Building Environmental Assessment Method Research Articles

SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS: EVOLUTION BEYOND BUILDING ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT METHODS

ABSTRACT The publication of the Brundtland Commission Report, popularly known as Our Common Future, was the precursor for what was to follow in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development or the Earth Summit. Both these events played a fundamental role in the global initiatives towards sustainability. The adoption of Agenda 21, a blueprint for sustainable development for the 21st century was a crucial agreement of the Rio Summit, which marked the beginning of an era where the term Sustainable Development came to be associated with all human interventions on planet earth. In this context, the building industry, which makes a significant impact on the social, environmental and economic well-being of the society, has a prime responsibility in meeting with sustainability requirements in all facets of the design, construction and operation of buildings. Currently efforts are being made by the building industry and the allied professions to adhere to sustainability norms by enhancing the current green building practices. The emergence of building environmental assessment (BEA) methods is such an attempt in addressing these issues, but is considered as insufficient to contend with the wider spectrum of sustainability. A technique to address complex attributes of sustainable performance of building projects has not been attempted before, owing to the dynamic nature of the concept of sustainability. This paper attempts to develop a framework to enhance current BEA methods, as the next stage of development towards meeting global sustainability initiatives. The main objective is to evolve a set of indicators that will assist in determining sustainability of a building. Three widely used BEA methods and Agenda 21, are analyzed, along with a focus group, to derive sustainability indicators. A total of 62 indicators under 10 categories are identified, some of which are common to BEA methods, while several new indicators are introduced to address sustainability issues not previously accounted for in BEA methods. The final outcome is a framework that can be used to determine the extent of sustainability of building projects. With the aid of the proposed framework of indicators, it is possible to develop a complete sustainability index by allocating values to each indicator, through a survey of professionals in the building industry. Such an index could be used as a tool in developing sustainable buildings, thus meeting with aspirations of building design teams and clientele who seek high quality sustainable solutions for their endeavours. This effort would also pave way for further research into the domain of building sustainability.

The impact of sustainability rating systems on health and safety in building projects

Sustainable construction has gained increasing popularity within the building sector with many sustainability rating systems (SRSs) available worldwide. However, most research has been focused on the environmental benefits of pursuing SRSs, with little attention paid to the health and safety (H&S) impact on construction workers. This study thus aims to investigate the impact of adopting SRSs on the H&S of construction workers in building projects. A systematic literature review was conducted, including 39 articles, to investigate the possible association between sustainability and H&S hazards. It resulted in 30 events and eight types of associated hazards, which are mostly related to the adoption of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (Leed) and Hong Kong Building Environmental Assessment Method SRSs. The adoption of SRSs is likely to increase the exposure of workers to known H&S hazards with no new hazards introduced. In particular, ‘falling from height’ and ‘manual handling injuries’ caused by solar installation and retrieving recyclable waste, respectively, are the most representative sustainability-related hazards. While the evidence detected is mainly related to Leed, further research is needed to investigate whether findings are valid for other SRSs, such as the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method in the UK or Green Star in Australia, to address H&S concerns associated with sustainable building projects.

In search of sustainable construction: the role of building environmental assessment methods as policies enforcing green building

Over the past 20 years, building environmental assessment methods (BEAMs) have been promoted as a means to achieve more sustainable and environmentally friendly (green) buildings, as well as more sustainable practices in the building process at large. These schemes have come to be considered as effective mechanisms to transform building markets and are seen to play a significant role in the mainstreaming of green building practices. In many countries, BEAMs are now used as policy instruments and are increasingly being mandated across a variety of public, but also private, sector projects. In this paper, we examine BEAMs as policy instruments and explore their potential to affect change in construction. Drawing on the theory of strategic action fields, and using the case of HK-BEAM, we discuss the origins, development and application of BEAMs and the limited impact that their mandate has on construction practice. The paper concludes with reflections on the need to further our understanding of how the construction sector works and who has the power, and the will, to make changes in construction practice happen.

