Sustainable construction building performance simulation and asset and maintenance management
2016-01-01
This book presents a collection of recent research works that highlight best practice solutions, case studies and practical advice on the implementation of sustainable construction techniques. It includes a set of new developments in the field of building performance simulation, building sustainability assessment, sustainable management, asset and maintenance management and service-life prediction. Accordingly, the book will appeal to a broad readership of professionals, scientists, students, practitioners, lecturers and other interested parties.
Energy Performance of Buildings - The European Approach to Sustainability
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Heiselberg, Per
2006-01-01
This paper presents the European approach to improve sustainability in the building sector, which has a very high potential for considerable reduction of energy consumption in the coming years. By approving the Energy Performance in Buildings Directive the European Union has taken a strong...... leadership role in promoting energy efficiency in buildings in Europe, that will be the most powerful instrument developed to date for the building sector in Europe....
Xu, Pengpeng
Hotel building is one of the high-energy-consuming building types, and retrofitting hotel buildings is an untapped solution to help cut carbon emissions contributing towards sustainable development. Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) has been promulgated as a market mechanism for the delivery of energy efficiency projects. EPC mechanism has been introduced into China relatively recently, and it has not been implemented successfully in building energy efficiency retrofit projects. The aim of this research is to develop a model for achieving the sustainability of Building Energy Efficiency Retrofit (BEER) in hotel buildings under the Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) mechanism. The objectives include: • To identify a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for measuring the sustainability of BEER in hotel buildings; • To identify Critical Success Factors (CSFs) under EPC mechanism that have a strong correlation with sustainable BEER project; • To develop a model explaining the relationships between the CSFs and the sustainability performance of BEER in hotel building. Literature reviews revealed the essence of sustainable BEER and EPC, which help to develop a conceptual framework for analyzing sustainable BEER under EPC mechanism in hotel buildings. 11 potential KPIs for sustainable BEER and 28 success factors of EPC were selected based on the developed framework. A questionnaire survey was conducted to ascertain the importance of selected performance indicators and success factors. Fuzzy set theory was adopted in identifying the KPIs. Six KPIs were identified from the 11 selected performance indicators. Through a questionnaire survey, out of the 28 success factors, 21 Critical Success Factors (CSFs) were also indentified. Using the factor analysis technique, the 21 identified CSFs in this study were grouped into six clusters to help explain project success of sustainable BEER. Finally, AHP/ANP approach was used in this research to develop a model to
Sustainable Buildings in Interaction
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Elle, Morten
2007-01-01
The first attempts to build sustainable buildings in Denmark were typically located on the countryside. The basic idea was to create buildings that were independent of the technical infrastructure. District heating has, however, been the dominating solution to heating in buildings in Denmark......, and the focus on sustainable building have gradually turned from special houses on the countryside to normally looking houses in the urban fabric, integrated in the technical infrastructure. Some new built urban areas in Denmark will, however, not have to be supplied with district heating – these developments...... are going to consist of passive houses. The first sustainable buildings were built by their users, and the user – building interaction still play a decisive role for the performance of the present sustainable buildings. The users have to understand how the building functions. Urban design is essential...
Building performance simulation for sustainable buildings
Hensen, J.L.M.
2010-01-01
This paper aims to provide a general view of the background and current state of building performance simulation, which has the potential to deliver, directly or indirectly, substantial benefits to building stakeholders and to the environment. However the building simulation community faces many
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Xu Pengpeng; Chan, Edwin Hon-Wan; Queena Kun Qian
2011-01-01
Hotel building is a type of high-energy-consuming building and most existing hotel buildings need energy efficiency improvement in China. Energy performance contracting (EPC) is considered a win-win mechanism to organize building energy efficiency retrofit (BEER) project. However, EPC mechanism has been introduced into China relatively recently and many EPCs have not been successful in building energy efficiency retrofit projects. This research aims to develop a set of critical success factors (CSFs) of EPC for sustainable energy efficiency retrofit (BEER) of hotel buildings in China. Semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire survey with practitioners and other professionals were conducted. The findings reveal the relative importance of the 21 number of identified success factors. In order to explore the underlying relationship among the identified critical success factors (CSFs), factor analysis method was adopted for further investigation, which leads to grouping the 21 identified CSFs into six clusters. These are (1) project organization process, (2) EPC project financing for hotel retrofit, (3) knowledge and innovation of EPC, sustainable development (SD), and M and V, (4) implementation of sustainable development strategy, (5) contractual arrangement, and (6) external economic environment. Finally, several relevant policies were proposed to implement EPC successfully in sustainable BEER in hotel buildings. - Highlights: → EPC is a win-win mechanism to organize building energy efficiency retrofit project. → CSFs of EPC mechanism for sustainable BEER of hotel building in China are examined. → Six clusters are extracted from 21 identified CSFs based on factor analysis.
CSIR Research Space (South Africa)
Gibberd, Jeremy T
2014-10-01
Full Text Available performance. This paper reviews a selection of sustainability assessment and reporting methodologies in order understand the applicability of existing systems as a means of measuring sustainability of building materials in developing countries. The review...
Sustainable Building Operation
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Jensen, Jesper Ole
2009-01-01
of sustainable building operation and a survey amongst building administrators from the private and the social housing sector. Our results show that there are many good examples on sustainable building operation in Danish housing estates, where local building managers, residents etc. have gained impressive......Energy-savings in the existing building stock have becomes a main goal in national and international policies. Often focus is on building-renovations, whereas the potential of sustainable building operation to a large extent has been neglected. Nevertheless, international research as well...... as practical experiences from Danish housing estates indicates that there are large potentials for energy savings by focusing on the operation of the buildings. We suggest that in order to achieve sustainability in the existing housing, renovation and operations should be seen as integrated parts...
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Juan, Yi-Kai [Department of Architecture, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST) (China); Center for Sustainable Development and Global Competitiveness, Stanford University (United States); Gao, Peng [Department of Traffic and Transportation Engineering, Tongji University (China); Wang, Jie [Center for Sustainable Development and Global Competitiveness, Stanford University (United States)
2010-03-15
Energy consumption of buildings accounts for around 20-40% of all energy consumed in advanced countries. Over the last decade, more and more global organizations are investing significant resources to create sustainably built environments, emphasizing sustainable building renovation processes to reduce energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. This study develops an integrated decision support system to assess existing office building conditions and to recommend an optimal set of sustainable renovation actions, considering trade-offs between renovation cost, improved building quality, and environmental impacts. A hybrid approach that combines A* graph search algorithm with genetic algorithms (GA) is used to analyze all possible renovation actions and their trade-offs to develop the optimal solution. A two-stage system validation is performed to demonstrate the practical application of the hybrid approach: zero-one goal programming (ZOGP) and genetic algorithms are adopted to validate the effectiveness of the algorithm. A real-world renovation project is introduced to validate differences in energy performance projected for the renovation solution suggested by the system. The results reveal that the proposed hybrid system is more computationally effective than either ZOGP or GA alone. The system's suggested renovation actions would provide substantial energy performance improvements to the real project if implemented. (author)
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
O.K. Akande
2016-09-01
Full Text Available The operational phase of a building project has increasingly gained importance with their energy performance becoming valuable and determining their operational excellence. In most heritage building projects (HBPs, the operational energy use aspects are less considered, and a systematic way of analyzing their energy performance following project delivery is often lacking. The aim of this study is to evaluate the operational performance of refurbishment and reuse of UK listed church projects. The objective is to assess the operational energy use with a view to optimizing their sustainable performance. The methodology includes eight selected case study buildings refurbished and converted for multipurpose use. The case study approach provided qualitative insights into how the study contributes to a more structured requirements for energy management in HBPs with specific attention to energy-efficient building operations. The findings show the need to focus on fundamental areas of operational management (i.e. by developing and implementing more focused policy on operational energy performance of heritage buildings to minimize the energy required to operate them. The challenges of implementing changes in operational energy performance improvement of heritage buildings are addressed in the form of recommendations that could lead to real results. The study concludes that leveraging these areas requires commitment from all heritage building stakeholders because they all have substantial roles in harmonizing the requirement for the project׳s sustainability and not just the building operators. Meanwhile, baseline project planning, periodic updating, monitoring, and managing the energy use pattern are suggested as measures that could greatly facilitate better energy performance to optimizing their sustainable reuse compared with the traditional approach of trying to improve their thermal performance.
Building Performance Simulation for Sustainable Energy Use in Buildings
Hensen, J.L.M.
2010-01-01
This paper aims to provide a general view of the background and current state of building performance simulation, which has the potential to deliver, directly or indirectly, substantial benefits to building stakeholders and to the environment. However the building simulation community faces many
Building performance simulation for sustainable building design and operation
Hensen, J.L.M.
2011-01-01
This paper aims to provide a general view of the background and current state of building performance simulation, which has the potential to deliver, directly or indirectly, substantial benefits to building stakeholders and to the environment. However the building simulation community faces many
Building Better Buildings: Sustainable Building Activities in California Higher Education Systems.
Sowell, Arnold; Eichel, Amanda; Alevantis, Leon; Lovegreen, Maureen
2003-01-01
This article outlines the activities and recommendations of California's sustainable building task force, discusses sustainable building activities in California's higher education systems, and highlights key issues that California is grappling with in its implementation of sustainable building practices. (EV)
Measurement in Sustainable Building
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Hale, Lara
2018-01-01
Measurement is a necessary aspect of planning and constructing buildings. However, recent attempts to integrate the social dimension of sustainable building into building design and specifications demand measurement of non-technical qualities, such as well-being. The Active House Alliance, in lieu...... and continued provision of sustainable buildings to market demand....
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
ALwaer, H. [The University of Dundee, School of Architecture, Matthew Building, 13 Perth Road, Dundee DD1 4HT (United Kingdom); Clements-Croome, D.J. [School of Construction Management and Engineering, The University of Reading, Whiteknights, PO Box 219, Reading RG6 6AW (United Kingdom)
2010-04-15
The main objectives of this paper are to: firstly, identify key issues related to sustainable intelligent buildings (environmental, social, economic and technological factors); develop a conceptual model for the selection of the appropriate KPIs; secondly, test critically stakeholder's perceptions and values of selected KPIs intelligent buildings; and thirdly develop a new model for measuring the level of sustainability for sustainable intelligent buildings. This paper uses a consensus-based model (Sustainable Built Environment Tool- SuBETool), which is analysed using the analytical hierarchical process (AHP) for multi-criteria decision-making. The use of the multi-attribute model for priority setting in the sustainability assessment of intelligent buildings is introduced. The paper commences by reviewing the literature on sustainable intelligent buildings research and presents a pilot-study investigating the problems of complexity and subjectivity. This study is based upon a survey perceptions held by selected stakeholders and the value they attribute to selected KPIs. It is argued that the benefit of the new proposed model (SuBETool) is a 'tool' for 'comparative' rather than an absolute measurement. It has the potential to provide useful lessons from current sustainability assessment methods for strategic future of sustainable intelligent buildings in order to improve a building's performance and to deliver objective outcomes. Findings of this survey enrich the field of intelligent buildings in two ways. Firstly, it gives a detailed insight into the selection of sustainable building indicators, as well as their degree of importance. Secondly, it tesst critically stakeholder's perceptions and values of selected KPIs intelligent buildings. It is concluded that the priority levels for selected criteria is largely dependent on the integrated design team, which includes the client, architects, engineers and facilities managers
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Castro, Maria de Fátima; Mateus, Ricardo; Bragança, Luís
2017-01-01
Tools and methods to improve current practices and quality in the healthcare building sector are necessary to support decision-making at different building life cycle phases. Furthermore, Healthcare Building Sustainability Assessment (HBSA) Methods are based on criteria organised into different levels, such as categories and indicators. These criteria highlight aspects of significant importance when designing and operating a sustainable healthcare building. To bring more objectivity to the sustainability assessments, the standardisation bodies (CEN and ISO) proposed core indicators that should be used in the evaluation of the environmental, societal and economic performances of buildings. Nevertheless, relying on state of the art analysis, it is possible to conclude that there are aspects of major importance for the operation of healthcare buildings that are not considered in the HBSA methods. Thus, the aim of this paper is to discuss the context of sustainability assessment methods in the field of healthcare buildings and to present a proposal for the incorporation of Sustainable-Effective Design (SED) criteria in a new HBSA method. The used research method is innovative since in the development of the list of sustainability criteria it considers the opinion of main healthcare buildings' stakeholders, the existing healthcare assessment methods and the ISO and CEN standardisation works in the field of the methods to assess the sustainability of construction works. As a result, the proposed method is composed of fifty-two sustainability indicators that cover the different dimensions of the sustainability concept to support decision making during the design of a new or retrofitted healthcare building in urban areas. - Highlights: •A new system to assess the sustainability of healthcare buildings is presented. •We propose a method to develop the list of sustainability indicators for hospitals. •We propose a new concept – Sustainable-Effective Design (SED
Y-12 Sustainable Design Principles for Building Design and Construction
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Jackson, J. G.
2008-11-01
B&W Y-12 is committed to modernizing the Y-12 complex to meet future needs with a sustainable and responsive infrastructure and to integrating sustainability principles and practices into Y-12 work (Y72-001, B&W Y-12 Environmental, Safety and Health Policy). This commitment to sustainability and specifically sustainable design of buildings is also incorporated into Presidential Executive Orders (EO), DOE Orders (DOE O), and goals. Sustainable building design is an approach to design, construct, and operate facilities in an efficient and environmentally sound manner that will produce a healthful, resource-efficient and productive working environment that is inherently protective of the environment. The DOE has established the following 5 Guiding Principles for High Performance Sustainable Building (HPSB), and has issued directives that require Y-12 to incorporate the principles and a number of supporting specific practices and techniques into building design, construction and renovation projects: (1) Employ Integrated Design Principles; (2) Optimize Energy Performance; (3) Protect and Conserve Water; (4) Enhance Indoor Environmental Quality; and (5) Reduce Environmental Impact of Materials. The purpose of this document is to present the required sustainable building principles, practices and techniques, summarize the key drivers for incorporating them into Y-12 projects, and present additional recommendations and resources that can be used to support sustainable buildings to enhance the environmental and economic performance of the Y-12 Complex.
Guiding Principles for Sustainable Existing Buildings: Radiochemical Processing Laboratory
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Pope, Jason E. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
2013-11-11
In 2006, the United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) signed the Federal Leadership in High Performance and Sustainable Buildings Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), along with 21 other agencies. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is exceeding this requirement and, currently, about 25 percent of its buildings are High Performance and Sustainable Buildings. The pages that follow document the Guiding Principles conformance effort for the Radiochemical Processing Laboratory (RPL) at PNNL. The RPL effort is part of continued progress toward a building inventory that is 100 percent compliant with the Guiding Principles.
INL High Performance Building Strategy
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Jennifer D. Morton
2010-02-01
High performance buildings, also known as sustainable buildings and green buildings, are resource efficient structures that minimize the impact on the environment by using less energy and water, reduce solid waste and pollutants, and limit the depletion of natural resources while also providing a thermally and visually comfortable working environment that increases productivity for building occupants. As Idaho National Laboratory (INL) becomes the nation’s premier nuclear energy research laboratory, the physical infrastructure will be established to help accomplish this mission. This infrastructure, particularly the buildings, should incorporate high performance sustainable design features in order to be environmentally responsible and reflect an image of progressiveness and innovation to the public and prospective employees. Additionally, INL is a large consumer of energy that contributes to both carbon emissions and resource inefficiency. In the current climate of rising energy prices and political pressure for carbon reduction, this guide will help new construction project teams to design facilities that are sustainable and reduce energy costs, thereby reducing carbon emissions. With these concerns in mind, the recommendations described in the INL High Performance Building Strategy (previously called the INL Green Building Strategy) are intended to form the INL foundation for high performance building standards. This revised strategy incorporates the latest federal and DOE orders (Executive Order [EO] 13514, “Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance” [2009], EO 13423, “Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management” [2007], and DOE Order 430.2B, “Departmental Energy, Renewable Energy, and Transportation Management” [2008]), the latest guidelines, trends, and observations in high performance building construction, and the latest changes to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
A review of interdependence of sustainable building
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Ju, Chuanjing; Ning, Yan; Pan, Wei
2016-01-01
ABSTRACT: Despite the worldwide promotion of the sustainable building (SB) approach, its associated interdependence has seldom been explored. This knowledge gap is significant given the paradigm shift of regarding SBs as complex socio-technical systems embedded with multifaceted interdependence. The aim of this paper is to examine the interdependence of SB through a literature review. The literature review was guided by a framework comprising three dimensions of SB systems, i.e., building performance, methodology and stakeholders, on their theoretical grounds ranged from reductionism to holism. In order to articulate the integration of the three dimensions, this paper examined zero carbon building as a specific case of SB. The findings contribute an innovative approach to examining the interdependence of SB, and should guide the development of strategies for managing the trade-offs in delivering SBs. - Highlights: • Performance scope of sustainable building triggers interdependence. • Material flow from cradle to cradle causes interdependence. • Interdependence occurs between the building and their context. • Interdependence exists in stakeholders' participation.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Caterina Gargari
2013-05-01
Full Text Available The industry of construction products plays an important role in Europe in promoting the sustainability of the built environment in a life cycle perspective. Within the framework of the European initiatives for a sustainable competitiveness, manufacturers are interested in promoting a life cycle approach along the building chain. However both, institutions and building operators, in general still have to go a long way on designing and applying a sustainable and competitive industrial policy. This paper aims to describe the European background, the regulatory framework, identifying gaps and the actions to be undertaken to promote a market for sustainable products and sustainable buildings. In particular this paper deals with the assessment and communication of the environmental performance of construction products between the operators in the building chain, as a prerequisite for the sustainability of the built environment, and outlines the strategies to implement a proper evaluation and communication process.
Has social sustainability left the building?
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Jensen, Jesper Ole; Jørgensen, Michael Søgaard; Elle, Morten
2012-01-01
Sustainable buildings have often been niche products, but in recent years a new approach has emerged in Denmark aimed at mainstreaming and normalizing this mode of construction and seeking to attract ordinary Danes through market conditions. The aim is to present an alternative conceptualization...... of sustainable buildings to the ecocommunities’ vision and to involve traditional building firms in their design and development. From a theoretical perspective, the mainstreaming of sustainable buildings can be seen either as an example of ecological modernization or technological transition. The new...... conceptualization has implied a narrower approach to sustainability and a lack of social sustainability measures. While earlier paradigms of sustainable buildings emphasized themes such as community building, self-provisioning, local empowerment, and shared facilities, such objectives are largely absent in the new...
Guiding Principles for Sustainable Federal Buildings
This page provides and overview of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) which was voluntarily committed the Agency to follow the Guiding Principles for Federal Leadership in High Performance and Sustainable Buildings.
Environmental sustainability assessment of buildings in hot climates: the case of the UAE
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
AboulNaga, Mohsen M.; Elsheshtawy, Yasser H.
2001-01-01
Sustainability has acquired great importance due to the negative impact of various developments on the environment. The rapid growth during the last decade has been accompanied by active construction which, in some instances, neglected the impact on the environment and human activities. The impact of developments on the traditional heritage has not been taken into consideration although the latter represents a rich resource for sustainable building practices. The study aims at examining these developments in the UAE using an assessment tool that measures the performance of buildings in terms of their sustainability. This study attempts to: (a) develop a comprehensive definition of sustainability to suit UAE needs; (b) classify sustainable building practices at international and regional levels; (c) assess building performance in the UAE; and (d) establish guidelines for future sustainable architecture. T-Sol software was used to predict the CO 2 emission level in selected buildings in the UAE. Results illustrate that average energy use/area in domestic buildings is high (213 kWh/m 2 ) and public buildings showed less sustainable measures in terms of energy features, energy performance and environmental features. Issues considered in the assessment of buildings such as energy use per square metre and CO 2 emission are alarming. Traditional buildings in the UAE were more sustainable than contemporary buildings, however. (Author)
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mojtaba Valinejad Shoubi
2015-03-01
Full Text Available A sustainable building is constructed of materials that could decrease environmental impacts, such as energy usage, during the lifecycle of the building. Building Information Modeling (BIM has been identified as an effective tool for building performance analysis virtually in the design stage. The main aims of this study were to assess various combinations of materials using BIM and identify alternative, sustainable solutions to reduce operational energy consumption. The amount of energy consumed by a double story bungalow house in Johor, Malaysia, and assessments of alternative material configurations to determine the best energy performance were evaluated by using Revit Architecture 2012 and Autodesk Ecotect Analysis software to show which of the materials helped in reducing the operational energy use of the building to the greatest extent throughout its annual life cycle. At the end, some alternative, sustainable designs in terms of energy savings have been suggested.
A review of interdependence of sustainable building
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Ju, Chuanjing [Department of Real Estate and Construction, The University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong); Ning, Yan, E-mail: cqningyan@gmail.com [Department of Construction and Real Estate, Southeast University, 210096 (China); Pan, Wei [Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong)
2016-01-15
ABSTRACT: Despite the worldwide promotion of the sustainable building (SB) approach, its associated interdependence has seldom been explored. This knowledge gap is significant given the paradigm shift of regarding SBs as complex socio-technical systems embedded with multifaceted interdependence. The aim of this paper is to examine the interdependence of SB through a literature review. The literature review was guided by a framework comprising three dimensions of SB systems, i.e., building performance, methodology and stakeholders, on their theoretical grounds ranged from reductionism to holism. In order to articulate the integration of the three dimensions, this paper examined zero carbon building as a specific case of SB. The findings contribute an innovative approach to examining the interdependence of SB, and should guide the development of strategies for managing the trade-offs in delivering SBs. - Highlights: • Performance scope of sustainable building triggers interdependence. • Material flow from cradle to cradle causes interdependence. • Interdependence occurs between the building and their context. • Interdependence exists in stakeholders' participation.
A broader consideration of human factor to enhance sustainable building design.
Attaianese, Erminia
2012-01-01
The link between ergonomic/human factor and sustainability seems to be clearly evidenced mainly in relation to social dimension of sustainability, in order to contribute to assure corporate social responsibility and global value creation. But the will to establish an equilibrated connection among used resources in human activities, supported by the sustainability perspective, evidences that the contribution of ergonomics/human factors can be effectively enlarged to other aspects, especially in relation to building design. In fact a sustainable building is meant to be a building that contributes, through its characteristics and attribute, to a sustainable development by assuring, in the same time, a decrease of resources use and environmental impact and an increase of health, safety and comfort of the occupants. The purpose of this paper is to analyze in a broader sense the contribution of ergonomic/human factor to design of sustainable building, focusing how ergonomics principles, methodology and techniques can improve building design, enhancing its sustainability performance during all phases of building lifecycle.
CSIR Research Space (South Africa)
Mass Media
2007-11-01
Full Text Available particu- lar social environment also being awarded. If a building can be used by the community after hours, it should be awarded extra points.” School sports facilities or meeting halls in corporate buildings, are some example. Multi-purpose use..., architect and senior researcher for the CSIR’s Built Environment Unit, the integra- tion of sustainability in building design cannot begin soon enough before it is too late. He says: “Unfortunately nothing is in place in South Africa. For a start...
Sustainable building organisation
Schmid, P.
1998-01-01
Sustainable Development and Sustainable Building is mainly a question of (human) environmentally-conscious Organisation and Management Criteria are needed in order to capture the best practices in the field. Therefore we developed modells and methods, which help to choose the most adequate
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hasim Altan
2012-04-01
Full Text Available The paper presents the features of Tall-building Projects Sustainability Indicator (TPSI—a “Sustainability Rating System” that specializes in tall-building projects. The system comprises two components; the “Technical Manual” in the form of a booklet and the “Calculator” in the form of an Excel tool. It can be used as a “design tool” and/or as a “checklist” to compare and to improve the sustainable performance of tall-building design schemes. At the same time, the system can be used to evaluate the sustainability of existing tall-building projects. The first version of the TPSI rating system (TPSI 2012 Version was released as an online tool (GreenLight and thoroughly examined and validated by multiple parties.
The absolute environmental performance of buildings
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Brejnrod, Kathrine Nykjær; Kalbar, Pradip; Petersen, Steffen
2017-01-01
Our paper presents a novel approach for absolute sustainability assessment of a building's environmental performance. It is demonstrated how the absolute sustainable share of the earth carrying capacity of a specific building type can be estimated using carrying capacity based normalization factors....... A building is considered absolute sustainable if its annual environmental burden is less than its share of the earth environmental carrying capacity. Two case buildings – a standard house and an upcycled single-family house located in Denmark – were assessed according to this approach and both were found...... to exceed the target values of three (almost four) of the eleven impact categories included in the study. The worst-case excess was for the case building, representing prevalent Danish building practices, which utilized 1563% of the Climate Change carrying capacity. Four paths to reach absolute...
INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT OF BUILDINGS QUALITY IN THE CONTEXT OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PRINCIPLES
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mária Kozlovská
2014-12-01
Full Text Available Purpose: The aim of the paper is to analyse the assumptions for integrated assessment of buildings quality in the context of sustainable development principles. The sustainable (or “green” buildings are cost effective, environmentally friendly and conserving natural resources. The buildings are comfortable for the users, are also healthy and optimally integrated into socio-cultural environment; thereby have long maintained their high added value – for investors, owners as well as users.Design methodology/approach: The methodology of the paper consists in analyses of certification systems that assess buildings sustainability within wider environmental, economic and social relations. An effort to increase the quality of construction and to provide objectified assessment with measurable and comparable results has evoked the origin and development of the tools for buildings sustainability assessment. In the case study, there are analysed the approaches into assessment of one from few certified sustainable projects in Slovakia “EcoPoint Office Center Kosice”. The results are destined for potential investors perhaps even for present owners that have ambitions and responsibility for building sustainability principles performance when designing and using their properties.Findings: The results of the research imply identification of the key characteristics expressing the comprehensive quality of the building and are leading to specification of practical and social implications that are provided by the sustainability philosophy.Originality/value: The force of the paper is to mention the approaches into integrated assessment of construction quality in the context of sustainability principles and the importance of their more extensive implementation in Slovakia. The approaches into the sustainability principles performance as well as the real benefits of the sustainable building are declared through case study of the building EcoPoint Office
KAJIAN SUSTAINABLE DESIGN PADA SAVILL BUILDING
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Oktavi Elok Hapsari
2015-08-01
Full Text Available Since 1980 the development of Indonesian architecture design start to leads into sustainable architectural design which as it was expected to became a solution regarding the environmental problems. The implementation of sustainable design in buildings can be applied from the buildings typologi, renewable resources on materials untill the reduction of the negative impact againts the buildings surrounding environment. As the main object for this study was 2006 The Woods Awardee, Savill Building. A literature study was conducted related to sustainable concept design and the implementation in Savill Buildings. Savill Building is a transparance walls buildings with steel and wooden as main materials on it complex curve gridshell structures. Located in a countoured site Savill Building show it assertive appearance. Due to the good landscape processing and design the Savill Building stood out and yet still shown continuity and harmony with the surrounding environment. The buildings not only has a eco-friendly public facility function, but also has the capability on attracting visitors. In the end this study is expected able expand the knowledges on sustainable design and become a design references in Indonesia architectural design.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Agnese Attanasio
2018-02-01
Full Text Available There is a growing interest in the construction sector in the use of sustainable binders as an alternative to ordinary Portland cement, the production of which is highly impacting on the environment, due to high carbon dioxide emissions and energy consumption. Alkali-activated binders, especially those resulting from low-cost industrial by-products, such as coal fly ash or metallurgical slag, represent a sustainable option for cement replacement, though their use is more challenging, due to some technological issues related to workability or curing conditions. This paper presents sustainable alkali-activated mortars cured in room conditions and based on metakaolin, fly ash, and furnace slag (both by-products resulting from local sources and relevant blends, aiming at their real scale application in the building sector. The effect of binder composition—gradually adjusted taking into consideration technical and environmental aspects (use of industrial by-products in place of natural materials in the view of resources saving—on the performance (workability, compressive strength of different mortar formulations, is discussed in detail. Some guidelines for the design of cement-free binders are given, taking into consideration the effect of each investigated alumino-silicate component. The technical feasibility to produce the mortars with standard procedures and equipment, the curing in room conditions, the promising results achieved in terms of workability and mechanical performance (from 20.0 MPa up to 52.0 MPa, confirm the potential of such materials for practical applications (masonry mortars of class M20 and Md. The cement-free binders resulting from this study can be used as reference for the development of mortars and concrete formulations for sustainable building materials production.
Sustainable Building Life Cycle Design
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ginzburg Alexander
2016-01-01
Full Text Available The current building life cycle management system in the Russian Federation is a family of discrete subsystems that exist independently for different building life cycle stages. In this situation building reliability and sustainable functioning are out of the question. The implementation of a united information model (BIM-model intended to describe building entire life cycle will allow to raise the sustainability, but this will happen only if goals and concerns of all participants of the project process are properly coordinated. An important figure of process sustainability is the organizational and technological reliability (OTR that describes the possibility of a system to reach a goal. In case of building life cycle design, the economical efficiency of a building can be considered as the goal. The required technical, ecological, organizational, and other parameters form a complex of constraints that determine the area of allowable values for building functioning. In its broad meaning, OTR may be understood as the probability of receiving an economical effect based on the value of organizational and economical reliability (OER.
The Dutch sustainable building policy: A model for developing countries?
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Melchert, Luciana [Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, University of Sao Paulo, Rua do Lago, 876, CEP 05508.900, Sao Paulo SP (Brazil)
2007-02-15
This article explores the institutionalization of environmental policies in the Dutch building sector and the applicability of the current model to developing countries. First, it analyzes the transition of sustainable building practices in the Netherlands from the 1970s until today, exploring how these were originally embedded in a discourse on 'de-modernization', which attempted to improve the environmental performance of building stocks by means of self-sufficient technologies, whereas nowadays they adopt a framework of 'ecological modernization', with integrative approaches seeking to improve the environmental performance of building stocks through more efficient-rather than self-sufficient-technologies. The study subsequently shows how the current Dutch sustainable building framework has thereby managed to achieve a pragmatic and widely accepted rationale, which can serve to orient the ecological restructuring of building stocks in developing countries. (author)
Early stage design decisions: the way to achieve sustainable buildings at lower costs.
Bragança, Luís; Vieira, Susana M; Andrade, Joana B
2014-01-01
The construction industry attempts to produce buildings with as lower environmental impact as possible. However, construction activities still greatly affect environment; therefore, it is necessary to consider a sustainable project approach based on its performance. Sustainability is an important issue to consider in design, not only due to environmental concerns but also due to economic and social matters, promoting architectural quality and economic advantages. This paper aims to identify the phases through which a design project should be developed, emphasising the importance and ability of earlier stages to influence sustainability, performance, and life cycle cost. Then, a selection of sustainability key indicators, able to be used at the design conceptual phase and able to start predicting environmental sustainability performance of buildings is presented. The output of this paper aimed to enable designers to compare and evaluate the consequences of different design solutions, based on preliminary data, and facilitate the collaboration between stakeholders and clients and eventually yield a sustainable and high performance building throughout its life cycle.
Sustainable Building in China—A Green Leap Forward?
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jialiang Wang
2013-09-01
Full Text Available China is constructing new commercial buildings at an enormous rate—roughly 2 billion square meters per year, with considerable interest and activity in green design and construction. We review the context of commercial building design and construction in China, and look at a specific project as an example of a high performance, sustainable design, the Shenzhen Institute of Building Research (IBR. The IBR building incorporates over 40 sustainable technologies and strategies, including daylighting, natural ventilation, gray-water recycling, solar-energy generation, and highly efficient Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC systems. We present measured data on the performance of the building, including detailed analysis by energy end use, water use, and occupant comfort and satisfaction. Total building energy consumption in 2011 was 1151 MWh, with an Energy Use Intensity (EUI of 63 kWh/m2 (20 kBtu/ft2, which is 61% of the mean EUI value of 103 kWh/m2 (33 kBtu/ft2 for similar buildings in the region. We also comment on the unique design process, which incorporated passive strategies throughout the building, and has led to high occupant satisfaction with the natural ventilation, daylighting, and green patio work areas. Lastly we present thoughts on how the design philosophy of the IBR building can be a guide for low-energy design in different climate regions throughout China and elsewhere.
Whole Building Cost and Performance Measurement: Data Collection Protocol Revision 2
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Fowler, Kimberly M.; Spees, Kathleen L.; Kora, Angela R.; Rauch, Emily M.; Hathaway, John E.; Solana, Amy E.
2009-03-27
This protocol was written for the Department of Energy’s Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) to be used by the public as a tool for assessing building cost and performance measurement. The primary audiences are sustainable design professionals, asset owners, building managers, and research professionals within the Federal sector. The protocol was developed based on the need for measured performance and cost data on sustainable design projects. Historically there has not been a significant driver in the public or private sector to quantify whole building performance in comparable terms. The deployment of sustainable design into the building sector has initiated many questions on the performance and operational cost of these buildings.
Building a Metaframework for Sustainable Transport Indicators
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Cornet, Yannick; Gudmundsson, Henrik
2015-01-01
Several recent papers presented at TRB and elsewhere seek to make sustainability manageable by suggesting indicators and performance measures as key tools to help conceptualize and operationalize sustainability for various levels of transportation-related planning and decision-making. These studies...... often prescribe frameworks that will allow sustainability indicators and measures to be selected and included in, for example, agency strategies and practices. Moreover, some suggest criteria for selection of individual indicators and performance measures. The studies do however not always agree on what...... of the paper is first to provide a theoretical elaboration of the underlying notion of ‘frameworks’, and then to conduct a review of the selected recent key scientific studies on sustainable transportation indicator frameworks in terms of what they propose for building the meta-framework and for identifying...
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Tommerup, Henrik M.; Elle, Morten
The scientific community agrees that: all countries must drastically and rapidly reduce their CO2 emissions and that energy efficient houses play a decisive role in this. The general attitude at the workshop on Sustainable Buildings was that we face large and serious climate change problems...
Re-Assessing Green Building Performance: A Post Occupancy Evaluation of 22 GSA Buildings
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Fowler, Kimberly M.; Rauch, Emily M.; Henderson, Jordan W.; Kora, Angela R.
2010-06-01
2nd report on the performance of GSA's sustainably designed buildings. The purpose of this study was to provide an overview of measured whole building performance as it compares to GSA and industry baselines. The PNNL research team found the data analysis illuminated strengths and weaknesses of individual buildings as well as the portfolio of buildings. This section includes summary data, observations that cross multiple performance metrics, discussion of lessons learned from this research, and opportunities for future research. The summary of annual data for each of the performance metrics is provided in Table 25. The data represent 1 year of measurements and are not associated with any specific design features or strategies. Where available, multiple years of data were examined and there were minimal significant differences between the years. Individually focused post occupancy evaluation (POEs) would allow for more detailed analysis of the buildings. Examining building performance over multiple years could potentially offer a useful diagnostic tool for identifying building operations that are in need of operational changes. Investigating what the connection is between the building performance and the design intent would offer potential design guidance and possible insight into building operation strategies. The 'aggregate operating cost' metric used in this study represents the costs that were available for developing a comparative industry baseline for office buildings. The costs include water utilities, energy utilities, general maintenance, grounds maintenance, waste and recycling, and janitorial costs. Three of the buildings that cost more than the baseline in Figure 45 have higher maintenance costs than the baseline, and one has higher energy costs. Given the volume of data collected and analyzed for this study, the inevitable request is for a simple answer with respect to sustainably designed building performance. As previously stated
Early Stage Design Decisions: The Way to Achieve Sustainable Buildings at Lower Costs
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Luís Bragança
2014-01-01
Full Text Available The construction industry attempts to produce buildings with as lower environmental impact as possible. However, construction activities still greatly affect environment; therefore, it is necessary to consider a sustainable project approach based on its performance. Sustainability is an important issue to consider in design, not only due to environmental concerns but also due to economic and social matters, promoting architectural quality and economic advantages. This paper aims to identify the phases through which a design project should be developed, emphasising the importance and ability of earlier stages to influence sustainability, performance, and life cycle cost. Then, a selection of sustainability key indicators, able to be used at the design conceptual phase and able to start predicting environmental sustainability performance of buildings is presented. The output of this paper aimed to enable designers to compare and evaluate the consequences of different design solutions, based on preliminary data, and facilitate the collaboration between stakeholders and clients and eventually yield a sustainable and high performance building throughout its life cycle.
Early Stage Design Decisions: The Way to Achieve Sustainable Buildings at Lower Costs
Bragança, Luís; Vieira, Susana M.; Andrade, Joana B.
2014-01-01
The construction industry attempts to produce buildings with as lower environmental impact as possible. However, construction activities still greatly affect environment; therefore, it is necessary to consider a sustainable project approach based on its performance. Sustainability is an important issue to consider in design, not only due to environmental concerns but also due to economic and social matters, promoting architectural quality and economic advantages. This paper aims to identify the phases through which a design project should be developed, emphasising the importance and ability of earlier stages to influence sustainability, performance, and life cycle cost. Then, a selection of sustainability key indicators, able to be used at the design conceptual phase and able to start predicting environmental sustainability performance of buildings is presented. The output of this paper aimed to enable designers to compare and evaluate the consequences of different design solutions, based on preliminary data, and facilitate the collaboration between stakeholders and clients and eventually yield a sustainable and high performance building throughout its life cycle. PMID:24578630
Decision-making in the Pre-design Stage of Sustainable Building Renovation Projects
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Gade, Anne Nørkjær; Jensen, Rasmus Lund; Larsen, Tine Steen
2017-01-01
There is a great potential in renovating our existing building stock, in terms of improving environmental, economic and social qualities. Meeting the increasing performance requirements for sustainable construction entails an increasing level of complexity in the design process of both new...... buildings and renovation projects. Decision support tools are one solution that can help the building owner manage this complexity. This study investigates the current decision-making processes among Danish professional building owners, in order to propose a conceptual framework for future decision support...... tools for sustainable renovation. Design Science Research Methodology has been used as the main methodological framework. Current practices for setting goals for sustainability, determining the current state of the buildings and prioritizing which buildings to renovate within a building portfolio, have...
Sustainable Building in China -- A Green Leap Forward?
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Diamond, Richard [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Ye, Qing [Shenzhen Inst. of Building Research (China); Feng, Wei [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Yan, Tao [Shenzhen Inst. of Building Research (China); Mao, Hongwei [Shenzhen Inst. of Building Research (China); Li, Yutong [Shenzhen Inst. of Building Research (China); Guo, Yongcong [Shenzhen Inst. of Building Research (China); Wang, Jialiang [Shenzhen Inst. of Building Research (China)
2013-09-01
China is constructing new commercial buildings at an enormous rate -- roughly 2 billion square meters per year, with considerable interest and activity in green design and construction. We review the context of commercial building design and construction in China, and look at a specific project as an example of a high performance, sustainable design, the Shenzhen Institute of Building Research (IBR). The IBR building incorporates over 40 sustainable technologies and strategies, including daylighting, natural ventilation, gray-water recycling, solar-energy generation, and highly efficient Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems. We present measured data on the performance of the building, including detailed analysis by energy end use, water use, and occupant comfort and satisfaction. Total building energy consumption in 2011 was 1151 MWh, with an Energy Use Intensity (EUI) of 63 kWh/m2 (20 kBtu/ft2), which is 61% of the mean EUI value of 103 kWh/m2 (33 kBtu/ft2) for similar buildings in the region. We also comment on the unique design process, which incorporated passive strategies throughout the building, and has led to high occupant satisfaction with the natural ventilation, daylighting, and green patio work areas. Lastly we present thoughts on how the design philosophy of the IBR building can be a guide for low-energy design in different climate regions throughout China and elsewhere.
An Investigation into Energy Requirements and Conservation Techniques for Sustainable Buildings
Robitaille, Jad
Traditionally, societies use to design their built environment in a way that was in line with the climate and the geographical location that they evolved in, thereby supporting sustainable lifestyles (i.e. thick walls with small windows in cold climates). With the industrial revolution and the heavy use and reliance on cheap fossil fuels, it can be argued that the built environment has become more focused on aesthetics and cost savings rather than on true sustainability. This, in turn, has led to energy intensive practices associated with the construction of homes, buildings, cities and megalopolises. Environmental concerns with regards to the future have pushed people, entities and industries to search for ways to decrease human's energy dependency and/or to supply the demand in ways that are deemed sustainable. Efforts to address this concern with respect to the built environment were translated into 'green buildings', sustainable building technologies and high performance buildings that can be rated and/or licensed by selected certifying bodies with varying metrics of building construction and performance. The growing number of such systems has brought real concerns: Do certified sustainable buildings really achieve the level of sustainability (i.e. performance) they were intended to? For the purpose of this study, buildings' energy consumption will be analysed, as it is one of the main drivers when taking into consideration greenhouse gas emissions. Heating and cooling in the residential and commercial/institutional sector, combined account for approximately a fifth of the secondary energy use in Canada. For this reason, this research aims at evaluating the main rating systems in Canada based on the efficacy of their rating systems' certification methodology and the weighting and comparison of energy requirements under each scheme. It has been proven through numerous studies that major energy savings can be achieved by focusing primarily on building designs
Capacity building for sustainable energy development
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Rogner, Hans-Holger
2006-01-01
Capacity Building for Sustainable Energy Development - Mission: To build capacity in Member States (MS) for comprehensive energy system, economic and environmental analyses to assist in: - making informed policy decisions for sustainable energy development; - assessing the role of nuclear power; - understanding environmental and climate change issues related to energy production and use
Performance Based Building and its application to Healthy Buildings
Loomans, M.G.L.C.; Bluyssen, P.M.
