The IHBC has launched its ‘Position Statement’ on Sustainability and Conservation of the Historic Built Environment, to help shape sector-wide policy directions, on our cross-sector practitioner support service, the ‘ToolBox’.
IHBC’s Policy Chair Roy Lewis said: ‘In recent years, there has been a strong call for IHBC to give a higher priority to ‘green issues’ and the demand has come, in particular, from younger members. In response, the Institute has made an important contribution to the development of the Sustainable Traditional Buildings Alliance (STBA). It has also set up a Green Panel, and the more longstanding IHBC Technical Panel now has a greater focus on sustainability issues. The need for us to set out our stall on green issues has been apparent for some time but the catalyst came during 2019, when the IHBC signed-up to two external initiatives: the Climate Heritage Network (CHN) and Heritage Declares.
Conservation of a non-renewable resource such as built heritage would seem to be inherently sustainable but the current high profile of ‘retrofit’ guidance indicates that historic buildings and places are not always ideal in terms of such matters as thermal efficiency. Consequently, our Position Statement aims to balance the desire to conserve with the need for adaptation in order to secure a truly sustainable future.
The Statement makes it known that IHBC believes that conservation of the historic built environment is an essential component of the response to the threat posed by climate change and long-term planning for sustainable development and sets out sixteen key points that underpin this belief.
We hope it will be useful in moving the debate forward.’
See the IHBC’s Position Statement
See other IHBC recognised practice standards on the ToolBox
See more on the IHBC and Climate Heritage Network and Heritage Declares.
