Steps to Endorsement

For a project to become a member of the One Planet Communities network and display the One Planet logo, BioRegional works with developers to help them achieve the following:

• A One Planet Action Plan with targets, and strategies to meet these targets, against each of the 10 One Planet principles.
• An annual review of progress, highlighting areas of learning and where further support is needed.

The One Planet Communities programme provides a simple, structured route to achieving the above requisites for membership, with administrative and technical support provided throughout. Most projects will progress according to the following stages although some developments may come to BioRegional at a more advanced stage, for example with completed masterplans and designs. BioRegional will work to integrate rigorous sustainability and adapt the process accordingly.

Step 1: Preliminary discussions

We start by getting an in-depth understanding of the specific challenges and opportunities for a project by carrying out a number of preliminary services which may include a site assessment, scoping study or gap analysis. The One Planet Communities team will then submit a proposal for partnership to the developer for consideration.

Step 2: One Planet Action Plan development

If a developer is happy with the team’s proposal, BioRegional will then run a series of workshops with the developer, their team (including architects, planners, engineers, lawyers, sub-contractors and sales & marketing!), and key local stakeholders.

In these workshops BioRegional will lead attendees through the One Planet framework and explore context-specific targets, methods and strategies which could be employed for each of the 10 One Planet principles.
We call the resulting document a One Planet Action Plan. Action Plans are used to determine membership of the network and as a reference document to keep the project team on track to meet agreed sustainability objectives.

Step 3: Endorsement

Endorsement involves the review of a project’s One Planet Action Plan for its ability to achieve the programme’s headline aim of creating places where it is easy, attractive and affordable for future resident’s to live a healthy, happy lifestyle within a fair share of the earth’s resources by 2020.

There are two review bodies:

• The One Planet Steering Group  which consists of senior BioRegional staff
• The Expert  Review Panel – A mixed membership pool of independent industry experts and representatives from already endorsed partners

Successful projects will sign a Memorandum of Understanding with BioRegional, be able to use the One Planet logo and will be supported by BioRegional’s One Planet Communities team throughout the duration of the project, (from planning, design and construction through to long-term estates management and sales and marketing) to help implement the Action Plan, drawing upon practical knowledge and experience gained from other OPC developments.

Step 4: Annual Review

As the programme has a long stop-date of 2020 for achieving its aim, BioRegional works with endorsed partners to undertake an annual review of progress. This review is as much about learning practical lessons for the future and updating the Action Plan as it is about checking that the project is still deserving of the One Planet logo.

In some instances the endorsement bodies may consider removing One Planet Community status from a project. We will always work in the first instance to get a project back on track and look at the reasons behind a lack of progress to see if there are more appropriate solutions.