After All that has Happened, Is Sustainable Development Affordable? March 24, 2010

SYNOPSIS OF LECTURE

The economic crisis cut off the money supply for many new developments. But it also arrested the basis for regeneration including retrofit initiatives. Many schemes that were planning to integrate sustainable elements have dropped them because of tightening budgets. The irony of this situation is not hard to grasp. At the very time when the global consensus is coming together around climate change, the economic context is working against sustainable change.

The green lobby, always sceptical about the short term drivers that work against sustainability in the political and business world, are calling for draconian measures. It wants property-owners to alter buildings, and build new ones to tough new sustainable specifications or risk losing their investments. This would work, but would also be very expensive.

More importantly, it would not change attitudes. Behaviour is based on a formula that adds understanding to emotion and a clear plan. If policy-makers examined this formula in the light of the tactics pursued to date, they would see many reasons why recent events are working against rather than for sustainable change. Sustainability will never be affordable until we change behaviour, and there are obvious ways of doing this.

PRESENTER'S PROFILE

Erik Bichard is Professor of Regeneration and Sustainable Development at the University of Salford's School of the Built Environment. During his career, he has worked as a sustainable change practitioner in the public, private, third and now the academic sector.

Until June 2007, and for ten years, he was Executive Director of the UK National Centre for Business & Sustainability, a partnership between the Co-operative Bank and the Greater Manchester universities.

In the past he has been sustainability advisor the City of Liverpool and Co-operatives UK. He is a member of the UK Sustainable Development Panel, and is a non-executive director for the social enterprise FRC Group, and Migrant Workers North West. He has also served on the Board of Greater Manchester Waste Ltd. During his career he has researched and written about sustainable governance, social enterprise and the recycling sector, and the relationship between healthin the workplace and business reputation on sustainable development.

His most recent book is 'Positively Responsible', written with co-author Prof. Cary Cooper,which deals with winning ways to motivate people and organisations to operate in a sustainable manner. His current research continues with this theme and involves the development of methods toencourage sustainable behaviour in response to dangerous climate change sponsored by the Environment Agency. He also works with the public sector and social landlords to improve sustainable outcomes. He is currently on two international Scientific Committees for the ItalianUniversities of Politecnico di Torino and the University of Reggio Calabria.

He is a frequent contributor to newspaper, TV and radio programmes covering a range of sustainability issues.

Registration is essential. To book, email Craig Brown [email protected]

Official Website: http://www.salford.ac.uk/events/details/1148