2005-01-01
The European funded Project PeBBu, Performance Based Building, is a Thematic network under the Competitive and Sustainable Growth program, which started September 1st, 2001 andwill run for 4 years. In one of the domains of PeBBu, the domain Indoor Environment, a stateof-the-art on the Performance
Business Management in Sustainable Buildings: Ankara-Turkey Case
Kutay Karaca, Neşet; Burcu Gültekin, Arzuhan
2017-10-01
The concept of the sustainability is described as efficiently and effectively consuming of exhaustible and recyclable sources of the world. A sustainable building implements sustainability criteria in its life cycle, and business management is the process by which an organization uses its resources in the most efficient way to reach its goal. From the beginning, sustainable building proves their differences from the conventional buildings. Sustainable buildings are resource-efficient and environmentally responsible structures in terms of energy consumption, construction principles, siting, renovation and maintenance throughout its life cycle while conventional buildings are more traditional in these matters. The differences are observable especially in costs and expenditures. It is possible and feasible to compare and contrast the design, construction and management costs of both types of structures. Thence, contributions of sustainable buildings are priced favourably in terms of ecological and sociological aspects. In this context, a prospective projection can be made considering the extra costs of sustainable structures, as well as the consumption profits due to the use of less energy than conventional construction. Considering this, it is possible to project consumption savings in long term. By calculating a forward-looking net cash flow projection, it can be forecasted how much time it will take to cover the extra cost. When making decisions, investors always contemplate maximum profitability. Within the scope of this study, costs of sustainable and conventional buildings will be compared and contrasted through precedence of a sustainable building certificated and non-certificated building. It will be analysed in which time period the initial cost difference between them will be compensated totally and partially. Furthermore, an efficiency analyses will be done in the scope of the necessities and expenses of these businesses.
AccountAbility 1000: a new social standard for building sustainability
Beckett, R.; Jonker, J.
2002-01-01
The pressing need to build common frameworks to redefine the performance and sustainability of organisations, has led to the development of a new standard, AccountAbility 1000 (AA1000). AA1000 is a quality framework that aims to make clear how principles of accountability and sustainability are
Beyond the buildingcentric approach: A vision for an integrated evaluation of sustainable buildings
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Conte, Emilia; Monno, Valeria
2012-01-01
The available sustainable building evaluation systems have produced a new environmental design paradigm. However, there is an increasing need to overcome the buildingcentric approach of these systems, in order to further exploit their innovate potential for sustainable building practices. The paper takes this challenge by developing a cross-scale evaluation approach focusing on the reliability of sustainable building design solutions for the context in which the building is situated. An integrated building–urban evaluation model is proposed based on the urban matrix, which is a conceptualisation of the built environment as a social–ecological system. The model aims at evaluating the sustainability of a building considering it as an active entity contributing to the resilience of the urban matrix. Few holistic performance indicators are used for evaluating such contribution, so expressing the building reliability. The discussion on the efficacy of the model shows that it works as a heuristic tool, supporting the acquisition of a better insight into the complexity which characterises the relationships between the building and the built environment sustainability. Shading new lights on the meaning of sustainable buildings, the model can play a positive role in innovating sustainable building design practices, thus complementing current evaluation systems. - Highlights: ► We model an integrated building–urban evaluation approach. ► The urban matrix represents the social–ecological functioning of the urban context. ► We introduce the concept of reliability to evaluate sustainable buildings. ► Holistic indicators express the building reliability. ► The evaluation model works as heuristic tool and complements other tools.
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Cort, Katherine A.; Judd, Kathleen S.
2014-08-29
As part its campus sustainability efforts, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has invested in eight new and existing buildings to ensure they meet the U.S. Department of Energy’s requirements for high performance sustainable buildings (HPSB) at DOE sites. These investments are expected to benefit PNNL by reducing the total life-cycle cost of facilities, improving energy efficiency and water conservation, and making buildings safer and healthier for the occupants. This study examines the cost-effectiveness of the implementing measures that meet the criteria for HPSBs in 3 different types of buildings on the PNNL campus: offices, scientific laboratories, and data centers. In each of the three case studies examined the investments made to achieve HPSB status demonstrated a high return on the HPSB investments that have taken place in these varied environments. Simple paybacks for total investments in the three case study buildings ranged from just 2 to 5 years; savings-to-investment ratios all exceeded the desirable threshold of 1; and the net present values associated with these investments were all positive.
Radical Sustainable Innovation of office buildings
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Koch, Christian; Berker, Thomas; Koch-Ørvad, Nina
2017-01-01
by high degrees of newness in the entire life cycle. RSI should offer significant enhancements of known benefits, entirely new benefits, or substantial cost reductions, leading to the transformation of existing markets, the creation of sustainable growth, and global sustainability. Thus, if buildings were....../could be radically new. How to evaluate radicality is a major challenge. It is tentatively proposed, to use standards for sustainable office buildings. Standards are developed to accelerate the sustainable development but has to some extent come to constrain possibilities of radical innovation. As the criteria...... of newness is incorporated in standards, going beyond them, could be viewed as radical. Empirically a selection of international cases of office buildings with very high scores of BREEAM, LEED and DGNB are examined. Six selected cases were analysed more in detail, one of them, Geelens...
The Development of a Tool for Sustainable Building Design:
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Tine Ring Hansen, Hanne; Knudstrup, Mary-Ann
2009-01-01
for sustainable buildings, as well as, an analysis of the relationship between the different approaches (e.g. low-energy, environmental, green building, solar architecture, bio-climatic architecture etc.) to sustainable building design and these indicators. The paper furthermore discusses how sustainable......The understanding of sustainable building has changed over time along with the architectural interpretation of sustainability. The paper presents the results of a comparative analysis of the indicators found in different internationally acclaimed and Danish certification schemes and standards...... architecture will gain more focus in the coming years, thus, establishing the need for the development of a new tool and methodology, The paper furthermore describes the background and considerations involved in the development of a design support tool for sustainable building design. A tool which considers...
Sustainable Workspace Performance for Steelcase
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Tan, Adrian; Bey, Niki
This report documents the work done in the project “Sustainable Workspace Performance” for Steelcase in the period of October 2006 - December 2007. Today organizations around the world are encouraging and promoting standards for environmentally efficient buildings. Interest in these “green......” buildings have increased immensely, but just like financial metrics do not provide a total view of the effectiveness and efficiency of the workspace, the environmental focus tends to be one dimensional. In this project a framework and a computer-based tool was developed to demonstrate the links between...... was to allow companies to assess their own performance of their workspace in each of the sustainability dimensions relative to their own business context. This is expected to engage and empower companies to take action and make informed sustainable decisions in the design of their workspace....
Namaane, Aziz; Howlett, Robert; Jain, Lakhmi
2012-01-01
Welcome to the proceedings of the Third International Conference on Sustainability in Energy and Buildings, SEB’11, held in Marseilles in France, organised by the Laboratoire des Sciences del'Information et des Systèmes (LSIS) in Marseille, France in partnership with KES International. SEB'11 formed a welcome opportunity for researchers in subjects related to sustainability, renewable energy technology, and applications in the built environment to mix with other scientists, industrialists and stakeholders in the field. The conference featured presentations on a range of renewable energy and sustainability related topics. In addition the conference explored two innovative themes: - the application of intelligent sensing, control, optimisation and modelling techniques to sustainability and - the technology of sustainable buildings. These two themes combine synergetically to address issues relating to The Intelligent Building. SEB’11 attracted a significant number of submissions from around the w...
Evaluation of a School Building in Turkey According to the Basic Sustainable Design Criteria
Arslan, H. D.
2017-08-01
In Turkey, as well as many other developing countries, the significance of sustainable education buildings has only recently become recognized and the issue of sustainability issue has not been sufficiently involved in laws and regulations. In this study, first of all architectural sustainability with basic design criteria has been explained. After that selected type primary school project in Turkey has been evaluated according to the sustainable design criteria. Type project of school buildings significantly limits the sustainability performance expected from buildings. It is clear that type projects shorten the planning time as they include a designing process that is independent of settlement and they are repeated in various places with different characteristics, indeed. On the other hand; abundance of disadvantages such as the overlook of the natural physical and structural properties of the location mostly restricts the sustainable design of the building. For sustainable buildings, several factors such as the environment, land, climate, insolation, direction etc. shall be taken into consideration at the beginning stage. Therefore; implementation of type projects can be deemed to be inappropriate for sustainability.
Project materials [Commercial High Performance Buildings Project
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
None
2001-01-01
The Consortium for High Performance Buildings (ChiPB) is an outgrowth of DOE'S Commercial Whole Buildings Roadmapping initiatives. It is a team-driven public/private partnership that seeks to enable and demonstrate the benefit of buildings that are designed, built and operated to be energy efficient, environmentally sustainable, superior quality, and cost effective.
Ecological modernization of sustainable buildings
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Jensen, Jesper Ole; Gram-Hanssen, Kirsten
2008-01-01
This article will examine how the contemporary development of sustainable buildings has been influenced by the concept of ecological modernisation. Ecological modernisation is a policy concept describing how environmental considerations are increasingly being integrated into modern society...... driven by enthusiasts and grassroots to being a more widespread, generally obtainable and integrated product. We will discuss to what degree this can be understood within the ideas of ecological modernisation, and then discuss the benefits and drawbacks of this development. Based on the concepts...... of governance, standardisation and visibility, the conclusion is that in many ways ecological modernisation has penetrated in Danish sustainable buildings and has contributed to a positive development. However, there are aspects of sustainable consumption that this development does not relate to, including...
Workshops in Dutch sustainable building design practice
Zeiler, W.; Quanjel, E.M.C.J.; Borsboom, W.A.
2009-01-01
Within the present context of the Dutch Sustainable Building Practice it is hard for the different involved building design disciplines to give a good answer to sustainability. Especially this is the case for the application solar energy either in passive or active form. As traditional methods did
Integrated sustainable urban infrastructures in building projects
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Nielsen, Susanne Balslev; Quitzau, Maj-Britt; Elle, Morten
2007-01-01
Current strategies in urban planning and development merely promote standardized building solutions, while failing to prioritize innovative approaches of integration between building projects and sustainable urban infrastructures. As a result of this, urban infrastructures – the urban veins...... – are outdated from a sustainability perspective. This paper looks into more holistic ways of approaching building projects and discuss whether this provide a basis for an increased integration of urban infrastructures within building projects. In our study, we especially emphasise how conventional ways...... of approaching building projects are influenced by lock-in of existing infrastructural systems and compare this with two examples of more holistic ways of approaching building projects, developed by two architecture firms. The paper points out that such holistic perspective in building projects provide...
Sustainability in the existing building stock
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Elle, Morten; Nielsen, Susanne Balslev; Hoffmann, Birgitte
2005-01-01
, QRWfacilities management’s most important contribution to sustainable development in the built environment. Space management is an essential tool in facilities management – and it could be considered a powerful tool in sustainable development; remembering that the building not being built is perhaps the most......This paper explores the role of Facilities Management in the relation to sustainable development in the existing building stock. Facilities management is a concept still developing as the management of buildings are becoming more and more professional. Many recognize today that facilities...... management is a concept relevant to others than large companies. Managing the flows of energy and other resources is a part of facilities management, and an increased professionalism could lead to the reduction of the use of energy and water and the generation of waste and wastewater. This is, however...
4th international conference in sustainability in energy and buildings
Höjer, Mattias; Howlett, Robert; Jain, Lakhmi
2013-01-01
This volume contains the proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Sustainability in Energy and Buildings, SEB12, held in Stockholm, Sweden, and is organised by KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden in partnership with KES International. The International Conference on Sustainability in Energy and Buildings focuses on a broad range of topics relating to sustainability in buildings but also encompassing energy sustainability more widely. Following the success of earlier events in the series, the 2012 conference includes the themes Sustainability, Energy, and Buildings and Information and Communication Technology, ICT. The SEB’12 proceedings includes invited participation and paper submissions across a broad range of renewable energy and sustainability-related topics relevant to the main theme of Sustainability in Energy and Buildings. Applicable areas include technology for renewable energy and sustainability in the built environment, optimisation and modeling techniques, informati...
Sustainability needs and practices assessment in the building industry of China
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Yang, Pingjian; He, Gang; Mao, Guozhu; Liu, Yong; Xu, Mingzhu; Guo, Huaicheng; Liu, Xi
2013-01-01
The building industry in China has huge potential capacity for energy/resources conservation and pollutants reduction to achieve sustainable development. However, stakeholders are hardly able to reach a consensus on preferential needs and effective solutions, which was a difficulty faced by policy makers. To better identify the common interests on sustainable development in this field, the Sustainability Solutions Navigator (SSN) was adopted in China for the first time to assess the sustainability needs and practices. Based on the participation of stakeholders from the government, businesses, academia, and non-government organizations, prioritized needs and practices were identified using SSN, and gap analyses were conducted for comparison to global benchmarks. According to the results, the top needs were mainly focused on improving government efficiency and implementation, maintaining healthy indoor environments and obtaining adequate funds; priority practices were mainly focused on governmental action, renewable energy development and pollutant source reduction. The gap analysis indicated that the government efficiency and performance had the largest gap to the benchmark. By using a simple interactive tool to bring different stakeholders into policy making process, this study produces all-around information for decision makers. The results imply that the sustainability of the building industry in China has a much better expectation than governmental performance. - Highlights: ► SSN was first used for sustainability assessment in China's building industry. ► Prioritized needs and practices of multiple stakeholders were identified. ► High expectation of improved governmental efforts from the study
Creating sustainable performance.
Spreitzer, Gretchen; Porath, Christine
2012-01-01
What makes for sustainable individual and organizational performance? Employees who are thriving-not just satisfied and productive but also engaged in creating the future. The authors found that people who fit this description demonstrated 16% better overall performance, 125% less burnout, 32% more commitment to the organization, and 46% more job satisfaction than their peers. Thriving has two components: vitality, or the sense of being alive and excited, and learning, or the growth that comes from gaining knowledge and skills. Some people naturally build vitality and learning into their jobs, but most employees are influenced by their environment. Four mechanisms, none of which requires heroic effort or major resources, create the conditions for thriving: providing decision-making discretion, sharing information about the organization and its strategy, minimizing incivility, and offering performance feedback. Organizations such as Alaska Airlines, Zingerman's, Quicken Loans, and Caiman Consulting have found that helping people grow and remain energized at work is valiant on its own merits-but it can also boost performance in a sustainable way.
Sustainability in energy and buildings. Proceedings
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
M' Sirdi, Nacer; Namaane, Aziz [LSIS Laboratory of Systems and Information Sciences, Marseilles (France); Howlett, Robert J. [KES International, Shoreham-by-Sea (United Kingdom); Jain, Lakhmi C. (eds.) [South Australia Univ., Adelaide, SA (Australia). School of Electrical and Information Engineering
2012-07-01
Welcome to the proceedings of the Third International Conference on Sustainability in Energy and Buildings, SEB'11, held in Marseilles in France, organised by the Laboratoire des Sciences del'Information et des Systemes (LSIS) in Marseille, France in partnership with KES International. SEB'11 formed a welcome opportunity for researchers in subjects related to sustainability, renewable energy technology, and applications in the built environment to mix with other scientists, industrialists and stakeholders in the field. The conference featured presentations on a range of renewable energy and sustainability related topics. In addition the conference explored two innovative themes: - the application of intelligent sensing, control, optimisation and modelling techniques to sustainability and - the technology of sustainable buildings. These two themes combine synergetically to address issues relating to The Intelligent Building. SEB'11 attracted a significant number of submissions from around the world. These were subjected to a two-stage blind peer-review process. With the objective of producing a high-quality conference, only the best 50 or so of these were selected for presentation at the conference and publication in the proceedings. It is hoped that you will find this volume an interesting, informative and useful resource for your research.
Towards a Tectonic Sustainable Building Practice
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Bech-Danielsen, Claus
and environmental problems? The objective of the project is to analyse and develop the tectonic practice based on case studies, in relation to: • Cultural anchoring and identity creation • Building culture and creative processes • Sustainability, lifecycle and resource management The research project is divided...... into a main project and various subprojects, respectively, two levels that mutually feed each other.The main project, which constitutes the general level, seeks to identify a coherent strategy towards a new tectonically sustainable building culture.The subprojects look at partial issues and go into specific......Can a tectonic building practice be strengthened through new creation processes, where resources are used more purposefully, deliberately and systematically? Which new measures are necessary if we are to develop a strong tectonic building practice with due consideration for increasing climate...
Sustainable Renovation of Residential Buildings and the Landlord/Tenant Dilemma
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Ástmarsson, Björn; Jensen, Per Anker; Maslesa, Esmir
2013-01-01
solutions can help solve the landlord/tenant dilemma in relation to sustainable renovation of residential buildings, and how the general awareness of sustainable renovation can be increased. Particular focus is on whether tools like energy performance contracting and energy labeling can help solve......The landlord/tenant dilemma arises when the interests of landlords and tenants misalign and is one of the greatest barriers hindering the development of sustainable renovation of residential buildings in Europe. The aim of this research is to investigate how regulatory changes and contractual...... be overcome with a package solution. In the Danish national context the package solution must consist of legislative changes, financial incentives and better dissemination of information. Therefore, an array of different tools must be integrated and used in cooperation to overcome the dilemma....
Building Cost and Performance Metrics: Data Collection Protocol, Revision 1.0
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Fowler, Kimberly M.; Solana, Amy E.; Spees, Kathleen L.
2005-09-29
This technical report describes the process for selecting and applying the building cost and performance metrics for measuring sustainably designed buildings in comparison to traditionally designed buildings.
High-performance commercial building facades
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Lee, Eleanor; Selkowitz, Stephen; Bazjanac, Vladimir; Inkarojrit, Vorapat; Kohler, Christian
2002-06-01
This study focuses on advanced building facades that use daylighting, sun control, ventilation systems, and dynamic systems. A quick perusal of the leading architectural magazines, or a discussion in most architectural firms today will eventually lead to mention of some of the innovative new buildings that are being constructed with all-glass facades. Most of these buildings are appearing in Europe, although interestingly U.S. A/E firms often have a leading role in their design. This ''emerging technology'' of heavily glazed fagades is often associated with buildings whose design goals include energy efficiency, sustainability, and a ''green'' image. While there are a number of new books on the subject with impressive photos and drawings, there is little critical examination of the actual performance of such buildings, and a generally poor understanding as to whether they achieve their performance goals, or even what those goals might be. Even if the building ''works'' it is often dangerous to take a design solution from one climate and location and transport it to a new one without a good causal understanding of how the systems work. In addition, there is a wide range of existing and emerging glazing and fenestration technologies in use in these buildings, many of which break new ground with respect to innovative structural use of glass. It is unclear as to how well many of these designs would work as currently formulated in California locations dominated by intense sunlight and seismic events. Finally, the costs of these systems are higher than normal facades, but claims of energy and productivity savings are used to justify some of them. Once again these claims, while plausible, are largely unsupported. There have been major advances in glazing and facade technology over the past 30 years and we expect to see continued innovation and product development. It is critical in this process to be able to
Building Trust-Based Sustainable Networks
2013-06-05
entities to build sustainable networks with limited resources or misbehaving entities by learning from the lessons in the social sciences. We discuss...their individuality); and ■ Misbehaving nodes in terms of environmental, economic, and social perspectives. The sustainable network concerns...equitable access to particular services which are otherwise abused by misbehaving or malicious users. Such approaches provide a fair and
Perencanaan Dengan Konsep Sustainable Building
Putra, Yulesta
2004-01-01
Di beberapa Negara maju pada tahun 2000 telah mengeluarkan peraturan tentang penerapan konsep sustainable building yang merupakan bagian dari program management lingkungan kota, oleh Yulesta Putra 04015309
Sustainable building design in practice
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Brunsgaard, Camilla; Bejder, Anne Kirkegaard
2017-01-01
Sustainability certification schemes experience growing popularity. Denmark got its own sustainability certification scheme based on the German DGNB certification scheme. Previous work based on four case studies – DGNB certified healthcare centres, suggests further research on how to improve...... and support the iterative design process in the initial design phases. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to investigate the design process on a more common level experienced by Danish DGNB consultants when designing sustainable buildings using the Danish DGNB certification scheme and thereby possibly...
Sustainable building; Duurzaam bouwen
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Hendriks, Ch.F. [ed.] [Interfacultair Onderzoek Centrum ' De Ecologische Stad' DIOC, Delft (Netherlands)
1999-07-01
A complete overview is given of starting points and targets for the sustainable construction of buildings. The notion of sustainable indicates the necessity of managing specific flows: materials, energy, water and transport (traffic). Also, the monitoring and calculation of environmental effects must be clarified by the generally accepted method of life cycle analysis. This book is for the larger part the result of research carried out at the Interdepartmental Research Centre 'The Ecological City' at the Delft University of Technology in Delft, Netherlands. refs.
Calbick, Kenneth Stuart
2011-01-01
This research reviews five studies that evaluate national environmental sustainability with composite indices; performs uncertainty and sensitivity analyses of techniques for building a composite index; completes principal components factor analysis to help build subindices measuring waste and pollution, sustainable energy, sustainable food, nature conservation, and sustainable cities (Due to its current importance, the greenhouse gases (GHG) indicator is included individually as another poli...
Green Richland: Building Sustainable Local and World Community
Lester, Carole N.
2008-01-01
This article shares the college's experiences and the lessons learned in the creation of the GREENRichland Program and the other approaches to building sustainability. These programs directly support the college's vision to be the best place to learn, teach, and build sustainable local and world community. This discussion features details…
Distributed dynamic simulations of networked control and building performance applications
Yahiaoui, Azzedine
2018-01-01
The use of computer-based automation and control systems for smart sustainable buildings, often so-called Automated Buildings (ABs), has become an effective way to automatically control, optimize, and supervise a wide range of building performance applications over a network while achieving the
Sustainable Building in Scandinavia: Directions of Innovations for Supporting the Transition
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Koch-Ørvad, Nina; Thuesen, Christian
2016-01-01
Buildings are essential for securing a sustainable society, and the Scandinavian building sector is viewed upon globally as the one to lead the way. This paper investigates in which directions sustainable building in Scandinavia is likely to move and outlines a number of areas where sustainable...... in novations are necessary for supporting this movement. The focus on innovations as essential support for the sustainable transition of the building sector derives from the Multi-Level Perspective, which has been applied to this study as a framework for understanding sustainable transitions of socio...
Gamification as a Means to User Involvement in Decision-making Processes for Sustainable Buildings
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Hansen, Hanne Tine Ring; Knudstrup, Mary-Ann; Skøtt, Stine
2017-01-01
of life. Design thinking was used as method to develop a tool that focuses on how to make sustainable strategy development accessible to non-specialists during those critical stages of building design processes when goals and prioritisations are set. The tool is based on an open and editable platform...... and it will be available to the public in the early Summer of 2017. The paper presents how design thinking is used as an engaging research and development methodology, as well as, an introduction to the dialogue and prioritisation tool’s content and format.......User ownership, actors’ and stakeholders’ lack of knowledge is often identified as critical success parameters and barriers when evaluating how well sustainable buildings perform. Recognising that it is impossible to drive sustainable development without the people who pay for sustainable buildings...
Sustainable materials for low carbon buildings
B.V. Venkatarama Reddy
2009-01-01
This paper focuses on certain issues pertaining to energy, carbon emissions and sustainability of building construction with particular reference to the Indian construction industry. Use of sustainable natural materials in the past, related durability issues, and the implications of currently used energy-intensive materials on carbon emissions and sustainability are discussed. Some statistics on the Indian construction sector regarding materials produced in bulk quantities and the energy impl...
Safe and Sustainable Tall Buildings - State of the Art
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mendis P.
2012-01-01
Full Text Available Tall buildings are becoming very popular around the world. Asia will have most of the tall buildings in this century. Both safety and sustainability aspects are important in planning and designing these buildings. The design and construction of tall buildings present many challenges for the design team, from engineers, architect through to the builder. Although structural systems could be developed and construction solutions could be found to design and construct very tall buildings in excess of 1 km (even 1 mile, other aspects such as fire and egress, long-term movements, environmental wind and perception of motion (including damping for dynamic effects, transportation (lifts issues, sustainability, durability and maintenance will govern and may even restrict the heights. Current practices and important issues related to design of safe and sustainable design of tall buildings are discussed in this paper.
Building the Sustainable Library at Macquarie University
Brodie, Maxine
2012-01-01
This article explores a number of current issues and challenges in sustainability, both of and in academic libraries of the future, using as a case study the new library opened at Macquarie University, Sydney in 2011. Issues covered include sustainable design and operation of library buildings, sustainability in relation to library collections,…
A preliminary study on the relevancy of sustainable building design ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
This preliminary study aims to explore the relationship between sustainable building design paradigms and commercial property depreciation, to assist in the understanding of sustainable building design impact towards commercial building value and rental de employs the qualitative method and analyses valuers' current ...
A survey of Danish earthen heritage for sustainable building
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Eybye, Birgitte Tanderup; Vestergaard, Inge
2017-01-01
Earthen buildings were common in Denmark up until circa 1880, after which the number of such buildings declined. Today earthen buildings are considered as examples of sustainable architecture, nevertheless there are only few contemporary Danish earthen buildings. The first part of this paper...... to contribute to future sustainable building....... investigates heritage uses of earthen building with a view to exploring the factors that led to their decline. To achieve this, the paper will present a literature study and a case study. The second part of this paper comments on the extent to which the earthen heritage techniques have the potential...
Opportunities for low carbon sustainability in large commercial buildings in China
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Jiang Ping; Keith Tovey, N.
2009-01-01
China's building sector consumes one quarter of total energy consumption in the country and plays an important role in long-term ability of the country to achieve sustainable development. This paper discusses a comprehensive approach to achieving low carbon sustainability in large commercial buildings in China incorporating both energy and carbon-reduction strategies. The approach concentrates primarily on three complementary aspects: (a) the introduction of an effective energy management system; (b) the incorporation of relevant advanced energy saving technologies and measures and (c) the promotion of awareness among occupants to make changes in their behaviour towards a more environmental-friendly behaviour. However, reference is also made to the role that renewable energy and offsetting may have in the effective management and environmental performance of buildings. Nine examples of large commercial buildings in Beijing and Shanghai were studied and the average electricity consumption of around 153 kWh/m 2 per annum is about 5 times higher than average electricity use in residential buildings. At the same time the associated green house gas (GHG) emissions are around 158 kg/m 2 per annum.
Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities: Assistance from Grantees
EPA awarded Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities grants to four nonprofit organizations with extensive expertise in community sustainability. These organizations deliver technical assistance to communities.
Intelligent Buildings: Key to Achieving Total Sustainability in the Built Environment
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Tulika Gadakari
2014-01-01
Full Text Available ‘Are intelligent buildings a pragmatic approach towards achieving a sustainable built environment?’ is the research question that this review article aims to answer. It has been argued that there is a serious need for intelligent buildings to be evaluated against the parameters of total sustainability (environmental, economic and social so as to help the agenda of living in a technologically advanced, healthy and comfortable world. This paper reviews existing theoretical concepts of intelligence and sustainability in the built environment, through an exploration of various scientific literature and U.S Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design databases. A systematic qualitative review approach has been employed to select an appropriate definition of sustainable development and use it as a theoretical framework to assess the technological impact of intelligent buildings on the environmental, economic and social front. Subsequently five case study buildings from around the world, which exemplify the use of intelligent technologies to achieve sustainable gains were chosen and analyzed to further validate the literature findings. Outputs from the study highlight the various benefits of intelligent buildings, which include decrease in energy and water consumption, operational costs, as well as increase in productivity and investments. Additionally the analysis of the case studies revealed that the use of intelligent building technologies has contributed significantly towards a higher sustainability rating on the LEED rating scale. Moreover, the comparison of the attributes of intelligent buildings and sustainable practices in buildings, illustrates the fact that there is a considerable overlap between the two and intelligence can aid sustainability in the built environment. Thus the research suggests that green technologies and intelligence in combination may be a pragmatic approach towards the sustainability
Hyun, S.; Marjanovic-Halburd, L.; Raslan, R.
2015-01-01
There are significant opportunities for Building Information Modelling (BIM) to address issues related to sustainable and energy efficient building design. While the potential benefits associated with the integration of BIM and BPA (Building Performance Analysis) have been recognised, its specifications and formats remain in their early infancy and often fail to live up to the promise of seamless interoperability at various stages of design process. This paper conducts a case study to investi...
Prerequisites for Successful Strategic Partnerships for Sustainable Building Renovation
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Jensen, Per Anker; Johansen, Jakob Berg; Thuesen, Christian
The purpose of this paper is to identify the prerequisites for establishing successful strategic partnerships in relation to renovating buildings sustainably. Establishing strategic partnerships is in the paper seen as a potential way to make building renovation more sustainable in Denmark...... and analysis of strategic partnerships models as well as typical processes used in building renovation. Experiences from development of new strategic partnerships have particularly been found in the UK and Sweden. Based on two workshops with practitioners representing the whole value chain in the construction...... industry and analyses of two exemplary cases the paper suggests prerequisites for establishing successful strategic partnerships for sustainable building renovation. The results show that strategic partnerships are collaborations set up between two or more organizations that remain independent...
Sustainability-open : Why every building will be sustainable in the future
Coenders, J.L.
2013-01-01
In this paper the initiative “sustainability-open” will be introduced. The aim of the initiative is to take away one of the reasons why buildings and other objects in the built environment are often not designed in a sustainable manner: the availability of clear and insightful software to analyse
Sustainability of NGO capacity building in southern Africa: successes and opportunities.
Humphries, Debbie; Gomez, Ligia; Hartwig, Kari
2011-01-01
Despite an increase in organizational capacity building efforts by external organizations in low and middle income countries, the documentation of these efforts and their effects on health programs and systems remains limited. This paper reviews key frameworks for considering sustainability of capacity building and applies these frameworks to an evaluation of the sustainability of an AIDS non-governmental organization (NGO) capacity building initiative. From 2004-2007 Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation's Secure the Future(TM) initiative in southern Africa funded a five country program, the NGO Training Institute (NGOTI), to build capacity of NGOs working to address HIV/AIDS. Lessons learned from this project include issues of ownership, the importance of integrating planning for sustainability within capacity-building projects, and the value of identifying primary capacity-building objectives in order to select sustainability strategies that are focused on maintaining program benefits. Sustainability for capacity building projects can be developed by discussing key issues early in the planning process with all primary stakeholders. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Building capacity for energy and electricity planning for sustainable development
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
2008-09-01
The IAEA, through its Planning and Economic Studies Section (PESS), assists Member States to build their capacities to perform analyses for developing alternative strategies for sustainable energy development, evaluate the energy-economic-environmental implications and assess the potential contribution of nuclear energy in securing affordable and clean supplies of energy
Prerequisites for Successful Strategic Partnerships for Sustainable Building Renovation
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Jensen, Per Anker; Johansen, Jakob Berg; Thuesen, Christian
2017-01-01
The purpose of this paper is to identify the prerequisites for establishing successful strategic partnerships in relation to renovating buildings sustainably. Establishing strategic partnerships is in the paper seen as a potential way to make building renovation more sustainable in Denmark...... industry and analyses of two exemplary cases the paper suggests prerequisites for establishing successful strategic partnerships for sustainable building renovation. The results show that strategic partnerships are collaborations set up between two or more organizations that remain independent...... particularly in terms of reducing energy consumption and use of resources and increase productivity. However, until now we have only had a limited number of such partnerships implemented and the few examples that do exist, mostly concern the construction of new buildings. The paper is based on an investigation...
The quest for sustainability in existing buildings
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Nielsen, Susanne Balslev; Michaelsen, Lisbet; Jensen, Per Anker
2014-01-01
to sustainability at societal level. Due to lack of professional skills, decisions about operation and renovation of buildings are made every day in Denmark and beyond, without adequate knowledge about e.g. energy management and the potential ways of integrating sustainability (social, environmental and economic...
Shiel, Chris; Leal Filho, Walter; do Paço, Arminda; Brandli, Luciana
2016-02-01
Universities have the potential to play a leading role in enabling communities to develop more sustainable ways of living and working however, sustainable communities may only emerge with facilitation, community learning and continual efforts to build their capacities. Elements of programme planning and evaluation on the one hand, and capacity building on the other, are needed. The latter entails approaches and processes that may contribute to community empowerment; universities may either lead such approaches, or be key partners in an endeavour to empower communities to address the challenges posed by the need for sustainable development. Although capacity building and the promotion of sustainable development locally, are on the agenda for universities who take seriously regional engagement, very little is published that illustrates or describes the various forms of activities that take place. Further, there is a paucity of studies that have evaluated the work performed by universities in building capacity for sustainable development at the local level. This paper is an attempt to address this need, and entails an empirical study based on a sample of universities in the United Kingdom, Germany, Portugal and Brazil. The paper examines the extent to which capacity building for sustainable development is being undertaken, suggests the forms that this might take and evaluates some of the benefits for local communities. The paper concludes by reinforcing that universities have a critical role to play in community development; that role has to prioritise the sustainability agenda. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Innovations in building regulation and control for advancing sustainability in buildings (I)
Meacham, B.; Visscher, H.J.; Meijer, F.M.; Chan, C.; Chan, E.; Laubscher, J.; Neng Kwei Sung, J.; Dodds, B.; Serra, J.; Tenorio, J.A.; Echeverria, J.B.; Sanches-Ostiz, A.
2014-01-01
This session brings together policy-makers, government officials, researchers and others to present perspectives on how innovation in building regulation and control, such as performancebased approaches, are currently being used to advance sustainability concepts in buildings, and where and how we
Categorizing Building certification systems according to the definition of sustainable building
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Zimmermann, Regitze Kjær; Skjelmose, Ole; Guldager Jensen, Kasper
2018-01-01
The availability of sustainable (or green) building certifications schemes is constantly increasing and it is not always easy to understand how the schemes on the market differentiate from each other. The purpose of this study is to create a better dialog between client and consultant in relation...... are both of international, regional and local scale (Active House, BREEAM, DGNB, Green Star, HQE, LEED, Living Building Challenge, Miljöbyggnad, Nordic Ecolabel and WELL). The results show a large variation of the weight on the dimensions of social, environmental and economic sustainability within the 10...... the largest focus on criteria within the environmental dimension. Across the selected certifications this dimension account for an average of 51%. This indicates that certifications have “green” buildings as their main focus point. However, a certification such as WELL almost completely focuses on social...
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Marija S. Todorović
2012-12-01
Full Text Available The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in buildings offers one of the most promising opportunities for developed and developing countries to cooperate in achieving the realization of significant energy efficiency improvements. However, achieving sustainability is not an easy task unless there is synergy with/between energy efficiency improvement and renewable energy sources (RES - these are not at present in widespread dissemination and use. This paper recognizes the synergetic relationship between conservation and sustainability. At present, the role of heritage conservation in achieving sustainability has not yet been fully recognized, nor have heritage needs been well integrated into sustainability initiatives. Historic buildings are inherently sustainable. Preservation maximizes the use of existing materials and infrastructures, reduces waste, and preserves the historical character of older towns and cities. Sustainability begins with preservation. Taking into account the original climatic adaptations of historic buildings, today’s sustainable technology can supplement inherent sustainable features without compromising their unique historical character. Furthermore, a number of paper reviews and case studies with related methodologies outline the need to implement the latest current knowledge and technologies (BPS - Building Performance Simulation and CFD - Computational Fluid Dynamics for use in the refurbishment design process, as well as highlighting the crucial importance of sustainability, relevant benchmarking and rating system development.
Social indicators of sustainable building; Soziale Indikatoren des nachhaltigen Bauens
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Greiff, Rainer
2012-06-15
As a result of the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro (''Earth Summit'') the participating nations agreed upon principles of sus-tainable development and objectives for sustainable development - the so called ''Agenda 21'' - to be pursued by national sustainability strategies and be monitored by systems of appropriate relative indicators. The participants shared the awareness that ecological objectives aiming at the global preservation of the natural resources can be achieved only if sustainable economic and social developments are considered together. Unlike the ecological demands of protection of climate and resources, for which evidence can be provided by natural sciences and that can be substantiated by figures, a common under-standing of the social dimension of sustainability has not yet emerged. The same is true for the concept of ''sustainable building''. In the guideline ''Sustainable Building'' published by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing in 2001, essential instructions regarding the implementation of ob-jectives for ecological construction were compiled for use in practice. This guideline is now to be supplemented by objectives of social sustainability. As a basis for common understanding a definition of the social aspects of sustainable building will be brought forward, which is expected to be broadly acknowledged. Furthermore indicators for the social dimension of sustainability were to be developed so that the observance of socio-cultural aspects of sustainability may be operationalised for new construction as well as refurbishment.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Arif Khan
2012-07-01
Full Text Available As the sustainable settlements have been included as a vital end product of all planning exercises, the architectural layouts should be well integrated with the sun path charts and the orientations of windows. Appropriate orientations can offer thermally indoor conditions besides physical and psychological comfort in any settlement at lesser energy demand. This investigation uses a vast number of computer simulations to visualize and make better decisions about heating and cooling requirements of a building and facades as a function of window orientation in composite climatic condition of Lahore. This study in particular evaluates the solar load in residential buildings responsive to the objective of sustainable new housing leading to thoughtful integration of architecture. The orientation of the buildings could then be essentially integrated to the current architectural and urban design practices in order to optimize the relationship between the given site ant the orientations for sustainable developments.
Sustainable Building Assessment of Colonial Shophouses after Adaptive Reuse in Kuala Lumpur
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Karam M. Al-Obaidi
2017-10-01
Full Text Available Kuala Lumpur, as a major capital city, has undergone a drastic transformation in the past ten years. Many heritage buildings have been sacrificed for urban renewal projects. Those located in the touristic heritage zones within Kuala Lumpur were being converted by their owners into hotels and cafés to meet current demands to sustain their incomes. This approach, however, creates several physical and environmental issues within the new adaptation. The aim of this study is to evaluate the building performance of heritage shophouses that were adapted into budget hotels. The research focuses on two case studies in a strategic and historical location of Jalan Sultan, Kuala Lumpur. At the initial stage, interviews and physical surveys were done to determine the context of this study. The authors of this research then used a triangulation method through indoor environmental condition assessment, measurements of indoor environmental conditions and occupant survey to determine the indoor building performance after the adaption. Results showed that adaptive reuse heritage buildings can perform and meet new indoor environmental requirements, but many sensitive design judgments need to be made before the adaptive reuse renovation. The research found that the use of natural light, natural ventilation, recycled materials and water efficiency have been neglected and thus, they should be prioritized and preserved to ensure a successful change of use. Conserving existing heritage buildings, while incorporating new usages with acceptable comfort, is in line with the principle of sustainability.
Sustainability challenges of residential reinforced - concrete panel buildings
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Markku J. Riihimäki
2014-06-01
Full Text Available Quite similar large-panel prefabrication technologies were used for residential buildings in East-Europe and some countries in Northern-Europe, e.g. Finland. Even if technologically similar, the fate of the building stocks is different in the two regions, with buildings functioning sustainably in Finland. Hence, one could adapt the maintenance and renovation experiences to the building stock in other countries, creating opportunities for communities and business. The paper presents technological, economical, and institutional/policy aspects in the two environments, and discusses them in the larger framework of European sustainability targets. For major renovation, as targeted in the paper, methods of change management should be applied, entailing thoughtful planning and sensitive implementation and above all, consultation/involvement of the people affected. If the presented interventions would be used in a systematic and planned way, improvements can be achieved for social sustainability targets like e.g. adaptability and visual comfort, while maintaining the safety and security. Finally, the limitations of the approach in light of the institutional setting and ownership structure are discussed, highlighting how different ownership models are favoring or hindering major retrofit interventions. The paper offers ways on strengthening the role of key stakeholders to support major renovation interventions on the panel building stock.
Solar chimney: A sustainable approach for ventilation and building space conditioning
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Lal, S.,
2013-03-01
Full Text Available The residential and commercial buildings demand increase with rapidly growing population. It leads to the vertical growth of the buildings and needs proper ventilation and day-lighting. The natural air ventilation system is not significantly works in conventional structure, so fans and air conditioners are mandatory to meet the proper ventilation and space conditioning. Globally building sector consumed largest energy and utmost consumed in heating, ventilation and space conditioning. This load can be reduced by application of solar chimney and integrated approaches in buildings for heating, ventilation and space conditioning. It is a sustainable approach for these applications in buildings. The authors are reviewed the concept, various method of evaluation, modelings and performance of solar chimney variables, applications and integrated approaches.
Modeling a Decision Support Tool for Buildable and Sustainable Building Envelope Designs
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Natee Singhaputtangkul
2015-05-01
Full Text Available Sustainability and buildability requirements in building envelope design have significantly gained more importance nowadays, yet there is a lack of an appropriate decision support system (DSS that can help a building design team to incorporate these requirements and manage their tradeoffs at once. The main objective of this study is to build such a tool to facilitate a building design team to take into account sustainability and buildability criteria for assessment of building envelopes of high-rise residential buildings in Singapore. Literature reviews were conducted to investigate a comprehensive set of the sustainability and buildability criteria. This also included development of the tool using a Quality Functional Deployment (QFD approach combined with fuzzy set theory. A building design team was engaged to test the tool with the aim to evaluate usefulness of the tool in managing the tradeoffs among the sustainability and buildability criteria. The results from a qualitative data analysis suggested that the tool allowed the design team to effectively find a balance between the tradeoffs among the criteria when assessing multiple building envelope design alternatives. Main contributions of using this tool are achievement of a more efficient assessment of the building envelopes and more sustainable and buildable building envelope design.