Stakeholders’ perspectives on BIM and LCA for green buildings

There is growing concern about the environmental impacts of buildings on climate change. In this regard, the concept of integrating building technologies and environmental assessment methods, namely Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), has arisen as an innovative approach to improve building environmental assessment at the design phase. Recent studies made attempts to develop theoretical frameworks for BIM and LCA integration focusing on the technical aspects and the challenges of this integration. However, the stakeholders' perspectives on this integration of BIM and LCA for building environmental assessment have been overlooked. Therefore, there is a pressing need to understand the stakeholders' perspectives on BIM and LCA and their value for improving green building design and assessment. This study contributes to the existing knowledge on the potential implementation of an integrated BIM-LCA framework for building environmental assessment. To this end, this study investigates (1) the current applications of BIM and LCA in green buildings from the stakeholders' perspectives and (2) the stakeholders' level of awareness and agreement on the significance of BIM and LCA for green building design and assessment. In order to achieve this goal, a national survey was conducted among multiple stakeholders in the New Zealand building industry. The results indicate that BIM and LCA applications for green buildings are still immature. A statistically significant correlation is observed between the importance of BIM and LCA applications for green buildings. The stakeholders perceive BIM and LCA potentials and their integration positively. However, the current practices and applications of BIM and LCA do not align with the stakeholders’ perceptions. Massive efforts are still required for a wide implementation of BIM and LCA and their potential integration for green buildings.

The assessment of buildings and constructions sector of economy proposal: an environmental perspective.

Environmental impact assessment methods suffer from an applicability issue which could impede their use and development. The main subject of this article is to present a method to evaluate the applicability of building environmental assessment method in a given country. Here, when we say that a method is applicable in a given country, it means that it could be widely used and that it could produce the expected effects in terms of energy savings, environmental impact minimization, economic gain, etc. So, for this applicability evaluation purpose, the main criteria that affect the building environmental assessment method applicability were identified and were weighted by studying different scenarios. Then, the evaluation method was applied to the Tunisian case. Moreover, in order to contribute to a better understanding of the importance of building environmental assessment method implementation, stakes related thereto are reviewed. It was reported that building environmental assessment method would concur to improve building energy efficiency, enhance social capital, and contribute to environmental, social, and economic stability. In addition, it could be one of the major solutions for the collection of statistical data, which in turn would contribute to the success of projects undertaken as part of the green economy. Eventually, the building environmental assessment could be one of the major green marketing tools and should be taken into account by a company to improve profitability. The developed method and the presented stakes could be agood management and decision making tools and could help legislators and policy-makers for the best implementation of building environmental assessment method.

Sustainable Construction through Industry Self-Regulation: The Development and Role of Building Environmental Assessment Methods in Achieving Green Building

The role of industry self-regulation in facilitating sustainable development has gained increasing recognition over the past two decades. As a result, voluntary certification standards have become ever more common and have been portrayed as effective means of enforcing more environmentally beneficial practices across a range of industries. In this paper, we consider the role of one such type of standard, building environmental assessment methods (BEAMs), and the role they have played in the transition towards green building in the construction industry. Drawing on the theory of strategic action fields, and using the case of HK BEAM in Hong Kong, we investigate the origins, development and impact of BEAMs in what is a highly de-centralised and fragmented industry. The paper concludes with reflections on the need to extend focus from the contents of the BEAMs in terms of categories, criteria and weightings, to instead more actively consider the “taken-for-granted” assumptions around sustainability and the dominant institutionalised practices in construction.

