Gabe, J (2016) Successful greenhouse gas mitigation in existing Australian office buildings. Building Research & Information, 44(2), pp. 160-174. ISSN 0961-3218
Abstract
Frequent site energy consumption auditing is a potential strategy to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from existing buildings. Such a strategy has been practised in Australia for nearly 15 years. This paper documents and analyses the effect of repetitive audits on measured site energy consumption. Using a self-constructed database of over 3500 audited disclosures representing over 800 unique office buildings, empirical models demonstrate that measured site energy consumption declines, on average, over the first five re-certification periods. The results also suggest a market average post-certification equilibrium in Australia of approximately 430 MJ/m2/year (120 kWh/m2/year) within approximately six years, if all else - including green management strategy - is held constant. Since GHG emissions from buildings in Australia are highly correlated with site energy consumption, such a result is comparable with meeting 50-year GHG mitigation targets reliant on the implementation of existing technologies. This suggests that repetitive auditing is a successful approach for motivating owners to invest in existing energy efficiency technologies.;Frequent site energy consumption auditing is a potential strategy to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from existing buildings. Such a strategy has been practised in Australia for nearly 15 years. This paper documents and analyses the effect of repetitive audits on measured site energy consumption. Using a self-constructed database of over 3500 audited disclosures representing over 800 unique office buildings, empirical models demonstrate that measured site energy consumption declines, on average, over the first five re-certification periods. The results also suggest a market average post-certification equilibrium in Australia of approximately 430 MJ/m 2 /year (120 kWh/m 2 /year) within approximately six years, if all else - including green management strategy - is held constant. Since GHG emissions from buildings in Australia are highly correlated with site energy consumption, such a result is comparable with meeting 50-year GHG mitigation targets reliant on the implementation of existing technologies. This suggests that repetitive auditing is a successful approach for motivating owners to invest in existing energy efficiency technologies.;
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Market mechanisms; greenhouse gases; building stock; energy performance; climate policy; offices; investment incentives; environmental targets; energy consumption; greenhouse effect; office buildings; environmental policy; emissions |
| Index terms: | strategy, greenhouse effect, owner, building stock, office building, environmental target, audit, Australia, database, energy efficiency, management strategy, investment incentive, certification, energy performance, environmental policy, climate policy, implementation, greenhouse gas, energy consumption, market mechanisms, documents, mitigation |
| Subjects: | performance measurement, sustainability assessment, management, Geography, financial risk, professional development, data management, sociology, asset management, administrative processes, construction type, climate science, sustainability and energy, climate policy, public policy, energy systems, contractual arrangements, economic analysis |
| Topics: | Procurement, Construction Technology, Sustainability, Governance, Stakeholder Management, Geographical Context, Information Management, Business Strategy, Cost Management, Contract Administration, Quality Management, Digital Applications |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCT |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here