Energy sustainable development through energy efficient heating devices and buildings
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Bojic, M.
2006-01-01
Energy devices and buildings are sustainable if, when they operate, they use sustainable (renewable and refuse) energy and generate nega-energy. This paper covers three research examples of this type of sustainability: (1) use of air-to-earth heat exchangers, (2) computer control of heating and cooling of the building (via heat pumps and heat-recovery devices), and (3) design control of energy consumption in a house. (author)
Building products for sustainable buildings; Bauprodukte fuer nachhaltige Gebaeude
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Blumberg, Martin; Urbanek, Anja [brands und values GmbH, Bremen (Germany)
2013-04-15
In the light of the energy efficiency, sustainability and the increasing distribution of buildings certifications environmental product declarations have grown in significance. The environmental product declaration program for building products was organized by the Institute Construction and Environment e.V. (Koenigswinter, Federal Republic of Germany). Beside the definition of the product group specific requirements and certifications as well as an independent review process of the completed environmental product declarations, the Advisory Council guarantees that the program rules of the Institute Construction and Environment e.V. continue to develop in conformity to international standards.
Environmental Comfort Indicators for School Buildings in Sustainability Assessment Tools
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Tatiana Santos Saraiva
2018-06-01
Full Text Available Decades ago, the only requirement to construct a building was to give men the right conditions for the execution of their work or leisure activities. With the development of knowledge about the internal and external environments of buildings, other requirements have been added such as the issue of user comfort. New construction techniques have been incorporated and new products have been created to improve internal environment comfort. This research addressed the importance of using indicators related to environmental comfort in sustainability assessment tools applied to school buildings. It also considered the importance of environmental issues for the good performance of human beings, and the harmonious coexistence of the comfort indicators indoor air quality, thermal comfort, visual comfort, acoustic comfort and ergonomic comfort based on data gathered in research carried out with users of high schools (only students. This research was carried out in two different cities of different countries, Guimarães (Portugal and Juiz de Fora (Brazil, that have similar characteristics of teaching standards and climate conditions (temperature and air humidity. In this study, interviews were made through questionnaires and, later, the information collected was analyzed. This study demonstrates the need to include an ergonomic indicator for school buildings in sustainability assessment tools.
Infusing Sustainability Across Disciplines to Build Student Engagement
Bruckner, M. Z.; O'Connell, K.; McDaris, J. R.; Kirk, K. B.; Larsen, K.; Kent, M.; Manduca, C. A.; Egger, A. E.; Blockstein, D.; Mogk, D. W.; Taber, J.
2014-12-01
Establishing relevance and effective communication are key mechanisms for building student and community engagement in a topic and can be used to promote the importance of working across disciplines to solve problems. Sustainability, including the impacts of and responses to climate change, is an inherently interdisciplinary issue and can be infused across courses and curricula in a variety of ways. Key topics such as climate change, hazards, and food, water, and energy production and sustainability are relevant to a wide audience and can be used to build student engagement. Using real-world examples, service learning, and focusing on the local environment may further boost engagement by establishing relevance between sustainability issues and students' lives. Communication plays a key role in the exchange of information across disciplines and allows for a more holistic approach to tackling the complex climate and sustainability issues our society faces. It has the power to bridge gaps, break down disciplinary silos, and build connections among diverse audiences with a wide range of expertise, including scientists, policy-makers, stakeholders, and the general public. It also aids in planning and preparation for, response to, and mitigation of issues related to sustainability, including the impacts of climate change, to lessen the detrimental effects of unavoidable events such as sea level rise and extreme weather events. Several workshops from the InTeGrate and On the Cutting Edge projects brought together educators and practitioners from a range of disciplines including geoscience, engineering, social science, and more to encourage communication and collaboration across disciplines. They supported networking, community-building, and sharing of best practices for preparing our students for a sustainable future, both in and out of the workplace, and across disciplines. Interdisciplinary teams are also working together to author curricular materials that highlight
The Lanchester Library — Building a Sustainable Library
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Pat Noon
2008-09-01
Full Text Available The award winning Lanchester Library is the largest deep plan naturally ventilated building in Europe and has consistently delivered significant energy savings compared to air conditioned buildings. The article provides some background to the design and explains the sustainable features of the building as well as describing how flexibility was built into the building to enable the library service to evolve in response to changing user needs.
Smart energy control systems for sustainable buildings
Spataru, Catalina; Howlett, Robert; Jain, Lakhmi
2017-01-01
There is widespread interest in the way that smart energy control systems, such as assessment and monitoring techniques for low carbon, nearly-zero energy and net positive buildings can contribute to a Sustainable future, for current and future generations. There is a turning point on the horizon for the supply of energy from finite resources such as natural gas and oil become less reliable in economic terms and extraction become more challenging, and more unacceptable socially, such as adverse public reaction to ‘fracking’. Thus, in 2016 these challenges are having a major influence on the design, optimisation, performance measurements, operation and preservation of: buildings, neighbourhoods, cities, regions, countries and continents. The source and nature of energy, the security of supply and the equity of distribution, the environmental impact of its supply and utilization, are all crucial matters to be addressed by suppliers, consumers, governments, industry, academia, and financial institutions. Thi...
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Hannoudi, L.; Lauring, M.; Christensen, Jørgen Erik
2016-01-01
This study is about evaluating the past and present architectural quality of office buildings built between1960 and 1980 in Denmark. The evaluation will focus on the expression of these buildings in relation to their context, combined with the present sustainable performance of the buildings...
Do green building assessment criteria meet sustainability imperatives: a critical analysis
CSIR Research Space (South Africa)
Van Wyk, Llewellyn V
2008-07-01
Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to determine whether green building assessment criteria meet the imperatives of sustainable development. The paper finds that green building assessment criteria fail to meet the sustainable development imperatives...
Sustainability-Related Decision Making in Industrial Buildings: An AHP Analysis
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jesús Cuadrado
2015-01-01
Full Text Available Few other sectors have such a great impact on sustainability as the construction industry, in which concerns over the environmental dimension have been growing for some time. The sustainability assessment methodology presented in this paper is an AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process based on Multicriteria Decision Making (MCDM and includes the main sustainability factors for consideration in the construction of an industrial building (environmental, economic, and social, as well as other factors that greatly influence the conceptual design of the building (employee safety, corporate image. Its simplicity is well adapted to its main objective, to serve as a sustainability-related decision making tool in industrial building projects, during the design stage. Accompanied by an economic valuation of the actions to be undertaken, this tool means that the most cost-effective solution may be selected from among the various options.
China. Top Sector Energy. Sustainable Building. Opportunities for Dutch companies
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
NONE
2012-08-15
For China, sustainable design is necessary for controlling energy usage in crowded and constantly expanding urban areas. It is well known that China is the world's biggest construction market. Nearly half of the new buildings annually constructed worldwide are located in China by 2015. However, only about 4% of these are built according to energy efficiency standards. China's construction market will by 2020 account for 40% of the country's total energy consumption. While it contributes 15% of the world's GDP, China consumes 30% of the earth's steel and half its concrete. On top of which, buildings in China consume a third of the country's increasingly endangered water supplies. Recent research showed that almost half of the national energy consumption has been used for construction related purposes. Of existing buildings, a huge amount needs sustainable redesign and retrofitting technologies.Chinese government has recognized the urgency of widely implementing sustainable buildings. As a result, a national 3-star China National Green Building rating system has been launched in 2006. Yet the Chinese green building revolution is still in its infancy. Main problems are, amongst others, low level of regulations and standards, problematic implementations at local level, lack of awareness and transparency in related public and private sector, lack of expertise of integrated sustainable building design and construction among engineers, designers and constructors. It is also to be expected that more aggressive energy saving and environmental protection targets will be set by the 12th Five Year Plan. Promote green buildings will be one of the top priorities in China's swift urbanization process with focus on saving land, energy, water and materials. Chinese government has recognized the urgency of widely implementing sustainable buildings. Yet the Chinese green building revolution is still in its infancy. Under this framework, the
China. Top Sector Energy. Sustainable Building. Opportunities for Dutch companies
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
NONE
2012-08-15
For China, sustainable design is necessary for controlling energy usage in crowded and constantly expanding urban areas. It is well known that China is the world's biggest construction market. Nearly half of the new buildings annually constructed worldwide are located in China by 2015. However, only about 4% of these are built according to energy efficiency standards. China's construction market will by 2020 account for 40% of the country's total energy consumption. While it contributes 15% of the world's GDP, China consumes 30% of the earth's steel and half its concrete. On top of which, buildings in China consume a third of the country's increasingly endangered water supplies. Recent research showed that almost half of the national energy consumption has been used for construction related purposes. Of existing buildings, a huge amount needs sustainable redesign and retrofitting technologies.Chinese government has recognized the urgency of widely implementing sustainable buildings. As a result, a national 3-star China National Green Building rating system has been launched in 2006. Yet the Chinese green building revolution is still in its infancy. Main problems are, amongst others, low level of regulations and standards, problematic implementations at local level, lack of awareness and transparency in related public and private sector, lack of expertise of integrated sustainable building design and construction among engineers, designers and constructors. It is also to be expected that more aggressive energy saving and environmental protection targets will be set by the 12th Five Year Plan. Promote green buildings will be one of the top priorities in China's swift urbanization process with focus on saving land, energy, water and materials. Chinese government has recognized the urgency of widely implementing sustainable buildings. Yet the Chinese green building revolution is still in its infancy. Under this framework, the following areas will offer business
Sustainable Construction Industry Development and Green Buildings: A Case of Latvia
Kauskale, L.; Geipele, I.; Zeltins, N.; Vanags, J.
2018-02-01
Nowadays, more and more attention is being paid to the country's economy, construction industry and real estate market's sustainable development and to the studies related to these issues. The aim of the research is to analyse significant aspects of sustainable development of construction activities and real estate market, with particular focus on environmental aspects of construction or the role of green buildings. The research includes an integrated approach of construction industry analysis and analysis of real estate operations area. Scientific and practical solutions and recommendations will enable the industry participants to be introduced to the main sustainable aspects of construction industry development, which, in their turn, can improve the overall performance of the industry in the long term.
2011-09-14
... Information Collection: Comment Request; Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities Program: Notice of... public comments on the subject proposal. The Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities Program... also lists the following information: Title of Proposal: Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities...
Modelling the life-cycle of sustainable, living buildings
Van Nederveen, S.; Gielingh, W.
2009-01-01
Credit-reductions by banks, as a consequence of the global monetary crisis, will hit the construction industry for many years to come. There are however still financing opportunities for building projects that are perceived as less risky. Buildings that are not only sustainable, but also flexible
Analysis of Factors Influencing Building Refurbishment Project Performance
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ishak Nurfadzillah
2018-01-01
Full Text Available Presently, the refurbishment approach becomes favourable as it creates opportunities to incorporate sustainable value with other building improvement. In this regard, this approach needs to be implemented due to the issues on overwhelming ratio of existing building to new construction, which also can contribute to the environmental problem. Refurbishment principles imply to minimize the environmental impact and upgrading the performance of an existing building to meet new requirements. In theoretically, building project’s performance has a direct bearing on related to its potential for project success. However, in refurbishment building projects, the criteria for measure are become wider because the projects are a complex and multi-dimensional which encompassing many factors which reflect to the nature of works. Therefore, this impetus could be achieve by examine the direct empirical relationship between critical success factors (CSFs and complexity factors (CFs during managing the project in relation to delivering success on project performance. The research findings will be expected as the basis of future research in establish appropriate framework that provides information on managing refurbishment building projects and enhancing the project management competency for a better-built environment.
Analysis of Factors Influencing Building Refurbishment Project Performance
Ishak, Nurfadzillah; Aswad Ibrahim, Fazdliel; Azizi Azizan, Muhammad
2018-03-01
Presently, the refurbishment approach becomes favourable as it creates opportunities to incorporate sustainable value with other building improvement. In this regard, this approach needs to be implemented due to the issues on overwhelming ratio of existing building to new construction, which also can contribute to the environmental problem. Refurbishment principles imply to minimize the environmental impact and upgrading the performance of an existing building to meet new requirements. In theoretically, building project's performance has a direct bearing on related to its potential for project success. However, in refurbishment building projects, the criteria for measure are become wider because the projects are a complex and multi-dimensional which encompassing many factors which reflect to the nature of works. Therefore, this impetus could be achieve by examine the direct empirical relationship between critical success factors (CSFs) and complexity factors (CFs) during managing the project in relation to delivering success on project performance. The research findings will be expected as the basis of future research in establish appropriate framework that provides information on managing refurbishment building projects and enhancing the project management competency for a better-built environment.
Building Integrated Design Practice under the Concept of Sustainable Development
Liu, Xuexin
2018-03-01
With the continuous development of social economy, people are more demanding for architecture. Some advanced design concepts are gradually applied to the design of buildings. Under the concept of sustainable development, building integration design has also been widely used to promote the rapid development of architectural design. Integrated design concepts and sustainable development concepts play an important role to meet people’s requirements. This article will explore the concept of sustainable development under the concept of integrated architectural design and practice analysis, propose appropriate measures.
Sustainable Buildings: An Ever Evolving Target
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Guillermo Quesada
2011-02-01
Full Text Available Environmental considerations have called for new developments in building technologies to bridge the gap between this need for lower impacts on the environment and ever increasing comfort. These developments were generally directed at the reduction of the energy consumption during operations. While this was indeed a mandatory first step, complete environmental life cycle analysis raises new questions. For instance, for a typical low thermal energy consumption building, the embodied energy of construction materials now becomes an important component of the environmental footprint. In addition, the usual practice in life cycle analysis now appears to call for some adaptation—due to variable parameters in time—to be implemented successfully in building analysis. These issues bring new challenges to reach the goal of integrated design, construction, commissioning, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning of sustainable buildings.
Floating houses “lanting” in Sintang: Assessment on sustainable building materials
Susanto, D.; Lubis, M. S.
2018-03-01
One important element in the concept of sustainable building is the use of materials. The higher the use of sustainable material in building, the more sustained the building. Lanting is one type of floating construction, usually made from wood, that can be found in settlement along the river, such as in the city of Sintang, West Kalimantan. Lanting is still survive today because it is still used by community whose lives are tied to the river, and also because of its flexible nature that is able to function as a ‘water building’ as well as ‘land building’, and it is also movable, in addition for land limitation in some places. However, the existence of lanting settlements in the city of Sintang faces insistence because it is considered slum, polluting the environment, the scarcity of wooden materials, disturbing the beauty of the city, and threatened by the concretized river banks by local government. This paper discussed the sustainability of waterfront buildings in the city of Sintang in terms of material uses, through the assessment of ‘green-features’ of the main materials used. Assessment results show that wood is the most green building material and lanting is considered at the highest sustainability level for its use of wooden materials.
Building reactor operator sustain expert system with C language integrated production system
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Ouyang Qin; Hu Shouyin; Wang Ruipian
2002-01-01
The development of the reactor operator sustain expert system is introduced, the capability of building reactor operator sustain expert system is discussed with C Language Integrated Production System (Clips), and a simple antitype of expert system is illustrated. The limitation of building reactor operator sustain expert system with Clips is also discussed
Asmone, A. S.; Chew, M. Y. L.
2018-02-01
Accurately predicting maintainability has been a challenge due to the complex nature of buildings, yet it is an important research area with a rising necessity. This paper explores the use of multicriteria decision making approach for merging maintainability and sustainability elements into building grading systems to attain long-term sustainability in the building industry. The paper conducts a systematic literature review on multicriteria decision analysis approach and builds on the existing knowledge of maintainability to achieve this. A conceptual framework is developed to bridge the gap between building operations and maintenance with green facilities management by forecasting green maintainability at the design stage.
Traditional buildings of Iran as a sign of sustainable architecture
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Rezaei, Davood; Zare, Mohamad [Faculty of engineering, Zanjan University (Iran, Islamic Republic of)], Email: d_rezaei@znu.ac.ir, email: zaremd@yahoo.com
2011-07-01
With the rising price of energy and increasing concerns over the environment, ways of creating sustainable architecture are getting more and more attention. Buildings in Iran are confronted with a variety of weather conditions and specific measures have been taken to adapt traditional architecture to the environment and minimize energy consumption. The aim of this paper is to present the different materials and solutions used in traditional Iranian architecture. This review showed that sustainable architecture in an arid climate can be realised by the use of soil as a building insulator. Other methods consist in orienting the building in such a way as to absorb sunlight, using wind towers and wind scope, dividing a yard in such a way that different areas are used, depending on the season, and building underground spaces to provide comfortable conditions. This paper highlighted several historical methods and materials which can be used to bring about sustainable architecture in an arid climate.
Towards sustainable public FM: collective building of capabilities
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Ramskov Galamba, Kirsten; Nielsen, Susanne Balslev
2016-01-01
Purpose Public facilities management (FM) is in the unique position of aligning building projects and FM with the policies of sustainable development at societal level. However, sustainable facilities management (SFM) is an emergent profession, and there is a need to build a code of conduct for SFM...... in FM organisations. The purpose is to develop and test a workshop based concept for collective building of capabilities targeting in-house FM organisations, in particular public in-house FM organisations. Design/methodology/approach This research explores the role of public facilities managers...... and examines how an empowerment process can help FM employees develop collective competences for SFM. The methodologies used are literature review, and a 3–year-long action research process in the Danish local authority, Albertslund, which is internationally recognised for its innovative and green profile...
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
None
2015-03-01
The Alliance for Sustainable Colorado (The Alliance) is a nonprofit organization aiming to transform sustainability from vision to reality. Part of its mission is to change the operating paradigms of commercial building design to make them more sustainable. Toward that end The Alliance uses its headquarters, The Alliance Center at 1536 Wynkoop Street in Denver, as a living laboratory, conductingpilot studies of innovative commercial-building-design solutions for using and generating energy.
The use of fiscal instruments in sustainable building policies
Sunikka, M.M.
2003-01-01
Although progressive government guidelines and knowledge about sustainable building exist, sustainability measures are not adopted in large scale. Several barriers have been identified, especially the perceived costs of implementing environmental management and the lack of market demand. The choice
Strategies for Sustainable Comfort in Buildings
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Nørgaard, Jørgen
1997-01-01
these goals include phasing out all use of electricity for space heating and for hot water supply. Furthermore building codes should require new buildings to be very well insulated, 30-40 cm mineral wool, for instance, and low energy windows. Similar codes, although not always as strict, should be applied......It is possible within some decades to achieve environmental sustainability in the building sector and at the same time provide a comfortable and healthy life for all Europeans as well as leaving that option open for other people in the world.Buildings are charcterized by having the longest lifetime...... of all capital in our societies, often more than a hundred years. For that reason they should never be designed on the bases of just present cheap energy supply and energy system, but with the long term outlook and risks in mind. New buildings can be designed to require essentially no space heating...
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Jensen, Jesper Ole; Gram-Hanssen, Kirsten
2005-01-01
In recent decades, Denmark has gained a reputation for being an environmental frontrunner in sustainable building, through a number of initiatives in new buildings, urban renewal and building operation. However, lately this has changed and this article discusses whether the right-wing government......, which came to power in 2001, caused this effect or if this setback for sustainable building is part of a broader international trend. The article presents examples of new Danish policies to promote sustainability in the building sector, and on recent examples of sustainable buildings. The policies...
Sustainable Construction Industry Development and Green Buildings: A Case of Latvia
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Kauskale L.
2018-02-01
Full Text Available Nowadays, more and more attention is being paid to the country's economy, construction industry and real estate market's sustainable development and to the studies related to these issues. The aim of the research is to analyse significant aspects of sustainable development of construction activities and real estate market, with particular focus on environmental aspects of construction or the role of green buildings. The research includes an integrated approach of construction industry analysis and analysis of real estate operations area. Scientific and practical solutions and recommendations will enable the industry participants to be introduced to the main sustainable aspects of construction industry development, which, in their turn, can improve the overall performance of the industry in the long term.
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Fung, A. [Ryerson Polytechnic Univ., Toronto, ON (Canada). Dept. of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering; Dembo, A.; Zhou, J. [Ryerson Polytechnic Univ., Toronto, ON (Canada). Dept. of Architectural Science
2009-07-01
This paper described energy and audit and building simulations conducted on an archetype sustainable house located in Woodbridge, Ontario. The house formed part of a project to construct low energy, sustainable house designs for mass production. The 2 houses formed a duplex. House A was designed using current best design practices, while house B was equipped with advanced and innovative technologies not commonly used in residential constructions. Natural Resources Canada's (NRCan) HOT2000 residential building simulation program was used to evaluate the performance of both houses in the duplex. The simulation program demonstrated that house B performed more efficiently than house A. However, neither houses met their designed values. Significantly larger space heating and cooling loads were identified. The program showed that additional weather-stripping around doors, and caulking around windows will help to reduce the amount of draft in the houses. Assessments are also needed to measure heat losses from the common wall in the basement. It was concluded that the energy performance of the house can be optimized by using the appropriate sealing techniques throughout the building envelope. 2 refs., 1 tab.
Design Solutions for Sustainable Construction of Pre Engineered Steel Buildings
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Muhammad Umair Saleem
2018-05-01
Full Text Available Sustainable construction of ecofriendly infrastructure has been the priority of worldwide researchers. The induction of modern technology in the steel manufacturing industry has enabled designers to get the desired control over the steel section shapes and profiles resulting in efficient use of construction material and manufacturing energy required to produce these materials. The current research study is focused on the optimization of steel building costs with the use of pre-engineered building construction technology. Construction of conventional steel buildings (CSB incorporates the use of hot rolled sections, which have uniform cross-section throughout the length. However, pre-engineered steel buildings (PEB utilize steel sections, which are tailored and profiled based on the required loading effects. In this research study, the performance of PEB steel frames in terms of optimum use of steel sections and its comparison with the conventional steel building is presented in detail. A series of PEB and CSB steel frames is selected and subjected to various loading conditions. Frames were analyzed using Finite Element Based analysis tool and design was performed using American Institute of Steel Construction design specifications. Comparison of the frames has been established in terms of frame weights, lateral displacements (sway and vertical displacements (deflection of the frames. The results have clearly indicated that PEB steel frames are not only the most economical solution due to lesser weight of construction but also have shown better performance compared to CSB frames.
Juan, Yi-Kai; Cheng, Yu-Ching; Perng, Yeng-Horng; Castro-Lacouture, Daniel
2016-01-01
Much attention has been paid to hospitals environments since modern pandemics have emerged. The building sector is considered to be the largest world energy consumer, so many global organizations are attempting to create a sustainable environment in building construction by reducing energy consumption. Therefore, maintaining high standards of hygiene while reducing energy consumption has become a major task for hospitals. This study develops a decision model based on genetic algorithms and A* graph search algorithms to evaluate existing hospital environmental conditions and to recommend an optimal scheme of sustainable renovation strategies, considering trade-offs among minimal renovation cost, maximum quality improvement, and low environmental impact. Reusing vacant buildings is a global and sustainable trend. In Taiwan, for example, more and more school space will be unoccupied due to a rapidly declining birth rate. Integrating medical care with local community elder-care efforts becomes important because of the aging population. This research introduces a model that converts a simulated vacant school building into a community public hospital renovation project in order to validate the solutions made by hospital managers and suggested by the system. The result reveals that the system performs well and its solutions are more successful than the actions undertaken by decision-makers. This system can improve traditional hospital building condition assessment while making it more effective and efficient. PMID:27347986
Juan, Yi-Kai; Cheng, Yu-Ching; Perng, Yeng-Horng; Castro-Lacouture, Daniel
2016-06-24
Much attention has been paid to hospitals environments since modern pandemics have emerged. The building sector is considered to be the largest world energy consumer, so many global organizations are attempting to create a sustainable environment in building construction by reducing energy consumption. Therefore, maintaining high standards of hygiene while reducing energy consumption has become a major task for hospitals. This study develops a decision model based on genetic algorithms and A* graph search algorithms to evaluate existing hospital environmental conditions and to recommend an optimal scheme of sustainable renovation strategies, considering trade-offs among minimal renovation cost, maximum quality improvement, and low environmental impact. Reusing vacant buildings is a global and sustainable trend. In Taiwan, for example, more and more school space will be unoccupied due to a rapidly declining birth rate. Integrating medical care with local community elder-care efforts becomes important because of the aging population. This research introduces a model that converts a simulated vacant school building into a community public hospital renovation project in order to validate the solutions made by hospital managers and suggested by the system. The result reveals that the system performs well and its solutions are more successful than the actions undertaken by decision-makers. This system can improve traditional hospital building condition assessment while making it more effective and efficient.
Calbick, Kenneth S.
This research reviews five studies that evaluate national environmental sustainability with composite indices; performs uncertainty and sensitivity analyses of techniques for building a composite index; completes principal components factor analysis to help build subindices measuring waste and pollution, sustainable energy, sustainable food, nature conservation, and sustainable cities (Due to its current importance, the greenhouse gases (GHG) indicator is included individually as another policy measure.); analyses factors that seem to influence performance: climate, population growth, population density, economic output, technological development, industrial structure, energy prices, environmental governance, pollution abatement and control expenditures, and environmental pricing; and explores Canadian policy implications of the results. The techniques to build composite indices include performance indicator selection, missing data treatment, normalisation technique, scale-effect adjustments, weights, and aggregation method. Scale-effect adjustments and normalisation method are significant sources of uncertainty inducing 68% of the observed variation in a country's final rank at the 95% level of confidence. Choice of indicators also introduces substantial variation as well. To compensate for this variation, the current study recommends that a composite index should always be analysed with other policy subindices and individual indicators. Moreover, the connection between population and consumption indicates that per capita scale-effect adjustments should be used for certain indicators. Rather than ranking normalisation, studies should use a method that retains information from the raw indicator values. Multiple regression and cluster analyses indicate economic output, environmental governance, and energy prices are major influential factors, with energy prices the most important. It is statistically significant for five out of seven performance measures at the 95
Sustainable renovation of residential buildings and the landlord/tenant dilemma
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Ástmarsson, Björn; Jensen, Per Anker; Maslesa, Esmir
2013-01-01
The landlord/tenant dilemma arises when the interests of landlords and tenants misalign and is one of the greatest barriers hindering the development of sustainable renovation of residential buildings in Europe. The aim of this research is to investigate how regulatory changes and contractual solutions can help solve the landlord/tenant dilemma in relation to sustainable renovation of residential buildings, and how the general awareness of sustainable renovation can be increased. Particular focus is on whether tools like energy performance contracting and energy labeling can help solve the landlord/tenant dilemma. The research was done in relation to the specific situation in Denmark, but theory, information and experiences from other countries were included. The results show that there are plenty of opportunities to overcome the landlord/tenant dilemma, but principal/agent problems can only be overcome with a package solution. In the Danish national context the package solution must consist of legislative changes, financial incentives and better dissemination of information. Therefore, an array of different tools must be integrated and used in cooperation to overcome the dilemma. - Highlights: • There are plenty of opportunities to overcome the landlord/tenant dilemma. • The principal/agent problems can only be overcome with a package solution. • An array of different tools must be integrated and used in cooperation. • Legislative changes, financial incentives and better dissemination of information
Environmental Sustainability and Mold Hygiene in Buildings.
Wu, Haoxiang; Ng, Tsz Wai; Wong, Jonathan Wc; Lai, Ka Man
2018-04-04
Environmental sustainability is one of the key issues in building management. In Hong Kong, one of the initiatives is to reduce the operation hours of air-conditioning in buildings to cut down energy consumption. In this study, we reported a mold contamination case in a newly refurbished laboratory, in which the air-conditioner was switched from 24- to 18-h mode after refurbishment. In order to prevent mold recurrence, the air-conditioner was switched back to 24-h mode in the laboratory. During the mold investigation, visible mold patches in the laboratory were searched and then cultured, counted and identified. Building and environmental conditions were recorded, and used to deduce different causes of mold contamination. Eight contaminated sites including a wall, a bench, some metal and plastic surfaces and seven types of molds including two Cladosporium spp., two Aspergillus spp., one Rhizopus sp., one Trichoderma sp., and one Tritirachium sp. were identified. Cladosporium spp. were the most abundant and frequently found molds in the laboratory. The contaminated areas could have one to five different species on them. Based on the mold and environmental conditions, several scenarios causing the mold contamination were deduced, and different mold control measures were discussed to compare them with the current solution of using 24-h air-conditioning to control mold growth. This study highlights the importance of mold hygiene in sustainable building management.
Environmental Sustainability and Mold Hygiene in Buildings
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Haoxiang Wu
2018-04-01
Full Text Available Environmental sustainability is one of the key issues in building management. In Hong Kong, one of the initiatives is to reduce the operation hours of air-conditioning in buildings to cut down energy consumption. In this study, we reported a mold contamination case in a newly refurbished laboratory, in which the air-conditioner was switched from 24- to 18-h mode after refurbishment. In order to prevent mold recurrence, the air-conditioner was switched back to 24-h mode in the laboratory. During the mold investigation, visible mold patches in the laboratory were searched and then cultured, counted and identified. Building and environmental conditions were recorded, and used to deduce different causes of mold contamination. Eight contaminated sites including a wall, a bench, some metal and plastic surfaces and seven types of molds including two Cladosporium spp., two Aspergillus spp., one Rhizopus sp., one Trichoderma sp., and one Tritirachium sp. were identified. Cladosporium spp. were the most abundant and frequently found molds in the laboratory. The contaminated areas could have one to five different species on them. Based on the mold and environmental conditions, several scenarios causing the mold contamination were deduced, and different mold control measures were discussed to compare them with the current solution of using 24-h air-conditioning to control mold growth. This study highlights the importance of mold hygiene in sustainable building management.
Towards a fourth skin? sustainability and double-envelope buildings
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Diprose, P.R.; Robertson, G. [Auckland Univ. (New Zealand)
1996-05-01
In several well publicised designs for `green` office buildings, the zone of meditation between inside and outside has been increased by the addition of a second building envelope. When interpreted as exemplars of sustainable architecture, the addition of a second wall in these buildings is questionable both biophysically and psycho-culturally. More constructive design strategies acknowledge the wider biophysical contexts of the human ecosystem, the prudent use of material and energy resources throughout a building`s life, make realistic use of climate, and promote psycho-cultural needs arising out of ecologism. (author)
A model for the sustainable selection of building envelope assemblies
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Huedo, Patricia, E-mail: huedo@uji.es [Universitat Jaume I (Spain); Mulet, Elena, E-mail: emulet@uji.es [Universitat Jaume I (Spain); López-Mesa, Belinda, E-mail: belinda@unizar.es [Universidad de Zaragoza (Spain)
2016-02-15
The aim of this article is to define an evaluation model for the environmental impacts of building envelopes to support planners in the early phases of materials selection. The model is intended to estimate environmental impacts for different combinations of building envelope assemblies based on scientifically recognised sustainability indicators. These indicators will increase the amount of information that existing catalogues show to support planners in the selection of building assemblies. To define the model, first the environmental indicators were selected based on the specific aims of the intended sustainability assessment. Then, a simplified LCA methodology was developed to estimate the impacts applicable to three types of dwellings considering different envelope assemblies, building orientations and climate zones. This methodology takes into account the manufacturing, installation, maintenance and use phases of the building. Finally, the model was validated and a matrix in Excel was created as implementation of the model. - Highlights: • Method to assess the envelope impacts based on a simplified LCA • To be used at an earlier phase than the existing methods in a simple way. • It assigns a score by means of known sustainability indicators. • It estimates data about the embodied and operating environmental impacts. • It compares the investment costs with the costs of the consumed energy.
A model for the sustainable selection of building envelope assemblies
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Huedo, Patricia; Mulet, Elena; López-Mesa, Belinda
2016-01-01
The aim of this article is to define an evaluation model for the environmental impacts of building envelopes to support planners in the early phases of materials selection. The model is intended to estimate environmental impacts for different combinations of building envelope assemblies based on scientifically recognised sustainability indicators. These indicators will increase the amount of information that existing catalogues show to support planners in the selection of building assemblies. To define the model, first the environmental indicators were selected based on the specific aims of the intended sustainability assessment. Then, a simplified LCA methodology was developed to estimate the impacts applicable to three types of dwellings considering different envelope assemblies, building orientations and climate zones. This methodology takes into account the manufacturing, installation, maintenance and use phases of the building. Finally, the model was validated and a matrix in Excel was created as implementation of the model. - Highlights: • Method to assess the envelope impacts based on a simplified LCA • To be used at an earlier phase than the existing methods in a simple way. • It assigns a score by means of known sustainability indicators. • It estimates data about the embodied and operating environmental impacts. • It compares the investment costs with the costs of the consumed energy.
Bates, Imelda; Taegtmeyer, Miriam; Squire, S Bertel; Ansong, Daniel; Nhlema-Simwaka, Bertha; Baba, Amuda; Theobald, Sally
2011-03-28
Despite substantial investment in health capacity building in developing countries, evaluations of capacity building effectiveness are scarce. By analysing projects in Africa that had successfully built sustainable capacity, we aimed to identify evidence that could indicate that capacity building was likely to be sustainable. Four projects were selected as case studies using pre-determined criteria, including the achievement of sustainable capacity. By mapping the capacity building activities in each case study onto a framework previously used for evaluating health research capacity in Ghana, we were able to identify activities that were common to all projects. We used these activities to derive indicators which could be used in other projects to monitor progress towards building sustainable research capacity. Indicators of sustainable capacity building increased in complexity as projects matured and included- early engagement of stakeholders; explicit plans for scale up; strategies for influencing policies; quality assessments (awareness and experiential stages)- improved resources; institutionalisation of activities; innovation (expansion stage)- funding for core activities secured; management and decision-making led by southern partners (consolidation stage).Projects became sustainable after a median of 66 months. The main challenges to achieving sustainability were high turnover of staff and stakeholders, and difficulties in embedding new activities into existing systems, securing funding and influencing policy development. Our indicators of sustainable capacity building need to be tested prospectively in a variety of projects to assess their usefulness. For each project the evidence required to show that indicators have been achieved should evolve with the project and they should be determined prospectively in collaboration with stakeholders.
Community action for sustainable housing: Building a low-carbon future
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Seyfang, Gill
2010-01-01
This paper presents a new analytical framework of 'grassroots innovations' which views community-led initiatives for sustainable development as strategic green niches with the potential for wider transformation of mainstream society. This framework is applied to a low-carbon, low-impact, community-based sustainable housing initiative in the USA that pioneers straw bale housing techniques within a strong community-building ethos. The project is evaluated according to New Economics criteria of sustainable consumption, and is found to be successful at localising the construction supply chain, reducing ecological footprints, community-building, enabling collective action and building new institutions and systems of provision around housebuilding. However, viewing it as a strategic niche with aim to influence wider society, it is clear that it faces significant challenges in diffusing its ideas and practices beyond the niche. Its model is not necessarily suitable for scaling up or widespread replication; however, the scope for niche lessons to be adopted by mainstream builders is greater, given a supportive policy environment. Recognising the innovative nature of green niches at the policy level could lead to new approaches to governance of bottom-up community action for sustainable development.
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Lo, S.M.; Zhao, C.M.; Cheng, W.Y. [Department of Building and Construction, City University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong)
2006-07-01
It is logical to believe that the building professionals (architect, structural engineers, building services engineers, etc.) are the relevant persons that may influence the decision-making process on a real estate development process. Accordingly, the attitudes and perception of building professionals should have a significant influence on sustainable development. This article describes a survey concerning the perceptions of different building professionals, which include architects, construction engineers and building services engineers, on the environment, resource sustainability, and green consumerism in two major cities in China: Hong Kong and Shenyang. It is recognized that energy is central to sustainable development and in 2006/2007, the United Nation Commission on Sustainable Development will focus on energy issue. The discussion in this article will concentrate on the building professionals' perception on energy related issues. Nevertheless, the findings in respect of their awareness of the environment, resources sustainability and other related issues are also summarized. At global level, apart from the need to preserve historical buildings, the professionals in Shenyang feel that 'exhaustion of natural resources' is of major concern and energy preservation is significant. However, the Hong Kong professionals do not consider energy resource sustainability is of urgency. (author)
2011-11-21
... Proposed Information Collection to OMB; Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities Program AGENCY... proposal. The Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities Program (Program), through a Notice of Funding...: Title of Proposal: Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities Program OMB Approval Number: 2501-0026...
IDES-EDU – new interdisciplinary education program for Sustainable Buildings
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Dvorakova, Pavla; Kabele, Karel; Brunsgaard, Camilla
2013-01-01
Buildings fulfilling all requirements related to energy, economy and environment are necessary to be designed by interdisciplinary teams with efficient transfer of information and good knowledge base. IDES EDU is a project co-funded by the Intelligent Energy Europe program in which 15 European...... universities make a concerted effort to develop and implement balanced master and postgraduate courses on Sustainable Energy Design providing skills and knowledge that exceed the requirements of the EPBD. The resulting courses focus on different aspects of sustainable building design from the perspective...
Sustainability Assessment: Energy Efficiency in Buildings at a Community University
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Stephane Louise Bocasanta
2017-10-01
Full Text Available This research aims to analyze the degree of sustainability of a building in a community university (object of analysis, as regards its energy efficiency. Therefore, it seeks out to contribute to the literature, provide a basis for the application of SICOGEA system in other buildings and contribute to the consolidation of an effective and consistent environmental management system. The research can be classified, as to its technical procedures, as a case study. As to its objectives it is descriptive, with a qualitative approach. The literature on environmental management and sustainability assessment of buildings was used to support the research. As to the results found, the overall University sustainability rate was 48%, which can be classified as regular, that is, it aims to deal with the legislation only. Therefore, it is believed that the institution can make improvements to achieve a more efficient index. By taking into consideration the deficit items, the following is suggested: to introduce sustainable procurement; to strive for stamps and certifications; to avoid environmental fines and indemnity; and to implement environmental auditing. However, it is clarified that these are suggestions that should be taken into consideration along with financial matters and within the institution planning questions. The analysis of financial sustainability was considered good and, ideally, it will go on.
2012-02-22
... Awards for the Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities Program for Fiscal Year 2011 AGENCY: Office... INFORMATION: The Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities Program identifies intermediary organizations... announces the allocation total of $5.65 million for Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities grants, of...
Early stage decision support for sustainable building renovation – A review
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Nielsen, Anne Nørkjær; Jensen, Rasmus Lund; Larsen, Tine Steen
2016-01-01
Decision support tools for building renovation are important as assistance to professional building owners when setting goals for sustainability, and for making sure that the objectives are met throughout the design process, both when renovating a single building or choosing renovation actions wi...
Sustainable construction - the standard for all public building?
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Handyside, R. [Richard Handyside Construction Resources (United Kingdom)
2002-01-01
This article argues for the need for foresight and planning to achieve sustainable development in the construction of public buildings. Reasons why sustainable development fails are highlighted, and the key factors that go to make a development sustainable are listed and involve the choice and layout of the site, site services, the fitting of spaces to the required purpose, the arrangement of rooms to achieve maximum use of natural light, heat and air, and the choice of construction materials and finishes. The balancing of short and long-term costs, and the use of life-cycle costs in every project are discussed.
Community capacity building and sustainability: outcomes of community-based participatory research.
Hacker, Karen; Tendulkar, Shalini A; Rideout, Catlin; Bhuiya, Nazmim; Trinh-Shevrin, Chau; Savage, Clara P; Grullon, Milagro; Strelnick, Hal; Leung, Carolyn; DiGirolamo, Ann
2012-01-01
For communities, the value of community-based participatory research (CBPR) is often manifested in the outcomes of increased capacity and sustainable adoption of evidence-based practices for social change. Educational opportunities that promote discourse between community and academic partners can help to advance CBPR and better define these outcomes. This paper describes a community-academic conference to develop shared definitions of community capacity building and sustainability related to CBPR and to identify obstacles and facilitators to both. "Taking It to the Curbside: Engaging Communities to Create Sustainable Change for Health" was planned by five Clinical Translational Science Institutes and four community organizations. After a keynote presentation, breakout groups of community and academic members met to define community capacity building and sustainability, and to identify facilitators and barriers to achieving both. Groups were facilitated by researcher-community partner teams and conversations were recorded and transcribed. Qualitative analysis for thematic content was conducted by a subset of the planning committee. Important findings included learning that (1) the concepts of capacity and sustainability were considered interconnected; (2) partnership was perceived as both a facilitator and an outcome of CBPR; (3) sustainability was linked to "transfer of knowledge" from one generation to another within a community; and (4) capacity and sustainability were enhanced when goals were shared and health outcomes were achieved. Community capacity building and sustainability are key outcomes of CBPR for communities. Co-learning opportunities that engage and mutually educate both community members and academics can be useful strategies for identifying meaningful strategies to achieve these outcomes.
Green Buildings Amid Efficiency and Sustainability
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Khalifa, Yousef M.; Mady, Salah M.
