Developing an urban sustainability assessment protocol reflecting the project lifecycle

Recent years have witnessed a recognised shift in the manner that sustainability assessment requires to be considered within building projects. In evolving away from its sole consideration as a technically based exercise, recognition has emerged of its role as contributing to a wider subjectively based approach to decision-making, that aids in the promotion of sustainability through stakeholder engagement, mediation and critically as a stimulus for learning. In order for practitioners to engage and aid the delivery of such an approach, sustainability assessment requires to be viewed as a process which is applied throughout the project lifecycle. The role of sustainability assessment across the lifecycle is addressed, in order to reflect the variations observed in the assessment tools applicable and the profile of the stakeholders involved. A cross- mapping exercise of established interpretations of the project lifecycle was conducted including the RIBA Plan of Work 1999 and 2007, Process Protocol, Building Design Management Process, the OGC Gateway Project Process and the HOK Integrated Design Process. A range of interpretations of sustainable design processes were surveyed and analysis was conducted to explore their relationships and implications for developing an Urban Sustainability Assessment Protocol. The emerging protocol is based around an adaptation of the RIBA Plan of Work 2007 which has been verified with a range of practitioners through a series of interviews. Across the protocol it emerged that each of the outlined activities related in their function to five generic phases for managing sustainability assessment across the project lifecycle i.e. scoping, sustainability planning, assessing, monitoring and auditing.