Editorial

Citation

Sinou, M. and Kyvelou, S. (2006), "Editorial", Management of Environmental Quality, Vol. 17 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/meq.2006.08317eaa.001

Editorial

The current issue of the International Journal Management of Environmental Quality is dedicated to the presentation of key articles and main outcomes of the International Conference SB04MED entitled “Sustainable construction: action for sustainability in the Mediterranean region”. This conference has constituted a regional event prior to the Global SB05 Conference “Action for sustainability” that was held in Tokyo, in September 2005. It has constituted, at the same time, a Euro-Mediterranean co-operation and dissemination action in the framework of the LIFE “SB-MED” Project concerning “Enhancing transferability of innovative techniques, tools methods and mechanisms to implement sustainable building in the Mediterranean basin”. Thus, it has been a synergy of international range aspiring to articulate local, national, regional and international initiatives for the promotion of both the idea and practice of sustainable urban environment and more specifically of “sustainable building” and construction. That is to say the building and construction that beyond its classic architectural virtues, beyond its architectural quality implying social, economic and environmental aspirations, it is characterized by the minimisation of its environmental impact, that is, it is mostly characterized by the environmental quality, from the excavation of raw material for its construction, during its proper construction, its operation, its maintenance, even in its demolition, that is during its whole life cycle and furthermore in all spatial scales, that is from the scale of its interior space up to the planet scale.

The SD-MED, “Association for co-operation on sustainable development and construction in the Mediterranean” coordinating host of the event is a Hellenic-French and international initiative, of non-profit character aiming at a multi-level and multi-dimensional cooperation around a common vision of sustainable development in the region. It partly emanates and is consistent with the French Policy with regard to the need of cooperation for sustainable development in the Mediterranean, as expressed in 2002, in the Johannesburg Summit, with a view to encourage the emergence of a common vision for the future of the Mediterranean. Aim of SD-MED is the promotion of Euro-Mediterranean co-operation considered from the European Union as an economic one, but also as a co-operation in the service of the environment for the confrontation of ecological inequalities in the region and the configuration of common conscience on the dilemmas arisen from sustainable development. A cooperation, on the other hand in the service of human, articulated round the education, the health, the access in the cultural goods, the access in the residence.

In the current issue, the articles chosen have been written mainly by architects and engineers with specialization and expertise on sustainable development and construction. They cover a range of thematic issues revealing the conference structure and reflect the concepts of sustainable urban development and its implementation in projects that concern the building, the building stock, the built environment, the city, the land planning, that is in projects and programmes of all territorial scales. They also cover financial instruments matters related with sustainable building and urban development in the region.

The majority of articles deal with the necessary coupling of building architectural quality with the environmental on, towards sustainability. They concern, therefore, very widely the construction sector where Greece has demonstrated exceptionally appreciable potential but also further possibilities of being a centre of dissemination of know-how, as for the wider region of Balkans, Central and Eastern Europe, and of course, the Mediterranean. This is besides one of the roles of the SD-MED scheme, to convince the construction sector about the necessary integration of sustainability principles in construction. We wish all a productive reading.

Maria Sinou and Stella KyvelouGuest Editors