Development of a Framework to Assess Sustainability of Building Projects

The last three decades witnessed a global shift in focus towards sustainable development, primarily owing to the effects of human activities on planet earth. The resultant sustainability movement, which originated in the 1980's, has been acknowledged universally as the response to environmental, social and economic concerns facing most nations. Sustainable development, a concept which meets the needs of today without compromising the needs of future generations, is being made use of for almost all activities ranging from international mega ventures to individual projects.

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. The concepts of green building, environmental impact assessments and the building environmental assessment methods are several means of addressing these issues, but are considered as inadequate to contend with the wider spectrum of sustainability. 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 formulation of a measurement system to appraise the sustainability of a building project, as being attempted through this research, is one such effort at meeting with the global demand for sustainability. The inspiration for the research is created by the current sustainability efforts of the building industry, while the theoretical connotations of building design processes and existing building performance measurement systems are used as a springboard for the execution of this research. The feedback from professionals in building and allied industries makes a vital contribution in the formulation of the framework for the measurement system.

While the proposed sustainability assessment framework is expected to be utilized as a tool to gauge the extent of sustainability of a building project, with time it could be further enhanced in order to keep abreast with demands of the industry. The research contributes towards formulating a best practices methodology for design of sustainable building projects, and the success of such an exercise is primarily attributed to the ability of the assessment system to serve as a guideline to deliver sustainable buildings. In order to address such concerns, the means of integrating the assessment method with a selected segment of the project delivery process is demonstrated, so that it can also serve as an application tool in the design of sustainable buildings. Accordingly, this research ventures into allied domains in the building industry, and it opens up several avenues for further research in future.

The final outcome of the research is a framework for a sustainability assessment method that could be applied by owners and design teams seeking high quality, sustainable buildings as the final output of their endeavours.