Sustainability Summit November 2006

A Sustainability Summit was hosted by Marshalls Plc on 16 November 2006, as the first major event in the Marshalls for Sustainable Landscapes programme to educate consumers, trade and industry about the issues of sustainable hard landscaping.

Chaired by The Sunday Times Insideout magazine, The Sustainability Summit was attended by leaders in the fields of sustainability, garden design, environmental conscious building, green guides and professional associations, all of whom have a key role to play in setting the agenda for sustainable hard landscapes in 2007.

Attending the Summit were experts from Marshalls Plc, The Concrete Centre, Garden Design Journal, Royal Horticultural Society, Builders Merchants Journal, British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI) and Scenic Blue landscape gardening franchise – together with writers and broadcasters, Mitch Westwood, Peter Seabrook and Jon Symes, author of ‘Your Planet Needs You’.

A major theme that emerged throughout the day was education. Firstly, educating people about the importance of adopting a balanced approach to sustainable landscapes; an approach that supports environmental progress, economic progress and social progress, rather than solely focusing on the environment. This means raising consumer awareness of both the environmental and ethical impact of their decisions.

Secondly, amidst the media firestorm about environmental and sustainability issues, it was also recognised that the major challenge is now to educate people effectively about these issues. This means providing a clear and compelling case for how we can all contribute to the sustainability of our own local landscapes, so that home owners, gardeners, designers, installers and builders merchants alike have the right information to help them make the right choices.

Podcasts from the Sustainability Summit are available to download, presenting on perspectives on sustainability from different sectors of the hard landscaping market.