A basic question to be considered and answered in detail in the early stages of brief development for a new proposal is; what environmental expenditure should be made on it?  We are very well organised where it comes to financial considerations but in the arena of ecological and environmental impact there is little or no consideration of the allowable 'EcoCost' of any proposal.

An EcoCost Budget, when properly set up, will allow proponents of any particular proposal to obtain a quantitative appreciation of how much resource expenditure the particular endeavour deserves, in terms of its social, cultural or contextual importance.  Designers should be able to budget, in an ecological sense, for the use of highly desirable but perhaps ecologically costly materials or systems in a trade off with using low EcoCost strategies in other areas to keep within an overall ecological expenditure allowance for the project.  Within the EcoCost Budget an allowance would be made for the longevity and robustness of the proposal.  The EcoCost should be spread over the useful life of the building, allowing a greater EcoCost to be justified by a much increased lifespan.  Conversely the EcoCost rises with short-lived schemes.

The nature of the client and the proposal’s significance to society as a whole, in economic, artistic and cultural terms is will effect its budget.  Who gets to determine the EcoCost Budget will be the issue of greatest importance to the concept’s long term success.  At first such budgets may need to be made subversively by concerned designers but ultimately it must be a community governance role.

So … Rule of Thumb …  Even if it has to done in isolation from current authority, develop and instigate the concept of an Ecological Resource Expenditure Budget for all projects based on their perceived worth to the community.  Treat it in the same way as an economic budgeting.