Environmental sustainability and its role in interior design
Having concerns about the environmental impact of your home, or the levels of productivity and creativity in your office?
Maybe it’s time to consider a more nature-based interior design in real estate, with concepts such as energy and water efficiency, waste reduction and recyclable materials implementation - not only for reduced environmental impact but for the positive impact on human health and wellbeing.
Biofilico designs for people, planet and your profit! Our actions address human health, environmental sustainability, and financial gain.
As the world becomes increasingly urbanized, our lifestyle conveniences and wishes are increased, while access to nature and green spaces decreases. As a result, we have a fundamentally disconnected evolutionary flow, with many problems (mainly diseases) tightly connected to it.
In further text, you will find more information concerning the importance of environment and sustainability, and its impact on our life through interior design and places we live in.
What is environmental sustainability?
When we talk about environmental sustainability meaning to address all aspects of our lives - we need to include everything, from eco-homes, the sourcing of our supplies, renewable energy, environmentally conscious communities until low impact furniture and even clothing.
But what is environmental sustainability actually?
The meaning of environmental sustainability has many definitions used by green groups, businesses and even politicians and activists, but the concept and principles of sustainable development were first introduced in 1987, in the “Our Common Future” report, prepared for the World Commission on Environment and Development.
Why is environmental sustainability important and needed
The importance of environment and sustainability has been recognised for all the damaging factors that can be caused by individuals to our environment. We must all take care for each other - humans need to look after the plants and animals we share our planet with, of the air we breathe, our rivers and oceans we consider continental boundaries.
Looking after environmental health is crucial for ensuring a green future and healthy lives on a healthy planet. That is why looking after our environment is something we must all be a part of.
There are many environment development and sustainability projects, on a large and small, local, or national/global level.
How environmental sustainability affects social responsibility?
A relationship of people and spaces is based on psychological and psychical parameters, and has great implications on the improvement of life quality. Targeting social welfare and happiness through environmental sustainability is a measure that results in higher levels of employee creativity, motivation, and wellbeing.
The most important criteria to save and heal the planet is the selection of materials that are going to be used in the process of building and decorating. Every material has its function, so materials used in hospitals and shopping malls should be different due to the sterilisation needs, but it is very important to select the materials with maximum potential to reduce waste.
The embodied energy (energy needed to produce some material) is also an important factor when choosing a sustainable material for a home or some public space.Concrete, steel and the plastics are higher in embodied energy than some more natural elements like stone or timber.
Recycling potential is an important factor in the field of waste management. Moreover, the level of emission of toxic gases (in production and use) should be considered as an important step to go for more traditional, but highly sustainable techniques in construction.
Decreasing the amount of global waste leads to creating new technology in order to generate electricity from the plantation.
Interior environments are places where all human needs are exposed. They are the most intimate spaces where our health, physical and psychical, is affectable by many bad factors we have inflicted upon ourselves.
Environmental sustainability in business
Taking the initiative in creating a more environmentally conscious company culture through eco-friendly policies is a bold move, even if it starts with the elimination of plastic straws and paper in an effort to reduce plastic waste.
Developing a corporate environmental responsibility begins on the level of your workforce. It is crucial (especially for young) people to believe in the vision and practice of environmental sustainability, changing their habits in the office, in order for the mission of sustainability to be carried out accordingly.
Environmental Sustainability and Interior Design Elements
Interior design is a profession subjected to the context of human needs and the many different levels of their satisfaction. The interior space is made to satisfy the needs of security, surviving and achieving higher self-esteem.
Recent studies have shown the need for environmental health and sustainability within our living spaces, and the obligation for the niche to be included and survive. This is why the practice of interior design elements is looked upon as a context of sustainability.
In the environment development and sustainability principles, the links between inequality, poverty and environmental degradation were recognized, thus the elements of their improvement were needed to support communities and to find a way forward for a fairer world with less damage to the environment.
So the environment development and sustainability concept met the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to live in a better world.
Environmental sustainability in interior design is referred to all the systems and materials integrated into one whole purpose (for example into healthy buildings spaces for inhabitation), minimizing negative impacts on the environment and occupants, while maximizing the positive health, economic and social life cycle.
Environmental sustainability in interior design and the Planet
Issues of environmental development and sustainability are concerns like whether environmental resources will be protected and maintained for future generations. Limiting consumption of nonrenewable resources, and naturally, shifting to renewable resources and avoiding excess pollution damaging to our health and the earth’s atmosphere.
The biggest problem now is making an economic decision based on the insight of the long-term consequences and making integrational decisions to target economic and social welfare.
The long-term health of ecosystems
Principles of sustainable development protect the long-term productivity, and health of the resources that are going to be used in the future, meeting the economic and social needs.
Making decisions to protect food supplies, farmlands and fishing stocks, species diversity and ecological structure, we ensure the health of our future generations and the loam of our lands.
Prevention of the man-made global warming
Water shortages, extreme weather events, excess temperature and all the other problems have been predicted for the future generations to face because of the deterioration, usage of harmful materials and substances - factors that could make living in some parts of the world very difficult, if not possible.
Intergenerational decision making
When making large economic decisions, we should focus on the implications for the future, not just for the present moment. For example, using coal as energy gives a short-term benefit of cheapness, but the pollution weight is immense for future generations.
Renewable resources
Diversifying energy sources from nonrenewable into renewable and sustainable ones that, again, do not rely on non-renewable resources is one of the main concerns that should be met in the future. For example, most popular solutions are solar and wind power generating windmills, panels and skylights.
The willingness to create sustainable environments should be primary met and fulfilled within workplaces and private home interiors. Interior designers have an essential tool in their hands to lead sustainable environments and create consciousness in sustainability.
Interior design elements are major tools in creating long term environmental sustainability, with elements of natural resources, sustainable fabrication, manufacturing, and installation, all the way up to sustainable use, reuse, recycle and final disposal.