State-of-the-Art Green Roofs: Technical Performance and Certifications for Sustainable Construction

Green roof systems, a technology which was used in major ancient buildings, are currently becoming an interesting strategy to reduce the negative impact of traditional urban development caused by ground impermeabilization. Only regarding the environmental impact, the application of these biological coatings on buildings has the potential of acting as a thermal, moisture, noise, and electromagnetic barrier. At the urban scale, they might reduce the heat island effect and sewage system load, improve runoff water and air quality, and reconstruct natural landscapes including wildlife. In spite of these significant benefits, the current design and construction methods are not completely regulated by law because there is a lack of knowledge of their technical performance. Hence, this review of the current state of the art presents a proper green roof classification based on their components and vegetation layer. Similarly, a detailed description from the key factors that control the hydraulic and thermal performance of green roofs is given. Based on these factors, an estimation of the impact of green roof systems on sustainable construction certifications is included (i.e., LEED—Leadership in Energy and Environment Design, BREEAM—Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method, CASBEE—Comprehensive Assessment System for Built Environment Efficiency, BEAM—Building Environmental Assessment Method, ESGB—Evaluation Standard for Green Building). Finally, conclusions and future research challenges for the correct implementation of green roofs are addressed.

Towards conceptual understanding for the adoption of building environmental sustainability assessment methods in the UAE built environment

The UAE is witnessing increased interest for sustainable development which poses challenges on the development processes for the large amount of built environment projects taking place in this emerging economy. While, great attention has been given to the development of tools and methods to measure and assess the performance of buildings to meet specific environmental sustainability targets, however, less is known about the effect of these assessment methods on the built environment development process itself. This paper addresses this gap through the investigation of the adoption of building environmental sustainability assessment methods for development projects in the UAE. Currently, there are two assessment methods in the UAE; Pearl Building Rating (PBR) and Al Sa’fat systems. Background study revealed that both systems: are developed in parallel to the development of building codes, adopt performance-based approach for assessment methods, and their adoption for development projects is basically mandatory. This paper draws from diffusion of innovations theory and growing literature in the adoption of similar assessment methods in projects, with the objective of proposing a conceptual framework that conceptualizes PBR and Al Sa’fat methods as innovations and the development projects as the social system for adoption, while focusing on the adoption process dynamics rather than the decision to adopt or not. The proposed framework captures specific conceptual themes, providing the foundation for further empirical investigation. As such, this paper contributes to the growing literature on the adoption of global energy assessment tools and specifically addresses the UAE’s sustainable development policy and regulation.

Optimising choices of ‘building services’ for green building: Interdependence and life cycle costing

By influencing energy consumption, water use, and indoor environment quality, ‘building service systems’ are indispensable to green building. In practice, building services are chosen separately by different professions while they are literally interdependent on each other in determining the overall effectiveness and efficiency of green building. In addition, these building services are chosen at the initial stage without necessarily considering their life-cycle costs (LCC). A more holistic view to consider the interdependence of various building services throughout their life cycle is highly desired. Hence, this research aims to examine building services in green building by considering both their interdependence and costs throughout the building life cycle. The Hong Kong BEAM (Building Environmental Assessment Method) Plus is selected for a case study. Initially, the credits related to building services are identified and mapped from the BEAM Plus. Afterwards, LCC of the credits are calculated using the net present value technique. It is discovered that by considering building services' interdependence from a life cycle perspective, the choices of such building services could be much different. A significant proportion of the LCC is related to operation, maintenance and replacement of the building services, which cannot be offset by the savings of green building independently. However, there are benefits such as CO2 reductions, which can be used to make up the LCC if they can be properly monetised. The research provides significant insights to developers and their consultants in choosing cost-effective building services with a view to better realising the value of green building.

