Carbon emission and maintenance cost of commercial buildings: Quantification, analysis and benchmarking

Abstract

Minimizing the carbon emissions of buildings entails effective resources deployment to maintain the buildings and their facilities. Through an environmental-economics lens, a mixed methods research was conducted on 27 commercial buildings, from which reliable and longitudinal data were collected. Considering the different mixes of premises (office, retail and car park) in the buildings and their variability in carbon emission intensity and maintenance cost intensity, a normalization method was developed based on appropriate scaling factors of the premises. Correlation analyses revealed significant correlations between building age and builder's work maintenance cost, as well as between building area and carbon emissions. The finding that the carbon emission intensities of the buildings decreased with capital project costs implies that capital projects, especially energy retrofits, can significantly reduce carbon emissions. Using the benchmarking charts constructed, the buildings - with or without capital projects implemented - were compared in terms of carbon emissions and maintenance costs. Besides contributing insights into future research, the study results hold significance for stakeholders, including policy makers, building owners and facilities managers, in optimizing maintenance resources to attain a cleaner built environment.