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designing for the future: yours, ours and the environments™
© korte architecture 2008
Sustainability costs more, right?
Sustainability can sometimes cost more than the typical ways of doing things. Traditional products and services often do not reflect their ‘full’ cost – that is, the cost of the environmental and social impacts are often currently not paid for by the producer. For example, the costs of products that are made with polluting materials generally do not include the extra cost of cleaning up those pollutants. This cost is paid by tax-payers and the environment, allowing the producer to sell the product at below its ‘full’ cost.
However, more sustainable ways of doing things can also costs less, particularly over the life-time of a product or service. Sustainable products are often more efficient from an operating perspective, which decreases costs. Additionally, as the green movement gains momentum, more and more sustainable products are becoming main stream and their associated costs are equal to traditional products - it’s just a matter of choice.
We must choose the products and systems that are sustainable.
