Lessons learned, future directions and issues for GBC

Cole, R J (2001) Lessons learned, future directions and issues for GBC. Building Research & Information, 29(5), pp. 355-373. ISSN 0961-3218

Abstract

Some key technical lessons from the Green Building Challenge (GBC) process over the past four years are examined and the future direction of these developments is considered. The GBC assessment method consists of the definition, structuring and scoring of a range of collectively agreed performance criteria - the GBC assessment framework, and the development of a software version to operationalize the framework - GBTool. This generic assessment method is designed to be customized and applied to different building types and cultural contexts. However, its development and testing has exposed numerous important conceptual and technical issues related to building environmental performance assessment. Additional features introduced in GBC 2000 - normalizing for occupancy, making context an explicit part of the assessment process, and a set of absolute environmental performance indicators - show considerable promise. The transformation of the GBC assessment framework into a sustainability assessment tool represents the most important issue in its future development.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: 'green' buildings; building assessment systems; building performance; environmental assessment methods; environmental performance; green building challenge; performance indicators; sustainable development; trends
Index terms: environmental assessment, lessons learned, testing, environmental performance assessment, green building, transformation, building performance, sustainable development, performance indicator, building assessment, performance criteria, environmental performance, sustainability assessment
Subjects: business, environmental impact, professional practice, performance management, design practice, sustainability assessment, performance measurement, professional development, health safety and environment, asset management, quality assurance
Topics: Design Practice, Quality Management, Business Strategy, Health and Safety, Information Management, Engineering Principles, Sustainability
Descriptive scope: 2 PC

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