2014-01-01
The vast increase of energy consumption, global warming and the harm they cause to the environment, emerge to be a major obstruction that distresses the world today. This review paper views one of the methods that the world focused on as means of reducing the environmental harms and that is, through green building, or in more common words sustainable buildings. Those means, covers the exercising of a wide range of applications including merging of new and specific technologies in which through fulfilling its basis, the process of evaluation of the building takes place in terms of its harmony with the environment, reduction of energy consumption, and the reduction of the environmental problems caused by the building life cycle starting from defining of location, design of the building, operation, maintenance, repairing and up to the renewal of the building. Despite the significance of green building, no profit nor implementations has yet been made in Libya. The latter is due to the lack of awareness by many Libyan social groups. From here, the idea behind this paper crystallized. It aims to spread and enhance the knowledge and techniques of green building. It also penetrates into the green building features and advantages that are considered to be a preliminary step to start its application in a wide range coinciding with the grand progress that the country has witnessed in the field of construction and housing. This paper concludes that it is possible to reduce energy consumption and the harm it causes to the environment after the implementation and merging of green building techniques and should be applied on a large scale covering the whole country.(author)
Distributed dynamic simulations of networked control and building performance applications.
Yahiaoui, Azzedine
2018-02-01
The use of computer-based automation and control systems for smart sustainable buildings, often so-called Automated Buildings (ABs), has become an effective way to automatically control, optimize, and supervise a wide range of building performance applications over a network while achieving the minimum energy consumption possible, and in doing so generally refers to Building Automation and Control Systems (BACS) architecture. Instead of costly and time-consuming experiments, this paper focuses on using distributed dynamic simulations to analyze the real-time performance of network-based building control systems in ABs and improve the functions of the BACS technology. The paper also presents the development and design of a distributed dynamic simulation environment with the capability of representing the BACS architecture in simulation by run-time coupling two or more different software tools over a network. The application and capability of this new dynamic simulation environment are demonstrated by an experimental design in this paper.
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Lehmann, B.; Dorer, V.; Frank, Th. [Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Laboratory for Building Science and Technology, Ueberlandstrasse 129, CH-8600 Duebendorf (Switzerland); Guettinger, H. [Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Duebendorf (Switzerland); van Velsen, S.; Thiemann, A. [3-Plan Haustechnik AG, Winterthur (Switzerland)
2010-10-15
The Eawag's new headquarters ''Forum Chriesbach'' is an exemplary illustration of a 'sustainable' construction design for office buildings. With a unique combination of architectural and technical elements the building reaches a very low 88 kWh/m{sup 2} overall primary energy consumption, which is significantly lower than the Swiss Passive House standard, Minergie-P. A monitoring and evaluation project shows that the building is heated mainly by using the sun and internal heat gains from lighting, electrical appliances and occupants, resulting in an extremely low space heating demand. Cooling is provided by natural night time ventilation and the earth-coupled air intake, which pre-cools supply air and provides free cooling for computer servers. However, values for embodied energy and electricity consumption remain significant, even with partial on-site electricity production using photovoltaics. TRNSYS computer simulations show the contributions of individual building services to the overall energy balance and indicate that the building is resilient towards changes in parameters such as climate or occupancy density. Measurements confirm comfortable room temperatures below 26 C, even during an extremely hot summer period, and 20-23 C in the winter season. An economic analysis reveals additional costs of only 5% compared to a conventionally constructed building and a payback-time of 13 years. (author)
Sustainable flexible process innovation. Towards a new building design approach
Brand, G.J.W. van den; Quanjel, E.; Zeiler, W.
2001-01-01
Developers and investors ofresidential and office buildings are facing large risks. A yearly loss ofcapital of approximately 50 billion EURO can be reduced by improvement of the design process. The need for more sustainable and end user oriented buildings on a background ofthe dynamics ofever
Design decision support for sustainable, healthier and more productive buildings
Zeiler, W.; Maaijen, H.N.; Maassen, W.H.; Morawska, L.; Dear, de R.
2012-01-01
There is a clear need for more sustainable, healthier and thus more productive solutions within the built environment. However at the moment the initial investment costs for applying new and more sustainable solutions for a good Indoor Air Quality within buildings are higher than the traditional
Building Sustainability Competence from the Top Down
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Sanchez, Ron; Galbreath, Jeremy; Nicholson, Gavin
2017-01-01
performance. We first define concepts of sustainability, sustainability competence, and sustainability performance. We then analyze two forms of board capital (a board’s human capital and its social capital) and three aspects of a board’s information processing (its patterns of information search, discussion...
Increase in buildings sustainability by using renewable materials and energy
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Milutiene, Edita [Kaunas University of Technology, Institute of Environmental Engineering, Kaunas (Lithuania); Lithuanian Solar Energy Association, Kaunas (Lithuania); Straw Houses Builders' Association, Kaunas (Lithuania); Staniskis, Jurgis K. [Kaunas University of Technology, Institute of Environmental Engineering, Kaunas (Lithuania); Krucius, Audrys [Straw Houses Builders' Association, Kaunas (Lithuania); JSK ' ' Ecococon' ' , Kaunas (Lithuania); Auguliene, Vida [Lithuanian Hydrometeorological Service under the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Lithuania, Kaunas (Lithuania); Ardickas, Daumilas [University of Cambridge, Girton College, Cambridge (United Kingdom)
2012-12-15
Sustainable development could be seen as indispensable condition for survival of civilization. Construction sector is a field with immediate need for reducing environmental impacts. Sustainability measures applied for buildings could produce very efficient results to the people. The paper provides the methods of construction sustainability increase by researching, developing, and applying the technologies which use renewable materials and energy. The paper analyzes the cases of both a solar eco house which was built of original prefabricated straw-bale panels and was designed to use direct solar energy; and an educational project promoting straw-bale construction and seeking to mitigate climate change. The project results have shown the need of spreading information on sustainable building methods to be accepted by wider society and to be applied to the construction industry. Monitoring of solar ecohouse has proved that direct solar energy gains are significant in reducing heating degree-days in 55 N latitude and in allowing to save half the energy needed for heating. (orig.)
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Haekkinen, T.; Nuutinen, M.; Pulakka, S.; Porkka, J.; Vares, S.; Laitinen, A.; Vesikari, E.; Pajari, M.
2007-01-15
This publication summarises the assessment results from the VTT Digitalo case. VTT Digitalo is a new office building built for the use of VTT research and development. The building was assessed from the viewpoints of sustainable construction and sustainable workspaces. The study analysed the case considering it as an achievement and a stage in a long-term process that is taking place between VTT as the user and Senate Properties as the owner of the building. This process aims at developing high-quality facility services, which are in accordance with the user needs, and based on understanding the strategic goals of the user. Additionally, these services should follow the principles of sustainable construction. The VTT's user needs concern first of all (a) good indoor environment in terms of indoor climate, acoustics and illumination, (b) ability of the workspace to support interaction and innovative way of working, (c) ability of the whole building to indicate VTT's image as a supplier of innovation services. VTT acts as a client, which sets performance and conformity requirements based on the planned use of spaces. The aims of Senate Properties as the owner and the provider of facility services concern the ability to understand and realise user needs, and to manage investment costs and life cycle efficiency of the building. The research defines sustainable construction in accordance with (ISO 2006): Sustainable construction brings about the required performance with the least unfavourable environmental impact, while encouraging economic, social, and cultural improvement at a local, regional, and global level. Accordingly, the study defined as a premise that a comprehensive analysis of the sustainability of an office building should be based on the assessment of the following aspects: user satisfaction, building performance and environmental impacts, and life cycle costs and life cycle economy. (orig.)
Potekhin, Igor; Mischenko, Valeryi; Mottaeva, Angela; Zheltenkov, Alexander
2018-03-01
In this article explained approach of valuation of intellectual property of Voronezh State Technical University, as her usefulness to increasing the sustainability and ecological safety of high-rise building. High-rise building is main type of buildings in modern cities. They include large volume of material mass, high volume of energy using and high volume of emissions. Using innovation solutions to improving ecology safety of high-rise buildings has large potential to city in whole. Explained in the article methods of calculation of effects helps to value sustainable solutions of present and future generations. Thus usefulness of patents express through usefulness regarding to high-rise building, including for sustainable development.
Predictive performance simulations for a sustainable lecture building complex
CSIR Research Space (South Africa)
Conradie, Dirk CU
2012-06-01
Full Text Available the site and building are not ideally oriented regarding the prevailing wind directions that generally follow the coast. From the perspective of the design team, the commitment to use a building information management (BIM) system at inception needed a... far more integrated approach to design development. Engineers typically wait for the architects to design the whole building, and then only drill down to final calculated structural design configurations and sizes. With BIM, these activities should...
Towards evaluation and prediction of building sustainability using life cycle behaviour simulation
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Marzouk Mohamed
2017-01-01
Full Text Available Nowadays researchers and practitioners are oriented towards questioning how effective are the different building life cycle activities contribution to preserving the environment and fulfilling the need for equilibrium. Terminologies such as Building sustainability and Green Buildings have long been adopted yet the evaluation of such has been driven through the use of rating systems. LEED of the United States, BREEAM of the United Kingdom, and Pearl of the United Arab Emirates are namely good examples of these rating systems. This paper introduces a new approach for evaluation of building life cycle sustainability through simulation of activities interaction and studying its behaviour. The effort focuses on comprehending impact and effect of suitability related activities over the whole building life cycle or period of time. The methodology includes gathering a pool of parameters through benchmarking of five selected rating systems, analytical factorization for the gathered parameters is used to elect the most influencing parameters. Followed by simulation modelling using System dynamics to capture the interaction of the considered parameters. The resulting behaviour obtained from simulation is studied and used in designing a tool for prediction of sustainability.
A conceptual framework for future-proofing the energy performance of buildings
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Georgiadou, Maria Christina; Hacking, Theophilus; Guthrie, Peter
2012-01-01
This paper presents a review undertaken to understand the concept of ‘future-proofing’ the energy performance of buildings. The long lifecycles of the building stock, the impacts of climate change and the requirements for low carbon development underline the need for long-term thinking from the early design stages. ‘Future-proofing’ is an emerging research agenda with currently no widely accepted definition amongst scholars and building professionals. In this paper, it refers to design processes that accommodate explicitly full lifecycle perspectives and energy trends and drivers by at least 2050, when selecting energy efficient measures and low carbon technologies. A knowledge map is introduced, which explores the key axes (or attributes) for achieving a ‘future-proofed’ energy design; namely, coverage of sustainability issues, lifecycle thinking, and accommodating risks and uncertainties that affect the energy consumption. It is concluded that further research is needed so that established building energy assessment methods are refined to better incorporate future-proofing. The study follows an interdisciplinary approach and is targeted at design teams with aspirations to achieve resilient and flexible low-energy buildings over the long-term. - Highlights: ► We examine the concept of ‘future-proofing’ the energy performance of buildings. ► It reconciles sustainability issues, lifecycle thinking, risks and uncertainties. ► A knowledge map with axes and types of ‘future-proofed’ solutions is presented. ► The energy design process should adopt full lifecycle considerations. ► Design for flexibility, use of dynamic models and futures techniques are suggested.
Wijethilake, Chaminda
2017-07-01
This study examines to what extent corporations use sustainability control systems (SCS) to translate proactive sustainability strategy into corporate sustainability performance. The study investigates the mediating effect of SCS on the relationship between proactive sustainability strategy and corporate sustainability performance. Survey data were collected from top managers in 175 multinational and local corporations operating in Sri Lanka and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). SCS were observed to only partially mediate the relationship between proactive sustainability strategy and corporate sustainability performance. The mediating effect of SCS is further examined under three sustainability strategies; environmental and social strategies reveal a partial mediation, while the economic strategy exhibits no mediation. The study also finds that (i) a proactive sustainability strategy is positively associated with SCS and corporate sustainability performance and (ii) SCS are positively associated with corporate sustainability performance. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Teddy Badai Samodra, FX; Defiana, Ima; Setyawan, Wahyu
2018-03-01
Many previous types of research have discussed the permeability of site cluster. Because of interaction and interconnected attribute, it will be better that there is its translation into lower context such as building and interior scale. In this paper, the sustainability design performance of both similar designs of courtyard and atrium are investigated continuing the recommendation of site space permeability. By researching related literature review and study through Ecotect Analysis and Ansys Fluent simulations, the pattern transformation and optimum courtyard and atrium design could comply the requirement. The results highlighted that the air movement from the site could be translated at the minimum of 50% higher to the building and indoor environment. Thus, it has potency for energy efficiency when grid, loop, and cul-de-sac site clusters, with 25% of ground coverage, have connectivity with building courtyard compared to the atrium. Energy saving is higher when using low thermal transmittance of transparent material and its lower area percentages for the courtyard walls. In general, it was more energy efficient option as part of a low rise building, while the courtyard building performed better with increasing irregular building height more than 90% of the difference.
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Kerz, Nicolas; Rietz, Andreas [Bundesinstitut fuer Bau-, Stadt- und Raumforschung (BBSR), Berlin (Germany)
2011-07-01
Numerous research projects funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development (Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany) are the essential basis for the emergence of a systematic sustainability assessment. After two years of cooperation with the German Sustainable Building Council (Stuttgart, Federal Republic of Germany) a scientifically substantiated and design based process of evaluation for the construction of administrative buildings was available. On the basis of a practical testing the system of evaluating of sustainability was refined to a ''rating system for sustainable building''. The contribution under consideration reports on the structure and methodology of this evaluation system as well as on working materials and tools for planning and evaluation.
BUILDING NEW BUSINESS MODELS FOR SUSTAINABLE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Taco C. R. van Someren; Shuhua van Someren-Wang
2011-01-01
Considered are issues of methodology and methods, as well as ideology of strategic innovation. Using the tools of this approach is offered as mechanisms to develop and build business models for sustainable socio-economic economic growth and development of different regions. The connection between key problems of sustainable development and management policy of different economic entities is studied. The consultancy company Ynnovate’s experience in addressing these issues in the EU and China i...
Sustainable hemp-based composites for the building industry application
Schwarzova, Ivana; Stevulova, Nadezda; Junak, Jozef; Hospodarova, Viola
2017-07-01
Sustainability goals are essential driving principles for the development of innovative materials in the building industry. Natural plant (e.g. hemp) fibers represent an attractive alternative as reinforcing material due to its good properties and sustainability prerequisites. In this study, hemp-based composite materials, designed for building application as non-load bearing material, providing both thermal insulation and physico-mechanical properties, are presented. Composite materials were produced by bonding hemp hurds with a novel inorganic binder (MgO-based cement) and then were characterized in terms of physical properties (bulk density, water absorption), thermal properties (thermal conductivity) and mechanical properties (compressive and tensile strength). The composites exhibited promising physical, thermal and mechanical characteristics, generally comparable to commercially available products. In addition, the hemp-based composites have the advantage of a significantly low environmental impact (thanks to the nature of both the dispersed and the binding phase) and no negative effects on human health. All things considered, the composite materials seem like very promising materials for the building industry application.
Significance of Building Maintenance Management Systems towards Sustainable Development
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
M.A. Othuman Mydin
2014-05-01
Full Text Available Building maintenance management is an organized and effective system of maintenance operations which is set up to deal with problems related to the upkeep of a building. Its goal, aside from locating and remedying a building’s deficiencies, is to effectively minimize the overall costs of maintenance and is also an effort to maximize the gain and benefits from the savings. There are a few factors that influence decisions to undertake maintenance work. The principal goal of maintenance is to protect a building in the early stage of issues as they arise. Some major reasons for maintaining a building include retaining its reputation and value of investments, maintaining the building in a condition which allows it to accomplish its purpose, and presenting a good outer shell. This paper will review and discuss some of the major elements of building maintenance towards achieving sustainable buildings.
Synergy between building rating systems and design methodology for intellingent and green buildings
Zeiler, W.; Boxem, G.; Plesser, S.
2008-01-01
There is a strong need for more efficient and more sustainable buildings. At present it is difficult to define the performance of buildings in an objective way to efficiency and sustainability. Goal of this project is to examine and to understand differences between different building rating systems
A socio-technical system framework for risk-informed performance-based building regulation
Meacham, B.J.; Straalen, IJ.J. van
2017-01-01
Building regulatory systems have been evolving in recent decades, first with a transition to a functional or performance basis, and more recently with the introduction of new societal objectives, including those related to sustainability and climate change resiliency. Various policy and technical
Application of Sensitivity Analysis in Design of Sustainable Buildings
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Heiselberg, Per; Brohus, Henrik; Rasmussen, Henrik
2009-01-01
satisfies the design objectives and criteria. In the design of sustainable buildings, it is beneficial to identify the most important design parameters in order to more efficiently develop alternative design solutions or reach optimized design solutions. Sensitivity analyses make it possible to identify...... possible to influence the most important design parameters. A methodology of sensitivity analysis is presented and an application example is given for design of an office building in Denmark....
Building Information Modeling (BIM) for Indoor Environmental Performance Analysis
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
The report is a part of a research assignment carried out by students in the 5ETCS course “Project Byggeri – [entitled as: Building Information Modeling (BIM) – Modeling & Analysis]”, during the 3rd semester of master degree in Civil and Architectural Engineering, Department of Engineering, Aarhus...... University. This includes seven papers describing BIM for Sustainability, concentrating specifically on individual topics regarding to Indoor Environment Performance Analysis....
HVAC in sustainable office buildings a bridge between owners and engineers
Hovorka, Frank; Kurnitski, Jarek; Litiu, Andrei
2012-01-01
This guidebook aims to build a bridge between the real estate community and the engineering community. It explains the challenges of property valuation based on real data and how the sustainability and HVAC-technology can have an impact on value. It also gathers the latest HVAC- and other technologies used in sustainable buildings and gives some real case study examples. But maybe the most important part in terms of improved communication between the owners and engineers is the list of questions to be asked during the life time of a building. It is impossible to give all the right answers in this guidebook, but we will raise some pertinent questions. As climates and cultures are different, as well as existing building types and energy production, the same solutions do not solve problems universally. This guidebook is aimed for the owners and architects as well as engineers. It doesn’t require deep technical knowhow of HVAC-systems or real estate valuation.
Research on Building Urban Sustainability along the Coastal Area in China
Sun Jiaojiao; Fu Jiayan
2015-01-01
At present, in China, the research about the urban sustainability construction is still in the exploratory stage. The ecological problems of the coastal area are more sensitive and complicated. In the background of global warming with serious ecological damage, this paper deeply researches on the main characteristics of urban sustainability and measures how to build urban sustainability. Through combining regional environmental with economic ability along the coastal area...
Building Theory at the Intersection of Ecological Sustainability and Strategic Management
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Borland, Helen; Ambrosini, Véronique; Lindgreen, Adam
2016-01-01
This article builds theory at the intersection of ecological sustainability and strategic management literature—specifically, in relation to dynamic capabilities literature. By combining industrial organization economics–based, resource-based, and dynamic capability–based views, it is possible...... to develop a better understanding of the strategies that businesses may follow, depending on their managers’ assumptions about ecological sustainability. To develop innovative strategies for ecological sustainability, the dynamic capabilities framework needs to be extended. In particular, the sensing...... sustainability. Finally, this approach offers opportunities for managers and academics to identify, categorize, and exploit business strategies for ecological sustainability....
Schroeder, Horst; Lemke, Manfred
2015-01-01
[EN] The evaluation of the building process in terms of their environmental impact in all life cycle phases of a building leads to the key principle of sustainable building: the analysis of the life cycle of the materials used in a building. The goal of this analysis is to reduce waste and keep the environmental impact as low as possible by “closing” the cycle. During an inventory, the entire life cycle is assessed. This includes the sourcing and extracting of the raw material, the use of the...
Application of Sensitivity Analysis in Design of Sustainable Buildings
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Heiselberg, Per; Brohus, Henrik; Hesselholt, Allan Tind
2007-01-01
satisfies the design requirements and objectives. In the design of sustainable Buildings it is beneficial to identify the most important design parameters in order to develop more efficiently alternative design solutions or reach optimized design solutions. A sensitivity analysis makes it possible...
Sustainable school infrastructure through effective innovative building technology selection
CSIR Research Space (South Africa)
Mphahlele, C
2014-10-01
Full Text Available The aim of the paper is to provide an overview of a model proposed for the selection Innovative Building Technologies (IBTs) and procurement of services supporting the erection of the IBTs that will ensure the construction of a sustainable school...
High-performance commercial building systems
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Selkowitz, Stephen
2003-10-01
building owners and health and performance benefits to occupants. At the same time this program can strengthen the growing energy efficiency industry in California by providing new jobs and growth opportunities for companies providing the technology, systems, software, design, and building services to the commercial sector. The broad objectives across all five program elements were: (1) To develop and deploy an integrated set of tools and techniques to support the design and operation of energy-efficient commercial buildings; (2) To develop open software specifications for a building data model that will support the interoperability of these tools throughout the building life-cycle; (3) To create new technology options (hardware and controls) for substantially reducing controllable lighting, envelope, and cooling loads in buildings; (4) To create and implement a new generation of diagnostic techniques so that commissioning and efficient building operations can be accomplished reliably and cost effectively and provide sustained energy savings; (5) To enhance the health, comfort and performance of building occupants. (6) To provide the information technology infrastructure for owners to minimize their energy costs and manage their energy information in a manner that creates added value for their buildings as the commercial sector transitions to an era of deregulated utility markets, distributed generation, and changing business practices. Our ultimate goal is for our R&D effort to have measurable market impact. This requires that the research tasks be carried out with a variety of connections to key market actors or trends so that they are recognized as relevant and useful and can be adopted by expected users. While some of this activity is directly integrated into our research tasks, the handoff from ''market-connected R&D'' to ''field deployment'' is still an art as well as a science and in many areas requires resources and a
FOSTERING SUSTAINABILITY: DESIGNING A GREEN SCIENCE BUILDING AT A SMALL MAINE COLLEGE
The overarching goal of the project ‘as to develop a feasibility study of building design and construction that takes into account the various local conditions, optimizes energy savings. use of building materials, and long term sustainability of the structur...
Do Certified Buildings Enhance Indoor Environmental Quality and Performance of Office Work?
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Da Silva, Nuno Alexandre Faria; Wargocki, Pawel
2014-01-01
With the growth of sustainability consciousness, the awareness of stakeholders for high performance buildings has also increased. The concept of green buildings has appeared. Several voluntary environmental rating schemes for buildings were created. Their focus has been energy conservation...... on productivity and that an average employee cost can be >10-100 times higher than the rental operation and maintenance costs (Morrell, 2005; Persramet al., 2007). There is however lack of consistent and systematic data benchmarking benefits of green building, in particular as regards IEQ and the effects...... (Lee, 2011), the green building do not have to necessarily meet this postulation. Quite limited numbers of credits for enhancing IEQ offered by the schemes will certainly not very much help that the high IEQ is guaranteed. The present paper surveyed literature on green buildings to examine whether...
Building a Sustainable Global Surgical Program in an Academic Department of Surgery.
Zhang, Linda P; Silverberg, Daniel; Divino, Celia M; Marin, Michael
Global surgery and volunteerism in surgery has gained significant interest in recent years for general surgery residents across the country. However, there are few well-established long-term surgical programs affiliated with academic institutions. The present report discusses the implementation process and challenges facing an academic institution in building a long-term sustainable global surgery program. As one of the pioneer programs in global surgery for residents, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai global surgery rotation has been successfully running for the last 10 years in a small public hospital in the Dominican Republic. The present report details many key components of implementing a sustainable global surgery program and the evolution of this program over time. Since 2005, 80 general surgery residents have rotated through Juan Pablo Pina Hospital in the Dominican Republic. They have performed a total of 1239 major operations and 740 minor operations. They have also participated in 328 emergency cases. More importantly, this rotation helped shape residents' sense of social responsibility and ownership in their surgical training. Residents have also contributed to the training of local residents in laparoscopic skills and through cultural exchange. As interest in global surgery grows among general surgery residents, it is essential that supporting academic institutions create sustainable and capacity-building rotations for their residents. These programs must address many of the barriers that can hinder maintenance of a sustainable global surgery experience for residents. After 10 years of sending our residents to the Dominican Republic, we have found that it is possible and valuable to incorporate a formal global surgery rotation into a general surgery residency. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Othman Subhi Alshamrani
2017-03-01
Full Text Available The literature lacks in initial cost prediction models for college buildings, especially comparing costs of sustainable and conventional buildings. A multi-regression model was developed for conceptual initial cost estimation of conventional and sustainable college buildings in North America. RS Means was used to estimate the national average of construction costs for 2014, which was subsequently utilized to develop the model. The model could predict the initial cost per square feet with two structure types made of steel and concrete. The other predictor variables were building area, number of floors and floor height. The model was developed in three major stages, such as preliminary diagnostics on data quality, model development and validation. The developed model was successfully tested and validated with real-time data.
Schoppen, Hendrik Sietze
2017-01-01
The Impact of Brands on People, Markets and Society Build Bridge Bond Method for Sustainable Brand Leadership Authorized translation of the chapter ‘Impact of brands on people, markets and society’ (prepublication Build Bridge Bond, method for sustainable leadership and building future-proof trust)
SUSTAINED LIVEABILITY: A FRAMEWORK BEYOND ENERGY CONSCIOUS BUILDING CONSERVATION OF MARKET HALLS
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Neveen Hamza
2017-11-01
Full Text Available Market halls are commonly found in contexts of cultural and heritage value. Positioned in urban centres and transport networks, these unique buildings were originally constructed in the 19th century to ensure better food distribution in growing European cities, then copied to other territories such as Egypt. We argue that leaving market halls, with their large spanning structures and indoor open space, for dilapidation is a lost opportunity for sustaining community engagement, and educating the public on the original sustainability, neighbourhood regeneration and cultural thinking that underpinned these buildings. The proposed framework extends current sustainable ‘heritage conservation frameworks’ beyond concepts of adding renewable energy technologies, recycling and sustainable goods movement, to ‘sustaining liveability and social inclusion’. We argue that market halls offer the opportunities to merge the daily activities of buying and selling food with creating local creative economies such as culinary art exhibitions, and culinary schools. The paper consists of two parts: the first discusses the historical urban context of market halls in Cairo; the second proposes a sustainable heritage conservation model for market halls.
Kilnarová, Pavla; Wittmann, Maxmilian
2017-12-01
The characteristics of open spaces between residential buildings have, as authors suppose, an impact on the sustainable development of urban areas. Spatial arrangement and accessibility of these spaces, the type and height of surrounding buildings, the quantity and character of greenery, and many more characteristics influence the quality of environment, and the quality of life of local residents. These and further characteristics of the open spaces between residential buildings influence the ecological stability of the area, its hygienic qualities, the intensity and way of using by various social groups, and also the prices of real estates. These qualities indicate the environmental, social and economic sustainability of the urban area. The proposed research methodology assessed specific indicators of sustainability within a range from 0 to 10 points. 5 points correspond to the general standard in the area, 0 points indicate degradation, and 10 points indicate the highest contribution to sustainable development. Observation methods, questionnaire survey, statistical analyses, and methods of measurement were used to determine the values of the given indicators. The paper analyses the impact of the open spaces between residential buildings on sustainability via the case studies performed in the Central European cities of Brno, Czech Republic and Vienna, Austria. Two forms of residential urban structures in the City of Brno in the Czech Republic were selected for the analysis: the closed courtyards in the urban block from the 19th century and the open spaces in the housing estates constructed under socialism in the 20th century. The question is, if the different forms of spaces between residential buildings influence the sustainability of urban area and satisfaction of inhabitants in different ways. A complementary case study in Vienna indicates that inhabitants of a housing estate in Vienna, as well as inhabitants of housing estates in Brno, highly appreciate the
Benchmarking the energy performance of office buildings: A data envelopment analysis approach
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Molinos-Senante, María
2016-12-01
Full Text Available The achievement of energy efficiency in buildings is an important challenge facing both developed and developing countries. Very few papers have assessed the energy efficiency of office buildings using real data. To overcome this limitation, this paper proposes an energy efficiency index for buildings having a large window-to-wall ratio, and uses this index to identify the main architectural factors affecting energy performance. This paper assesses, for the first time, the energy performances of 34 office buildings in Santiago, Chile, by using data envelopment analysis. Overall energy efficiency is decomposed into two indices: the architectural energy efficiency index, and the management energy efficiency index. This decomposition is an essential step in identifying the main drivers of energy inefficiency and designing measures for improvement. Office buildings examined here have significant room for improving their energy efficiencies, saving operational costs and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The methodology and results of this study will be of great interest to building managers and policymakers seeking to increase the sustainability of cities.
Sustainability rating tools for buildings and its wider application
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Siew Renard
2017-01-01
Full Text Available This paper provides a commentary on the latest research in measuring the sustainability of buildings and its wider application. The emergence of sustainability rating tools (SRTs has faced critique from scholars due to their deficiencies such as the overemphasis on environmental criteria, the negligence of uncertainty in scoring and existence of non-scientific criteria benchmarks among many others. This could have attributed to the mixed evidence in the literature on the benefits of SRTs. Future research direction is proposed to advance the state-of-the art in this field.
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Abdul Tharim Asniza Hamimi
2016-01-01
Full Text Available During the past decade, the construction industry has seen a new trend in the development of “green” or “sustainable” construction concept around the world with vast support from prominent organization, together with the introduction of sustainable building codes. The establishment of green building certification systems worldwide is seen as one of the most efforts in the emerging green building movement. In order to support the development of the “green” and “sustainable” concept in Malaysia, Green Building Index (GBI was launched by the government on 21 May 2009 that created to promote sustainability in the built environment and raise awareness of environmental issues. However, the construction industry seems to have focused only on findings the “right mechanism” for an environmentally sustainable “final result” in order for the building to be certified as green with the lacking of continuous assessment on the building performance after the certifications. This study is purposely conducted to investigate the performance of various rated Green Building Index (GBI Non-Residential New Construction office buildings and the influence on Indoor Thermal Comfort (ITC of the selected buildings. The aim is to develop an assessment framework for optimum green building architectural façade to be used for office buildings in Malaysia as well as to analyse the occupants’ perception, satisfaction and performance in the selected Green Building Index (GBI rated office indoor environment. This research is still in its infancy; therefore the paper is focused on research aims, research scope and methodology, and expected deliverables for the proposed research.
The corporate sustainability performance : financial performance link revisited
Dommerholt, Egbert
2015-01-01
USE conference paper. Ever since the mid-1970s a multitude of studies linking corporate sustainability performance (CSP) measures and financial performance measures have been conducted. Until today a plethora of corporate sustainability performance measures heve been developed. A universally
Bai, Libiao; Wang, Hailing; Shi, Chunming; Du, Qiang; Li, Yi
2017-10-25
Traditional rural residential construction has the problems of high energy consumption and severe pollution. In general, with sustainable development in the construction industry, rural residential construction should be aimed towards low energy consumption and low carbon emissions. To help achieve this objective, in this paper, we evaluated four different possible building structures using AHP-Grey Correlation Analysis, which consists of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Grey Correlation Analysis. The four structures included the traditional and currently widely used brick and concrete structure, as well as structure insulated panels (SIPs). Comparing the performances of economic benefit and carbon emission, the conclusion that SIPs have the best overall performance can be obtained, providing a reference to help builders choose the most appropriate building structure in rural China.
CapaSIDS : Capacity Building and Knowledge on Sustainable ...
International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)
CapaSIDS : Capacity Building and Knowledge on Sustainable Responses to Climate Change in Small Island States. Tourism is the main economic sector in ... Gouvernance axée sur la collaboration : gestion des risques associés aux inondations et à l'élévation du niveau de la mer au Cap. La ville du Cap doit relever un ...
Transition to Sustainable Buildings: Strategies and Opportunities to 2050
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
NONE
2013-06-01
Buildings are the largest energy consuming sector in the world, and account for over one-third of total final energy consumption and an equally important source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Achieving significant energy and emissions reduction in the buildings sector is a challenging but achievable policy goal. Transition to Sustainable Buildings presents detailed scenarios and strategies to 2050, and demonstrates how to reach deep energy and emissions reduction through a combination of best available technologies and intelligent public policy. This IEA study is an indispensible guide for decision makers, providing informative insights on: cost-effective options, key technologies and opportunities in the buildings sector; solutions for reducing electricity demand growth and flattening peak demand; effective energy efficiency policies and lessons learned from different countries; future trends and priorities for ASEAN, Brazil, China, the European Union, India, Mexico, Russia, South Africa and the United States; implementing a systems approach using innovative products in a cost effective manner; and pursuing whole-building (e.g. zero energy buildings) and advanced-component policies to initiate a fundamental shift in the way energy is consumed.
Balanced Evaluation of Structural and Environmental Performances in Building Design
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Marco Lamperti Tornaghi
2018-03-01
Full Text Available The design of new buildings, and even more the rehabilitation of existing ones, needs to satisfy modern criteria in terms of energy efficiency and environmental performance, within the context of adequate safety requirements. Tackling all these needs at the same time is cumbersome, as demonstrated by several experiences during recent earthquakes, where the improvement of energy performance vanished by seismic-induced damages. The costs of energy retrofitting must be added to the normal losses caused by the earthquake. Even though the minimum safety requirements are met (no collapse, the damage due to earthquake might be enough to waste the investment made to improve energy efficiency. Since these measures are often facilitated by corresponding incentives, the use of public funding is not cost effective. The application of the existing impact assessment methods is typically performed at the end of the architectural and structural design process. Thus, no real optimisation can be achieved, because a good structural solution could correspond to a poor environmental performance and vice versa. The proposed Sustainable Structural Design method (SSD considers both environmental and structural parameters in the life cycle perspective. The integration of environmental data in the structural performance is the focus of the method. Structural performances are considered in a probabilistic approach, through the introduction of a simplified Performance Based Assessment method. Finally, the SSD method is implemented with a case-study of an office-occupancy building, both for precast and cast-in-situ structural systems, with the aim to find the best solution in terms of sustainability and structural performance for the case at hand.
Building capacity for sustainable research programmes for cancer in Africa.
Adewole, Isaac; Martin, Damali N; Williams, Makeda J; Adebamowo, Clement; Bhatia, Kishor; Berling, Christine; Casper, Corey; Elshamy, Karima; Elzawawy, Ahmed; Lawlor, Rita T; Legood, Rosa; Mbulaiteye, Sam M; Odedina, Folakemi T; Olopade, Olufunmilayo I; Olopade, Christopher O; Parkin, Donald M; Rebbeck, Timothy R; Ross, Hana; Santini, Luiz A; Torode, Julie; Trimble, Edward L; Wild, Christopher P; Young, Annie M; Kerr, David J
2014-05-01
Cancer research in Africa will have a pivotal role in cancer control planning in this continent. However, environments (such as those in academic or clinical settings) with limited research infrastructure (laboratories, biorespositories, databases) coupled with inadequate funding and other resources have hampered African scientists from carrying out rigorous research. In September 2012, over 100 scientists with expertise in cancer research in Africa met in London to discuss the challenges in performing high-quality research, and to formulate the next steps for building sustainable, comprehensive and multi-disciplinary programmes relevant to Africa. This was the first meeting among five major organizations: the African Organisation for Research and Training in Africa (AORTIC), the Africa Oxford Cancer Foundation (AfrOx), and the National Cancer Institutes (NCI) of Brazil, France and the USA. This article summarizes the discussions and recommendations of this meeting, including the next steps required to create sustainable and impactful research programmes that will enable evidenced-based cancer control approaches and planning at the local, regional and national levels.
Simulation for (sustainable) building design: Czech experiences
Bartak, M.; Drkal, F.; Hensen, J.L.M.; Lain, M.; Schwarzer, J.; Sourek, B.
2001-01-01
This paper attempts to outline the current state-of-the-art in the Czech Republic regarding the use of integrated building performance simulation as a design tool. Integrated performance simulation for reducing the environmental impact of buildings is illustrated by means of three recent HVAC
Sustainable building design in practice – survey among Danish DGNB consultants
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Brunsgaard, Camilla; Bejder, Anne Kirkegaard
2017-01-01
and support the iterative design process in the initial design phases. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to investigate the design process on a more common level experienced by Danish DGNB consultants when designing sustainable buildings using the Danish DGNB certification scheme and thereby possibly......Sustainability certification schemes experience growing popularity. Denmark got its own sustainability certification scheme based on the German DGNB certification scheme. Previous work based on four case studies – DGNB certified healthcare centres, suggests further research on how to improve...
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Roger Boulton
2017-08-01
Full Text Available The self-sustainable winery was conceived in 2006 and the intention was to create a building and its related utility systems that would operate independently from the energy and water grids and to eliminate hydrocarbon fuels from its operation, capture and sequester the carbon dioxide from its fermentations and create a zero carbon footprint facility. The winery was the highest scoring LEED building at any university when it was completed and the first LEED Platinum Winery in the USA. The adjacent Jess Jackson sustainable winery building is a highly passive research and utility space that will house the advanced energy and water systems that make this off-grid performance possible. Together these buildings will operate every daily in energy and water positive modes and at capacities, which exceed the demands even during the harvest season. The data system incorporated into these buildings for one hundred and fifty research fermentors, fourteen teaching fermentors will also monitor all energy, water and building activities in a secure, cloud-based software system that supports both web and handheld access, with the potential for bidirectional date and control functions. This data network has been extended to include real time monitoring of temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide and volatile organic compounds in five production areas within two commercial winery sites and two creamery facilities, located more than 100 km from Davis. This now provides an example of a distributed dynamic network for the monitoring of the built environment in remote commercial food and wine facilities.
Investigation on Smoke Movement and Smoke Control for Atrium in Green and Sustainable Buildings
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Fang, Lui; Nielsen, Peter V.; Brohus, Henrik
The concepts of green buildings and sustainable buildings are promoted actively in the developed countries. Targets are on protecting the environment, using less energy through natural ventilation provisions and daylight utilization, developing better waste management and taking resource...... design in the green or sustainable buildings with an atrium. Since the physics of air entrainment is not yet clearly understood, most of the fire plume expressions reported in the literature was derived empirically. Experiments and CFD simulation were used to study the different types of thermal plumes...... conservation into account. Architectural and building design, electrical and mechanical systems, and building management have to be upgraded. However, there are problems in dealing with fire safety, especially in complying with the existing prescriptive fire codes. A hot argument is that smoke control system...
A sustainable building promotes pro-environmental behavior: an observational study on food disposal.
Wu, David W-L; DiGiacomo, Alessandra; Kingstone, Alan
2013-01-01
In order to develop a more sustainable society, the wider public will need to increase engagement in pro-environmental behaviors. Psychological research on pro-environmental behaviors has thus far focused on identifying individual factors that promote such behavior, designing interventions based on these factors, and evaluating these interventions. Contextual factors that may also influence behavior at an aggregate level have been largely ignored. In the current study, we test a novel hypothesis--whether simply being in a sustainable building can elicit environmentally sustainable behavior. We find support for our hypothesis: people are significantly more likely to correctly choose the proper disposal bin (garbage, compost, recycling) in a building designed with sustainability in mind compared to a building that was not. Questionnaires reveal that these results are not due to self-selection biases. Our study provides empirical support that one's surroundings can have a profound and positive impact on behavior. It also suggests the opportunity for a new line of research that bridges psychology, design, and policy-making in an attempt to understand how the human environment can be designed and used as a subtle yet powerful tool to encourage and achieve aggregate pro-environmental behavior.
Approaches for Sustaining and Building Management and Leadership Capability in VET Providers
Callan, Victor; Mitchell, John; Clayton, Berwyn; Smith, Larry
2007-01-01
This study examines the existing and potential strategies for sustaining and building greater levels of management and leadership capability in training organisations. The research report is one of the products of a nationally based research consortium: Supporting vocational education and training (VET) providers in building capability for the…
Sustainable innovation, business models and economic performance: an overview
Montalvo Corral, C.
