Decision making in reducing carbon emissions for building refurbishment: Case studies of university buildings in New Zealand

Abstract

The refurbishment of existing buildings offers the greatest opportunity to maximise carbon reduction within the built environment. Although the conceptual framework of the refurbishment process incorporating various methods, tools, and systems to support decision making in reducing whole-of-life carbon emissions exists in the literature, empirical research reporting on how and why the decisions are made in current industry practice is lacking. This paper aims to address this knowledge gap by investigating the decision-making process of building refurbishment considering whole-of-life carbon reduction using three real-life case studies that incorporate decarbonisation decisions. The important findings emerged from an interactive analysis between theoretical propositions and cross-case synthesis. The study sheds a new insight into (1) the effective adoption of building rating systems, (2) the required whole-of-life carbon reduction targets, (3) the importance of establishing a dedicated financial budget for carbon-reduction refurbishment solutions, (4) the need for adaptable refurbishment designs and long-term strategies, (5) holistic design reports, (6) the promotion of early contractor involvement (ECI) approach, (7) government funding and incentives, and (8) the availability of supply chains and data. The originality of the paper is providing a new understanding of the decision-making practices and challenges faced in the refurbishment process, in which lessons learnt for improving the implementation of building refurbishment towards zero carbon are recommended. The research expands theoretical knowledge and practical experience in whole-of-life carbon analysis and performance estimation for building refurbishment. The insights gained from this study offer practitioners and researchers a streamlined interdisciplinary guide to better deliver refurbishment projects towards zero carbon.