One Million Sustainable Homes
For the last five years through the One Million Sustainable Homes campaign (OMSH), WWF has been working with government, industry and consumers to move sustainable homes from the fringes to the mainstream of the UK housing sector. The campaign has surpassed all expectations, and has had a lasting and significant influence over the housing sector.
The campaign culminated in a standing room only event last year to review and celebrate OMSH's successes. We were delighted that Ruth Kelly, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, chose this event to launch the Code for Sustainable Homes, the consultation for the Planning Policy Statement on Climate Change, and the Building a Greener Future, towards zero carbon development consultation, all of which had been central lobbying activities for the campaign. Together, this package of measures means the regulatory framework will now enable and facilitate the development of more sustainable homes.
We also launched the NextGeneration house-builders' benchmarking club and the Regional Sustainability Checklists for Developments.
OMSH has consistently made the link between WWF's work to conserve species and habitats and people's daily lives in the UK, where our homes, communities and associated lifestyles have major impacts on the global as well as the local environment. As such, it forms an ideal platform to bridge to WWF's new One Planet campaign. Going forward, we will be focusing our attention more on existing homes in the UK, and working to achieve 25 million sustainable homes!
Read our OMSH summary document for more info on the campaign successes.
Thank youWWF would like to thank the members of its One Million Sustainable Homes Task Force - BRE, BioRegional, Constructing Excellence, Countryside Properties, Energy Savings Trust, Environment Agency, HBOS, Home Builders Federation, Housing Corporation, English Partnerships, Sustainable Homes and SEEDA - and its other partners including Grand Designs Live for all their help and support to drive OMSH to the heights it achieved.
"From the beginning I could see the tremendous appeal of OMSH as a campaign that would break down the barriers to sustainable homes at a national level. I didn't quite expect WWF to achieve so much in such a relatively short time! I'm excited about the possibilities for WWF to build on this success and look forward to the Government doing more to help make our homes sustainable - not least our existing housing stock. I'm proud to be in a position to help take WWF's vision of One Planet Living to a broader public audience."
Kevin McCloud, Writer and presenter, Grand Designs