Objectives

The Self Sustaining Building Challenges will invite all organisations, people and communities to present their best self-sustaining building (SSB) solutions.

The Challenge objectives will be:

• To receive entries from all organisations, individual people and communities of all ages and abilities
• To provide recognition for the best SSB practice entries through awards
• To promote, exchange, demonstrate and develop the best ideas of self-sustainability in buildings and communities worldwide
• To create widespread awareness of the need for self-sustainability and the improvements in lifestyle, health and affordability of buildings that can be achieved
• To create and maintain a global network for practitioners and enthusiasts in the field of self-sustaining practice with a supporting database of best practices, ideas and examples.

The Challenge will ideally be based in the city hosting the Olympic Games. We are currently being asked to join the London 2012 Olympics 'Inspire' Programme to launch the first Challenge. Following the awards there will be a permanent web based virtual exhibition, a touring exhibition attending major events such as World Expos and a range of other awareness activities.

Following the first Challenge based in London, the SSB Programme will have created an organisation with a proven format for subsequent challenges as part of a sustainable series of knowledge management initiatives. 

Subsequent challenges will be global with the second SSB Challenge linked to the findings from the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) (Rio+20 Earth Summit) and held in Rio de Janeiro as part of the Rio 2016 Olympics

Framework

Entrants
Entrants will range from professionals and non-professional, individuals, of all ages and abilities. Entries from educational establishments will be encouraged.

Categories
A wide range of categories will be invited from homes to communities; from completed projects to blue sky ideas. Each entry category will be independent, so there is, in effect, a series of challenges being operated simultaneously, somewhat like media awards or the Olympic Games.

Website
Applications will be managed via a dedicated website and accepted entries will be viewable with powerful state of the art presentation techniques.