sustainability

Sustainability Goals

Over the last few centuries, the list of issues that humanity has managed to solve is quite impressive. From a constant state of war, we now live in peace by default (Homo Sapiens). Child mortality (in the western world) is almost eradicated. Hunger is no longer a question of resources, but of political distribution. Women have acquired voting rights, slavery has been abolished, and work has for the part become much more pleasant. Human rights have been established - and for the most part are in effect. We are able to travel and communicate like never before. But with the meteoric rise in industrial capabilities that have taken us so many steps from our ancestors, we have also tragically outgrown our consumption of resources that are available on the planet. It is estimated that by 2050, we would need over 3 planets to sustain our needs. It is therefore of the utmost importance that the 21st century become the century of #Sustainability. We must balance the equation and return to a state of ecological peace where species aren't dying out each year so that humans can consume more.

But we must also take sustainability a few steps further. Sustaining economic growth, and ensuring we have enough resources is only the first part of the problem. We must also ensure that everyone not only has basic human rights, but also live a life of purpose, creativity and connectedness to other humans. May those be the new Human Rights once AI's have taken over this world.

The UN has set a a framework of 17 sustainability goals to reach by 2030. We at Oasa have decided to follow the guidelines set forth by OnePlanet, and here are our 10 sustainability development goals and how we plan on measuring our success - because what we count matters.


Health and Happiness

  • Enable members to live with a community / chosen family
  • Healthier Food + Healthier Relationships + Healthier Environment = Healthier Life


KPIs:

  • More involved review process after bookings (and after each week/month of stay) which aren’t so much just giving a review of the facilities, but rather measuring how happy the individual was during this time. The goal is to create an environment where each member can be happy, can grow, can feel loved.



Equity and local economy

  • Partner with local businesses to build and maintain the properties
  • Purchase local materials and goods


KPIs:

  • Ratio of goods produced locally



Culture and community

  • Fostering a sense of belonging
  • Creating shared experiences that bond members
  • Allowing members to actively participate in the community by letting them take ownership.


KPIs:

  • Interconnectivity between members



Land and nature

  • Reforestation, and planting diverse species
  • Low construction footprint (stilts vs concrete foundations, designing spaces around nature rather than bulldozing our way through it)
  • Auto irrigation systems
  • Composting
  • When we can't reforest ourselves, we'll offset via our Tree Nation forest


KPIs:

  • Quantity and diversity of flora on a site before and after completion



Sustainable water

  • Collecting rain water into a natural pool that can be used for irrigation
  • Planting species that retain water in the soil avoiding flooding


KPIs:

  • Liters of waters consumed per day from external sources



Local and sustainable food

  • Growing basic vegetables in automated hydroponic gardens
  • Stocking the kitchen with local organic produce


KPIs:

  • Track in-house production and purchases from local markets



Travel and transport


  • Using a shared van (if possible a self driving electric vehicle) to pick up members on arrival and allowing them to access nearby activities
  • Possibility of developing a long distance sailboat crossing between properties as our members should for the most part be time independent and appreciate adventure
  • Pooling grocery shopping and other trips between members reducing miles spent acquiring goods


KPIs:

  • Average kilometers driven per member per month
  • Average kilometers flown per member to arrive at the location



Materials and products

  • Build structures using local materials selected for their low carbon footprint, lifetime duration, and recyclability. Especially timber should be either reclaimed or purchased from sustainable sources.
  • Avoid concrete structures since it produces a lot of carbon emissions
  • Emphasis on experiences over products for members.


KPIs:

  • Ratio of biodegradable materials in the construction materials



Zero waste

  • Composting
  • Reduced packaging through growth of own produces, and purchase of produces from local markets
  • No single use products in the bathrooms - instead shampoo, soap etc are filled from bulk supplies
  • No single use packaging in the kitchen - providing tupperwares etc instead
  • Organic construction materials selected that won’t end up in landfills


KPIs:

  • Tonnes of waste generated per year



Zero carbon energy

Energy efficient buildings:

  • Multi layer windows
  • Insulation
  • Using sunlight to heat
  • Using green roofs to maintain temperature
  • Using geothermal pumps to regulate temperature
  • Using low consumption light bulbs throughout
  • Using energy efficient appliances
  • Using solar energy to produce electricity
  • Using wind turbines to produce electricity
We made some calculations, and the world needs to be investing about 1.2T$ each year (20% of total energy cost) in order to start curbing out CO2 emissions (from energy), and make sure we can sustain continued development of poorer economies. See our calculator.


KPIs:

  • Ratio of energy produced vs imported (goal 100%)

Posted

April 5, 2020

Tags

sustainabilitycarbon-neutralzero-wastehappinesslocal-economy