2013-01-01
Sustainable development requires radical and systemic innovations. Such innovations can be more effectively created and studied when building on the concept of business models. This concept provides firms with a holistic framework to envision and implement sustainable innovations. For researchers,
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Walaa S. E. Ismaee
2016-07-01
Full Text Available The paper discusses the recent introduction of the LEED system to the Italian context in order to assess its role to promote sustainable building process in the Italian context, pointing out its potentials on one hand as well as their gaps and limitations on the other hand, and suggests means for its future development. The study discusses the application of LEED as a ‘Sustainable Project management tool’ to guide sustainable building performance. This requires investigating the following: its structure, tools, assessment criteria along with its benchmarks and references. It also discusses the application of LEED as a ‘Sustainable building Certification and market tool’. This investigates the role and value of the LEED certification in the Italian Green market. The research method is comprised of three parts. The first part is a comparative analysis of LEED categories against Italian national initiatives for sustainability. The comparison showed that most LEED categories are already mandated by national norms and directives but they may differ in their stringency creating some areas of precedence of LEED system or drawbacks. This streamlines the adaptation process of LEED system to the Italian context. The second part investigates LEED projects’ market analysis. The result showed that the shift towards a sustainable building process is occurring slowly and on a vertical scale focusing on some building sectors rather than others. Its market diffusion in the Italian context faces challenges regarding the insufficient availability of green materials and products satisfying its requirements, as well as high soft cost of sustainability tests and expertise required. The Third part presents a practical review-citing the methodology and results of a survey conducted by the researchers in mid-2012. It is composed of a web-based questionnaire and interviews among a sample of LEED professionals in Italy. The result shows that LEED systems needs
Design, Monitoring, and Validation of a High Performance Sustainable Building
2013-08-01
ES-1 1.0 INTRODUCTION ...better quality in the overall building construction (e.g., plumbing the building correctly). 1 1.0 INTRODUCTION The U.S. DUSEPArtment of...al, 2006 U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Directive 4170.11. 2009. Department of Defense Instruction- Installation Energy Mangement . December 11
A matrix in life cycle perspective for selecting sustainable materials for buildings in Sri Lanka
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Abeysundara, U.G. Yasantha [Ministry of Education, Isurupaya, Battaramulla (Sri Lanka); Babel, Sandhya [Environmental Technology Program, School of Biochemical Engineering and Technology, Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology, Thammasat University, P.O. Box 22, Pathumthani 12121 (Thailand); Gheewala, Shabbir [The Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment, King Mongkut' s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok 10140 (Thailand)
2009-05-15
This paper presents a matrix to select sustainable materials for buildings in Sri Lanka, taking into consideration environmental, economic and social assessments of materials in a life cycle perspective. Five building elements, viz., foundations, roofs, ceilings, doors and windows, and floors are analyzed based on materials used for these elements. Environmental burdens associated with these elements are analyzed in terms of embodied energy and environmental impacts such as global warming, acidification and nutrient enrichment. Economic analysis is based on market prices and affordability of materials. Social factors that are taken into account are thermal comfort, interior (aesthetics), ability to construct quickly, strength and durability. By compiling the results of analyses, two building types with minimum and maximum impacts are identified. These two cases along with existing buildings are compared in a matrix of environmental, economic and social scores. Analysis of the results also indicates need for higher consideration of environmental parameters in decision-making over social and economic factors, as social and economic scores do not vary much between cases. Hence, this matrix helps decision-makers to select sustainable materials for buildings, meaningfully, and thus helps to move towards a more sustainable buildings and construction sector. (author)
Sustainability Base Construction Update
Mewhinney, Michael
2012-01-01
Construction of the new Sustainability Base Collaborative support facility, expected to become the highest performing building in the federal government continues at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffet Field, Calif. The new building is designed to achieve a platinum rating under the leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) new construction standards for environmentally sustainable construction developed by the U. S. Green Building Council, Washington, D. C. When completed by the end of 2011, the $20.6 million building will feature near zero net energy consumption, use 90 percent less potable water than conventionally build buildings of equivalent size, and will result in reduced building maintenance costs.
The potential role of cattail-reinforced clay plaster in sustainable building
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
G. Georgiev
2014-06-01
Full Text Available Sustainable development is a key goal in town and country planning, as well as in the building industry. The main aims are to avoid inefficient land use, to improve the energy efficiency of buildings and, thus, to move towards meeting the challenges of climate change. In this article we consider how the use of a traditional low-energy building material, namely clay, might contribute. Recent research has identified a promising connection between the reinforcement of clay for internal wall plastering with fibres from the wetland plant Typha latifolia (cattail and the positive environmental effects of cultivating this species. If large quantities of Typha fibres were to be used in building, the need for cultivation of the plant would increase and create new possibilities for the renaturalisation of polluted or/and degraded peatlands. We explore the topic first on the basis of literature, considering the suitability of Typha for this application and possibilities for its sustainable cultivation, as well as implications for the life cycle analyses of buildings in which it is used. We then report (qualitatively the results of testing different combinations of clay with natural plant (straw and cattail fibres for their suitability as a universal plaster, which demonstrate clearly the superior properties of Typha fibres as a reinforcement material for clay plaster mortars.
Metrics for building performance assurance
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Koles, G.; Hitchcock, R.; Sherman, M.
1996-07-01
This report documents part of the work performed in phase I of a Laboratory Directors Research and Development (LDRD) funded project entitled Building Performance Assurances (BPA). The focus of the BPA effort is to transform the way buildings are built and operated in order to improve building performance by facilitating or providing tools, infrastructure, and information. The efforts described herein focus on the development of metrics with which to evaluate building performance and for which information and optimization tools need to be developed. The classes of building performance metrics reviewed are (1) Building Services (2) First Costs, (3) Operating Costs, (4) Maintenance Costs, and (5) Energy and Environmental Factors. The first category defines the direct benefits associated with buildings; the next three are different kinds of costs associated with providing those benefits; the last category includes concerns that are broader than direct costs and benefits to the building owner and building occupants. The level of detail of the various issues reflect the current state of knowledge in those scientific areas and the ability of the to determine that state of knowledge, rather than directly reflecting the importance of these issues; it intentionally does not specifically focus on energy issues. The report describes work in progress and is intended as a resource and can be used to indicate the areas needing more investigation. Other reports on BPA activities are also available.
BUILDING NEW BUSINESS MODELS FOR SUSTAINABLE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Taco C. R. van Someren
2011-06-01
Full Text Available Considered are issues of methodology and methods, as well as ideology of strategic innovation. Using the tools of this approach is offered as mechanisms to develop and build business models for sustainable socio-economic economic growth and development of different regions. The connection between key problems of sustainable development and management policy of different economic entities is studied. The consultancy company Ynnovate’s experience in addressing these issues in the EU and China is shown. It is offered to the use its experience and tools in exploring the areas of cross-border economic cooperation between territories of the Russian Far East and China
Ruano, Marco A.; Cruzado, Marcos Garcia
2012-01-01
The authors seek to establish the need for better education to develop procedures useful to evaluate the sustainability of a building. The analysis emphasises the need for education in the social dimension of sustainability assessment in the context of the life cycle of a building and how such education of building agents could increase…
Social-ecology networks : building connections for sustainable landscapes
Opdam, P.F.M.
2014-01-01
Humans adapt their landscapes, their living environment. Sustainable use of the various landscape benefits requires that land owners and users collaborate in managing ecological networks. Because the government is stepping back as the organizer of coordinated landscape adaptation, we need new landscape planning approaches that enhance collaboration by building social networks and link them to ecological networks. In this farewell address I will explain why the social-ecological network is a p...
Sustainable Skyscrapers: Designing the Net Zero Energy Building of the Future
Kothari, S.; Bartsch, A.
2016-12-01
Cities of the future will need to increase population density in order to keep up with the rising populations in the limited available land area. In order to provide sufficient power as the population grows, cities must become more energy efficient. Fossil fuels and grid energy will continue to become more expensive as nonrenewable resources deplete. The obvious solution to increase population density while decreasing the reliance on fossil fuels is to build taller skyscrapers that are energy neutral, i.e. self-sustaining. However, current skyscrapers are not energy efficient, and therefore cannot provide a sustainable solution to the problem of increasing population density in the face of depleting energy resources. The design of a net zero energy building that includes both residential and commercial space is presented. Alternative energy systems such as wind turbines, photovoltaic cells, and a waste-to-fuel conversion plant have been incorporated into the design of a 50 story skyscraper that is not reliant on fossil fuels and has a payback time of about six years. Although the current building was designed to be located in San Francisco, simple modifications to the design would allow this building to fit the needs of any city around the world.
Capacity building for sustainable aquaculture and fisheries development in Myanmar
Steins, N.A.; Bosma, R.H.; Taal, K.; Bolman, B.C.; Bink, E.; Dop, van H.; Dekker, A.; Numan, J.; Spek, van der G.; Pijl, van der W.
2015-01-01
This report presents the results of a Dutch public-private capacity building (Knowledge to Knowledge or K2K) mission for fostering sustainable aquaculture and fisheries development in Myanmar. The objectives of the K2K mission were to: 1) analyse Myanmar’s aquaculture and fisheries knowledge
Investigation on Smoke Movement and Smoke Control for Atrium in Green and Sustainable Buildings
Fang, Lui; Nielsen, Peter V.; Brohus, Henrik
2007-01-01
The concepts of green buildings and sustainable buildings are promoted actively in the developed countries. Targets are on protecting the environment, using less energy through natural ventilation provisions and daylight utilization, developing better waste management and taking resource conservation into account. Architectural and building design, electrical and mechanical systems, and building management have to be upgraded. However, there are problems in dealing with fire safety, especial...
Hybrid Building Performance Simulation Models for Industrial Energy Efficiency Applications
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Peter Smolek
2018-06-01
Full Text Available In the challenge of achieving environmental sustainability, industrial production plants, as large contributors to the overall energy demand of a country, are prime candidates for applying energy efficiency measures. A modelling approach using cubes is used to decompose a production facility into manageable modules. All aspects of the facility are considered, classified into the building, energy system, production and logistics. This approach leads to specific challenges for building performance simulations since all parts of the facility are highly interconnected. To meet this challenge, models for the building, thermal zones, energy converters and energy grids are presented and the interfaces to the production and logistics equipment are illustrated. The advantages and limitations of the chosen approach are discussed. In an example implementation, the feasibility of the approach and models is shown. Different scenarios are simulated to highlight the models and the results are compared.
Residential and commercial buildings
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Svendsen, Svend; Furbo, S.
2012-11-15
Low-energy buildings can make a major contribution to general sustainable development by providing a solution to problems related to the use of fossil fuels. The EPBD (EU Directive on Energy Performance of Buildings) requirements that by 2020 new building shall be constructed to use nearly zero energy, and no fossil fuels, can be accomplished by combining low-energy buildings with renewable energy via low-temperature district heating in cities and suburbs, and via heat pumps for low-density settlements. Based on experience with passive houses, low-energy buildings meeting the energy performance requirements of 2020 are expected to cost only a few percent more than conventional buildings. The very large and rapid changes needed in the energy performance of buildings is a challenge for the building sector, but one that can be overcome by better methods of developing products and designing, constructing and operating buildings. Simulation-based analysis and optimisation, and considerations of durability, will be important here. Building may thus be transformed from an experience-based sector to one based on knowledge and research, with high-quality sustainable products and good business opportunities. (Author)
Ozolins, Peter Charles
2010-01-01
Buildings have significant and complex impacts both in their construction and in their use. Green building rating systems have been developed and promoted in more economically-advanced countries to offer guidelines to reduce negative impacts and to promote sustainable practices of building construction and operations. The green building rating system called Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), established in 1995 by the U.S. Green Building Council, is increasingly accepted as...
Energy Performance of Buildings
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Heiselberg, Per
2007-01-01
"Sustainable development" has been defined best by the Brundtland Commission as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". Adequate and affordable energy supplies have been key to economic development and are c......"Sustainable development" has been defined best by the Brundtland Commission as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". Adequate and affordable energy supplies have been key to economic development...... and are central to improving social and economic well- being, and human welfare and raising living standards. Even if energy is essential for development, it is only a means to an end. The end is good health, high living standards, a sustainable economy and a clean environment. The European Climate change...... programme (ECCP) was established in June 2000 to help identify the most environmentally cost-effective measures enabling the EU to meet its target under the Kyoto Protocol, namely an 8% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by 2012. Energy use in buildings accounts for almost half of all CO...
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Guilherme Castanheira
2014-01-01
Full Text Available This paper analyses the current trends in sustainability assessment. After about 15 years from the launch of sustainability assessment tools, focused on buildings evaluation, the paradigm of sustainability assessment tools is changing from the building scale to the built environment scale. Currently European cities and cities around the world are concerned with sustainable development, as well as its evolution. Cities seek a way to adapt to contemporary changes, in order to meet the required needs and ensure population’s well-being. Considering this, the new generations of sustainability assessment tools are being developed to be used to guide and help cities and urban areas to become more sustainable. Following the trend of the most important sustainability assessment tools, the sustainability assessment tool SBToolPT is also developing its version for assessing the sustainability of the built environment, namely, the urban planning projects and the urban regeneration projects, to be developed in Portugal, the SBToolPT-UP. The application of the methodology to three case studies will demonstrate its feasibility; at the same time this will identify the best practices which will serve as reference for new projects, thereby assisting the development of the tool.
Bragança, Luís
2014-01-01
This paper analyses the current trends in sustainability assessment. After about 15 years from the launch of sustainability assessment tools, focused on buildings evaluation, the paradigm of sustainability assessment tools is changing from the building scale to the built environment scale. Currently European cities and cities around the world are concerned with sustainable development, as well as its evolution. Cities seek a way to adapt to contemporary changes, in order to meet the required needs and ensure population's well-being. Considering this, the new generations of sustainability assessment tools are being developed to be used to guide and help cities and urban areas to become more sustainable. Following the trend of the most important sustainability assessment tools, the sustainability assessment tool SBToolPT is also developing its version for assessing the sustainability of the built environment, namely, the urban planning projects and the urban regeneration projects, to be developed in Portugal, the SBToolPT-UP. The application of the methodology to three case studies will demonstrate its feasibility; at the same time this will identify the best practices which will serve as reference for new projects, thereby assisting the development of the tool. PMID:24592171
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Todorovic, Marija S. [University of Belgrade, Serbia and Southeast University (China)
2011-07-01
Traditional village houses now use renewable materials and energy sources and this paper presents the intrinsic harmony of these buildings' greening and their sustainability. The paper covers building technical systems, sustainable energy supply, and the importance of renewable raw materials (RMS) for sustainable development. This study investigated the role of building dynamic behavior and optimized energy efficiency in reducing thermal loads significantly. A preliminary design for sustainable energy efficient settlements with net zero energy buildings is proposed and a comprehensive multidisciplinary engineering study was done which identified the technical feasibility of sustainable village energy and water supplies using solar or wind technologies. Overall, through analysis of sustainability definitions and possible ways to achieve sustainability, the study demonstrated that this can only be brought about by interdisciplinary interaction and finding the right balance between materiality and spirituality, science and art, and between technological development and concern for cultural and other human values.
Saeli, Manfredi; Novais, Rui M.; Seabra, Maria Paula; Labrincha, João A.
2017-11-01
Sustainability in construction is a major concern worldwide, due to the huge volume of materials and energy consumed by this sector. Associated supplementing industries (e.g. Portland cement production) constitute a significant source of CO2 emissions and global warming. Valorisation and reuse of industrial wastes and by-products make geopolymers a solid and sustainable via to be followed as a valid alternative to Portland cement. In this work the mix design of a green fly ash-based geopolymer is evaluated as an environmentally friendly construction material. In the pursuit of sustainability, wastes from a regional kraft pulp industry are exploited for the material processing. Furthermore, a simple, reproducible, and low-cost manufacture is used. The mix design is hence optimised in order to improve the desirable mechanical performance of the material intended for structural applications in construction. Tests indicate that geopolymers may efficiently substitute the ordinary Portland cement as a mortar/concrete binder. Furthermore, valorisation and reuse of wastes in geopolymers is a suboptimal way of gaining financial surplus for the involved industrial players, while contributes for the implementation of a desirable circular economy.
Traditional formwork system sustainability performance: experts’ opinion
Taher Al-ashwal, Mohammed; Abdullah, Redzuan; Zakaria, Rozana
2017-11-01
The traditional formwork system is one of the commonly used systems in concrete construction. It is considered as one of the least observed activities in term of sustainability performance. In this paper, the sustainability performance of the traditional formwork has been assessed by using a multi-criteria assessment tool to facilitate the decision on the sustainability performance measurement. A quantitative five Likert scale survey study using judgemental sampling is employed in this study. A sample of 93 of engineering construction experts, with different fields including contractors, developers, and consultants in the Malaysian context has made the body of the collected primary data. The results show variety in the distribution of the respondents’ working experience. The sustainability performance is considered moderately sustainable by the experts with only given 40.24 % of the overall total score for the three sustainable categories namely environmental, social and economic. Despite the finding that shows that the economic pillar was rated as the most sustainable aspect in comparison to the environmental and social pillars the traditional formwork system sustainability still needs enhancement. Further incorporation of the social and environmental pillars into the concrete construction the sustainability performance of traditional formwork system could be improved.
Performance Indicator Framework for Evaluation of Sustainable Tourism in the Taiwan Coastal Zone
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Shih-Hao Wang
2016-07-01
Full Text Available Surrounded by the ocean, Taiwan has been increasingly developing coastal tourism projects. Concerns that negative impacts might be brought about by prosperous tourism have resulted in a recent focus on sustainable tourism. Sustainable tourism involves policies that acknowledge the interdependences among the environment, the community, and the economy. The goal of sustainable tourism is to enhance and protect the environment while satisfying basic human requirements, as well as those of the contemporary and future tourism industries to improve quality of life. On the other hand, unsustainable coastal tourism might undermine the natural environment and society, resulting in air, water, and soil pollution, wildlife habitat disruption, and changes of local community cultural characteristics. Therefore, performance evaluation of coastal tourism, using an indicator framework to facilitate sustainable development and enhance the effectiveness of coastal resources exploitation, is critical. Through a literature review and expert surveys using the methods of the fuzzy Delphi method (FDM and the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP, this study builds a performance indicator framework and identifies the key factors affecting the sustainable development of coastal tourism in Taiwan. The results can serve as a reference for the public sector to be used for the sustainable planning and development of coastal tourism.
Taki Eddine Seghier; Lim Yaik Wah; Mohd Hamdan Ahmad; Williams Opeyemi Samuel
2017-01-01
Accomplishment of green building design requirements and the achievement of the targeted credit points under a specific green rating system are known to be a task that is very challenging. Building Information Modeling (BIM) design process and tools have already made considerable advancements in green building design and performance analysis. However, Green building design process is still lack of tools and workflows that can provide real-time feedback of building sustainability and rating du...
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
2004-06-01
This guide was prepared to be a resource for federal construction project managers and others who want to integrate the principles of sustainable design into the procurement of professional building design and consulting services. To economize on energy costs and improve the safety, comfort, and health of building occupants, building design teams can incorporate daylighting, energy efficiency, renewable energy, and passive solar design into all projects in which these elements are technically and economically feasible. The information presented here will help project leaders begin the process and manage the inclusion of sustainable design in the procurement process. The section on establishing selection criteria contains key elements to consider before selecting an architectural and engineering (A/E) firm. The section on preparing the statement of work discusses the broad spectrum of sustainable design services that an A/E firm can provide. Several helpful checklists are included.
Building and Sustaining Digital Collections: Models for Libraries and Museums.
Council on Library and Information Resources, Washington, DC.
In February 2001, the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) and the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH) convened a meeting to discuss how museums and libraries are building digital collections and what business models are available to sustain them. A group of museum and library senior executives met with…
THE CHALLENGE OF THE PERFORMANCE CONCEPT WITHIN THE SUSTAINABILITY AND COMPUTATIONAL DESIGN FIELD
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Marcio Nisenbaum
2017-11-01
Full Text Available This paper discusses the notion of performance and its appropriation within the research fields related to sustainability and computational design, focusing on the design processes of the architectural and urban fields. Recently, terms such as “performance oriented design” or “performance driven architecture”, especially when related to sustainability, have been used by many authors and professionals as an attempt to engender project guidelines based on simulation processes and systematic use of digital tools. In this context, the notion of performance has basically been understood as the way in which an action is fulfilled, agreeing to contemporary discourses of efficiency and optimization – in this circumstance it is considered that a building or urban area “performs” if it fulfills certain objective sustainability evaluation criteria, reduced to mathematical parameters. This paper intends to broaden this understanding by exploring new theoretical interpretations, referring to etymological investigation, historical research, and literature review, based on authors from different areas and on the case study of the solar houses academic competition, Solar Decathlon. This initial analysis is expected to contribute to the emergence of new forms of interpretation of the performance concept, relativizing the notion of the “body” that “performs” in different manners, thus enhancing its appropriation and use within the fields of sustainability and computational design.
Corporate sustainability: environmental, social, economic and corporate performance
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Alena Kocmanová
2011-01-01
Full Text Available The article deals with corporate sustainability and environmental and social issues of the integration of corporate performance measurement that may lead to sustainable economic success. Sustainability is a strategy of the process of sustainable development. Sustainability of businesses and sustainable performance can be defined as an integration of environmental, social and economic performance. First and foremost, businesses will want to know what indicators can be used to measure environmental, social and economic performance. What is the mutual relationship between environmental, social and economic performance? How can firms arrive at a comprehensive assessment of their performance in relation to sustainability? The aim of this paper is to analyze corporate environmental, social and economic performance and to analyze their mutual relationships. The final part of the article is an assessment of the contemporary situation and draft Key Performance Indicators (KPI for assessment of corporate sustainability that will be the subject of further research in a selected NACE-CZ sector and in accordance with Corporate Sustainability Reporting. KPI provide businesses with a means of measuring progress toward achieving objectives.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Min-Ren Yan
2015-11-01
Full Text Available Building and construction sectors are significant contributors to the global economy, but their energy consumption necessitates greater commitment to sustainable developments. There is therefore a growing demand for green innovation in the form of cleaner production and policies to meet the modern requirements of sustainability. However, the nature in which public work is undertaken is in an environment of project-based market competition, whereby contractors routinely bid for contracts under specific project awarding systems, and variations are accompanied with the unique scope of individual projects before the final goods or services are delivered. A comprehensive understanding of the characteristics and contractors’ behavior in systems could help to identify the leverage points of policies. This paper proposes a system dynamics model, with quantitative analysis and simulations, to demonstrate the problems of a system with different project awarding systems and ineffective market performance. The framework of market efficiency and performance measures has been proposed to evaluate the project-based competition mechanism. Managerial policy implications for market efficiency and sustainable developments can thus be systematically discussed and compared through iterative computer simulations and scenario analysis.
Proceedings of the CIB World Building Congress 2004 : Building for the future. CD-ROM ed.
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
NONE
2004-07-01
This conference provided an opportunity to exchange information on recent building and construction research. The main issues were arranged into the following sessions: building techniques; buildings and the environment; building processes; sustainable construction; performance based buildings and regulatory systems; revaluing construction; and, construction in developing countries. The presentations evaluated best practices in construction with reference to a wide range of topics, including heat, air and moisture transfer in buildings, roofing materials, energy conservation, building economics, urban sustainability and the future needs of the construction industry. The conference featured 40 presentations, of which 6 have been indexed separately for inclusion in this database. refs., tabs. ,figs.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Steffie Broer
2010-07-01
Full Text Available This paper concerns how sustainable and low carbon living can be enabled in new housing developments in the UK. It is here recognized that consumption of energy and resources is not just what goes into the building, but also long-term through occupancy and activities. Current approaches, which require housing developers to reduce the carbon emissions of the homes they build through a mixture of energy efficiency and renewable energy systems, do not sufficiently contribute to the carbon emission reductions which are necessary for meeting UK Government targets and to avoid dangerous climate change. Purchasing a home ties people in to not just direct consumption of energy (heating, hot water, electricity, but also effects other areas of consumption such as the embedded energy in the building and activities associated with the location and the type of development. Conventional business models for new housing development, operating under current government regulations, policies and targets have failed to develop housing which encourages the adoption of sustainable lifestyles taking whole life consumption into account. An alternative business model of eco-self-build communities is proposed as a way to foster desired behavior change. The feasibility of eco-self-build communities and their scope for supporting low carbon sustainable lifestyles is assessed through stakeholder interviews, and through quantitative assessment of costs, carbon emission reduction potential, and other sustainability impacts of technical and lifestyle options and their combinations. The research shows that eco-self-build communities are both feasible and have the ability to deliver low carbon lifestyles. In comparison to conventional approaches to building new housing, they have further advantages in terms of delivering wider social, environmental as well as economic sustainability objectives. If implemented correctly they could succeed in making sustainable lifestyles
Kim, Sunny S.; Rogers, Beatrice L.; Coates, Jennifer; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Sarriot, Eric
2013-01-01
After making large investments to put in place effective health and nutrition interventions, researchers, program implementers, policy makers, and donors all expect lasting effects. However, it is uncertain whether this is the case, and there is less certainty on how to approach the study of program sustainability. This symposium, “Building Evidence for Sustainability of Food and Nutrition Intervention Programs in Developing Countries,” provided not only frameworks for conceptualizing sustain...
Building green covering for a sustainable use of energy
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
C.A. Campiotti
2013-09-01
Full Text Available Nowadays the growth of the cities increased built and paved areas, energy use and heat generation. The phenomenon of urban warming, called urban heat island, influences negatively outdoor comfort conditions, pollutants concentration, energy demand for air conditioning, as well as increases environmental impact due to the demand of energy generation. A sustainable technology for improving the energy efficiency of buildings is the use of green roofs and walls in order to reduce the energy consumption for conditioning in summer and improve the thermal insulation in winter. The use of green roofs and walls can contribute to mitigate the phenomenon of heat island, the emissions of greenhouse gases, and the storm water runoff affecting human thermal comfort, air quality and energy use of the buildings. Recently, a number of municipalities started to adopt regulations and constructive benefits for renovated and new buildings which incorporate green roofs and walls. The aim of this paper is to describe the green roofs and walls plant technology.
The use of social media for improving sustainable energy and building operation
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Knudsen, Helene Hjort
2015-01-01
This paper will draw perspectives of the experiences from the housing estate “Eight House”, using the social intranet media “Borigo”. How can Social Intranet Media support sustainable building operation with an overall aim of improving the residents’ sustainable practice? Can local operational...... managers of the residential area function as change agents in the process? What kind of process is needed? Can the use of social media support communities of practice?...
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Malone, Elizabeth L. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL); Sanquist, Tom [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL); Wolfe, Amy K. [ORNL; Diamond, Rick [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL); Payne, Christopher [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL); Dion, Jerry [ORNL
2013-06-01
This document is part of a larger, programmatic effort to assist federal agencies in taking action and changing their institutions to achieve and maintain federal sustainability goals, while meeting their mission goals. FEMP is developing guidance for federal agency efforts to enable institutional behavior change for sustainability, and for making sustainability “business as usual.” The driving requirement for this change is Executive Order (EO) 13514, Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance. FEMP emphasizes strategies for increasing energy efficiency and renewable energy utilization as critical components of attaining sustainability, and promotes additional non-energy action pathways contained in EO 13514. This report contributes to the larger goal by laying out the conceptual and evidentiary underpinnings of guidance to federal agencies. Conceptual frameworks focus and organize the development of guidance. We outline a series of progressively refined conceptual frameworks, including a multi-layer approach, key steps in sustainability implementation, a process view of specific approaches to institutional change, the agency Strategic Sustainability Performance Plans (SSPPs), and concepts related to context-specific rules, roles and tools for sustainability. Additionally, we tap pertinent bodies of literature in drawing eight evidence-based principles for behavior change. These principles are important foundations upon which to build in selecting strategies to effect change in organizations. Taken together, this report presents a suite of components that inform the training materials, presentations, web site, and other products that provide guidance to federal agencies.
Razak, S. M.; Kong, T. C.; Zainol, N. Z.; Adnan, A.; Azimi, M.
2018-03-01
Excessive lateral drift can contribute significantly towards crack formation, leading to structural damage. The structural damage will in turn reduce the capacity of the structure and weaken it from the intended design capacity. Generally, lateral drift is more pronounced in higher and longer structure, such as high rise buildings and bridges. A typical method employed to control lateral drift is structural bracing, which works by increasing stiffness and stability of structure. This paper reviews the influence of various types of structural bracing to structural performance of buildings. The history of structural bracing is visited and the differences between numerous structural bracing in term of suitability to different types of buildings and loading, mechanisms, technical details, advantages and limitations, and the overall effect on the structural behaviour and performance are dissected. Proper and efficient structural bracing is pertinent for each high rise building as this will lead towards safer, sustainable and more economical buildings, which are cheaper to maintain throughout the life of the buildings in the future.
Building a Metaframework for Sustainable Transport Indicators
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Cornet, Yannick; Gudmundsson, Henrik
2015-01-01
and operationalize sustainability for transportation-related planning and decision making. Often these studies presented frameworks that would allow sustainability indicators and measures to be included in, for example, agency strategies and practices. Moreover, some papers suggested criteria for the selection...... of individual indicators and performance measures. The studies, however, did not always agree on the definition of a framework or how to use one to make sustainability-based decisions, and they tended to differ on underscored aspects and concerns. The current study addressed the issue of frameworks more...... generically and explored what was termed a "metaframework" with a set of associated criteria to guide the framing of indicators for sustainable transportation. On the basis of an explicit framework theory, the three functions of conceptualization, operationalization, and utilization were found to provide...
Building Sustainable Capacity with University Partnerships
Harris, J. M.
2013-05-01
Universities can play an important role in building scientific and technical capacity by providing educational opportunities for local and regional populations in developing countries. These opportunities may be short term or long term through for example faculty exchanges, student exchanges, and collaborative teaching and research activities. As the demand for talented graduates expands in developing countries, local universities face competition for students, lecturers, and professors from the same industries and communities they serve. This competition is in many ways counterproductive to building the sustainable human resource that is needed to support local development, management, and governance. Such competition is particularly evident for top science and engineering students in energy rich countries. University partnerships, e.g., in particular those between universities in OECD countries and universities in developing countries, have an important role to play in bridging the gap between today's lack of capacity and a sustainable human resource for the future. Such university partnerships, however, face many challenges, some of which can be traced to organizational and cultural differences In this presentation, I will discuss how university partnerships are formed, some of the benefits to partners, and some pitfalls to avoid during implementation of university partnerships. The examples are taken from Stanford partnerships that involve geoscience and engineering, and will include representative goals and content of the example partnerships. These partnerships I'll describe are actually trilateral, with partners from two or more universities and a private company or government agency. I conclude the presentation with a brief discussion on multiculturalism, perhaps the most important consideration when planning a partnership between diverse organizations. Organizers of partnerships must recognize the fact that multiculturalism and diversity are assets that
Building Theory at the Intersection of Ecological Sustainability and Strategic Management
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Borland, Helen; Ambrosini, Véronique; Lindgreen, Adam
2016-01-01
This article builds theory at the intersection of ecological sustainability and strategic management literature—specifically, in relation to dynamic capabilities literature. By combining industrial organization economics–based, resource-based, and dynamic capability–based views, it is possible...... to develop a better understanding of the strategies that businesses may follow, depending on their managers’ assumptions about ecological sustainability. To develop innovative strategies for ecological sustainability, the dynamic capabilities framework needs to be extended. In particular, the sensing......–seizing–maintaining competitiveness framework should operate not only within the boundaries of a business ecosystem but in relation to global biophysical ecosystems; in addition, two more dynamic capabilities should be added, namely, remapping and reaping. This framework can explicate core managerial beliefs about ecological...
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Taki Eddine Seghier
2017-09-01
Full Text Available Accomplishment of green building design requirements and the achievement of the targeted credit points under a specific green rating system are known to be a task that is very challenging. Building Information Modeling (BIM design process and tools have already made considerable advancements in green building design and performance analysis. However, Green building design process is still lack of tools and workflows that can provide real-time feedback of building sustainability and rating during the design stage. In this paper, a new workflow of green building design assessment and rating is proposed based on the integration of Visual Programing Language (VPL and BIM. Thus, the aim of this study is to develop a BIM-VPL based tool for building envelope design and assessment support. The focus performance metric in this research is building Envelope Thermal Transfer Value (ETTV which is an Energy Efficiency (EE prerequisite requirement (up to 15 credits in both Green Mark and GreenRE rating systems. The development of the tool begins first by creating a generic integration framework between BIM-VPL functionalities and ETTV requirements. Then, data is extracted from the BIM 3D model and managed using Revit, Excel and Dynamo for visual scripting. A sample project consisting of a hypothetical residential building is run and its envelope ETTV performance and rating score are obtained for the validation of the tool. This tool will support project team in building envelope design and assessment by allowing them to select the most appropriate façade configuration according to its performance efficiency and the green rating. Furthermore, this tool serves as proof of concept that building sustainability rating and compliance checking can be automatically processed through customized workflows developed based on BIM and VPL technologies.
Glasser, Harold
2010-01-01
Grand Rapids is the first United Nations University (UNU) Regional Centre of Expertise (RCE) on education for sustainable development (ESD) in the United States. It builds on the region's long history and deep foundation in research, planning and problem solving to build a sustainable future. This article explores the concept of RCEs as social…
Green buildings need good ergonomics.
Hedge, A; Dorsey, J A
2013-01-01
A retrospective post-occupancy evaluation survey of 44 occupants in two Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum buildings on a US college campus is reported. The Internet survey covered a range of indoor environment and ergonomics issues. Results show that working in these buildings were a generally positive experience for their health, performance and satisfaction. However, in one building there were persistent issues of variability in air temperature, air freshness, air quality and noise that affected the perceived health and performance of the occupants. Although the buildings were energy-efficient and sustainable structures, ergonomics design issues were identified. Implications for the role of ergonomics in green buildings and in the US LEED rating system are discussed. This survey identified a number of ergonomics design issues present in the LEED Platinum energy-efficient and sustainable buildings that were studied. These results highlight the importance of integrating ergonomics design into green buildings as a component in the US LEED rating system.
Building Castles Together: A sustainable collaboration as a perpetual work-in-progress
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Michelle Vazquez Jacobus
2011-11-01
Full Text Available The Building Castles Together project is a multidisciplinary collaboration between the University of Southern Maine at Lewiston-Auburn College and Sandcastle Clinical and Educational Services that aims to build solidarity and resilience in vulnerable young children, their families and their community. This article explores how the partnership exemplifies five key areas impacting the sustainability of community-university collaborations. 1 Mutuality and reciprocity are foundational elements in establishing trust and ensuring project relevance to both organisations. 2 Interdisciplinarity and diversity are constructs related to the core mission of both the University and Sandcastle. The multiple perspectives offer a range of holistic strategies for addressing complex social problems, but also create the potential for misunderstandings between disciplines and organisations. 3 Community integration at multiple levels is critical to the partnership’s sustainability as well as to achievement of its ideals. 4 Dynamic interaction is an evolutionary process, both internal and external to both organisations, that impacts their relative contributions and necessitates flexibility in planning and outcomes. 5 Asset enhancement describes the potential to increase capacity, but also the concern for overextension and resource exhaustion. We conclude that sustainability in university-community partnerships is not a goal in itself, but an ongoing process, and an attribute of a partnership based on common principles, continuous input and constant change. Keywords Community-university partnership, sustainability, diversity, vulnerable youth
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Zhogoleva Anna
2017-01-01
Full Text Available The purpose of the author’s research is to determine the actual content of sustainable architectural design for suburban residential development. In accordance with the methodology of area sustainable development the traditional architectural design according to the rules and regulations is completed with additional approaches and methods. As a result, methods of bio-positive design of buildings have been studied and defined, including: the principle of planning transformations, the use of environmentally friendly, local building materials and design concepts, energy-efficient architectural design, the use of alternative energy in building operation, the design of the energy intake and accumulationsystems, the architectural and landscape design that ensures stable functioning of autonomous, sustainable biosystems on the site, non-waste functioning of architectural objects, introduction of waste disposal systems in the project.
Cyclic Variations in Sustained Human Performance
Aue, William R.; Arruda, James E.; Kass, Steven J.; Stanny, Claudia J.
2009-01-01
Biological rhythms play a prominent role in the modulation of human physiology and behavior. [Smith, K., Valentino, D., & Arruda, J. (2003). "Rhythmic oscillations in the performance of a sustained attention task." "Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology," 25, 561-570] suggested that sustained human performance may systematically…
Kennedy Space Center Five Year Sustainability Plan
Williams, Ann T.
2016-01-01
The Federal Government is committed to following sustainable principles. At its heart, sustainability integrates environmental, societal and economic solutions for present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Building upon its pledge towards environmental stewardship, the Administration generated a vision of sustainability spanning ten goals mandated within Executive Order (EO) 13693, Planning for Federal Sustainability in the Next Decade. In November 2015, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) responded to this EO by incorporating it into a new release of the NASA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan (SSPP). The SSPP recognizes the importance of aligning environmental practices in a manner that preserves, enhances and strengthens NASA's ability to perform its mission indefinitely. The Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is following suit with KSC's Sustainability Plan (SP) by promoting, maintaining and pioneering green practices in all aspects of our mission. KSC's SP recognizes that the best sustainable solutions use an interdisciplinary, collaborative approach spanning civil servant and contractor personnel from across the Center. This approach relies on the participation of all employees to develop and implement sustainability endeavors connected with the following ten goals: Reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Design, build and maintain sustainable buildings, facilities and infrastructure. Leverage clean and renewable energy. Increase water conservation. Improve fleet and vehicle efficiency and management. Purchase sustainable products and services. Minimize waste and prevent pollution. Implement performance contracts for Federal buildings. Manage electronic equipment and data centers responsibly. Pursue climate change resilience. The KSC SP details the strategies and actions that address the following objectives: Reduce Center costs. center dot Increase energy and water efficiencies. Promote smart
The New Jersey Nursing Initiative: building sustainable collaboration.
Bakewell-Sachs, Susan; Mertz, Lynn M; Egreczky, Dana; Ladden, Maryjoan
2011-01-01
The New Jersey Nursing Initiative was publically launched in 2009 as a 5-year, $22 million program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation based at the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Foundation. It was reauthorized in 2011 through 2016 for an additional $8.5 million. The initiative includes a faculty preparation program and strategic tracks of work focusing on building education capacity, increasing current faculty capacity, making nurse faculty a preferred career, leading policy initiatives, creating sustainable funding in support of nursing education, and ultimately, building local, regional, and statewide collaborative networks. The tagline, "So a Nurse will be there for You," emphasizes both the reality of an aging nursing workforce needing replacement and the expected health care transformation that will result in the need for new knowledge and skills in the future nursing workforce. The purpose of this article was to describe the New Jersey Nursing Initiative, emphasizing the partnerships that have resulted from the project to date. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Sustainable Urban (re-Development with Building Integrated Energy, Water and Waste Systems
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Tae-Goo Lee
2013-03-01
Full Text Available The construction and service of urban infrastructure systems and buildings involves immense resource consumption. Cities are responsible for the largest component of global energy, water, and food consumption as well as related sewage and organic waste production. Due to ongoing global urbanization, in which the largest sector of the global population lives in cities which are already built, global level strategies need to be developed that facilitate both the sustainable construction of new cities and the re-development of existing urban environments. A very promising approach in this regard is the decentralization and building integration of environmentally sound infrastructure systems for integrated resource management. This paper discusses such new and innovative building services engineering systems, which could contribute to increased energy efficiency, resource productivity, and urban resilience. Applied research and development projects in Germany, which are based on integrated system approaches for the integrated and environmentally sound management of energy, water and organic waste, are used as examples. The findings are especially promising and can be used to stimulate further research and development, including economical aspects which are crucial for sustainable urban (re-development.
Hens, Hugo S L C
2012-01-01
The energy crises of the 1970s, persisting moisture problems, complaints about sick buildings, thermal, visual and olfactory discomfort, and the move towards more sustainability in building construction have pushed Building Physics to the forefront of building innovation. The societal pressure to diminish energy consumption in buildings without impairing usability acted as a trigger to activate the whole notion of performance based design and construction. As with all engineering sciences, Building Physics is oriented towards application, which is why, after a first book on fundamentals this s
Bossink, B.A.G.
2009-01-01
This paper integrates the interorganisational innovation process and national innovation system-approach into a new model. A case study research project that covers a 16-year period of sustainable innovations in the Dutch residential building industry applies the model. The research outcomes
Surface protection treatments of highly porous building stones and sustainability problems
Calia, Angela; Lettieri, Maria Teresa; Matera, Loredana; Sileo, Maria
2013-04-01
The growing attention to the cultural value and the potential touristic attraction of the historic towns has led to increasing activities of rehabilitation and conservation of the historical built heritage. Chemical treatments have become a common practice for the protection of the stone building surface against the decay agents and traditional methods of protection, such as the application of sacrificial layers, have been even more neglected. The use of chemical products on large scale works on the historical built heritage draws the attention towards the sustainability of the conservation treatments, that involve peculiar features with relation to the different types of stones. Sustainability is undoubtedly in terms of human and environmental impact of the used products, so that the use of new formulations based on aqueous solvent should be preferred. Sustainability also means the equilibrium between the required performances of the treatments and the preservation of the original stone properties (colour, permeability, etc), namely harmlessness and effectiveness of the treatments. This can be a critical aspect when we deal with very porous stones, namely having porosity between 30-40%, that are widely used in many countries as traditional building materials. In most cases no information - or very general recommendations - is reported in the technical sheets of the conservation products with reference to the application to these types of stones. Relevant problems of compatibility can arise from the significant amounts absorbed by the high porous structure, as well as in terms of cost effectiveness of the treatments. In this work several calcarenites with different petro-physic characteristics and porosity between 30 and 45% are concerned for the assessment of the performance of two commercial water based products for stone protection, respectively an alcoxy-siloxane with low molecular weight and a modified organo-silane. This activity is a part of the Apulia
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Scheib, J.; Pless, S.; Torcellini, P.
2014-08-01
NREL experienced a significant increase in employees and facilities on our 327-acre main campus in Golden, Colorado over the past five years. To support this growth, researchers developed and demonstrated a new building acquisition method that successfully integrates energy efficiency requirements into the design-build requests for proposals and contracts. We piloted this energy performance based design-build process with our first new construction project in 2008. We have since replicated and evolved the process for large office buildings, a smart grid research laboratory, a supercomputer, a parking structure, and a cafeteria. Each project incorporated aggressive efficiency strategies using contractual energy use requirements in the design-build contracts, all on typical construction budgets. We have found that when energy efficiency is a core project requirement as defined at the beginning of a project, innovative design-build teams can integrate the most cost effective and high performance efficiency strategies on typical construction budgets. When the design-build contract includes measurable energy requirements and is set up to incentivize design-build teams to focus on achieving high performance in actual operations, owners can now expect their facilities to perform. As NREL completed the new construction in 2013, we have documented our best practices in training materials and a how-to guide so that other owners and owner's representatives can replicate our successes and learn from our experiences in attaining market viable, world-class energy performance in the built environment.
Building envelope influence on the annual energy performance in office buildings
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Harmati Norbert L.
