HHF has been at the forefront of incorporating principles of sustainability into its plans for decades. HHF defines sustainability broadly to include a “triple bottom line” perspective: social, environmental and economic. This includes a commitment to representing the under-represented in plans, to ensuring that all projects examine environmental consequences, and to addressing economic feasibility in terms of lifecycle costs in addition to initial costs. Efforts to create sustainable communities include consideration of the views of host cultures and the heritage of a place.
HHF is a member of the US Green Building Council. A number of HHF staff are LEED Accredited Professionals and some have specialty certifications in LEED for Neighborhood Development and LEED for New Construction. Staff also have expertise in applying the principles of Low Impact Development which is particularly applicable for infill projects where there’s a need to restore natural resource functions of a developed site, including implementation of storm water best management practices, and energy and water conservation principles. HHF staff have also worked with the Collaborative for High Performance Schools green school standards that provide cost-effective, healthy learning environments. HHF’s recently concluded Insular ABC’s Initiative included comprehensive indoor environmental quality assessments of 115 K-12 schools; Indoor Environmental Quality is considered a key factor in student and workplace performance.
As planners experienced in planning for remote islands, HHF has unique insight into sustainability informed in part by the ancient Hawaiian ahupua’a system of land management (interpreted in the HHF logo). The ancient Hawaiians practiced a carefully choreographed management approach rooted in the principles of malama ‘āina, land being consider a precious resource held in trust for all people. These ancient practices coupled with modern science and technology, form the basis of HHF’s unique island approach to sustainability that it brings to each project.