Evaluating the effects of green building on construction waste management: A comparative study of three green building rating systems

The impacts of buildings on our life, business, and natural environment have fueled a global trend in the building industry to “go green”. This has helped proliferate various green building rating systems (GBRSs) around the world. While previous studies have examined the effects of these systems on such aspects as resources consumption, indoor air quality and property value, little research, if any, has examined their effects on construction waste management (CWM). This study aims to evaluate the effects of GBRSs on CWM, and to understand the causes behind the effects thereof ascertained. Three GBRSs, including the U.S.-developed Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), Mainland China's GB Evaluation Label (GBEL) and Hong Kong's Building Environmental Assessment Method (BEAM Plus) are selected for comparative study. A combination of desktop archive analysis and semi-structured interviews formed the study's mixed method approach. Surprisingly, the study reveals that the three GBRSs do not greatly promote superior CWM performance despite their respective CWM targeted credits. Possible causes, as informed by the interviewees, include the design of rating systems themselves, developers' biases, and lack of incentives to improve CWM. Legal and economic incentives are more decisive drivers of responsible CWM. This paper also provides demonstrable qualitative evidence for legislators and associated bodies to achieve continued improvement in CWM via GBRSs.

The effects of green building on construction waste minimization: Triangulating ‘big data’ with ‘thick data’

In contrast with the prolific research examining the effects of green building (GB) on property value, energy saving, or indoor air quality, there has been minimal focus on GB’s effects on Construction Waste Minimization (CWM), which is also an important aspect of cultivating sustainability in the built environment. To address this significant knowledge gap, this study has two progressive objectives: (1) to ascertain the empirical effects of GB on CWM and; (2) to identify and understand the causes leading to the ascertained effects. This is achieved by triangulating quantitative ‘big data’ obtained from government agencies with qualitative ‘thick data’ derived from case studies and interviews. The study found that BEAM Plus, the latest version of the Building Environmental Assessment Method developed by the Hong Kong Green Building Council (HKGBC), gave rise to a 36.19% waste reduction by weight for demolition works, but no statistically significant waste reduction for foundation or building works. It is because CWM, the basis for a demolition project to obtain GB credits, makes up only one of many ways for foundation or building works to earn credits, e.g., site aspects, lighting. In any case, CWM measures typically prove costlier means of acquiring credit, further causing developers to pay less attention to CWM in their GB tactics. The study’s results, i.e., CWM in GB significantly influences demolition, but only marginally for foundation and building works, provide useful scientific evidence to inform GB councils and other responsible bodies and encourage continuous improvement in GB practices. While the study in general sheds light on how the triangulation of big, empirical data with conventional, qualitative data, e.g., interviews with GB professionals, helps to better understand the subject of the investigation, i.e., the effects of GB on CWM.

A Proposed New Weighting System for Passive Design Approach in BEAM Plus

Abstract Building environmental assessment method (BEAM) has been practiced by local architects and engineers as references for green building design over the last 20 years. The current version of BEAM Plus v1.2 has introduced the passive design concept to make the rating scheme in line with the state-of-art energy efficient design in the world. However, the introduced passive design approach is criticized for its arguable criteria allocation, unjustified weighting system and incompatibility with the existing whole building energy simulation approach. In view of these flaws, a new weighting system based on different global sensitivity analysis methods, robust energy end-use statistics and a green building case study is proposed in this article. The total available credits of sub-criteria are determined according to the ratio of the cooling and lighting energy consumption in the total end-use energy data of residential buildings. Eventually, the priorities of assessment criteria are derived from the sensitivity analysis of a generic building model based on a simultaneous variation of different design parameters. The results from this research can help stakeholders in a green building project to identify design strategies with the largest impact over building performance and obtain an optimized preliminary design in the early planning stage.