2016-01-01
Full Text Available The objective of the research is to determine the quantitative influence of building envelope on the annual heating and cooling energy demand in office buildings demonstrated on a reference office-tower building located in Novi Sad, Serbia. The investigation intended to find preferable and applicable solutions for energy performance improvement in currently inefficient office buildings. A comparative and evaluative analysis was performed among the heating energy expenses and simulated values from the multi-zone model designed in EnergyPlus engine. The research determines an improved window to wall ratio using dynamic daylight simulation and presents the influence of glazing parameters (U-value, Solar heat gain coefficient - SHGC on the annual energy performance. Findings presented window to wall ratio reduction down to 30% and point out the significance of the SHGC parameter on the overall energy performance of buildings with high internal loads. The calculation of the air-ventilation energy demand according to EN 15251 is included respectively. Results offer effective methods for energy performance improvement in temperate climate conditions.
Sustainability performance evaluation: Literature review and future directions.
Büyüközkan, Gülçin; Karabulut, Yağmur
2018-07-01
Current global economic activities are increasingly being perceived as unsustainable. Despite the high number of publications, sustainability science remains highly dispersed over diverse approaches and topics. This article aims to provide a structured overview of sustainability performance evaluation related publications and to document the current state of literature, categorize publications, analyze and link trends, as well as highlight gaps and provide research recommendations. 128 articles between 2007 and 2018 are identified. The results suggest that sustainability performance evaluation models shall be more balanced, suitable criteria and their interrelations shall be well defined and subjectivity of qualitative criteria inherent to sustainability indicators shall be considered. To address this subjectivity, group decision-making techniques and other analytical methods that can deal with uncertainty, conflicting indicators, and linguistic evaluations can be used in future works. By presenting research gaps, this review stimulates researchers to establish practically applicable sustainability performance evaluation frameworks to help assess and compare the degree of sustainability, leading to more sustainable business practices. The review is unique in defining corporate sustainability performance evaluation for the first time, exploring the gap between sustainability accounting and sustainability assessment, and coming up with a structured overview of innovative research recommendations about integrating analytical assessment methods into conceptual sustainability frameworks. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Sustainability and office building conversions : A comparison of Dutch and Australian practices
Remøy, H.T.; Wilkinson, S.J.
2011-01-01
Local Authorities worldwide are encouraging adaptation to reduce building related energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The City of Melbourne is promoting the retrofit of 1,200 CBD properties before 2020 with sustainability measures as part of their policy to become a carbon neutral city,
The importance of ergonomics to sustainability throughout a building's life cycle.
Miller, Linda; Dorsey, Julie; Jacobs, Karen
2012-01-01
Protecting and conserving environmental resources is a global concern. Over the past decade, a number of certification processes have emerged to help designers and operators of buildings assess the potential impact of a building on the environment. Certifications such as the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) consider the environmental impact through the lifecycle of a building, but may not be considering the people that construct and utilize it. It is important to remember the human factor. Considering the human factor throughout the lifecycle is crucial to ensure individuals are protected during construction and in operation in the built environment. The paper highlights how ergonomics can be integrated into the life cycle of a building to promote sustainability goals for both the human factor and the environment. A case study approach will be used to illustrate how ergonomics was integrated into a LEED renovation and expanded into its daily operations on a large university campus..
Wu, Weiwei; Yang, Huanjia; Chew, David; Hou, Yanhong; Li, Qiming
2014-01-01
Buildings' sustainability is one of the crucial parts for achieving urban sustainability. Applied to buildings, life-cycle assessment encompasses the analysis and assessment of the environmental effects of building materials, components and assemblies throughout the entire life of the building construction, use and demolition. Estimate of carbon emissions is essential and crucial for an accurate and reasonable life-cycle assessment. Addressing the need for more research into integrating analysis of real-time and automatic recording of key indicators for a more accurate calculation and comparison, this paper aims to design a real-time recording model of these crucial indicators concerning the calculation and estimation of energy use and carbon emissions of buildings based on a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)-based system. The architecture of the RFID-based carbon emission recording/tracking system, which contains four functional layers including data record layer, data collection/update layer, data aggregation layer and data sharing/backup layer, is presented. Each of these layers is formed by RFID or network devices and sub-systems that operate at a specific level. In the end, a proof-of-concept system is developed to illustrate the implementation of the proposed architecture and demonstrate the feasibility of the design. This study would provide the technical solution for real-time recording system of building carbon emissions and thus is of great significance and importance to improve urban sustainability. PMID:24831109
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sadrykia Somayeh
2016-01-01
Full Text Available This paper explores the relationship between the indicators and different factors that “rating systems for green projects” concentrates on, and principles and factors considered in the rehabilitation of historical buildings. In recent years, different methods and systems concerned and improved for assessing environmental sustainability. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and BREEAM (Building Research Establishment (BRE Environmental Assessment Method are two most commonly used rating systems, established in U.S and UK. These systems comprise some categories and different factors to achieve environmentally responsible design. Firstly, this study focuses on the list of rating systems indicators and criteria. Secondly this paper investigates a historical rehabilitated building in the site of Tabriz Art University, as a case study and has tried to compile its green design elements. Finally, this work intends to compare mentioned elements with indicators and factors of building rating systems. Findings of the study revealed that “Materials and Resources”, “indoor environmental quality” and also “Sustainable Sites” ,the most significant indicator of rating systems, had major and important role in the rehabilitation of the building. Beyond this materials’ life cycle was considerable in construction.
Sustainable schools better than traditional schools?
Zeiler, W.; Boxem, G.
2008-01-01
During the last decades in the United Kingdom several educational buildings were built with a strong environmental ethos, real icons of a new generation of low-energy sustainable buildings. In some of the buildings post occupancy evaluations were held and building’s performance was revealed. Also in
Urban ecology and sustainable building in a Danish era of public de-regulation
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Jensen, Jesper Ole; Gram-Hanssen, Kirsten
, to which extent the changes should be seen as a result of respectively the right-wing government, or international trends in environmental management and public regulation – as characterised by the concepts of “Ecological Modernisation” and “New Public Management”. The recent development in the sector......The article describes the changed conditions for sustainable building in Denmark in the last decade and describes the different actors and there relations during this period. It also discusses to what extent the new right-wing government, which came to power in 2001, initiated these changes...... extent been based on public subsidies, and on grass-root activities. The new government however, has changed many of the previously state-supported conditions for sustainable building, and have escalated and narrowed a policy based on the principles of New Public Management. The discussions will include...
Building Sustainable Leadership Capacity. The Soul of Educational Leadership Series. Volume 5
Blankstein, Alan M.; Houston, Paul D.; Cole, Robert W.
2009-01-01
Today's rapidly changing schools and educational trends present administrators and school leaders with unique challenges. This fifth volume in the "Soul of Educational Leadership" series offers inspiring articles that examine how to sustain the achievements of school communities while building shared leadership to carry on the work of school…
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
RODRIGO GOYANNES GUSMÃO CAIADO
2016-12-01
Full Text Available Over the past few years, issues of sustainability are gaining greater prominence among organizations and their stakeholders around the world and with it the effective measurement of environmental performance has been a challenge for sustainable transition. The purpose of the article is to analyse, through the the perception of market experts and researchers, what sustainable performance measures have stronger positive correlation to achieve organizational sustainability in order to help employees in making decisions that reduce the consumption of resources and that create value throughout its chain. The research is of an exploratory and descriptive nature, with qualitative and quantitative method and has a deductive logic. It aims to help professionals and academics who want to start the measurement and continuous improvement of economic, environmental, social, governance and technical performance of their organizations. Finally, the analyzes allow direct efforts to sustainable measures considered most important, allowing the transition of the organization for sustainability.
Kim, Sunny S; Rogers, Beatrice L; Coates, Jennifer; Gilligan, Daniel O; Sarriot, Eric
2013-09-01
After making large investments to put in place effective health and nutrition interventions, researchers, program implementers, policy makers, and donors all expect lasting effects. However, it is uncertain whether this is the case, and there is less certainty on how to approach the study of program sustainability. This symposium, "Building Evidence for Sustainability of Food and Nutrition Intervention Programs in Developing Countries," provided not only frameworks for conceptualizing sustainability but concrete evidence about the approaches and methods used as well as lessons on how they do or do not work in particular contexts. We presented the following findings: 1) sustainability of activities and impacts of Title II food aid programs in Bolivia and Kenya, 2) sustainability of impact in terms of adoption and consumption of a biofortified orange sweet potato in Uganda, and 3) lessons from incorporating pro-sustainability investment strategies in child survival programs in Guinea. Our symposium introduced a new important body of research on program sustainability to provide insights and stimulate innovative thinking in the design and planning of further applied research and future prosustainability intervention programs.
Sustainable Transport and Performance Indicators
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Gudmundsson, Henrik
2004-01-01
Sustainable transport has become a major policy concern in recent years. The term suggests a need to consider transport in a comprehensive perspective including the well-being of both present and future generations, and taking environmental, social and economic issues into account. Indicators...... in forecasting and tracking the performance of transport systems increasingly guide sustainable transport policy making. This review explores the implications of the sustainable transport concept and how it can be made operational with indicators. A number of indicator systems are reviewed, and some strengths...
Improving Sustainability Performance for Public-Private-Partnership (PPP Projects
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Liyin Shen
2016-03-01
Full Text Available Improving sustainability performance in developing infrastructure projects is an important strategy for pursuing the mission of sustainable development. In recent years, the business model of public-private-partnership (PPP is promoted as an effective approach in developing infrastructure projects. It is considered that the distribution of the contribution on project investment between private and public sectors is one of the key variables affecting sustainability performance of PPP-type projects. This paper examines the impacts of the contribution distribution between public and private sectors on project sustainability performance. A model named the sustainability performance-based evaluation model (SPbEM is developed for assisting the assessment of the level of sustainability performance of PPP projects. The study examines the possibility of achieving better sustainability through proper arrangement of the investment distribution between the two primary sectors in developing PPP-type infrastructure projects.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kılkış, Şiir
2012-01-01
Highlights: ► Net-zero exergy targets are put forth for more energy-sufficient buildings and districts. ► A premier building that is the first LEED Platinum building in Turkey exemplifies this target. ► The building integrates low-exergy measures with PV/BIPV, CHP, GSHP, solar collectors and TES. ► Two districts in the south heating network of Stockholm are compared with this technology bundle. ► Net-zero exergy targets are related to a re-structuring of an exergy-aware energy value chain. - Abstract: Based on two case studies, this paper explores the nexus of exergy, net-zero targets, and sustainable cities as a means of analyzing the role of exergy-aware strategies at the building and district level. The first case study is a premier building in Ankara that is ready to meet the net-zero exergy target. It is also the first building in Turkey to receive the highest Platinum rating in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. A net-zero exergy building (NZEXB) is a building that has an annual sum of net-zero exergy transfer across the building-district boundary. This new target is made possible by lowered annual exergy consumption, (AEXC), and increased on-site production from a bundle of sustainable energy technologies. The modeled results of the building indicate that the reduced AEXC of 60 kW h/m 2 yr is met with on-site production of 62 kW h/m 2 yr. On-site production includes PV and building integrated PV, a micro-wind turbine, combined heat and power, GSHP, and solar collectors. Diversified thermal energy storage tanks further facilitate the exergy supply to meet with the exergy demand. The results of this case study provide key lessons to structure an energy value chain that is more aware of exergy, which are up-scalable to the district level when the bundle of sustainable energy technologies is zoomed out across a larger spatial area. These key lessons are then compared with the second case study of two districts in the south heating network
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Carla Balocco
2013-04-01
Full Text Available The aim of this research is to study the possibility and sustainability of retrofit and refurbishment design solutions on historical buildings converted to different uses and often clashing with their original purpose and architectural features. The building studied is an ancient monastery located in the historical center of Florence (Italy. Today the original cloister is covered over by a single glazed pitched roof and used as a fashion showroom. Our proposed solution concerns a reversible and sustainable plant design integrated with an active transparent building casing. The existing glazed pitched roof was reconsidered and re-designed as part of the existing heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC plant system, based on the functioning of an active thermal buffer to control the high heat flow rates and external thermal loads due to solar radiation. Hourly whole building energy analysis was carried out to check the effectiveness and energy sustainability of our proposed solution. Results obtained showed, from the historical-architectural, energy and environmental points of view, its sustainability due to the building-plant system integration and interaction with its location, the external climatic conditions and defined expected uses, in particular with reference to indoor thermal comfort.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Andersen, Nicolai Bo
This paper is about sustainable transformation with a particular focus on listed buildings. It is based on the notion that sustainability is not just a question of energy conditions, but also about the building being robust. Robust architecture means that the building can be maintained and rebuilt......, that it can be adapted to changing functional needs, and that it has an architectural and cultural value. A specific proposal for a transformation that enhances the architectural qualities and building heritage values of an existing building forms the empirical material, which is discussed using different...... theoretical lenses. It is proposed that three parameters concerning the ꞌtransformabilityꞌ of the building can contribute to a more nuanced understanding of sustainable transformation: technical aspects, programmatic requirements and narrative value. It is proposed that the concept of ꞌsustainable...
Build IT: Scaling and Sustaining an Afterschool Computer Science Program for Girls
Koch, Melissa; Gorges, Torie; Penuel, William R.
2012-01-01
"Co-design"--including youth development staff along with curriculum designers--is the key to developing an effective program that is both scalable and sustainable. This article describes Build IT, a two-year afterschool and summer curriculum designed to help middle school girls develop fluency in information technology (IT), interest in…
Building a sustainable Academic Health Department: the South Carolina model.
Smith, Lillian Upton; Waddell, Lisa; Kyle, Joseph; Hand, Gregory A
2014-01-01
Given the limited resources available to public health, it is critical that university programs complement the development needs of agencies. Unfortunately, academic and practice public health entities have long been challenged in building sustainable collaborations that support practice-based research, teaching, and service. The academic health department concept offers a promising solution. In South Carolina, the partners started their academic health department program with a small grant that expanded into a dynamic infrastructure that supports innovative professional exchange and development programs. This article provides a background and describes the key elements of the South Carolina model: joint leadership, a multicomponent memorandum of agreement, and a shared professional development mission. The combination of these elements allows the partners to leverage resources and deftly respond to challenges and opportunities, ultimately fostering the sustainability of the collaboration.
Strategic sustainability performance plan
2010-06-01
In October 2009, President Obama signed Executive Order (EO) 13514 that sets sustainability : goals for Federal agencies and focuses on making improvements in environmental, energy and : economic performance. The Executive Order requires Federal agen...
Super-structure and building performance
CSIR Research Space (South Africa)
Van Wyk, Llewellyn V
2010-11-01
Full Text Available The super-structure consists predominantly of the load- and no-load-bearing walls-including all doors and windows and suspended floor slabs. The building envelope plays a significant role in the performance of a building, especially with regard...
Gong, Boyun
2012-01-01
Sustainable building issue plays a key role in world sustainable development as the building industry converge major sectors of energy, water and material consumption that have huge affect on social and environment. Modern China is under the process of sifting from agriculture society to industrialized society, experiencing a fast economic growth and urbanization, facing big amount of environment and energy problems. Large amount of migration swam from rural area to urban area, which bring up...
Policy Pathways: Energy Performance Certification of Buildings
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
NONE
2010-07-01
Improving energy efficiency is one of the most effective measures to address energy security, climate change and economic objectives. The Policy Pathways series can help countries capture this potential by assisting with the implementation of the 25 energy efficiency policy recommendations that were published by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in 2008. This policy pathway on energy performance certification of buildings is the second in the series. It aims to provide a 'how-to' guide to policy makers and relevant stakeholders on the essential elements in implementing energy performance certification of buildings programmes. Energy performance certification of buildings is a way to rate the energy efficiency of individual buildings -- whether they be residential, commercial or public. It is a key policy instrument that can assist governments in reducing energy consumption in buildings. This policy pathway showcases experiences from countries around the world to show examples of good practice and delivers a pathway of ten critical steps to implement energy performance certification of buildings programmes.
Water sustainable management for buildings Water sustainable management for buildings
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Juan Arturo Ocaña Ponce
2013-01-01
Full Text Available This paper presents a literature review article that deals with how to manage water in buildings, specifically in facility projects, in ways to save water during the use, maintenance and operation of the building. This work is aimed at architects, builders and developers, and may be helpful for decision-making in the planning and management of efficient water use in buildings.Este trabajo es un artículo de revisión relacionado con el manejo y gestión del recurso agua, particularmente en proyectos de edificaciones, con el fin de propiciar ahorro de agua durante el uso, mantenimiento y operación del inmueble. Este documento está dirigido a arquitectos, constructores y desarrolladores inmobiliarios y puede ser de gran utilidad para la toma de decisiones en la fase de planeación y de gestión del uso eficiente del agua en los edificios.
The evaluation of innovative production to ensure quality in sustainable buildings
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Antonella Postorino
2013-08-01
Full Text Available The LaboReg has spent years to focus on the purpose of internal research on practical application of the achieved results and the involvement in all phases of business, governments and local entrepreneurs in order to anticipate times and procedures to make a decision towards sustainable solutions. The synergy created between the academic world, the local government and the businesses has put together a research whose main objective is oriented towards the implementation of the productive sectors of the local construction materials to be used in the restoration and rehabilitation of historic buildings and new green building measures in the prospective of environmental sustainability and energy conservation. Within the research programme, interesting results have emerged in the field of experiments called “New Historical Materials.” In this field of activity a research has emerged on the implementation of a prototype of a “new town photovoltaic roof tiles”. The study has provided a first significant result, that is the development of a model of assessment and control of production processes, and some innovative materials.
Building condition assessment: a performance evaluation tool towards sustainable asset management
CSIR Research Space (South Africa)
Abbott, GR
2007-05-01
Full Text Available of consistent condition assessments is generally underrated and seldom fully utilised. Condition assessments should be the basis for management and maintenance decisions in the built environment towards sustainable construction. Subsequent to the 1995 National...
Truong, Nguyen Hoang Long; Huan Giang, Ngoc; Binh Duong, Trong
2018-03-01
This paper aims at finding practical strategies for designing sustainable high-rise apartment buildings in Ho Chi Minh City responding to varied municipal issues. Two steps are made. Step-1 identifies the critical issues of Ho Chi Minh City which are associated with high-rise apartment building projects. Step-2 finds potential and applicable strategies which are solutions for the critical issues in Step-1 with reference of seven selected assessment methods. The study finds the set of 58 strategies applicable to designing sustainable high-rise apartment buildings in Ho Chi Minh City.
Unintended anchors: Building rating systems and energy performance goals for U.S. buildings
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Klotz, Leidy; Mack, Daniel; Klapthor, Brent; Tunstall, Casey; Harrison, Jennilee
2010-01-01
In the U.S., where buildings account for 40% of energy use, commercial buildings use more energy per unit area than ever before. However, exemplary buildings demonstrate the feasibility of much better energy performance at no additional first cost. This research examines one possible explanation for this inconsistency. The aim is to investigate whether the anchoring bias, which refers to our tendency to gravitate towards a pre-defined standard regardless of its relevance, influences energy performance goals in building design. The scope examines professionals who help set energy performance goals for U.S. buildings. Prior to being asked to set an energy performance goal, these professionals were randomly directed to one of three series of questions. One series set an anchor of 90% energy reduction beyond standard practice, one set a 30% anchor, and one set no anchor. Respondents exposed to the 90% anchor, and respondents exposed to no anchor at all, set higher energy performance goals than respondents exposed to the 30% anchor. These results suggest that building rating systems that only reward incremental energy improvements may inadvertently create anchors, thereby discouraging more advanced energy performance goals and inhibiting energy performance that is technically and economically feasible.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Elena Fregonara
2018-06-01
Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to propose a methodology for supporting decision-making in the design stages of new buildings or in the retrofitting of existing heritages. The focus is on the evaluation of economic–environmental sustainability, considering the presence of risk and uncertainty. An application of risk analysis in conjunction with Life-Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA is proposed for selecting the preferable solution between technological options, which represents a recent and poorly explored context of analysis. It is assumed that there is a presence of uncertainty in cost estimating, in terms of the Life-Cycle Cost Estimates (LCCEs and uncertainty in the technical performance of the life-cycle cost analysis. According to the probability analysis, which was solved through stochastic simulation and the Monte Carlo Method (MCM, risk and uncertainty are modeled as stochastic variables or as “stochastic relevant cost drivers”. Coherently, the economic–financial and energy–environmental sustainability is analyzed through the calculation of a conjoint “economic–environmental indicator”, in terms of the stochastic global cost. A case study of the multifunctional building glass façade project in Northern Italy is proposed. The application demonstrates that introducing flexibility into the input data and the duration of the service lives of components and the economic and environmental behavior of alternative scenarios can lead to opposite results compared to a deterministic analysis. The results give full evidence of the environmental variables’ capacity to significantly perturb the model output.
A framework for the integration of Green and Lean Six Sigma for superior sustainability performance
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Cherrafi, Anass; Elfezazi, Said; Govindan, Kannan
2017-01-01
Evidence suggests that Lean, Six Sigma and Green approaches make a positive contribution to the economic, social and environmental (i.e. sustainability) performance of organisations. However, evidence also suggests that organisations have found their integration and implementation challenging....... The purpose of this research is therefore to present a framework that methodically guides companies through a five stages and sixteen steps process to effectively integrate and implement the Green, Lean and Six Sigma approaches to improve their sustainability performance. To achieve this, a critical review...... of the existing literature in the subject area was conducted to build a research gap, and subsequently develop the methodological framework proposed. The paper presents the results from the application of the proposed framework in four organisations with different sizes and operating in a diverse range...
Charles K. McMahon; James P. Barnett
2000-01-01
In 1997, the USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) published a Strategic Plan that formed a framework for addressing the Sustainability of Southern Forest Ecosystems. Six crosscutting themes were identified to facilitate research integration and partnership building among the widely dispersed SRS research work units. The Sustainability and Productivity of...
Serrano, S.; de Gracia, A.; Pérez, G.; Cabeza, L. F.
2017-10-01
The building envelope has high potential to reduce the energy consumption of buildings according to the International Energy Agency (IEA) because it is involved along all the building process: design, construction, use, and end-of-life. The present study compares the thermal behavior of seven different building prototypes tested under Mediterranean climate: two of them were built with sustainable earth-based construction systems and the other five, with conventional brick construction systems. The tested earth-based construction systems consist of rammed earth walls and wooden green roofs, which have been adapted to contemporary requirements by reducing their thickness. In order to balance the thermal response, wooden insulation panels were placed in one of the earth prototypes. All building prototypes have the same inner dimensions and orientation, and they are fully monitored to register inner temperature and humidity, surface walls temperatures and temperatures inside walls. Furthermore, all building prototypes are equipped with a heat pump and an electricity meter to measure the electrical energy consumed to maintain a certain level of comfort. The experimentation was performed along a whole year by carrying out several experiments in free floating and controlled temperature conditions. This study aims at demonstrating that sustainable construction systems can behave similarly or even better than conventional ones under summer and winter conditions. Results show that thermal behavior is strongly penalized when rammed earth wall thickness is reduced. However, the addition of 6 cm of wooden insulation panels in the outer surface of the building prototype successfully improves the thermal response.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Weiwei Wu
2014-05-01
Full Text Available Buildings’ sustainability is one of the crucial parts for achieving urban sustainability. Applied to buildings, life-cycle assessment encompasses the analysis and assessment of the environmental effects of building materials, components and assemblies throughout the entire life of the building construction, use and demolition. Estimate of carbon emissions is essential and crucial for an accurate and reasonable life-cycle assessment. Addressing the need for more research into integrating analysis of real-time and automatic recording of key indicators for a more accurate calculation and comparison, this paper aims to design a real-time recording model of these crucial indicators concerning the calculation and estimation of energy use and carbon emissions of buildings based on a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID-based system. The architecture of the RFID-based carbon emission recording/tracking system, which contains four functional layers including data record layer, data collection/update layer, data aggregation layer and data sharing/backup layer, is presented. Each of these layers is formed by RFID or network devices and sub-systems that operate at a specific level. In the end, a proof-of-concept system is developed to illustrate the implementation of the proposed architecture and demonstrate the feasibility of the design. This study would provide the technical solution for real-time recording system of building carbon emissions and thus is of great significance and importance to improve urban sustainability.
Sustainable Transport and Performance Indicators
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Gudmundsson, H.
2004-01-01
ustainable transport has become a major policy concern in recent years. The term suggests a need to consider transport in a comprehensive perspective including the well-being of both present and future generations, and taking environmental, social and economic issues into account. Indicators...... in forecasting and tracking the performance of transport systems increasingly guide sustainable transport policy making. This review explores the implications of the "sustainable transport" concept and how it can be made operational with indicators. A number of indicator systems are reviewed, and some strengths...... and weaknesses are highlighted with regard to the support they provide for sustainable transport development....
2012-07-23
... Federal High-Performance Green Buildings; Federal Buildings Personnel Training Act; Notification of... High- Performance Green Buildings, Office of Governmentwide Policy, General Services Administration... download from the Office of Federal High-Performance Green Building Web site Library at-- http://www.gsa...
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Cory Searcy
2017-12-01
Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to explore the role of multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs in sustainable supply chains. I argue that MSIs are needed to help establish and institutionalize the natural and social thresholds in which a sustainable supply chain must operate. While a multitude of MSIs relevant to supply chains already exist, they do not yet adequately address sustainability thresholds. Building on theory and literature, I elaborate on four interrelated roles for MSIs in this area: (1 providing learning platforms, (2 developing standards, (3 developing enforcement mechanisms, and (4 issuing labels and certifications. All four roles emphasize the need for supply chains to operate within the thresholds set by nature and society. Staying within thresholds is what distinguishes between sustainable and unsustainable supply chains. The four roles form part of a broader conceptual framework outlining a way forward for MSIs in sustainable supply chains. Different MSIs could address one or more of these roles. I argue that all MSIs must be developed with special attention to their input and output legitimacy. Stakeholders from both within and beyond the supply chain must be involved in developing and implementing a MSI for it to be viewed as legitimate. I note that the conceptual framework presented here is a starting point. It would benefit from further testing and refinement. For example, future work could add further specificity to the four roles I discuss. Future research could also focus on integrating economic thresholds for sustainable supply chains into the framework.
2012-04-24
... Federal High-Performance Green Buildings; Green Building Advisory Committee; Notification of Upcoming... agenda for the May 9, 2012, meeting of the Green Building Advisory Committee Meeting (the Committee). The... Sandler, Designated Federal Officer, Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings, Office of...
A method for optimizing the performance of buildings
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Pedersen, Frank
2007-01-01
needed for solving the optimization problem. Furthermore, the algorithm uses so-called domain constraint functions in order to ensure that the input to the simulation software is feasible. Using this technique avoids performing time-consuming simulations for unrealistic design decisions. The algorithm......This thesis describes a method for optimizing the performance of buildings. Design decisions made in early stages of the building design process have a significant impact on the performance of buildings, for instance, the performance with respect to the energy consumption, economical aspects......, and the indoor environment. The method is intended for supporting design decisions for buildings, by combining methods for calculating the performance of buildings with numerical optimization methods. The method is able to find optimum values of decision variables representing different features of the building...
Commercial Buildings Energy Performance within Context
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Lazarova-Molnar, Sanja; Kjærgaard, Mikkel Baun; Shaker, Hamid Reza
2015-01-01
Existing commercial buildings represent a challenge in the energy efficiency domain. Energy efficiency of a building, very often equalized to a building’s performance should not be observed as a standalone issue. For commercial buildings, energy efficiency needs to be observed and assessed within...
SUSTAINABLE AND DESIGN BUILDING PROCESSES
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Silvio F. R. MOTTA
2009-05-01
Full Text Available The article presents a historical revision of the sustainable development and the sustainable in the constructed environment. It describes the main concepts and practices for implantation of the sustainable in the civil construction. These concepts and practices are reviewed from the perspective of the dialectic method, the general theory of systems and the theories of creative processes. These concepts are also analyzed from the perspective of quality management. The article proposes a model based on the dialectic, in which sustainability is considered an open system and a search inventive. The implantation of the sustainable in projects, companies and design processes are considered as main strategy. A vertical insertion of the sustainable in the process is proposal. In this vertical insertion, the sustainable is presents in all the phases and activities of the process. The model is organized to promote the external creative solutions to the process, through the promotion of research centers. Tools of selection of possibilities and practical are suggested, considering the characteristic dialectics proposals. The article concludes that sustainable is a cultural change in the processes, practical and management current.
Narushima, Miya; Wong, Josephine Pui-Hing; Li, Anda; Sutdhibhasilp, Noulmook
2014-03-01
The Raising Sexually Healthy Children (RSHC) program is a peer-to-peer leadership training program for immigrant parents in Toronto, Canada. It was established in 1998 with the goal of promoting family sex education and parent-child communication. This evaluative study examined the developmental processes and outcomes of the RSHC program to identify the strengths, challenges and insights that can be used to improve the program. It employed a multi-case study approach to compare the RSHC programs delivered in the Chinese, Portuguese and Tamil communities. Data collection methods included focus groups, individual interviews and document analysis. The cross-case analysis identified both common and unique capacity building processes and outcomes in the three communities. In this paper, we report factors that have enhanced and hindered sustainable capacity building at the individual, group/organizational and community levels, and the strategies used by these communities to address challenges common to immigrant families. We will discuss the ecological and synergetic, but time-consuming processes of capacity building, which contributed to the sustainability of RSHC as an empowering health promotion program for immigrant communities. We conclude the paper by noting the implications of using a capacity building approach to promote family health in ethno-racial-linguistic minority communities.
75 FR 34657 - Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Design Standards for New Federal Buildings
2010-06-18
... Efficiency and Sustainable Design Standards for New Federal Buildings AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and....S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Federal Energy Management... June 11, 2010. Cathy Zoi, Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. [FR Doc. 2010...
Contribution Index Based on Green Building Certification Systems
Yuting Sun; Bee Hua Goh
2015-01-01
Green Building Certification Systems (GBCS) are carried out in many countries due to the rising awareness of the importance of sustainability in the building industry. The intention should have motivated participants to construct and operate buildings sustainably, however, there is not yet a method developed to investigate the motivation of the participants. Based on the GBCS, this paper proposes the contribution index as a standard global method to analyze the performance of participants in ...
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hery Tiana Rakotondramiarana
2015-05-01
Full Text Available Green roofs improve building energy performance and constitute an alternative to sustainable buildings. A green roof model is dynamically coupled with a building thermal model to assess its energy performance that takes into account the indoor air temperature dynamic changes. Under the climate conditions in Antananarivo, we compared green and conventional roofs. The present study shows that green roofs protect the roof structure under extreme temperature and large temperature fluctuations. For the case of Antananarivo, the amplitude of the temperature fluctuations at the top face of the support is reduced by 28 °C when using green roof. The impact of the green roof on indoor air temperature and energy demand is investigated. The vegetation decreases the maximum indoor air temperature and improves the building thermal comfort during summer days. It has no effect on the minimum indoor air temperature, but additional soil thickness can increase it. In addition, a global sensitivity analysis, which is carried out on the proposed model without considering any specific weather data, allows us to identify the most influential parameters on the energy demand. It has been found that green roofs have almost insignificant thermal impact in insulated buildings; however, their potential prevails over the building envelope and weather characteristics in the case of non-insulated building.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Faustino Patiño-Cambeiro
2017-07-01
Full Text Available There is an urgent need for energy efficiency in buildings within the European framework, considering its environmental implications, and Europe’s energy dependence. Furthermore, the need for enhancing and increasing productivity in the building industry turns new technologies and building energy performance simulation environments into extremely interesting solutions towards rigorous analysis and decision making in renovation within acceptable risk levels. The present work describes a multidisciplinary approach for the estimation of the energy performance of an educational building. The research involved data acquisition with advanced geomatic tools, the development of an optimized building information model, and energy assessment in Building Performance Simulation (BPS software. Interoperability issues were observed in the different steps of the process. The inspection and diagnostic phases were conducted in a timely, accurate manner thanks to automated data acquisition and subsequent analysis using Building Information Modeling based tools (BIM-based tools. Energy simulation was performed using Design Builder, and the results obtained were compared with those yielded by the official software tool established by Spanish regulations for energy certification. The discrepancies between the results of both programs have proven that the official software program is conservative in this sense. This may cause the depreciation of the assessed buildings.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Maria Calero-Pastor
2017-09-01
Full Text Available Different policies with the goal of reducing energy consumption and other environmental impacts in the building sector coexist in Europe. Sustainable product polices, such as the Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Directives, have recently broadened the scope of their target product groups from a strict product approach to extended product and system approaches. Indeed, there is a potential for greater savings when the focus is at a system level rather than on regulating individual products. Product policies for space and water heating systems have recently introduced and implemented the package label, which is a modular approach, standing between the extended product and the system approaches. This paper presents a systematic analysis of the different system approaches of various policies from an engineering perspective. It analyses in detail the package concept and its features through a practical application using a real case study. It focuses on how the package concept can support decisions made in the building design phase and, in particular, how can support the choice of appropriate components based on estimating system performances. This brings building engineers and regulators closer regarding the use of more consistent data on energy performance. Finally, this paper highlights the need to improve the alignment of the building-related product policies with the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.
A method for optimizing the performance of buildings
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Pedersen, Frank
2006-07-01
This thesis describes a method for optimizing the performance of buildings. Design decisions made in early stages of the building design process have a significant impact on the performance of buildings, for instance, the performance with respect to the energy consumption, economical aspects, and the indoor environment. The method is intended for supporting design decisions for buildings, by combining methods for calculating the performance of buildings with numerical optimization methods. The method is able to find optimum values of decision variables representing different features of the building, such as its shape, the amount and type of windows used, and the amount of insulation used in the building envelope. The parties who influence design decisions for buildings, such as building owners, building users, architects, consulting engineers, contractors, etc., often have different and to some extent conflicting requirements to buildings. For instance, the building owner may be more concerned about the cost of constructing the building, rather than the quality of the indoor climate, which is more likely to be a concern of the building user. In order to support the different types of requirements made by decision-makers for buildings, an optimization problem is formulated, intended for representing a wide range of design decision problems for buildings. The problem formulation involves so-called performance measures, which can be calculated with simulation software for buildings. For instance, the annual amount of energy required by the building, the cost of constructing the building, and the annual number of hours where overheating occurs, can be used as performance measures. The optimization problem enables the decision-makers to specify many different requirements to the decision variables, as well as to the performance of the building. Performance measures can for instance be required to assume their minimum or maximum value, they can be subjected to upper or
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Bertens, C. [Panteia/EIM, Zoetermeer (Netherlands); Muizer, A. [Panteia/Consult, Zoetermeer (Netherlands)
2012-05-15
SMEs in the Netherlands will increasingly face stricter sustainability criteria in procurement procedures. A study has been carried out among 375 small businesses that will provide insight into the state of sustainability in office buildings of SMEs. Attention is paid to the importance of sustainability, measures taken with regard to sustainable enterprising, plans and ambitions; and required support [Dutch] Het MKB krijgt in toenemende mate te maken met strengere duurzaamheidseisen in aanbestedingsprocedures. Er is onderzoek gedaan onder 375 bedrijven waarmee inzicht wordt gegeven in de stand van zaken van duurzaam ondernemen in het kantoorhoudend MKB. Het gaat in grote lijnen om de volgende aspecten: het belang van duurzaam ondernemen; genomen maatregelen op het gebied van duurzaam ondernemen; plannen en ambities; benodigde ondersteuning.
Building a Sustainable Energy Future for Africa - Acting Now and Together
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Fall, L.
2007-07-01
The key energy challenges Africa is facing are: low level of access to commercial energy, low per capita energy consumption, weak development of energy infrastructure and lack of investment and financing for energy projects. Addressing these challenges is critical for sustainable economic and social development, and assured access to secure, affordable and reliable energy. In spite of these daunting challenges, Africa is well endowed in energy resources, but these resources are largely untapped and concentrated in a few countries. In addition, there are numerous 'rooms' for opportunities that could be seized concretely to overcome the main obstacles to the Sustainable Energy Development of the Continent. Thus, right actions must be taken to overcome these obstacles, including: financing the huge needed investments, technological development, private-public partnerships, energy market reform and effective regulation, sound and sustainable energy policies, and economic and social measures. Subsequently, from priority areas, the related stakeholders should 'act now' and 'act together', through effective collaboration and partnership and making proper alliances, to initiate effective and concrete actions to support Africa aspirations in order to build a Sustainable Energy Future for Africa, in a cost-effective and timely manner. (auth)
A framework of performance criteria defining sustainable construction technologies
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Sturges, W.G.
1992-01-01
As our global culture encounters accelerating rates of resource depletion, environmental degradation, and societal inequality, it increasingly needs tools to rate building systems by environmental and socioeconomic criteria. By investigating light frame structural systems based on principles of ecological design, it is possible to not only identify the structures' potential impacts on the health of their site and larger community, but also to establish a framework of performance criteria for comparatively evaluating a variety of construction technologies. This paper summarizes the development and application of such a framework, based upon the ecosystems and culture of the Pacific Northwest's Cascadia Bioregion. The framework has been comparatively applied to solid-sawn lumber, trusses, and composite wood I-joists. These three framing technologies together represent traditional, contemporary, and progressive structural systems. Their individual and collective performance, based upon the application of the hypothesized criteria, offer insights into what might be a more ideal framing system of the sustainable future
Design and management of sustainable built environments
2013-01-01
Climate change is believed to be a great challenge to built environment professionals in design and management. An integrated approach in delivering a sustainable built environment is desired by the built environment professional institutions. The aim of this book is to provide an advanced understanding of the key subjects required for the design and management of modern built environments to meet carbon emission reduction targets. In Design and Management of Sustainable Built Environments, an international group of experts provide comprehensive and the most up-to-date knowledge, covering sustainable urban and building design, management and assessment. The best practice case studies of the implementation of sustainable technology and management from the BRE Innovation Park are included. Design and Management of Sustainable Built Environments will be of interest to urban and building designers, environmental engineers, and building performance assessors. It will be particularly useful as a reference book ...
DRIVER: Building a Sustainable Infrastructure of European Scientific Repositories
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Norbert Lossau
2008-11-01
Full Text Available DRIVER has a clear vision: All research institutions in Europe and worldwide make all their research publications openly accessible through institutional repositories. The vision follows the Berlin Declaration, which called in October 2003 for ‘free and unrestricted access to sciences and human knowledge representation worldwide’. Initiated by the internationally renowned German research organisation the Max-Planck-Society, and signed by many international research organisations and institutes, the Berlin Declaration has set a political statement. In building a sustainable infrastructure for scientific repositories, DRIVER brings to this statement the reality of scholarly communication in the future.
Lee, B.; Trcka, M.; Hensen, J.L.M.
2011-01-01
Green building rating (GBR) systems are developed to provide independent assessment standards that evaluate in a few categories about the performance and sustainability of buildings. However, same category might weight differently in each of the GBR systems. A particular system might favor certain
Lee, B.; Trcka, M.; Hensen, J.L.M.
2010-01-01
Green Building Rating (GBR) systems are developed to provide independent assessment standards that evaluate in a few categories about the performance and sustainability of buildings. However, same category might weight differently in each of the GBR systems, which are different in objectives. A
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Buonomano, Annamaria; Calise, Francesco; Ferruzzi, Gabriele; Palombo, Adolfo
2014-01-01
This paper investigates several actions for the energy refurbishment of some buildings of the University Hospital Federico II of Naples. The analysis focuses on a specific lot of 4 buildings, representative of the whole district hospital. For those structures, sustainable energy savings actions are investigated. They regard the installation of: i) roofs thermal insulation; ii) a substation climatic 3-way valve; iii) radiators thermostatic valves; iv) AHU (air handling unit) time-programmable regulation. This paper aims at presenting an investigation methodology, useful for designers and other stakeholders involved in hospital energy refurbishments, based on an integrated approach which combines dynamic energy performance simulations and experimental campaigns. In order to measure all the simulations' missing input parameters, a suitable experimental analysis, including measurements of temperature, humidity, flow rate and density of construction materials, is performed. A thermographic investigation is also performed for investigating the building envelope performance. This analysis showed that significant savings can be achieved especially by adopting radiators thermostatic valves and AHU regulations. Coherently, the installation of a 3-way valve in the substation does not determine significant additional savings when radiators thermostatic valves are already installed. For high-rise buildings, roofs insulation returns only marginal reductions of space heating and cooling demands. - Highlights: • Energy saving measures applied to the largest hospital of South Italy are analyzed. • A new approach combining dynamic simulations and measurements is implemented. • Thermography, temperature and flow measurements are performed. • High savings are achieved by adopting thermostatic valves and AHU control systems. • The simplest energy saving actions resulted to be the most profitable ones
Building performance simulation as a design tool for refurbishment of buildings
Hensen, J.L.M.; Bartak, M.; Drkal, F.; Dunovska, T.; Lain, M.; Matuska, T.; Schwarzer, J.; Sourek, B.; Bednar, T.
2004-01-01
This paper attempts to outline the current state-of-the-art regarding the use of building performance simulation as a design tool for refurbishment of buildings. This is illus-trated by means of three recent studies for conversion of historical buildings (an early 20th century factory, and a water
STUDY OF SHELL FOR ENERGY EFFICIENT OF SUSTAINABLE LOW-RISE BUILDING
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
DANISHEVSKYI V. V.
