Partnerships are critical when greening our built environments
By Michael Casey
Greening built environments demands a blending of expertise from various disciplines such as architecture, urban planning, engineering, and environmental and horticultural sciences. Interdisciplinary collaboration, facilitated by partnerships, ensures a holistic understanding of the challenges and opportunities associated with sustainable development. The collaboration of various skills and knowledge is essential for crafting innovative solutions that address the intricate interplay between human infrastructure and the natural environment.
When we address green infrastructure solutions for the built environments, communications between professionals falls short, and we tend to find that not even one specialist engages from start to finish with all professionals relevant to the delivery of these built solutions. Therefore, it should be mandatory that partnerships amongst our building professionals be crucial in the transformative journey of greening our built environments, allowing this to be a prerequisite for collaborative efforts across diverse sectors. In the pursuit of sustainability, the complex and interconnected nature of environmental challenges demands a multifaceted approach, and partnerships provide the necessary framework for a collective response.
Delving a bit deeper from a recent article I wrote for Hort Journal, addressing the many roadblocks that occur with the delivery of green infrastructure projects (What’s roadblocking urban greening projects September 2023),I wanted to look further into the multi-disciplinary approach to creating working partnerships that ensure a smooth delivery of green infrastructure solutions. These approaches focus more on policy and regulation, knowledge sharing, community engagement and innovation.
An integral part of effective public governance is through the creation of policies and regulation. These two factors play a crucial role in shaping the development of sustainable greening implementation and progress. Government bodies and regulatory agencies are instrumental in the creation and implementation of policies that incentivise and mandate green building practices, making the idea of industry partnering with them crucial. These collaborative efforts can result in the establishment of supportive regulations, financial incentives, and standards that catalyse the integration of sustainability principles into the built environment. More importantly, it allows for the industry to understand more about the role and direction public authorities have in achieving their greening objectives and targets, along with the actions they will take to deliver increased green infrastructure.
Knowledge sharing and networking is the foundation of urban greening, and strong partnerships serve as channels for the exchange of insights and best practices. Collaborations between private and public organisations, governments, and academic institutions create a healthy platform for distributing research findings, successful strategies, and lessons learned. This collective knowledge accelerates the adoption of sustainable building practices, enabling stakeholders to build upon existing expertise and avoid reinventing the wheel. We do need to ensure, when knowledge sharing between private and public organisations takes shape, that this shouldn’t always be seen as delving deep into a competitor’s trade secrets but more about how to better share learnt experiences to improve the output of the industry as a whole. A major advantage for private organisations can be obtained when financial, technological, and human resources can be efficiently mobilised when stakeholders join forces. By combining their capacities, partners can overcome financial barriers, access cutting-edge technologies, and implement large-scale sustainable projects that might be beyond the reach of individual entities.
Community engagement is a key player in the success of urban greening initiatives, and partnerships with community organisations, non-profits, and advocacy groups are imperative. Building sustainable green environments requires a deep understanding of local contexts and community needs. These partnerships ensure that the voices of the community are heard, which works towards fostering inclusive decision-making processes and aligning green initiatives with the values and aspirations of the people who inhabit these spaces.
Creating successful and sustainable urban greening developments should be seen as a global urgency, and carefully planned partnerships provide a conduit for international collaboration between organisations, and the academic and government sectors. By moving beyond borders and sharing experiences, solutions, and best practices on a global scale, stakeholders can collectively address common challenges. The exchange of ideas on an international platform further strengthens the impact of greening initiatives, fostering a shared commitment to building a more sustainable and resilient future for us all.
In the collective pursuit of sustainable and resilient built green environments, the positive collaborative attitude these partnerships nurture will soon highlight how the industry can encompass interdisciplinary collaboration, knowledge sharing, resource pooling, policy development, community engagement, innovation to ensure smooth project delivery and success.
Exploring the numerous benefits of partnerships, the key message remains the indispensable role these collaborative efforts play in the mission to make our built environments greener. These partnerships are pivotal in mitigating the risks associated with green projects, collectively tackling challenges, whether financial, technical, or regulatory, by distributing them among collaborating entities. Through the utilisation of the expertise and resources of multiple stakeholders, partnerships bolster risk management strategies, thereby contributing to the successful implementation of sustainable initiatives and the accomplishment of green infrastructure projects.
Michael Casey
Director Evergreen Infrastructure
Consultant and advisor to the green infrastructure industry.
E: michael@evergreeninfrastructure.com.au
Main photo: Knowledge sharing and networking is the foundation of urban greening