SUSTAINABILITY IN BUILDING AND DESIGN

When it comes to planning the perfect dental or medical clinic fitout, there are so many things to consider. These include patient outcomes, aesthetics, efficiency, productivity, your brand and reputation - and many more. But Dentpro also cares about sustainability.

What is sustainability, exactly? It's a complex concept, but amid considerations about climate change and the environment, we all know that it is thinking about the future of our planet and our children whilst doing our planning and living in the present.

So when it comes to building and design, sustainability is something to really care about.

In practice, what it means is always having in mind the impact on human and environmental health that the project will have, over the entire life of the building or renovation. In other words, an acknowledgement that buildings have a significant impact on where we live and Earth's precious resources and population.

These considerations include energy and water usage, the types of materials used and many other factors that are impacted by the design, construction and operation of the buildings over their lives including pollution and emissions.

Buildings account for almost half of all energy use and carbon emissions, almost 70% of electricity, 30% of landfill waste and over 10% of total water consumption - so it's important to understand that there is a big impact.

And while sustainable design is good for the planet, its people and your carbon footprint, it's also good for your business. A sustainable building costs less to run, enhances productivity and staff happiness and profits and boosts asset value for the future.

A report by the Australian Property Institute found that sustainable buildings reduce outgoings and increase rental and sales values. This is done by capturing and saving water, using sustainable or recycled building materials, and heating and cooling the air and water more efficiently, for instance by using natural light and shade.

Most of the ways your medical or dental clinic fitout can be made more sustainable can be thought about in the early minutes of the design phase, like the positioning of windows, the necessary size and layout of rooms, the types of equipment, energy sources and materials to incorporate, and other fundamental considerations. Ultimately it means that you will know that your clinic has done its bit in construction sustainability - giving you that extra edge.