A comparative analysis of site planning and design among green building rating tools

Appropriate site planning and design (SPD) is a key solution for effective land use on construction sites. A Green Building Rating Tool (GBRT) includes systematic assessment criteria to evaluate whether a building is “green” or not. The effectiveness of GBRTs have been explored in energy use, waste management, and indoor air quality in green buildings. However, no investigation has been made to evaluate the effectiveness of GBRTs in site planning and design aspects. In this research, five international GBRTs were selected for a comparative analysis, to better understand the measures that help improve SPD in green buildings. Content analysis was applied to record and compare the relevant significance of SPD-related items in the selected GBRTs. The comparative study revealed that in terms of SPD, Building Environmental Assessment Method (BEAM) Plus allocates the highest importance while Green Mark (GM) allocates the lowest. Each GBRT emphasizes different aspects of SPD in green buildings, and BEAM Plus involves the most SPD related items. In addition, the main variables for effective SPD were identified and a theoretical framework was further proposed. The proposed theoretical framework can serve as a foundation for successful SPD in green buildings. The application and potential limitations of the theoretical framework were also discussed.

Exploring the dynamic nature of the evolution of Building Environmental Assessment Methods (BEAMs): a call for a diachronic analysis of BEAMs

The dynamic interactions between stakeholders from diverse backgrounds with interest in green building have led to the emergence of various collective groups of actors promoting different Building ...

The life cycle assessment of a UK data centre

Data centres are high-energy consumers, and historical assessment of their environmental impact has focused largely on energy consumption. Widely adopted assessment methods consider either single issues or do not comprehensively assess links between issues. One exception is the CLEER Model, which compares life cycle energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of Cloud-based and present-day services. However, there remains the need to verify components for inclusion in a data centre life cycle assessment (LCA), assess quality and quantity of secondary data, benchmark an existing data centre LCA, assess non-Cloud-based services for multiple impacts, and establish facility areas that are sensitive to change. A hybrid approach, combining process-based and economic input output (EIO) data, was used to perform the screening LCA of an existing UK data centre. The study includes the definition of the goal and scope, modelling assumptions, a life cycle inventory, results and interpretation and a sensitivity check. The dominance of the information technology (IT) operational phase to the overall impact and the severity of the impact on human health are concluded. Due to the use of free cooling, the IT-embodied impact is greater than the combined mechanical and electrical operational impact. Electricity production dominates the total life cycle impact; however, the second most significant impact derives from the disposal of metal refining waste products during the manufacture of IT components and electricity distribution networks. The release of carcinogens is one of the largest contributors to the whole life cycle impact and is almost equal in value between the embodied and operational phases. Finally, a sensitivity check found that a Swedish facility optimised for operational energy efficiency with a 1.25-year server refresh resulted in an embodied impact almost double the operational. It was concluded that current LCI data, software packages and project data allow for a sufficiently accurate data centre LCA model. The results support the need to broaden environmental impact reduction to beyond operational energy consumption for cooling and that building environmental assessment methods (BEAMs) should consider more embodied impacts. It is concluded also that three parameters are sensitive to design changes that influence the overall impact: operational energy for the IT equipment, cooling and power delivery; the energy mix; and the amount of IT equipment across the facility’s lifetime. The results present a clear need to monitor life cycle impact, develop further tools to compare different design/operation options and functional units, improve data and develop an LCA-based BEAM.

Stakeholders' perspectives of a building environmental assessment method: The case of CASBEE

CASBEE is the first building environmental assessment method developed in Japan for the promotion of sustainable building practices. Since the release of the first CASBEE tool in 2002, only limited studies have been conducted to understand the perspectives of CASBEE's stakeholders. In the Japanese building market where numerous sustainable building policies and schemes coexist, CASBEE's status and practicality have yet to be validated. This study examined four aspects of the project stakeholders' perspectives – perceptions, motivations, incentives and barriers – towards the adoption and promotion of CASBEE. Data were collected through surveys administered to CASBEE Accredited Professionals and local governments. The findings show that CASBEE's adoption is limited in the Japanese building market and also point toward the underdevelopment of a favorable business environment for CASBEE's dissemination. Substantial gaps in perspectives exist between the local governments and their building community; in particular, the reward systems for promoting CASBEE appear to be missing or misplaced. With regard to the perspectives of building community, this study has revealed significant differences between building sectors (residential versus non-residential) and between regions. This study contributes to the policymaking for the Japanese sustainable building market by providing recommendations for the development and implementation of CASBEE. It also provides a reference for other countries or markets that are considering building environmental assessment methods for sustainable building policies.

