Environment

D & H FARMER Chartered Architects

Environmental Policy

1 Our workplace:

We are committed to providing a quality service in a manner that ensures a safe and healthy workplace for our employees, visitors and minimises our potential impact on the environment. We will operate in compliance with all relevant environmental legislation and we will strive to use pollution prevention and environmental best practices in all we do.

We will:

integrate the consideration of environmental concerns and impacts into all of our decision making and activities
promote environmental awareness among our employees and encourage them to work in an environmentally responsible manner, such as by working electronically wherever it is safe and secure to do so while ensuring that all key information is fully and securely backed up
reduce waste through re-use and recycling and by purchasing recycled, recyclable or refurbished equipment, products and materials where these alternatives are available, economical and suitable
ensure responsible disposal of remaining unavoidable waste
promote efficient use of space heating/lighting, equipment, materials and resources including water, electricity, raw materials and other resources, particularly those that are non-renewable
purchase and use environmentally responsible products accordingly
include energy efficiency as one of the selection criteria when purchasing new equipment
avoid unnecessary use of hazardous materials and products, seek substitutions when feasible, and take all reasonable steps to protect human health and the environment when such materials must be used, stored and disposed of
where required by legislation or where significant health, safety or environmental hazards exist, develop and maintain appropriate emergency response programmes
communicate our environmental commitment to clients, customers and the public and encourage them to support it
strive to continually improve our environmental performance and minimise the social impact and damage of activities by periodically reviewing our environmental policy in light of our current and planned future activities
use public transport in preference to travel by car wherever it is possible and effective to do so.

2 Our designs:

We recognise that the products of our designs will have far more environmental impact than our own operations therefore we are further committed to exercising our professional skills in such a way as to minimise environmental impact in so far as this is possible within the instructions received from our clients.

We are committed:

to raise the awareness of clients about sustainability and environmental protection, and help the members of the design team to develop a shared vision of environmental aspirations
to ensure as far as possible that building projects are supported by a travel plan that promotes sustainable travel choices through public transport and cycling provision
to assess sites for their ecological value and microclimate, and ensure buildings make best use of the natural features of the site including sun, wind and landscape
to ascertain the potential for local power generation from renewable energy sources locally or on site
to ensure that biodiversity is protected or enhanced
to make best use of orientation and shape to reduce the need for artificial forms of conditioning
to operate a ‘right-first-time’ culture (through our QM system) for our production information in order to avoid wasteful site reworking
to minimise the use of construction materials, and specify materials and components with the optimum balance between environmental impact and performance in use
to ensure that building services are inherently efficient and controllable, and that metering encourages monitoring and management of resource use
to ensure that buildings are commissioned fully before handover, and that full operating manuals are provided
to support clients in the first few months of operation by providing on-site training and advice to ensure that systems are fine-tuned and operate in accordance with the design intent.

Environmental Policy