ZEMCH 2015 - International Conference Proceedings | Page 205

porting sustainable transport through its Green Bus Fund the first three rounds of which have
helped to fund the introduction of nearly 1,000 new carbon-cutting green buses by the end of
March 2013. More than 680 of these buses can now be seen operating on public bus services in
many of our English towns and cities. Using the latest green technology, these new buses are
quieter and, in the case of hybrid- electric buses, use less diesel than conventional buses. Many
of the buses have also been manufactured in the UK, sustaining jobs and bringing green growth”
(DEFRA 2013). To ensure the design and management of the interchange facility is thoughtful
of the environment and energy efficiency. New interchange facilities meet with national carbon
emission, water and waste objectives, and lessen their energy supplies. Maximising on-site energy generation, and use local materials. For instance:
• Substitute artificial lighting with natural.
• Ensure insulation is efficient to minimize energy use.
• Renewable energy to be generated on the site.
• Minimizing the need to air conditioning by using natural ventilation.
• Providing enough recyclable waste containers.
Communication
To move towards a sustainable future communication at all levels is a must between legislative
authorities, people, politicians, and the new generation. That will help sustainability evolve from
the mainstream’s point of view, when so much of the carbon emissions are directly related to human’s daily activities, and require enough knowledge and commitment to the cause to be solved.

Sustainable Development Strategy
The UK Sustainable Development Strategy suggested that this development has four key objectives which include social progress and equality, environmental protection, conservation of natural resources and stable economic growth. These objectives reflect the concept of sustainable
development and support the principles of Agenda 21.(Gov.uk, 2013)
UK Strategy for Change
After defining sustainable development, the UK Government began to incorporate it into national policies. This acknowledges the need for the nation to progress, whilst maintaining its economic, social and environmental objectives. The necessity of environmentally comprehensive
methods is recognized, especially concerning transport and energy. The Government aspires to
allow economic development to prosper, in a sustainable way, and not compromise the existing
natural environment or cause social discrimination. In 1999, there has been a modification of this
policy into a more comprehensive one, which contained construction policy documents, and recommended key action themes to start-off the undertaking of sustainable practices. It was titled:
building a better quality of life, a strategy for more sustainable construction. Again in April 2004,
there has been an update on the policy titled; ‘Indicators for a Strategy for Sustainable Development’ for the United Kingdom a baseline assessment which looked into details of indicators to
define benchmarks.
Ecotowns
According to The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (2014), in 2009 the UK Government
named four towns as ‘ecotowns’. The towns received some government funding and are granted
‘ecotown’ status on the basis of the latent for attaining sustainability. The government funding
purposes to afford:

A closer look at sustainability practices: lessons from the UK

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