Assessing the environmental impact of data centres part 2: Building environmental assessment methods and life cycle assessment

Data centres consume high levels of energy to power the IT equipment contained within them, and extract the heat they produce. Because of the industry's heavy reliance on power, data centre metrics have historically used operational efficiency as a proxy for sustainability. More recently the industry has begun to recognise that its focus needs to go beyond energy consumption, with the creation of metrics for issues such as carbon, water and compute efficiency. However, single-issue metrics often consider only the operational phase, omitting impacts from other issues, during other stages in a facility's lifetime. Further approaches exist to assess more holistically the impact of data centres, such as building environmental assessment methods, but none have the capacity to capture fully the interlinked nature of a system, where improvements in one area and to one impact, can adversely affect a totally different area and totally different impacts.The following review of literature summarises the approach of the data centre industry to environmental impact, and provides direction for future research. Part 2 describes the use of building environmental assessment methods and tools; and concludes the need to apply life cycle thinking to more holistically assess the environmental impact of data centres.

The importation of building environmental certification systems: international usages of BREEAM and LEED

A proliferation of the development of building environmental assessment methods has occurred for application within many individual countries' domestic markets. However, the demand for ‘brand recognition’ in a global market, the desire for international standards and the motivation of the owners of some systems to expand the adoption of their assessment systems abroad are among many of the forces driving toward the increased international use of the two most established methods: BREEAM and LEED. Drawing on published databases of projects assessed by these two systems, an examination is presented of their international use, with particular attention paid to the relationship between their use and the existence of national systems developed in the countries of application. A more detailed analysis of the types of projects that have been assessed is provided using data from six specific countries with qualitatively different cultural, economic and environmental contexts and some of which that have national assessment systems: Chile, Colombia, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Arab Emirates. The influence of national Green Building Councils in promoting environmental assessments is also considered.

Sustainable building management: overview of certification schemes and standards

Building sustainable management is a complex problem which needs adequate and suitable assessment tools and methods, efficient enough, to address issues of incommensurability and complexity regarding environmental policies and legislation. Within the frame of this article, assessment methods have been described, are compared with each other and evaluated in the background of the standards provided by the International Organization for Standardization. The certification schemes examined include Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, Deutche Gesellschaft fur Nachhaltiges Bauen, Green Star, High Environmental Quality, Comprehensive Assessment System for Building Environmental Efficiency and GBTool assessment methods as well as the draft EU Ecolabel for office buildings. Emphasis have been placed on information referring to objectives, methodology, criteria involved in the evaluation procedure, environmental topics evaluated, life cycle analysis phases covered, costs and applications’ results within the tools’ structure for new building schemes. Finally, the impact of green certification schemes on the construction market, mainly as a tool of energy management, has also been examined in relation to the absence of mandatory international standardization in sustainable building management.

Safety Performance Assessment Scheme for Low Cost Housing: A Comparative Study

The significance of having a safe performance in residential property is because it leads to the building sustainability. In relation to the safety aspects in the performance of low cost housing, many cases have shown that most are fail to meet their objectives right from the moment they were declared complete. This paper aims to compare the safety performance assessment schemes use for high rise dwellings or low cost housing, namely Building Quality Assessment (BQA), Building Safety and Condition Index (BSCI), Building Environmental Assessment Method (HK-BEAM), Comprehensive Environmental Performance Assessment Scheme for Buildings (CEPAS), Standard of House Performance Appraisal (SHPA) and Housing Performance Evaluation Model (HPEM). The objective of reviewing safety performance assessments as highlighted in this paper is to indicate a construct validity whether safety issues are concern in the scheme. It can be concluded that majority of the aspects are relates to significant of safety towards occupants of low cost housing.