Development of Practical Guidelines and Tools for GRASS green buildings rating system

Abstract

Lebanon introduced in 2012 GRASS (Green Recovery and Sustainable Solutions) a building rating system that suites Lebanon’s and Southern Mediterranean countries climate, style of living, and available resources. As other Green Building Rating Systems, practical guidelines and tools are necessary to facilitate the implementation of GRASS. This paper intends to introduce the development of smart and practical GRASS guidelines and a user-friendly web page GRASS tool, based on criteria’s assessment and calculations. These guidelines and tools include the development of two Reference Guides and two Guidelines, for Residential Buildings and Non-Residential Buildings; their purpose is to establish a guidance document when submitting for the GRASS Rating System. Throughout this paper, Certification process, GRASS assessment criteria, maximum achievable scoring, GRASS Award Rating, GRASS Framework, and Credit Allocation are illustrated, as well as the GRASS tool calculation process.