2016-03-01
Full Text Available The article presents the results of study the shell for energy-efficient environmental low-rise residential building, corresponding to the criteria of sustainable development in construction. Purpose. The purpose of the presented research is providing a study of parameters for shell of energy-efficient environmental low-rise buildings. Methodology. Research is carried out on the basis of an improved method for calculating the thermal characteristics of the external walling, as well as physical heat transfer simulation. Conclusion.The ratio between the thickness of external walling and the proportion of heat loss through them was determined, and also the heat loss through thermal "bridges" was studied. Originality. The limits for the optimum thickness of the external walling of ecological materials was analyzed, and it was offered solution for minimization of heat loss through the nodes of shell. Practical value.Recommendations are worked out on constructing of thermal shell at planning of energy-efficient low-rise residential buildings.
Dickmann, Petra; Sheeley, Heather; Lightfoot, Nigel
2015-01-01
Laboratory capacity building is characterized by a paradox between endemicity and resources: countries with high endemicity of pathogenic agents often have low and intermittent resources (water, electricity) and capacities (laboratories, trained staff, adequate regulations). Meanwhile, countries with low endemicity of pathogenic agents often have high-containment facilities with costly infrastructure and maintenance governed by regulations. The common practice of exporting high biocontainment facilities and standards is not sustainable and concerns about biosafety and biosecurity require careful consideration. A group at Chatham House developed a draft conceptual framework for safer, more secure, and sustainable laboratory capacity building. The draft generic framework is guided by the phrase "LOCAL - PEOPLE - MAKE SENSE" that represents three major principles: capacity building according to local needs (local) with an emphasis on relationship and trust building (people) and continuous outcome and impact measurement (make sense). This draft generic framework can serve as a blueprint for international policy decision-making on improving biosafety and biosecurity in laboratory capacity building, but requires more testing and detailing development.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Petra eDickmann
2015-10-01
Full Text Available Background: Laboratory capacity building is characterized by a paradox between endemicity and resources: Countries with high endemicity of pathogenic agents often have low and intermittent resources (water, electricity and capacities (laboratories, trained staff, adequate regulations. Meanwhile, countries with low endemicity of pathogenic agents often have high containment facilities with costly infrastructure and maintenance governed by regulations. The common practice of exporting high biocontainment facilities and standards is not sustainable and concerns about biosafety and biosecurity require careful consideration. Methods: A group at Chatham House developed a draft conceptual framework for safer, more secure and sustainable laboratory capacity building. Results: The draft generic framework is guided by the phrase ‘LOCAL – PEOPLE – MAKE SENSE’ that represents three major principles: capacity building according to local needs (local with an emphasis on relationship and trust-building (people and continuous outcome and impact measurement (make sense. Conclusions: This draft generic framework can serve as a blueprint for international policy decision-making on improving biosafety and biosecurity in laboratory capacity building, but requires more testing and detailing development.
Agamuthu, P; Hansen, Jens Aage
2007-06-01
This paper analyses some of the higher education and research capacity building experiences gained from 1998-2006 by Danish and Malaysian universities. The focus is on waste management, directly relating to both the environmental and socio-economic dimensions of sustainable development. Primary benefits, available as an educational legacy to universities, were obtained in terms of new and enhanced study curricula established on Problem-oriented Project-based Learning (POPBL) pedagogy, which strengthened academic environmental programmes at Malaysian and Danish universities. It involved more direct and mutually beneficial cooperation between academia and businesses in both countries. This kind of university reach-out is considered vital to development in all countries actively striving for global and sustainable development. Supplementary benefits were accrued for those involved directly in activities such as the 4 months of field studies, workshops, field courses and joint research projects. For students and academics, the gains have been new international dimensions in university curricula, enhanced career development and research collaboration based on realworld cases. It is suggested that the area of solid waste management offers opportunities for much needed capacity building in higher education and research, contributing to sustainable waste management on a global scale. Universities should be more actively involved in such educational, research and innovation programmes to make the necessary progress. ISWA can support capacity building activities by utilizing its resources--providing a lively platform for debate, securing dissemination of new knowledge, and furthering international networking beyond that which universities already do by themselves. A special challenge to ISWA may be to improve national and international professional networks between academia and business, thereby making education, research and innovation the key driving mechanisms in
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Andersen, Nicolai Bo
This paper is about sustainable transformation with a particular focus on listed buildings. It is based on the notion that sustainability is not just a question of energy conditions, but also about the building being robust. Robust architecture means that the building can be maintained and rebuil...
Sustainability focused decision-making in building renovation
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Kamari, Aliakbar; Corrao, Rossella; Kirkegaard, Poul Henning
2017-01-01
of the sustainability issues through support of decision-making and communication with relevant stakeholders. Early in a project, it can be used to identify key performance criteria, and later to evaluate/compare the pros and cons of alternative retrofitting solutions either during the design stage or upon the project...
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Kamari, Aliakbar
. The research strategy employed in this thesis presents characteristics of two research types, namely the qualitative research approach, and the inter- or transdisciplinary research throughout mode 2. It therefore calls for an inductive research approach and involves an interpretive approach and comparative...... a deep building renovation and an ordinary one is a commitment to a holistic approach in which objectives/criteria are targeted early in the design stages and subsequently are considered for their interdependence throughout sustainability perspectives. A review of recent research has revealed...... is entitled RE-VALUE . The case study is Section 3 of Skovgårdsparken located in Brabrand, Denmark. It is a social housing complex (including nine blocks), and has been renovated by Brabrand Housing Association. The future of the research in this thesis concerns expanding of the TSBD framework for Building...
Building Trust in High-Performing Teams
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Aki Soudunsaari
2012-06-01
Full Text Available Facilitation of growth is more about good, trustworthy contacts than capital. Trust is a driving force for business creation, and to create a global business you need to build a team that is capable of meeting the challenge. Trust is a key factor in team building and a needed enabler for cooperation. In general, trust building is a slow process, but it can be accelerated with open interaction and good communication skills. The fast-growing and ever-changing nature of global business sets demands for cooperation and team building, especially for startup companies. Trust building needs personal knowledge and regular face-to-face interaction, but it also requires empathy, respect, and genuine listening. Trust increases communication, and rich and open communication is essential for the building of high-performing teams. Other building materials are a shared vision, clear roles and responsibilities, willingness for cooperation, and supporting and encouraging leadership. This study focuses on trust in high-performing teams. It asks whether it is possible to manage trust and which tools and operation models should be used to speed up the building of trust. In this article, preliminary results from the authors’ research are presented to highlight the importance of sharing critical information and having a high level of communication through constant interaction.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Wandahl, Søren; Ussing, Lene Faber
2013-01-01
Since the Brundtland report in 1987, sustainability has been an issue in all parts of the world, and the focus is increasing in these years. In the same period, the building industry has in the same period also been under heavy pressure to increase productivity in the same pace as other manufactu......Since the Brundtland report in 1987, sustainability has been an issue in all parts of the world, and the focus is increasing in these years. In the same period, the building industry has in the same period also been under heavy pressure to increase productivity in the same pace as other...... manufacturing industries. An important question, then, is how well these two highly relevant areas can go hand in hand. By means of comparing the main ideas and drivers behind sustainability and industrialization, respectively, common threads, possible synergies and evident barriers are put forward...... in this discussion paper. The main method is a review to track past merits in the two domains and to detect knowledge gaps that have research potential. A strategic research agenda focusing on energy-efficient construction management is outlined showing the need for future focus on combining industrialization...
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Foudzai, F.; M' Rithaa, M. [Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town (South Africa). Dept. of Industrial Design
2010-07-01
The energy demand in building sectors for summer air-conditioning is growing exponentially due to thermal loads, increased living standards and occupant comfort demands throughout the last decades. This increasing consumption of primary energy is contributing significantly to emission of greenhouse gases and therefore to global warming. Moreover, fossil fuels, current main sources of energy used for electricity generation, are being depleted at an alarming rate despite continued warning. In addition, most air-conditioning equipment still utilise CFCs, promoting further destruction of our planet's protective ozone layer. Concerns over these environmental changes, have begun shifting the emphasis from current cooling methods, to 'sustainable strategies' of achieving equally comfortable conditions in building interiors. Study of ancient strategies applied by vernacular architecture shows how the indigenously clean energies to satisfy the cooling need were used. One of the most important influences on vernacular architecture is the macro-climate of the area in which the building is constructed. Mediterranean vernacular architecture, as well as that of much of the Middle East, often includes a courtyard with a fountain or pond; air cooled by water mist and evaporation is drawn through the building by the natural ventilation set up by the building form, and in many cases also includes wind-catchers to draw air through the internal spaces. Similarly, Northern African vernacular designs often have very high thermal mass and small windows to keep the occupants cool. Not only vernacular structure but also the recent development in solar and geothermal cooling technologies could be used to the needs for environmental control. Intelligent coupling of these methods as alternative design strategies could help developing countries such as South Africa toward sustainable development in airconditioning of building. In this paper, the possible strategies for
2012-01-17
... Federal High-Performance Green Buildings; the Green Building Advisory Committee; Notification of Upcoming... teleconference meetings of the Green Building Advisory Committee (the Committee). The teleconference meetings are... Federal High Performance Green Buildings, Office of Governmentwide Policy, General Services Administration...
CSIR Research Space (South Africa)
Gibberd, Jeremy T
2008-09-01
Full Text Available the carrying capacity of supporting ecosystems. ( International Union for Conservation of Nature 1991) These definitions focus on what Wackernagel and Yount call the “socio-economic” and “ecological imperatives” of sustainability (Wackernagel et al, 2000.... Figure 1 Human development and ecological footprints 2003 (from the Living Planet Report) The figure is interesting in that it suggest that only one country (in Latin America and the Caribbean) meets the minimum criteria for sustainability...
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Xiao Chen
2016-09-01
Full Text Available With the urbanization process of the hot summer and cold winter (HSCW zone in China, the energy consumption of space and water heating in urban residential buildings of the HSCW zone has increased rapidly. This study presents the energy efficiency and sustainability evaluation of various ways of space and water heating taking 10 typical cities in the HSCW zone as research cases. Two indicators, primary energy efficiency (PEE and sustainability index based on exergy efficiency, are adopted to perform the evaluation. Models for the energy and total exergy efficiencies of various space and water heating equipment/systems are developed. The evaluation results indicate that common uses of electricity for space and water heating are the most unsustainable ways of space and water heating. In terms of PEE and sustainability index, air-source heat pumps for space and water heating are suitable for the HSCW zone. The PEE and sustainability index of solar water heaters with auxiliary electric heaters are greatly influenced by local solar resources. Air-source heat pump assisted solar hot water systems are the most sustainable among all water heating equipment/systems investigated in this study. Our works suggest the key potential for improving the energy efficiency and the sustainability of space and water heating in urban residential buildings of the HSCW zone.
Can High-Performance Equipment Lead to a Low-Performance Building?
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Jonlin, Duane; Thornton, Brian A.; Rosenberg, Michael I.
2016-08-22
The performance-based compliance alternative available in most energy codes, intended to provide energy efficiency equivalent to that of prescriptive compliance while allowing innovation and design flexibility, can instead result in sub-standard energy performance in both the short and the long term. The potential deficiencies in modeled buildings originate with subtleties in the energy modeling rules, allowing building systems that consume more energy than their real-world, prescriptively-designed counterparts. This performance gap is exacerbated over subsequent decades as less efficient permanent features of the building remain while elements with shorter lives are regularly upgraded in most buildings. This paper summarizes an investigation into the topic for Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the City of Seattle, including identification of the principal deficiencies exploited in the modeling path, and several potential code amendments that could resolve these deficiencies and establish better equivalency between prescriptive and performance compliance paths. The study, focusing on Seattle and Washington State energy codes, offers lessons and implications for other jurisdictions and energy codes.
Impact of Sustainable Cool Roof Technology on Building Energy Consumption
Vuppuluri, Prem Kiran
Highly reflective roofing systems have been analyzed over several decades to evaluate their ability to meet sustainability goals, including reducing building energy consumption and mitigating the urban heat island. Studies have isolated and evaluated the effects of climate, surface reflectivity, and roof insulation on energy savings, thermal load mitigation and also ameliorating the urban heat island. Other sustainable roofing systems, like green-roofs and solar panels have been similarly evaluated. The motivation for the present study is twofold: the first goal is to present a method for simultaneous evaluation and inter-comparison of multiple roofing systems, and the second goal is to quantitatively evaluate the realized heating and cooling energy savings associated with a white roof system compared to the reduction in roof-top heat flux. To address the first research goal a field experiment was conducted at the International Harvester Building located in Portland, OR. Thermal data was collected for a white roof, vegetated roof, and a solar panel shaded vegetated roof, and the heat flux through these roofing systems was compared against a control patch of conventional dark roof membrane. The second research goal was accomplished using a building energy simulation program to determine the impact of roof area and roof insulation on the savings from a white roof, in both Portland and Phoenix. The ratio of cooling energy savings to roof heat flux reduction from replacing a dark roof with a white roof was 1:4 for the month of July, and 1:5 annually in Portland. The COP of the associated chillers ranges from 2.8-4.2, indicating that the ratio of cooling energy savings to heat flux reduction is not accounted for solely by the COP of the chillers. The results of the building simulation indicate that based on energy savings alone, white roofs are not an optimal choice for Portland. The benefits associated with cooling energy savings relative to a black roof are offset by
Glacier Monitoring and Capacity Building: Important Ingredients for Sustainable Mountain Development
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Samuel U. Nussbaumer
2017-02-01
Full Text Available Glacier observation data from major mountain regions of the world are key to improving our understanding of glacier changes: they deliver fundamental baseline information for climatological, hydrological, and hazard assessments. In many mountain ecosystems, as well as in the adjacent lowlands, glaciers play a crucial role in freshwater provision and regulation. This article first presents the state of the art on glacier monitoring and related strategies within the framework of the Global Terrestrial Network for Glaciers (GTN-G. Both in situ measurements of changes in glacier mass, volume, and length as well as remotely sensed data on glacier extents and changes over entire mountain ranges provide clear indications of climate change. Based on experiences from capacity-building activities undertaken in the Tropical Andes and Central Asia over the past years, we also review the state of the art on institutional capacity in these regions and make further recommendations for sustainable mountain development. The examples from Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Kyrgyzstan demonstrate that a sound understanding of measurement techniques and of the purpose of measurements is necessary for successful glacier monitoring. In addition, establishing durable institutions, capacity-building programs, and related funding is necessary to ensure that glacier monitoring is sustainable and maintained in the long term. Therefore, strengthening regional cooperation, collaborating with local scientists and institutions, and enhancing knowledge sharing and dialogue are envisaged within the GTN-G. Finally, glacier monitoring enhances the resilience of the populations that depend on water resources from glacierized mountains or that are affected by hazards related to glacier changes. We therefore suggest that glacier monitoring be included in the development of sustainable adaptation strategies in regions with glaciated mountains.
Sustainability in School Building Design
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
B. Ece ŞAHİN
2015-03-01
Full Text Available Sustainable construction is important for the continuation of life in a healthy world for futuregenerations; many issues affecting the quality of life such as effective use of resources, take advantage ofrenewable energy, the choice of recyclable materials that do not harm the environment and waterconservation are considered in the context of sustainable design. Implementations carried out in thisframework are regarded as valuable due to providing the consciousness of sustainability to the society.Creating the awareness of sustainability is given a great importance by educators; thus, “education forsustainability” are included from the preschool program so that children can learn the gainings of suchperspective in their early ages. In support of this concept, it is believed that education structures should bea laboratory where children can practice theoretical knowledge learned at school. In that respect, studiesneed to be considered in the context of sustainable construction are studied in this research. In the study,after a description of the importance of sustainable design as a learning mean, significant subjects such asusing natural light, heating, cooling and air-conditioning methods, wind energy, water protection andmaterial selection are analyzed in terms of designing sustainable schools. It is criticized worldwide thatstructures ground on sustainable design principles are relatively few in numbers. Despite, there is anincreasing interest to the subject in Turkey later years; a lot more steps are required in terms ofimplementation and research of the issue. Thus, the purpose of the study is to provide a supplementaryreference for school designs.
Sustainable performance of microinsurance in low-income markets
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Last Mazambani
2018-06-01
Full Text Available Sustainable performance in microinsurance offering in low-income markets is important to ensure that the service simultaneously achieves corporate profitability and poverty alleviation. Sustainable performance requires a balanced integration of supply and demand factors in the offering of the service. Microinsurance is still supply driven thereby creating a lopsided mismatch between demand and supply that leads to oversupply and low uptake. On the basis of extant literature, the paper aims to propose and discuss factors critical to demand and supply of microinsurance. A conceptual framework for sustainable microinsurance is presented with individual metrics that can be addressed as managerial tools for driving and controlling sustained superior performance. While this is a theoretical paper, microinsurance practitioners may benefit from the application of the presented theory
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Gliedt, Travis; Hoicka, Christina E.
2015-01-01
Highlights: • Energy Star property owners/managers view energy as strategic or financial investments. • Energy performance improvements and motivations differ by property type. • Energy projects are most often funded by internal cash reserves. • Motivations and funding sources differ by type of energy project. • Environmental sustainability is an important criterion in many energy projects. - Abstract: Due to its significant carbon footprint and cost-effectiveness for upgrades, the commercial property sector is important for climate change mitigation. Although barriers to energy system changes, such as funding, financing and information, are well recognized, Energy Star property owners and managers are successfully overcoming these barriers and instigating energy efficiency upgrades, renewable energy installations, and behavior and management programs. To examine the decision-making process that leads to energy performance improvements, a national survey of property owners and management organizations of buildings that earned an Energy Star score of 75 or higher was conducted. The extent to which energy upgrades were considered strategic investments motivated by environmental sustainability or corporate social responsibility, or financial investments motivated by payback period or return-on-investment criteria, was contingent upon the property type and type of energy project. Environmental sustainability was found to be an important motivation for energy projects in office spaces in general, but in the case of smaller office spaces was often combined with motivations for corporate social responsibility. Energy projects on education properties were motivated by financial investment. Building envelope and mechanical efficiency upgrades were considered financial investments, while renewable energy, green roofs, and water conservation technologies were considered environmental sustainability initiatives
Building Design & Construction - Sustainability
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
None
2003-11-01
Offers a brief history of green building; presents the results of a specially commissioned survey; and analyzes the chief trends, issues, and published research, based on interviews with dozens of experts and participants in green building.
Capacities for the Risk Assessment of GMOs: Challenges to Build Sustainable Systems
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Danilo Fernández Ríos
2018-04-01
Full Text Available The need for functional risk assessment bodies in general, and in the biosafety field in particular, demands continued efforts and commitment from regulatory agencies, if results that are sustainable in time are to be achieved. The lack of formal processes that ensure continuity in the application of state of the art scientific criteria, the high rotation in some cases or the lack of experienced professionals, in others, is a challenge to be addressed. Capacity building initiatives with different approaches and degrees of success have been implemented in many countries over the years, supported by diverse governmental and non-governmental organizations. This document summarizes some capacity building experiences in developing countries and concludes that risk assessors taking ownership and regulatory authorities fully committed to developing and retaining highly qualified bodies are a sine qua non to achieve sustainable systems. To this end, it is essential to implement “in-house” continuing education mechanisms supported by external experts and organizations, and inter-institutional cooperation. It has to be noted that these recommendations could only be realized if policy makers understand and appreciate the value of professional, independent regulatory bodies.
Capacities for the Risk Assessment of GMOs: Challenges to Build Sustainable Systems.
Fernández Ríos, Danilo; Rubinstein, Clara; Vicién, Carmen
2018-01-01
The need for functional risk assessment bodies in general, and in the biosafety field in particular, demands continued efforts and commitment from regulatory agencies, if results that are sustainable in time are to be achieved. The lack of formal processes that ensure continuity in the application of state of the art scientific criteria, the high rotation in some cases or the lack of experienced professionals, in others, is a challenge to be addressed. Capacity building initiatives with different approaches and degrees of success have been implemented in many countries over the years, supported by diverse governmental and non-governmental organizations. This document summarizes some capacity building experiences in developing countries and concludes that risk assessors taking ownership and regulatory authorities fully committed to developing and retaining highly qualified bodies are a sine qua non to achieve sustainable systems. To this end, it is essential to implement "in-house" continuing education mechanisms supported by external experts and organizations, and inter-institutional cooperation. It has to be noted that these recommendations could only be realized if policy makers understand and appreciate the value of professional, independent regulatory bodies.
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Kramers, Anna H.; Svane, Oerjan
2011-07-01
The project 'ICT as a Motor of Transition' aims to examine how the innovative application of ICT can contribute to more energy-efficient transport habits and facilitate more sustainable ways of managing and using buildings, without the need for drastic changes in the city's physical structure. The project is an extended in-depth study and forms part of current research into urban sustainable development in the SitCit project at KTH Environmental Strategies Research (fms). The full title of the SitCit project is 'Situations of Opportunity in the Growth and Change of Three Stockholm City Districts - Everyday Life, Built Environment and Transport Explored as Energy Usage Systems and Governance Networks' (SitCit, 2010). It is an ongoing, cross-disciplinary, five-year project in collaboration with the Department of Energy Technology at KTH. An important part of the SitCit project is a methodological approach that integrates actors and measures in describing a process of change, in other words to look at 'What' can be transformed in parallel with transformation 'By Whom'? The 'ICT as a Motor of Transition' project focused on ICT solutions for energy-efficient and sustainable ways of managing and using buildings in the existing built environment. ICT could play a role as a key enabler for decreasing energy usage in buildings and at the same time create new business opportunities driven by the need for energy efficiency. Throughout the life cycle of a building, most energy ({approx}80%) is used during the operational stage (REEB, 2009a). The decisions made in the early design stages or in renovation stages for existing buildings thus influence about 80% of the total life cycle energy usage, while the impact of user behaviour and real-time control is in the range of 20% (REEB, 2009a). Therefore there is an urgent need to find new possibilities to decrease the energy usage in buildings. The overarching aim of this study
Sustainable Performance in Energy Harvesting - Wireless Sensor Networks
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Fafoutis, Xenofon; Di Mauro, Alessio; Dragoni, Nicola
2013-01-01
In this practical demo we illustrate the concept of "sustainable performance" in Energy-Harvesting Wireless Sensor Networks (EH-WSNs). In particular, for different classes of applications and under several energy harvesting scenarios, we show how it is possible to have sustainable performance when...
Adopting the EU sustainable performance scheme Level(s) in the Danish building sector
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Kanafani, Kai; Rasmussen, Freja Nygaard; Zimmermann, Regitze Kjær
2018-01-01
to life cycle assessment (LCA) requirements within the Level(s) scheme. As a measure for the Danish building sector’s LCA practice, the specifications for LCAbyg, the official Danish building LCA tool, is used. In 2017, the European commission’s Joint Research Centre has launched Level(s) as a vo...
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hariyati Hariyati
2015-06-01
Full Text Available This study aims to examine the relationship of sustainable innovation strategy and financial performance through the mediation environmental performance. The hypothesis in this study is sustainable innovation strategy affect the financial performance which is mediated by environmental performance. This study is quantitative research in the explanatory level. The population of this study is all the manufacturer companies in East Java. The data is collected through questionnaire. The unit of analysis is a business unit. The respondent of this study is the manager of a business unit manufacturing company in East Java. The results showed that the environmental performance mediates partially the relation between sustainable innovation strategy and financial performance.
Key Sustainability Performance Indicator Analysis for Czech Breweries
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Edward Kasem
2015-01-01
Full Text Available Sustainability performance can be said to be an ability of an organization to remain productive over time and hold on to its potential for maintaining long-term profitability. Since the brewery sector is one of the most important and leading markets in the foodstuff industry of the Czech Republic, this study depicts the Czech breweries’ formal entry into sustainability reporting and performance. The purpose of this paper is to provide an efficiency level evaluation which would represent the level of corporate performance of Czech breweries. For this reason, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA is introduced. In order to apply it, we utilize a set of key performance indicators (KPIs based on two international standard frameworks: the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI and its GRI 4 guidelines, and the guideline KPIs for ESG 3.0, which was published by the DVFA Society. Four sustainability dimensions (economic, environmental, social and governance are covered, making it thus possible to adequately evaluate sustainability performance in Czech breweries. The main output is not only the efficiency score of the company but also the input weights. These weights are used to determine the contribution of particular criteria to the breweries’ achieved score. According to the achieved efficiency results for Czech breweries, the percentage of women supervising the company does not affect the sustainability performance.
Sustainability Performance of an Italian Textile Product
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Paola Lenzo
2018-03-01
Full Text Available Companies are more and more interested in the improvement of sustainability performance of products, services and processes. For this reason, appropriate and suitable assessment tools supporting the transition to a green economy are highly necessary. Currently, there are a number of methods and approaches for assessing products’ environmental impact and improving their performances; among these, the Life Cycle Thinking (LCT approach has emerged as the most comprehensive and effective to achieve sustainability goals. Indeed, the LCT approach aims to reduce the use of resources and emissions to the environment associated with a product’s life cycle. It can be used as well to improve socio-economic performance through the entire life cycle of a product. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA, Life Cycle Costing (LCC and Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA are undoubtedly the most relevant methodologies to support product-related decision-making activities for the extraction and processing of raw materials, manufacturing, distribution, use, reuse, maintenance, recycling and final disposal. While LCA is an internationally standardized tool (ISO 14040 2006, LCC (except for the ISO related to the building sector and S-LCA have yet to attain international standardization (even if guidelines and general frameworks are available. The S-LCA is still in its experimental phase for many aspects of the methodological structure and practical implementation. This study presents the application of LCA and S-LCA to a textile product. The LCA and S-LCA are implemented following the ISO 14040-44:2006 and the guidelines from UNEP/SETAC (2009, respectively. The functional unit of the study is a cape knitted in a soft blend of wool and cashmere produced by a textile company located in Sicily (Italy. The system boundary of the study includes all phases from cradle-to-gate, from raw material production through fabric/accessory production to the manufacturing process of the
The incorporation of sustainability into the real estate investment portfolio
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Baas, L.
2013-06-15
This graduation report describes the findings of a research in the area of Real Estate Management, section Building Economics. The subject of the research relates to the added value of sustainable offices in the real estate investment portfolio. The question which is leading throughout this report is whether the extent of sustainability influences the financial performance of office buildings in the Netherlands. But on which grounds are these assumptions made? The gathered information compares actual energy consumption in relation to theoretical knowledge of a governmental regulated energy performance scheme. To find an accurate answer a quantitative research has been conducted at a sustainability-driven organization, the Dutch Green Building Council (in short: DGBC). An extensive literature review provided the author with a solid background to investigate the relation of financial performance compared to sustainability features. This knowledge enabled him to define a hedonic pricing model and thus to look into financial benefits of better performing assets. This model is used to highlight significant locational, asset-related and sustainable features that act as predictors for offices. Especially the degree of sustainability comes to mind when this data is compared with actual consumption instead of theoretically defined through a standardized calculation. This resulted into recommendations and eventually discussions gathered at the end of this report. This report aims not only on the change of one's mind about the importance of sustainability but also on the added value of information flows for operational management.
Kim, Sunny S.; Rogers, Beatrice L.; Coates, Jennifer; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Sarriot, Eric
2013-01-01
After making large investments to put in place effective health and nutrition interventions, researchers, program implementers, policy makers, and donors all expect lasting effects. However, it is uncertain whether this is the case, and there is less certainty on how to approach the study of program sustainability. This symposium, “Building Evidence for Sustainability of Food and Nutrition Intervention Programs in Developing Countries,” provided not only frameworks for conceptualizing sustainability but concrete evidence about the approaches and methods used as well as lessons on how they do or do not work in particular contexts. We presented the following findings: 1) sustainability of activities and impacts of Title II food aid programs in Bolivia and Kenya, 2) sustainability of impact in terms of adoption and consumption of a biofortified orange sweet potato in Uganda, and 3) lessons from incorporating pro-sustainability investment strategies in child survival programs in Guinea. Our symposium introduced a new important body of research on program sustainability to provide insights and stimulate innovative thinking in the design and planning of further applied research and future prosustainability intervention programs. PMID:24038245
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Fuglseth, Bente Beckstroem
2008-06-15
The building sector is responsible for a substantial part of energy use and green house gas emissions in Europe. This report explores driving forces and barriers to improved energy performance of buildings, using the Swedish building sector as a case. The development of energy performance of buildings in Sweden from 2000 until 2006 is explored by applying a threefold understanding of energy performance of buildings: substitution from fossil fuels to renewable energy, conversion from electrical heating to thermal energy and reduction in energy demand. Three explanatory approaches are used to analyse driving forces and barriers to improved energy performance: the techno-economic approach stresses the physical aspects of infrastructure and technologies, the institutional approach emphasizes the role of institutional factors, while the regulative approach focuses on formal rules and laws. The study concludes that all factors have promoted substitution of fossil fuels with renewable energy, while they have prevented conversion from electrical heating to thermal energy and reduction in energy demand. (author). 95 refs
Teaching Sustainable Design Using BIM and Project-Based Energy Simulations
Shen, Zhigang; Jensen, Wayne; Wentz, Timothy; Fischer, Bruce
2012-01-01
The cross-disciplinary nature of energy-efficient building design has created many challenges for architecture, engineering and construction instructors. One of the technical challenges in teaching sustainable building design is enabling students to quantitatively understand how different building designs affect a building's energy performance.…
Integrating advanced facades into high performance buildings
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Selkowitz, Stephen E.
2001-01-01
Glass is a remarkable material but its functionality is significantly enhanced when it is processed or altered to provide added intrinsic capabilities. The overall performance of glass elements in a building can be further enhanced when they are designed to be part of a complete facade system. Finally the facade system delivers the greatest performance to the building owner and occupants when it becomes an essential element of a fully integrated building design. This presentation examines the growing interest in incorporating advanced glazing elements into more comprehensive facade and building systems in a manner that increases comfort, productivity and amenity for occupants, reduces operating costs for building owners, and contributes to improving the health of the planet by reducing overall energy use and negative environmental impacts. We explore the role of glazing systems in dynamic and responsive facades that provide the following functionality: Enhanced sun protection and cooling load control while improving thermal comfort and providing most of the light needed with daylighting; Enhanced air quality and reduced cooling loads using natural ventilation schemes employing the facade as an active air control element; Reduced operating costs by minimizing lighting, cooling and heating energy use by optimizing the daylighting-thermal tradeoffs; Net positive contributions to the energy balance of the building using integrated photovoltaic systems; Improved indoor environments leading to enhanced occupant health, comfort and performance. In addressing these issues facade system solutions must, of course, respect the constraints of latitude, location, solar orientation, acoustics, earthquake and fire safety, etc. Since climate and occupant needs are dynamic variables, in a high performance building the facade solution have the capacity to respond and adapt to these variable exterior conditions and to changing occupant needs. This responsive performance capability
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Daniels, Klaus [HL Beratungs- und Beteiligungs GmbH, Muenchen (Germany)
2009-07-01
The challenges of the 21st century will mostly be the result of the exploding world population, i.e. increasing instability because of the unequal distribution of wealth, fights over raw materials that are getting scarce, and the destruction of our natural resources. Increasingly, decision-makers are getting aware of the problems. This has consequences also for the process of building construction. For example, sustainability will be given greater attention in projecting and operation of buildings. (orig.)
Wilkinson, S.J.; Remøy, H.T.
2011-01-01
Local Authorities worldwide are encouraging adaptation as a means of reducing building related urban energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The City of Melbourne is promoting the retrofit of 1,200 CBD properties before 2020 with sustainability measures as part of their policy to become a
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Pope, Jason E.
2014-09-01
This report documents the federal Guiding Principles conformance effort for LSB at PNNL. The effort is part of continued progress toward a campus building inventory that is 100% compliant with the Guiding Principles. The report documentation provides a narrative of how the LSB complies with each of the Guiding Principles requirements. These narratives draw from the many sources that are explained in the text and rely on extensive data collection. The descriptions point to each of these sources, providing the reader with specific policies, procedures, and data points.
Suryaman
2018-01-01
Lecturer performance will affect the quality and carrying capacity of the sustainability of an organization, in this case the university. There are many models developed to measure the performance of teachers, but not much to discuss the influence of faculty performance itself towards sustainability of an organization. This study was conducted in…
Improving energy sustainability for public buildings in Italian mountain communities.
Mutani, Guglielmina; Cornaglia, Mauro; Berto, Massimo
2018-05-01
The objective of this work is to analyze and then optimize thermal energy consumptions of public buildings located within the mountain community of Lanzo, Ceronda and Casternone Valleys. Some measures have been proposed to reduce energy consumption and consequently the economic cost for energy production, as well as the harmful GHG emissions in the atmosphere. Initially, a study of the mountain territory has been carried out, because of its vast extension and climatic differences. Defined the communities and the buildings under investigation, energy dependant data were collected for the analysis of energy consumption monitoring: consumption data of three heating seasons, geometric buildings characteristics, type of opaque and transparent envelope, heating systems information with boiler performance and climatic data. Afterward, five buildings with critical energy performances were selected; for each of these buildings, different retrofit interventions have been hypothesized to reduce the energy consumption, with thermal insulation of vertical or horizontal structures, new windows or boiler substitution. The cost-optimal technique was used to choose the interventions that offered higher energy performance at lower costs; then a retrofit scenario has been planned with a specific financial investment. Finally, results showed possible future developments and scenarios related to buildings energy efficiency with regard to the topic of biomass exploitation and its local availability in this area. In this context, the biomass energy resource could to create a virtuous environmental, economic and social process, favouring also local development.
A practical model for sustainable operational performance
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Vlek, C.A.J.; Steg, E.M.; Feenstra, D.; Gerbens-Leenis, W.; Lindenberg, S.; Moll, H.; Schoot Uiterkamp, A.; Sijtsma, F.; Van Witteloostuijn, A.
2002-01-01
By means of a concrete model for sustainable operational performance enterprises can report uniformly on the sustainability of their contributions to the economy, welfare and the environment. The development and design of a three-dimensional monitoring system is presented and discussed [nl
Abbasi, Yasser; Baniasadi, Ehsan; Ahmadikia, Hossein
2016-01-01
This paper investigates the performance of a ground source heat pump that is coupled with a photovoltaic system to provide cooling and heating demands of a zero-energy residential building. Exergy and sustainability analyses have been conducted to evaluate the exergy destruction rate and SI of different compartments of the hybrid system. The effects of monthly thermal load variations on the performance of the hybrid system are investigated. The hybrid system consists of a vertical ground sour...
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Nielsen, Susanne Balslev; Jensen, Marina Bergen
2016-01-01
be achieved. The ‘urban water platform’ was tested and is hereby presented as a course concept for building collective capabilities for integrated sustainable water design among local authorities in Denmark. The course is an innovation because: 1) it invites urban planners, road and park managers and sewage...
Analyse that! : understanding sustainable design
Brand, van den G.J.W.; Wit, de M.H.
2004-01-01
This paper describes a method for the analysis of sustainable building projects. Sustainable technology measures can easily be misinterpreted, consequently leading to unsustainable building solutions. Our research and educations aims at discovering new approaches for sustainable design. For building
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Wolfe, Amy K.; Malone, Elizabeth L.; Heerwagen, Judith H.; Dion, Jerome P.
2014-04-01
The people who use Federal buildings — Federal employees, operations and maintenance staff, and the general public — can significantly impact a building’s environmental performance and the consumption of energy, water, and materials. Many factors influence building occupants’ use of resources (use behaviors) including work process requirements, ability to fulfill agency missions, new and possibly unfamiliar high-efficiency/high-performance building technologies; a lack of understanding, education, and training; inaccessible information or ineffective feedback mechanisms; and cultural norms and institutional rules and requirements, among others. While many strategies have been used to introduce new occupant use behaviors that promote sustainability and reduced resource consumption, few have been verified in the scientific literature or have properly documented case study results. This paper documents validated strategies that have been shown to encourage new use behaviors that can result in significant, persistent, and measureable reductions in resource consumption. From the peer-reviewed literature, the paper identifies relevant strategies for Federal facilities and commercial buildings that focus on the individual, groups of individuals (e.g., work groups), and institutions — their policies, requirements, and culture. The paper documents methods with evidence of success in changing use behaviors and enabling occupants to effectively interact with new technologies/designs. It also provides a case study of the strategies used at a Federal facility — Fort Carson, Colorado. The paper documents gaps in the current literature and approaches, and provides topics for future research.
BUILDING DESIGN INFLUENCE ON THE ENERGY PERFORMANCE
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Moga Ligia
2015-05-01
Full Text Available Energy efficient design is a high priority in the national energy strategy of European countries considering the latest requirements of the European Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings. The residential sector is responsible for a significant quantity of energy consumptions from the total amount of consumptions on a worldwide level. In residential building most of the energy consumptions are given mainly by heating, domestic hot water and lighting. Retrofitting the existing building stock offers great opportunities for reducing global energy consumptions and greenhouse gas emissions. The first part of the paper will address the need of thermal and energy retrofit of existing buildings. The second part will provide an overview on how various variables can influence the energy performance of a building that is placed in all four climatic zones from Romania. The paper is useful for specialist and designers from the construction field in understanding that buildings behave differently from the energy point of view in different climatic regions, even if the building characteristic remain the same.
2011-06-20
... Federal High-Performance Green Buildings; Establishment of the Green Building Advisory Committee AGENCY... announces the establishment of the Green Building Advisory Committee (the Committee), pursuant to Section... strategic plans, products and activities of the Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings and...
Policy for Sustainable Entrepreneurship
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Watson, Rosina; Nielsen, Kristian Roed; Wilson, Hugh N.
open innovation with SME entrepreneurs, business execs, academics and policymakers via an online crowdsourcing event with 150 participants. Through inductive analysis of 1,696 text comments, five policy domains are identified: creating awareness/skills; building networks; funding/investing; measuring......Sustainable entrepreneurship—entrepreneurship with social and ecological gains as well as economic ones—can significantly address societal and environmental challenges, however, it is not clear how policy can support it. The authors develop a policy framework for sustainable entrepreneurship, using...... impact/performance; and innovating government. Contributions to entrepreneurship policy literature include measuring impact/performance and open policy innovation for entrepreneurship policy. Contributions to sustainability policy literature include empowering individuals as entrepreneurs and not just...
Menicovich, David
By 2050 an estimated 9 billion people will inhabit planet earth and almost all the growth in the next 40 years will be in urban areas putting tremendous pressure on creating sustainable cities. The rapid increase in population, rise in land value and decrease in plot sizes in cities around the world positions tall or more importantly slender buildings as the best suited building typology to address the increasingly critical demand for space in this pressing urbanization trend. However, the majority of new tall building urban developments have not followed principles of environmental and/or sustainable design and incentives to innovate, both technological and economic, are urgently required. The biggest climatic challenge to the design, construction and performance of tall buildings is wind sensitivity. This challenge is further emphasized seeing two market driven trends: on one hand as urban population grows, land value rises while plot sizes decrease; on the other, more cost effective modular construction techniques are introducing much lighter tall building structures. The combination of the two suggests a potential increase in the slenderness ratio of tall buildings (typically less than 6:1 but stretching to 20:1 in the near future) where not-so-tall but much lighter buildings will be the bulk of new construction in densely populated cities, providing affordable housing in the face of fast urbanization but also introducing wind sensitivity which was previously the problem of a very limited number of super tall buildings to a much larger number of buildings and communities. The proposed research aims to investigate a novel approach to the interaction between tall buildings and their environment. Through this approach the research proposes a new relationship between buildings and the flows around, through and inside them, where buildings could adapt to better control and manage the air flow around them, and consequently produce significant opportunities to reduce
Task-Oriented and Relationship-Building Communications between Air Traffic Controllers and Pilots
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Inwon Kang
2017-09-01
Full Text Available By questioning the lopsided attention on task-oriented factors in air traffic controller-pilot communication, the current study places an equal weighting on both task-oriented and relationship-building communications, and investigates how each type of communication influences sustainable performance in airline operation team. Results show that both task-oriented and relationship-building communications in terms of sustainability of team process predicted greater communication satisfaction at work. Also, both task interdependence and shared leadership influenced both types of air traffic controller-pilot communication. However, only relationship-building communication had a direct influence on perceived work performance whereas task-oriented communication had not. Along with task-oriented factors, this study raises the relationship-oriented factors as important resources for the sustainable team performance in airline industry.
The European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Petersen, Steffen; Hviid, Christian Anker
This paper investigates the actual energy use for building operation with the calculated energy use according to the Danish implementation of the European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). This is important to various stakeholders in the building industry as the calculated energy...... performance is used for estimating investment security, operating budgets and for policy making. A case study shows that the actual and calculated energy use is practically the same in an average scenario. In the worst-case uncertainty scenario, the actual energy use is 20 % higher than the corrected...
2012-11-06
... Federal High-Performance Green Buildings; Green Building Advisory Committee; Notification of Upcoming... and agenda for the November 27, 2012, meeting of the Green Building Advisory Committee Meeting (the... Green Buildings, Office of Government-wide Policy, General Services Administration, 1275 First Street NE...
2013-04-10
... Federal High-Performance Green Buildings; Green Building Advisory Committee; Notification of Upcoming... and agenda for the May 1, 2013, meeting of the Green Building Advisory Committee Meeting (the... Green Buildings, Office of Government-wide Policy, General Services Administration, 1275 First Street NE...
