REVIT Sustainable Evaluation Tool.pdf

Regarding the methodology of sustainability measurement, two examples are cited:
1. Methodology for Sustainability Integration and Appraisal developed by the Welsh
Development Agency(WDA). The process of sustainable integration in this document is
introduced as a more positive and realistic approach. This means:
“finding ways of pursuing each objective with the minimum of harm to others, and where
choices between objectives are inevitable, to be explicit and democratic about the
choices”
The process can also be defined as “Conflict Minimisation” – finding solutions which
reduce (but not necessarily fully overcome) conflicts between different objectives. When
key conflicts are identified, these are treated as a “Crunch Issue”, and ways of reducing
or resolving them are searched for and agreed”.
2. An alternative option to the methodology provided by the WDA is the tool for
sustainability assessment developed by the RESCUE project team. The purpose of the
RESCUE—Sustainability Assessment Tool (SAT) is to provide a methodology which
considers sustainability criteria from a local and regional context perspective together
with conflicting priorities to assess future brownfield regeneration projects in terms of site
/ local specific sustainability. This approach provides support for funding and / or
permission decisions. A full description of the SAT is available: www.rescueeuropa.com
The process of agreeing on the sustainable objectives of a site has to be based on agreements
achieved through discussion between institutional and non-institutional stakeholders affected by
the project. The depth of participatory approach depends in reality on conditions such as owner
attitude, scale of project and quality and level of local governance culture.
To be sure that stakeholders participation will bring desired outcomes, the process has to be
professionally designed and integrated with other project activities from earliest stages and
adjusted to local conditions.
To design and implement a process of stakeholder engagement it is advised to use professional
guides and manuals providing theoretical overview of the topic together with practical indications
regarding optimal project-specific conditions methods and tools. For example A Tool Kit for
Stakeholder Engagement prepared by the REVIT project.
This process of agreeing the sustainable objectives of a site may require a revision to the original
objectives and in some cases altering or changing the vision for the site. The proposed process
allows for cycles of changes to take place on an iterative basis. Once the objectives have been
agreed then the appropriate tools and targets, indicators and measuring techniques can be
selected. This in turn leads to a management plan to control this process throughout the duration
of the project, reporting, variances to agreed tolerances, verifying compliance and reporting
results. Finally an audit process will ensure that the results are verifiable and the sustainable
benefits of the project are credible as well as ensuring that the project plan aims and objectives
have been met.
Produce Statement of Targets and Measures
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