suitable design within the existing infrastructure)

• Sustainable constructions for all kind of economic activity. (In fact, all constructions will be under sustainability criteria and management)
• Waste management (the collection, transport, processing or disposal, managing and monitoring of waste materials)Restructuring heavy industry implementations (the impact of environmental policy on production concepts and company strategies on heavy industries and their customer industries is very huge. The promotion of innovation patterns by the environmental policy and structural changes in the advanced economies)
• Organic products
• Countryside-based leisure activities
• Sustainable agriculture (an integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site-specific application that will last over the long term: satisfy human food and fiber needs, enhance environmental quality and the natural resource base upon which the agricultural economy depends, make the most efficient use of non-renewable resources and on-farm resources and integrate, where appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls, sustain the economic viability of farm operations and enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole)

3. The new green business

• Renewable energies and energy efficiency ("energy from renewable sources" means energy from renewable non-fossil sources, namely wind, solar, aerothermal, geothermal, hydrothermal and ocean energy, hydropower, biomass, landfill gas, sewage treatment plant gas and biogases)

• Telemedicine (is the use of telecommunication and information technologies in order to provide clinical health care at a distance. It helps eliminate distance barriers and can improve access to medical services that would often not be consistently available in distant rural communities. It is also used to save lives in critical care and emergency situations.)
• Telecommuting (Is a term often used interchangeably to refer to a work arrangement in which employees enjoy flexibility in work location and hours. It refers to the elimination of the daily commute to a central place of work)
• Eco-tourism (Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving visiting fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas, intended as a low impact and often small scale alternative to standard commercial tourism)
• Niche Marketing - Every single product that is on sale can be defined by its market niche.
• Carbon neutral production (having a net zero carbon footprint, refers to achieving net zero carbon emissions by balancing a measured amount of carbon released with an equivalent amount sequestered or offset, or buying enough carbon credits to make up the difference. It is used in the context of carbon dioxide releasing processes, associated with transportation, energy production and industrial processes)

• 

Takis Zenetos, Urbanisme Electronique, Athens 1964

Create incentives:

· Reducing Running Costs by Sustainable Design (maximising the possibilities for reducing running costs of the building over its lifetime)

· Tax credits. Approach to the ideal design and construction under LEED (USA) (The LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System™ is a voluntary, consensus-based standard to support and certify successful green building design, construction and operations. LEED is transforming the marketplace by providing a nationally recognized certification system to promote integrated, whole-building design practices in the building industry.)

· For One Green Tax instead of all other kinds of taxes (A move towards a “green” tax system, crucial to a “green growth” strategy, can contribute not only towards achieving environmental objectives but also, depending on how the revenues are used, facilitate wider growth-oriented tax reforms.)

· Imposing Environmental certificates (ISO 14000 – EMAS) to all economic activities (ISO14000 standards are designed to cover: environmental management systems, environmental auditing, environmental performance evaluation, environmental labelling, life-cycle assessment, environmental aspects in product standards and imposing the European Energy Certificate System (EECS)

Earth by night. The Ecumenopolis on 2009