A Critical Review and Assessment of Public Regulatory Trends and Their Impact on Green Building

In this chapter we discuss the three main instruments which planning authorities can use to influence the uptake of sustainable development practices: forward planning, development controls, and development incentives. The potential of mandatory disclosure and integrated reporting to mainstream sustainability as a decision-criterion is explored, with international examples offering guidance on how the public sector can guide industry in the adoption and implementation of sustainable practices. Finally, we assess the role of public-sector sustainable procurement practices in stimulating the green economy. We propose three recommendations to improve the efficacy of public policy to increase the uptake of sustainable development practice across both public and private sectors. A common thread in these recommendations is the need for a collaborative approach creating stakeholder buy-in, and a need to resource the application of the UN Sustainable Development Goals at all levels of planning policy