What is a Sustainability Statement, and can I write it myself?

When applying for Planning Permission, local planning authorities will sometimes ask for a Sustainability Statement. There is often a lack of clarity as to what this is, and what a statement needs to contain.

In simple terms, the statement says how the house is environmentally sustainable, and what efforts the applicant has made to improve this. Local Councils and Planning Authorities have a duty to ensure that development in their area is sustainable and so they will favour proposals that appear to improve this.

Some recommend a Sustainability Consultant write the statement, for which they will charge a fee. This is a good idea for big or complex projects in contentious areas, but for a householder application (planning permission for one self-build house or alterations to a house) the statement need only be relatively simple and can often be written by the applicant.

The requirement can usually be satisfied by writing one page explaining the proposal's sustainable credentials, including 3 main areas:

  • How the house is built

  • How the house will operate

  • How the house can be occupied

Here are some things that you can say about your house to demonstrate it’s environmental performance:

  • Embodied Carbon reduction, such as reducing concrete, using timber, using locally-sourced materials and labour.

  • A Fabric First approach to thermal performance, such as high insulation, airtightness, window u values.

  • Efficient Systems for energy performance, such as MVHR (mechanical ventilation with heat recovery), or highly rated boilers with flue gas heat recovery,

  • LZCGT (low and zero carbon generating technologies) such as heat pumps, solar panels, wind turbines

  • Things that help the occupants live sustainably, such as access to public transport, space for recycling bins, cycle parking.

There are many more examples in addition to the list above, and each house is unique. When you think about it there are a lot of things that can help sustainability so get creative and see if you can find all the areas that apply to yours.

To learn more about how the Vellow Wood architectural team achieve energy efficiency in our projects, read more about our eco-houses and sustainable homes.

Philip Benton