Beam plus implementation in Hong Kong: Assessment of challenges and policies

Green building development has increasingly gained momentum globally due to growing public concerns and government policies. A variety of rating systems have been developed to assess the sustainability of a construction project. In Hong Kong, BEAM Plus is the most preferred system among the practitioners, however, its implementation is slow due to industry and policy-level challenges. While scholarly works relating to the performance and assessment factors of rating schemes have been conducted, limited efforts have been made towards the investigation of the challenges to the implementation of BEAM Plus. This research, therefore, conducted a thorough investigation to identify the challenging factors, and potential policies to encourage the use of BEAM Plus among construction stakeholders. A comparison of BEAM Plus with leading green building assessment schemes is made and the current policies regarding the implementation of these schemes in Hong Kong and other countries are discussed. Questionnaire surveys and expert interviews were conducted to validate the challenges and potential policies. The collected data is studied using Analytical Hierarchy Process and the responses from the interviews are found to mostly aligned with the AHP results. It is found that 'high initial cost' is the most critical factor affecting the application of BEAM Plus whereas 'shortage of green building experts' is the least important concern. The study revealed that 'gross floor area concession' is the most attractive policy whereas the effectiveness of the 'assessment fee subsidy' is insignificant. It is also disclosed that significant changes are required in existing policies such as gross floor areas should be granted on the level of green achievements instead of only registering for the scheme.