Seismic Performance of Masonry Buildings in Algeria
F. Lazzali; S. Bedaoui
2012-01-01
Structural performance and seismic vulnerability of masonry buildings in Algeria are investigated in this paper. Structural classification of such buildings is carried out regarding their structural elements. Seismicity of Algeria is briefly discussed. Then vulnerability of masonry buildings and their failure mechanisms in the Boumerdes earthquake (May, 2003) are examined.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Miko Dit Angoula, I.; Tulsidas, H.
2014-01-01
The IAEA project “Supporting sustainable uranium mining in less prepared areas” consists of a 3-year catalytic training and capacity building of a range of work packages/tasks targeted on technical, operational, regulatory, environmental, stakeholders and governance needs in uranium mining of African francophone uranium producer or potential producer countries. The project is externally funded by a contribution from the USA. The scope is defined by the identification and the delivery of training and further capacity-building measures to enhance national and regional preparedness in these francophone Member States for the conduct of sustainable uranium mining and production, with particular reference to environmental, social, economic issues and good governance within the context of fostering good, safe practices in the comprehensive extraction of all possible economic resources from the mining process.
Xiao, Chengyong; Wang, Qian; van der Vaart, Taco; van Donk, Dirk Pieter
There has been considerable debate on and research efforts into the question as to if, and if so when, improving corporate sustainability performance is not only beneficial for social and environmental wellbeing but also for the financial wellbeing of a firm. So far, the literature has reported
NET-ZERO ENERGY BUILDING OPERATOR TRAINING PROGRAM (NZEBOT)
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Brizendine, Anthony; Byars, Nan; Sleiti, Ahmad; Gehrig, Bruce; Lu, Na
2012-12-31
topics in the primary five-day Building Energy/Sustainability Management Certificate program in five training modules, namely: 1) Strategic Planning, 2) Sustainability Audits, 3) Information Analysis, 4) Energy Efficiency, and 5) Communication. Training Program 2 addresses the following technical topics in the two-day Building Technologies workshop: 1) Energy Efficient Building Materials, 2) Green Roofing Systems, 3) Energy Efficient Lighting Systems, 4) Alternative Power Systems for Buildings, 5) Innovative Building Systems, and 6) Application of Building Performance Simulation Software. Program 3 is a seminar which provides an overview of elements of programs 1 and 2 in a seminar style presentation designed for the general public to raise overall public awareness of energy and sustainability topics.
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Hakkinen, T. (ed.)
2012-11-01
This report is the final report of Sustainable refurbishment of building facades and exterior walls (SUSREF). SUSREF project was a collaborative (small/medium size) research project within the 7th Framework Programme of the Commission and it was financed under the theme Environment (including climate change) (Grant agreement no. 226858). The project started in October 1st 2009 and ended in April 30th 2012. The project included 11 partners from five countries. SUSREF developed sustainable concepts and technologies for the refurbishment of building facades and external walls. This report together with SUSREF Final report Part B and SUSREF Final Report Part C introduce the main results of the project. Part A focuses on methodological issues. The descriptions of the concepts and the assessment results of the developed concepts are presented in SUSREF Final report part B (generic concepts) and SUSREF Final report Part C (SME concepts). (orig.)
CSIR Research Space (South Africa)
Dlungwana, Wilkin S
2004-11-01
Full Text Available Construction industry and indeed all small and medium-sized contractors play a significant socio-economic role in the developing countries. This paper highlights the importance of promoting sustainable building through the implementation...
Attia, S.G.; Gratia, E.; De Herde, A.; Hensen, J.L.M.
2013-01-01
Building performance simulation (BPS) is the basis for informed decision-making of Net Zero Energy Buildings (NZEBs) design. This paper aims to investigate the use of building performance simulation tools as a method of informing the design decision of NZEBs. The aim of this study is to evaluate the
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Rudolf, Bernhard
2012-08-15
Facades have a key function within the sustainable construction since the energy conservation significantly depends on the building envelope. Beside an enhanced energy efficiency, the Green Building shall offer an improved utilization of day-lighting and comfortable indoor climatic conditions. Here, the innovative Closed Cavity Facade new standards. The former 'Poseidon building' in Frankfurt/Main (Federal Republic of Germany) and the multi-storey building of the Roche company in Basel (Switzerland) are equipped with this facade. The energy costs, operational costs as well as the maintenance costs are reduced sustainably using this closed bivalved facade.
2013-09-13
... Federal High-Performance Green Buildings; Green Building Advisory Committee; Notification of Upcoming... Green Building Advisory Committee Meeting (the Committee) and the schedule for a series of conference..., Designated Federal Officer, [[Page 56704
Hua, Ying; Yang, Eunhwa
2014-01-01
The pursuit of efficiency and the permeation of communication technologies in modern workplace have increased prolonged sitting and physical inactivity among the white-collar workforce. Physical inactivity is a major risk factor for developing various chronic diseases and obesity. This study intends to understand the impact of physical environment on both voluntary and imperative physical activity levels in an office building, and to collect evidence for design suggestions to encourage office workers' activity level on a daily basis. This study examined how proximity from individual workstations to various shared service and amenity spaces in the workplace (e.g., meeting spaces, copy areas, kitchens, restrooms, elevators, and stairs) is associated with office workers' physical activity level (e.g., sedentary and non-sedentary behavior) and their environmental and job satisfaction. To objectively measure physical activity, twenty-six office workers, in a three-story office building, wore accelerometers for three consecutive days at work. Environmental and job satisfaction of office workers was measured by a questionnaire. Proximity variables were measured using the floor plans of the subject building. Participants on average were sedentary for 80% of the time during the study. Proximity to several service and amenity areas was positively associated with step counts and job satisfaction.
Pinenes: Abundant and Renewable Building Blocks for a Variety of Sustainable Polymers.
Winnacker, Malte
2018-05-14
Pinenes - a group of monoterpenes containing a double bond - are very suitable renewable building blocks for a variety of sustainable polymers and materials. Their abundance from mainly non-edible parts of plants as well as the feasibility to isolate them render these compounds unique amongst the variety of biomass that is utilizable for novel materials. Accordingly, their use for the synthesis of biobased polymers has been investigated intensively, and strong progress has been made with this especially within the past 2-3 years. Direct cationic or radical polymerization via the double bonds as well as polymerization upon their further functionalization can afford a variety of sustainable polymers suitable for many applications, which is summarized in this article. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.
Energy Performance Indicators in the Swedish Building Procurement Process
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ingrid Allard
2017-10-01
Full Text Available In Sweden, all new buildings need to comply with the National Board of Housing, Building and Planning’s requirement on specific purchased energy (kWh/m2. Accordingly, this indicator is often used to set design criteria in the building procurement process. However, when energy use is measured in finished buildings, the measurements often deviate significantly from the design calculations. The measured specific purchased energy does not necessarily reflect the responsibility of the building contractor, as it is influenced by the building operation, user behavior and climate. Therefore, Swedish building practitioners may prefer other indicators for setting design criteria in the building procurement process. The aim of this study was twofold: (i to understand the Swedish building practitioners’ perspectives and opinions on seven building energy performance indicators (envelope air leakage, U-values for different building parts, average U-value, specific heat loss, heat loss coefficient, specific net energy, and specific purchased energy; and (ii to understand the consequences for the energy performance of multi-family buildings of using the studied indicators to set criteria in the procurement process. The study involved a Delphi approach and simulations of a multi-family case study building. The studied indicators were discussed in terms of how they may meet the needs of the building practitioners when used to set building energy performance criteria in the procurement process.
Using Performance Indicators to Promote Sustainable Transport in Japan
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Gudmundsson, Henrik; Fukuda, Daisuke; Cornet, Yannick
literature on performance measurement. The information of Japanese cases is obtained by review of key policy documents, reports and academic papers and through a series of semi-structured interviews with experts and officials in Japan. The paper combines insights from two ongoing research projects supported......The challenges associated with using performance measurement to steer transport policy towards sustainability include general aspects of measuring sustainability of transport systems with indicators as well as specific national and institutional conditions for adopting and responding...... to the information produced by such sustainability indicator systems. Japan is interesting in these regards, since the country has adopted strategies for achieving a more sustainable transport situation, as well as frameworks of policy performance measurement and management. The paper will describe a general...
Investigation of Sustainable Housing Criteria
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
roshanfekr Somayeh
2016-01-01
Full Text Available Recently, much attention has been paid to sustainable development in cities. The quality of human life is directly related to environmental quality. Because many people live in cities as a place of social, economic and cultural relationships, certain issues such as environmental crises, energy, air and noise pollution and traffic jams are some of the factors that can alter the quality of human life. Therefore, in order to improve the quality of human life, attention to sustainable development (or sustainability in cities is proposed. Sustainable building has a comprehensive significance that begins with the conception of negative and positive impacts on the environment. Several descriptions of sustainable or green buildings have been created; however, they all pursue one goal, which is to create sustainable urban developments and protection of the environment. The quality of indoor environments, materials, and energy consumption, water usage, the impact of building construction processes and building maintenance are some of the factors that affect the environment and sustainability. Sustainable building is an attempt to relieve the minus impacts on the environment that occur during a building’s lifetime. This research investigates the important factors that have relevance to green buildings and introduces several criteria of sustainable housing.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Zaid Suzaini M
2016-01-01
Full Text Available Forward from the sustainability agenda of Brundtland in 1987 and the increasing demand for energy efficient buildings, the building industry has taken steps in meeting the challenge of reducing its environmental impact. Initiatives such as ‘green’ or ‘sustainable’ design have been at the forefront of architecture, while green assessment tools have been used to predict the energy performance of building during its operational phase. However, there is still a significant hap between predicted or simulated energy measurements compared to actual operational energy consumption, or is more commonly referred as the ‘performance gap’. This paper tries to bridge this gap by comparing measured operational energy consumption of a Green Building Index (GBI certified office building in Kuala Lumpur, with its predicted energy rating qualification.
The Macuti House, Traditional Building Techniques and Sustainable Development in Ilha de Moçambique
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Sollien, Silje Erøy
2011-01-01
reflect a sustainable return to the art of building. Implied is that preservation of this way of building may have a value in the form of strengthening cultural identity and possible environmental and socio-economic advantages. However, in order to overcome negative associations with colonial...... subordination, poverty and low social status, such initiatives need to be part of a wider programme of strengthening cultural and social capital among the population, avoiding division into tangible and intangible heritage management, and include broad ecological and socio-economic considerations....
Guidelines to perform Life Cycle Analysis of Buildings
Blok, R.; Gervasio, H.; Braganca, L.; Koukkari, H.; Blok, R.
2008-01-01
This paper gives a short introduction and attempts to give guidelines on how to perform a life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of a Building. Because a building is a complex system with many subsystems with building elements out of different materials, each fulfilling different functions the LCA of a building
PERFORMANCE AND SUSTAINABILITY IN MANUFACTURING SECTOR FROM ROMANIA
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Raluca Andreea POPA
2015-06-01
Full Text Available Performance became a very important topic especially when it comes into discussion the idea of sustainability. If we think to the value added and the level of employees, an important sector for our society and economy is the Manufacturing because it provides a high value added to GDP (gross domestic product and also provides a high amount of work places at European level and also in Romania. The main goal of this paper is to analyse the performance of the largest enterprises from Romania that are part from the Manufacturing sector. This very large enterprises could be trend setters in their subindustries for the small and medium ones. The paper is composed from three parts. In the first part it is analysed the literature developed by specialist in the domain of sustainability and financial performance. The second part is an overview of the evolution of Manufacturing sector in the past years and the last one comes to underline the performances of this sector by analysing the evolution of specific indicators regarding the sustainability and performance of enterprise. In conclusion’s side there are made some suggestions about the importance of this sector for Romania’s economy and also for a sustainable development.
Computational Fluid Dynamics and Building Energy Performance Simulation
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Nielsen, Peter V.; Tryggvason, Tryggvi
An interconnection between a building energy performance simulation program and a Computational Fluid Dynamics program (CFD) for room air distribution will be introduced for improvement of the predictions of both the energy consumption and the indoor environment. The building energy performance...
Being in a "Green" Building Elicits "Greener" Recycling, but Not Necessarily "Better" Recycling.
Wu, David W-L; DiGiacomo, Alessandra; Lenkic, Peter J; Wong, Vanessa K; Kingstone, Alan
2016-01-01
Previous observational work revealed that transient populations in a sustainable building disposed of waste more accurately when compared to patrons in a non-sustainable building. The current study uses an experimental design to replicate this observed effect and to investigate whether or not the built environment influences motivational factors to impact behavior. We find support that a building designed and built to communicate an atmosphere of sustainability can influence waste disposal behavior. Participants in the sustainable building used the garbage receptacle significantly less and compensated by tending to select the containers and organics receptacle more, which actually resulted in more errors overall. Our findings suggest that building atmospherics can motivate people to recycle more. However, atmospherics alone do not appear to be sufficient to elicit the desired performance outcome.
The performance frontier: innovating for a sustainable strategy.
Eccles, Robert G; Serafeim, George
2013-05-01
A mishmash of sustainability tactics does not add up to a sustainable strategy. Too often, companies launch sustainability programs with the hope that they'll be financially rewarded for doing good, even when those programs aren't relevant to their strategy and operations. They fail to understand the trade-offs between financial performance and performance on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues. Improving one typically comes at a cost to the other. But it doesn't have to be this way. It's possible to simultaneously boost both financial and ESG performance-if you focus strategically on issues that are the most "material" to shareholder value, and you develop major innovations in products, processes, and business models that prioritize those concerns. Maps being developed by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board, which rank the materiality of 43 issues for 88 industries, can provide valuable guidance. And broad initiatives undertaken by three companies-Natura, Dow Chemical, and CLP Group-demonstrate the kind of innovations that will push performance into new territory. Communicating the benefits to stakeholders is also critical, which is why integrated reports, which combine financial and ESG reporting, are now gaining in popularity.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Caliskan, Hakan; Dincer, Ibrahim; Hepbasli, Arif
2012-01-01
Highlights: ► Applying exergy, environment and sustainability analyses to the three (novel M-Cycle based) air coolers. ► Assessing energy and exergy efficiencies, environmental impact and sustainability. ► Proposing System II (using PV-based electricity) as the most environmentally friendly air cooler. ► Proposing System III (using coal-based electricity) as the most efficient air cooler. - Abstract: In this study, three various novel air coolers based on M-Cycle are evaluated using energy and exergy analyses based efficiency assessments along with environmental impact and sustainability parameters. The M-Cycle systems are considered to cool a building room air while their inlet air parameters are same, but outlet cooled air parameters are different. Systems I and III draw electricity directly taken from an electric grid in the building while System II, which is stand alone system, produces and draws electricity from its solar PV panels. In the energy analysis, wet bulb effectiveness, cooling capacity, Coefficient of Performance (energetic COP) and Primary Energy Ratio (PER) are found. In the exergy analysis, exergy input and output rates, exergy loss rate, exergy destruction rate, Exergetic Coefficient of Performance (COP ex ), Primary Exergy Ratio (PE x R) and exergy efficiency are obtained for six different dead state temperatures changing between 10 °C and 35 °C. Also, sustainability assessments of the systems are obtained using sustainability index (SI) tool for these various dead state temperatures. Finally, environmental assessments of the systems are calculated from their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (gCO 2 /kW h) due to their electricity consumptions. Maximum exergy efficiencies and sustainability assessments are found to be 35.13% and 1.5415 for System III and 34.94% and 1.5372 for System II, respectively. GHG emissions of the systems are calculated to be 2119.68 gCO 2 /day, 153.6 gCO 2 /day and 3840 gCO 2 /day for Systems I, II and III
Numerical methods for optimizing the performance of buildings
Pedersen, Frank
2008-01-01
The many different parties that influence design and control decisions for buildings, such as building owners, users, architects, consulting engineers, contractors, etx. may have different and to some extent conradicting requirements to buildings. Furthermore, national building regulations specify requirements to (among others) the energy performance and quality of the indoor climate.
H3Africa and the African life sciences ecosystem: building sustainable innovation.
Dandara, Collet; Huzair, Farah; Borda-Rodriguez, Alexander; Chirikure, Shadreck; Okpechi, Ikechi; Warnich, Louise; Masimirembwa, Collen
2014-12-01
scholarship that questions the unchecked assumptions of the innovation performers be they funders, scientists, and social scientists, would enable collective innovation that is truly sustainable, ethical, and robust.
Green Building and School Construction.
DiNola, Ralph; Guerra, Jerry
2002-01-01
Discusses the benefits of green, or high-performance, buildings, such as health and comfort, cost effectiveness, and sustainability. Explores the barriers to their use by schools--most notably cost. Offers suggestions on overcoming these barriers. (EV)
Effects of sustainable employability policies on organizational performance
Kraan, K.O.; Sanders, J.
2015-01-01
Presentations on the 11th International Conference on Occupational Stress and Health. Session: organizational justice and sustainability: approaches and implications for performance and the bottom line. Interactive paper session: sustainability, occupational safety and health: developing a research
High Performance Building Mockup in FLEXLAB
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
McNeil, Andrew [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Kohler, Christian [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Lee, Eleanor S. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Selkowitz, Stephen [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
2017-08-30
Genentech has ambitious energy and indoor environmental quality performance goals for Building 35 (B35) being constructed by Webcor at the South San Francisco campus. Genentech and Webcor contracted with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) to test building systems including lighting, lighting controls, shade fabric, and automated shading controls in LBNL’s new FLEXLAB facility. The goal of the testing is to ensure that the systems installed in the new office building will function in a way that reduces energy consumption and provides a comfortable work environment for employees.
An Examination of the Performance Based Building Code on the Design of a Commercial Building
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
John Greenwood
2012-11-01
Full Text Available The Building Code of Australia (BCA is the principal code under which building approvals in Australia are assessed. The BCA adopted performance-based solutions for building approvals in 1996. Performance-based codes are based upon a set of explicit objectives, stated in terms of a hierarchy of requirements beginning with key general objectives. With this in mind, the research presented in this paper aims to analyse the impact of the introduction of the performance-based code within Western Australia to gauge the effect and usefulness of alternative design solutions in commercial construction using a case study project. The research revealed that there are several advantages to the use of alternative designs and that all parties, in general, are in favour of the performance-based building code of Australia. It is suggested that change in the assessment process to streamline the alternative design path is needed for the greater use of the performance-based alternative. With appropriate quality control measures, minor variations to the deemed-to-satisfy provisions could easily be managed by the current and future building surveying profession.
How much information disclosure of building energy performance is necessary?
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Hsu, David
2014-01-01
Many different governments have begun to require disclosure of building energy performance, in order to allow owners and prospective buyers to incorporate this information into their investment decisions. These policies, known as disclosure or information policies, require owners to benchmark their buildings and sometimes conduct engineering audits. However, given substantial variation in the cost to disclose different types of information, it is natural to ask: how much and what kind of information about building energy performance should be disclosed, and for what purposes? To answer this question, this paper assembles and cleans a comprehensive panel dataset of New York City multifamily buildings, and analyzes its predictive power using a Bayesian multilevel regression model. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) reveals that building-level variation is the most important factor in explaining building energy use, and that there are few, if any, relationships of building systems to observed energy use. This indicates that disclosure laws requiring benchmarking data may be relatively more useful than engineering audits in explaining the observed energy performance of existing buildings. These results should inform the further development of information disclosure laws. - Highlights: • A comprehensive panel dataset of energy performance and building characteristics was assembled and cleaned. • The effectiveness of the disclosed information to predict building energy performance was tested using a regression model. • Building-level variation has a greater effect than any building characteristic or systems. • Benchmarking data alone predicts energy performance equally as well as both benchmarking and engineering audit data together, and better than audit data alone
Sustainability in facilities management: an overview of current research
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Nielsen, Susanne Balslev; Sarasoja, Anna-Liisa; Ramskov Galamba, Kirsten
2016-01-01
of environmental, social and economical impacts? How to improve the sustainability performance of buildings? What are the potentials for and barriers to integrating sustainability into FM on strategic, tactical and operational levels? Originality/value: The paper presents the most comprehensive literature study...
Caterina, Gargari; Chris, Hamans; Maria Chiara, Torricelli
2013-01-01
The industry of construction products plays an important role in Europe in promoting the sustainability of the built environment in a life cycle perspective. Within the framework of the European initiatives for a sustainable competitiveness, manufacturers are interested in promoting a life cycle approach along the building chain. However both, institutions and building operators, in general still have to go a long way on designing and applying a sustainable and competitive industrial policy....
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Hansen, Hanne Tine Ring
. The research methodology applied in the project combines a literature study of descriptions of methodical approaches and built examples with a sensitivity analysis and a qualitative interview with two designers from a best practice example of a practice that has achieved environmentally sustainable...... architecture, such as: ecological, green, bio-climatic, sustainable, passive, low-energy and environmental architecture. This PhD project sets out to gain a better understanding of environmentally sustainable architecture and the methodical approaches applied in the development of this type of architecture...... an increase in scientific and political awareness, which has lead to an escalation in the number of research publications in the field, as well as, legislative demands for the energy consumption of buildings. The publications in the field refer to many different approaches to environmentally sustainable...
Transforming BIM to BEM: Generation of Building Geometry for the NASA Ames Sustainability Base BIM
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
O' Donnell, James T. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Maile, Tobias [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Rose, Cody [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Mrazovic, Natasa [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Morrissey, Elmer [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Regnier, Cynthia [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Parrish, Kristen [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Bazjanac, Vladimir [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
2013-01-01
Typical processes of whole Building Energy simulation Model (BEM) generation are subjective, labor intensive, time intensive and error prone. Essentially, these typical processes reproduce already existing data, i.e. building models already created by the architect. Accordingly, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) developed a semi-automated process that enables reproducible conversions of Building Information Model (BIM) representations of building geometry into a format required by building energy modeling (BEM) tools. This is a generic process that may be applied to all building energy modeling tools but to date has only been used for EnergyPlus. This report describes and demonstrates each stage in the semi-automated process for building geometry using the recently constructed NASA Ames Sustainability Base throughout. This example uses ArchiCAD (Graphisoft, 2012) as the originating CAD tool and EnergyPlus as the concluding whole building energy simulation tool. It is important to note that the process is also applicable for professionals that use other CAD tools such as Revit (“Revit Architecture,” 2012) and DProfiler (Beck Technology, 2012) and can be extended to provide geometry definitions for BEM tools other than EnergyPlus. Geometry Simplification Tool (GST) was used during the NASA Ames project and was the enabling software that facilitated semi-automated data transformations. GST has now been superseded by Space Boundary Tool (SBT-1) and will be referred to as SBT-1 throughout this report. The benefits of this semi-automated process are fourfold: 1) reduce the amount of time and cost required to develop a whole building energy simulation model, 2) enable rapid generation of design alternatives, 3) improve the accuracy of BEMs and 4) result in significantly better performing buildings with significantly lower energy consumption than those created using the traditional design process, especially if the simulation model was used as a predictive
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jing Wang
2018-05-01
Full Text Available In the context of the Chinese government’s strategy for sustainable development, the study of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM for enterprises has important practical significance. Drawing data from 172 Chinese firms, the model studied the moderating role of firm size on the SSCM practices and the sustainable performance of the firms (economic, environmental, and social, using hierarchical regression analysis on SPSS 22.0. The results suggest that SSCM practices and firm size are positively related to the firm’s environmental and social performance. Firm size moderates the effect of SSCM practices on economic performance. Additionally, SSCM internal practices have a significant positive impact on the economic performance of large enterprises, but not so much on the economic performance of the Small and medium enterprises(SMEs. This paper proposes a comprehensive SSCM practice performance model that identifies firm size as a moderating role. Through research on the moderating effect of firm size, the implementation and recommendation of SSCM for different firm size are given.
Taylor, A C
2010-01-01
This paper describes a customised, six-month, leadership development program (LDP) that was designed for emerging leaders in the Australian water industry who were promoting sustainable urban water management (SUWM). It also presents results from an evaluation of the program's benefits, costs and overall 'return on investment' (ROI). The program was designed to help build emergent leadership capacity in the water industry, given strong evidence that this form of leadership plays an important role in advancing SUWM. It involved '360-degree feedback' processes, training, individual leadership development plans, and coaching sessions. Its design was informed by a review of the literature, and its content was informed by local empirical research involving effective SUWM leaders. The evaluation used a seven-tier assessment framework that examined different dimensions of the program's performance using source and methodological triangulation. The results indicate that such LDPs can produce a range of positive outcomes, such as promoting desired leadership behaviours and generating a positive ROI estimate. Specifically, the program's estimated ROI was approximately 190% after only one year. The primary conclusion is that evidence-based LDPs which are highly customised for specific types of leaders in the water industry represent a promising type of intervention to build forms of leadership capacity which are needed to successfully promote SUWM.
Visions of sustainable urban energy systems. Proceedings
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Pietzsch, Ursula [HFT Stuttgart (Germany). zafh.net - Centre of Applied Research - Sustainable Energy Technology; Mikosch, Milena [Steinbeis-Zentrum, Stuttgart (Germany). Europaeischer Technologietransfer; Liesner, Lisa (eds.)
2010-09-15
Within the polycity final conference from 15th to 17th September, 2010, in Stuttgart (Federal Republic of Germany) the following lectures were held: (1) Visions of sustainable urban energy system (Ursula Eicker); (2) Words of welcome (Tanja Goenner); (3) Zero-energy Europe - We are on our way (Jean-Marie Bemtgen); (4) Polycity - Energy networks in sustainable cities An introduction (Ursula Pietzsch); (5) Energy efficient city - Successful examples in the European concerto initiative (Brigitte Bach); (6) Sustainable building and urban concepts in the Catalonian polycity project contributions to the polycity final conference 2010 (Nuria Pedrals); (7) Energy efficient buildings and renewable supply within the German polycity project (Ursula Eicker); (8) Energy efficient buildings and cities in the US (Thomas Spiegehalter); (9) Energy efficient communities - First results from an IEA collaboration project (Reinhard Jank); (10) The European energy performance of buildings directive (EPBD) - Lessons learned (Eduardo Maldonado); (11) Passive house standard in Europe - State-of-the-art and challenges (Wolfgang Feist); (12) High efficiency non-residential buildings: Concepts, implementations and experiences from the UK (Levin Lomas); (13) This is how we can save our world (Franz Alt); (14) Green buildings and renewable heating and cooling concepts in China (Yanjun Dai); (15) Sustainable urban energy solutions for Asia (Brahmanand Mohanty); (16) Description of ''Parc de l'Alba'' polygeneration system: A large-scale trigeneration system with district heating within the Spanish polycity project (Francesc Figueras Bellot); (17) Improved building automation and control systems with hardware-in-the loop solutions (Martin Becker); (18) The Italian polycity project area: Arquata (Luigi Fazari); (19) Photovoltaic system integration: In rehabilitated urban structures: Experiences and performance results from the Italian polycity project in Turin (Franco
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Vestergaard, Inge
architectural heritage to energy efficiency and from architectural quality to sustainability. The first, second and third renovations are discussed from financial and sustainable view points. The role of housing related to the public energy supply system and the relation between the levels of renovation......The project Sustainable Renovation examines the challenge of the current and future architectural renovation of Danish suburbs which were designed in the period from 1945 to 1973. The research project takes its starting point in the perspectives of energy optimization and the fact that the building...
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Maria Radu
2012-06-01
Full Text Available The sustainable organizational change has an ever increasing importance, leading to the rethinking of the management and systems of performance measurement and monitoring within the companies. As a reaction to current economic phenomena, in the first section of this work we tried to bring out the need for using the couple Balanced Scorecard - Corporate Social Responsibility by companies. Thus, companies involved in sustainable actions must grant a great importance to the impact of environmental, social and economic factors in providing added value, informing the interested parties and reflecting the reporting of sustainable performance. As a consequence, in the second part of the work we present the Sustainability Balanced Scorecard for the implementation of efficient strategies which cumulate the economic, social and environmental aspects as integrating system for sustainable performance and as a new challenge for organizational change. The key performance indicators included in the Sustainability Balanced Scorecard are quantified by the indicators of sustainable development, based on which the empirical research described in the third section of the work was achieved. Through the quantitative analysis of the economic and ecological indicators (Gross Domestic Product per capita, respective, Environmental Performance Index in correlation with the social indicator (Global Competitive Index, we conclude that the implementation of green strategies by companies leads to sustainable economic growth.
Sustainable building versus ecological building
CSIR Research Space (South Africa)
Van Wyk, Llewellyn V
2010-04-01
Full Text Available and sensitivity to a site that are required to efficiently meet the energy needs of a building and occupants with renewable energy (solar, wind, geothermal, etc), designers must apply holistic design principles and take advantage of the free, naturally... monumental waste: the product which they deliver requires resources such as energy and water to operate over its entire life-cycle, a period measured in decades, and often in centuries. Throughout this process, construction activities often result...
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Vares, S.; Pulakka, S.; Toratti, T. [and others
2012-11-01
This report is the second part of the final report of Sustainable refurbishment of building facades and exterior walls (SUSREF). SUSREF project was a collaborative (small/medium size) research project within the 7th Framework Programme of the Commission and it was financed under the theme Environment (including climate change) (Grant agreement no. 226858). The project started in October 1st 2009 and ended in April 30th 2012. The project included 11 partners from five countries. SUSREF developed sustainable concepts and technologies for the refurbishment of building facades and external walls. This report together with SUSREF Final report Part B and SUSREF Final Report Part C introduce the main results of the project. Part A focuses on methodological issues. The descriptions of the concepts and the assessment results of the developed concepts are presented in SUSREF Final report part B (generic concepts) and SUSREF Final report Part C (SME concepts). The following list shows the sustainability assessment criteria defined by the SUSREF project. These are Durability; Impact on energy demand for heating; Impact on energy demand for cooling; Impact on renewable energy use potential; Impact on daylight; Environmental impact of manufacture and maintenance; Indoor air quality and acoustics; Structural stability; Fire safety; Aesthetic quality; Effect on cultural heritage; Life cycle costs; Need for care and maintenance; Disturbance to the tenants and to the site; Buildability. This report presents sustainability assessment results of general refurbishment concepts and gives recommendations on the basis of the results. The report covers the following refurbishment cases - External insulation - Internal insulation - Cavity wall insulation - Replacement Insulation during renovation.
Sustainability Performance and CSR Disclosure: The Missing Link
Siyuan Seth Li; Marie-Claude Boudreau; Mark Huber; Richard T. Watson
2013-01-01
Sustainability disclosure is a topic of great interest among academics and practitioners. As a key means of disclosing an organization’s sustainability information, the corporate social responsibility (CSR) report is adopted by most organizations nowadays. It also becomes an important information source for stakeholders. However, there is a concern that many stakeholders perceive CSR reports are reflections of the sustainability performance of organizations. This misunderstanding could lead...
Impacts of climate change performance on building in New Zealand
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Camilleri, M.; Jaques, R.; Isaacs, N.
2001-07-01
Climate change is expected to impact on many aspects of building performance, with much of the existing and future building stock likely to be affected. Potential impacts of climate change on buildings are identified, evaluated as to how serious they might be, and actions are considered to ensure that future building performance is not compromised. Climate change scenarios for New Zealand defined the scale of climate changes considered for building performance. For each climate variable, relevant aspects of building performance were examined to determine if there is likely to be a significant impact. Where significant impacts were indicated, they were studied in detail and quantified where possible. A risk-profiling tool was formulated to cover the risk/severity of the most significant climate change impacts, which include flooding, tropical cyclones and overheating. Adaptation strategies were developed for each climate change impact, with different responses appropriate for each impact. Mitigation of greenhouse emissions is also addressed. For those risks where delaying action has serious consequences, it may be appropriate to consider changes in building or zoning regulations to anticipate the future impacts of climate change. Some implications for future building performance, design, standards and regulation are discussed. (author)
Contribution Index Based on Green Building Certification Systems
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Yuting Sun
2015-05-01
Full Text Available Green Building Certification Systems (GBCS are carried out in many countries due to the rising awareness of the importance of sustainability in the building industry. The intention should have motivated participants to construct and operate buildings sustainably, however, there is not yet a method developed to investigate the motivation of the participants. Based on the GBCS, this paper proposes the contribution index as a standard global method to analyze the performance of participants in the green building industry. Three contribution indices, namely Frequency Contribution Index (FCI, Intensity Contribution Index (ICI and Comprehensive Contribution Index (CCI that concern each different category of participant, have been formulated. Three further analyses based on the index were undertaken to investigate some features of the industry. A case study of Singapore was conducted to show how the contribution index could be used to extract industry patterns and trends and assess the participants’ performance in the green building industry. Interviews with experts provide some suggested applications and support for the findings.
Simulation to support sustainable HVAC design for two historical buildings in Prague
Bartak, M.; Drkal, F.; Hensen, J.L.M.; Lain, M.; Matuska, J.; Schwarzer, J.; Sourek, B.
2001-01-01
This paper attempts to outline the current state-of-the-art in the Czech Republic regarding the use of integrated building performance simulation as a design tool. Integrated modeling and simulation of buildings is illustrated by means of two recent studies for conversion of historical buildings (a
20th Joint Workshop on Sustained Simulation Performance
Bez, Wolfgang; Focht, Erich; Patel, Nisarg; Kobayashi, Hiroaki
2016-01-01
The book presents the state of the art in high-performance computing and simulation on modern supercomputer architectures. It explores general trends in hardware and software development, and then focuses specifically on the future of high-performance systems and heterogeneous architectures. It also covers applications such as computational fluid dynamics, material science, medical applications and climate research and discusses innovative fields like coupled multi-physics or multi-scale simulations. The papers included were selected from the presentations given at the 20th Workshop on Sustained Simulation Performance at the HLRS, University of Stuttgart, Germany in December 2015, and the subsequent Workshop on Sustained Simulation Performance at Tohoku University in February 2016.
Entrop, Alexis Gerardus; Reinders, Angelina H.M.E.; Brouwers, Jos; Kenneweg, H.; Tröger, U.
2007-01-01
The introduction of the concept of sustainable building in the construction industry has led to different measures to reduce the environmental impact of building objects in the past decades. Because the built environment accounts for more than 40% of the total energy consumption in Europe (EC,
The Feasibility of "oscar" as AN Information System for Sustainable Rehabilitation of Built Heritage
Farmer, C.; Rouillard, C.
2017-08-01
This paper aims to examine the feasibility of the Online Sustainable Conservation Assistance Resource (OSCAR) as an information system and framework to help find appropriate ways to improve the sustainable performance of heritage buildings in North America. The paper reviews the need for holistic comprehensive authoritative information in the field of sustainable conservation, how OSCAR addresses this gap, the OSCAR workflow, and how it was used in two case studies. It was found that OSCAR has potential to become a practical educational tool and design aide to address the sustainable performance of heritage buildings. The paper contributes to the discourse on sustainable conservation by examining resources and tools which address the need for holistic retrofit approaches. The findings will be useful to educators and professionals in the fields of sustainable design and heritage conservation.
EVALUATION OF WOOD PERFORMANCE IN BUILDING CONSTRUCTION THROUGH SYSTEM APPROACH
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ricardo Pedreschi
2005-09-01
Full Text Available Building construction is considered to be the leading market for the wood industry, in developed and developingcountries. The greatest amount of wood produced in Brazil is consumed as firewood and energy, followed by production of celluloseand third as machined wood. The use of wood from planted forests can be increased. This would lead to a better use of naturalresources, and consequently to an increased sustainability of forest activity in many regions of the country. The performance of woodcan be observed from many different insights: symbolic performance, technical performance and economical performance, conductedby the method of systems approach to architecture. Usages of wood related to the performances of the material, with the redefinitionof parameters of use, elaborating a new culture linked to new technologies were outlined. This work diagnosed the usage of wood inbuilding construction based in system analysis. Through an opinion research related to the acceptation of the use of wood we observethe possibilities of utilization according to physical and mechanical proprieties, aesthetics and appearance performance and postoccupation.According to the results obtained related to the culture and knowledge about the use of wood from planted forest, it canconclude that there is not enough knowledge in this area, and it is, therefore, necessary to create an information system forprofessionals and for people in general.
Investigation of Educational Buildings in Terms of Daylighting Performance
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
İlknur ERLALELİTEPE
2011-01-01
Full Text Available Educational buildings have the priority among other building types in daylight performance studies. There are several reasons for this. Classrooms which are used during the whole day should have sufficient and homogeneously distributed daylight. In insufficient daylight conditions, the use of electrical lighting increases energy consumption. Users’ visual comfort should also be assured, and design incorporating natural light requires the analysis of sun protection devices in order to avoid glare and excessive heat. Also, atriums and skylights can be included in the building design with the aim of distributing light equally and in a relatively balanced manner throughout the building. However, lighting schemes are often proposed by architects and professionals who tend to make use of different design tools, and it would be pertinent to investigate whether these tools perform as desired. This study analyses daylight design principles and design elements in educational buildings. It outlines the method which has been used to analyse the daylight performance of buildings. A university building was selected for the field study. Measurements were taken in sample spaces to determine daylight performance. Utilising comparison between standard values and measured values, findings are presented in the form of tables, drawings and figures.
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Brown, K.; Sartor, D.; Greenberg, S. [and others
1996-05-01
In 1994, the Bay Chapter of the Association of Energy Engineers{reg_sign} organized a two-day design charrette for energy-efficient redevelopment of buildings by the National Park Services (NPS) at the Presidio of San Francisco. This event brought together engineers, researchers, architects, government officials, and students in a participatory environment to apply their experience to create guidelines for the sustainable redesign of Presidio buildings. The venue for the charrette was a representative barracks building located at the Main Post of the Presidio. Examination of this building allowed for the development of design recommendations, both for the building and for the remainder of the facilities. The charrette was organized into a committee structure consisting of: steering, measurement and monitoring, modeling, building envelope and historic preservation (architectural), HVAC and controls, lighting, and presentation. Prior to the charrette itself, the modeling and measurement/monitoring committees developed substantial baseline data for the other committees during the charrette. An integrated design approach was initiated through interaction between the committees during the charrette. Later, committee reports were cross-referenced to emphasize whole building design and systems integration.
Strategic Behavior in Certifying Green Buildings: An Inquiry of the Non-building Performance Value.
Chiang Hsieh, Lin-Han; Noonan, Douglas
2017-08-01
This study determines the magnitude of the market signaling effect arising from Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification for green buildings and explores the mechanisms behind the signaling effect. Previous studies have shown that signaling or marketability plays an important role in the pursuit for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and equivalent green-building certification. By analyzing all new construction projects receiving Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification from 2000 to 2012 in the US, this study estimates the relative importance of 'green' signaling. This broad perspective using project-level data enables an analysis of some drivers of signaling and the pursuit of marketing benefits. The roles of local competition and market conditions, as well as municipal regulations are examined, especially as they differ between types of building owners (e.g., for-profit firms, governments, nonprofits). The results indicate that the non-building performance value-value captured by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design signals above and beyond the specific building attributes that Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certifies-dominates the attainment of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design scores around certification tier thresholds. Further, strong evidence of spatial clustering of this non-building performance value for some owner types indicates that for-profit owners may be more responsive to local competition than non-profit owners. Local legislative mandates predict greater signaling intensity by government-owned buildings, as expected, but for-profit-owned projects tend to signal less, even after controls for local conditions. The results highlight the importance of local conditions, including peer effects and regulations, in driving non-building performance values across a wide range of green buildings.
Computational Fluid Dynamics and Building Energy Performance Simulation
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Nielsen, Peter Vilhelm; Tryggvason, T.
1998-01-01
An interconnection between a building energy performance simulation program and a Computational Fluid Dynamics program (CFD) for room air distribution will be introduced for improvement of the predictions of both the energy consumption and the indoor environment. The building energy performance...... simulation program requires a detailed description of the energy flow in the air movement which can be obtained by a CFD program. The paper describes an energy consumption calculation in a large building, where the building energy simulation program is modified by CFD predictions of the flow between three...... zones connected by open areas with pressure and buoyancy driven air flow. The two programs are interconnected in an iterative procedure. The paper shows also an evaluation of the air quality in the main area of the buildings based on CFD predictions. It is shown that an interconnection between a CFD...
Creating high performance buildings: Lower energy, better comfort
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Brager, Gail; Arens, Edward
2015-01-01
Buildings play a critical role in the challenge of mitigating and adapting to climate change. It is estimated that buildings contribute 39% of the total U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions [1] primarily due to their operational energy use, and about 80% of this building energy use is for heating, cooling, ventilating, and lighting. An important premise of this paper is about the connection between energy and comfort. They are inseparable when one talks about high performance buildings. Worldwide data suggests that we are significantly overcooling buildings in the summer, resulting in increased energy use and problems with thermal comfort. In contrast, in naturally ventilated buildings without mechanical cooling, people are comfortable in much warmer temperatures due to shifting expectations and preferences as a result of occupants having a greater degree of personal control over their thermal environment; they have also become more accustomed to variable conditions that closely reflect the natural rhythms of outdoor climate patterns. This has resulted in an adaptive comfort zone that offers significant potential for encouraging naturally ventilated buildings to improve both energy use and comfort. Research on other forms for providing individualized control through low-energy personal comfort systems (desktop fans, foot warmed, and heated and cooled chairs) have also demonstrated enormous potential for improving both energy and comfort performance. Studies have demonstrated high levels of comfort with these systems while ambient temperatures ranged from 64–84°F. Energy and indoor environmental quality are inextricably linked, and must both be important goals of a high performance building
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Marić Igor
2006-01-01
Full Text Available Technology development for civil engineering and the application of new and improved materials become ever more present in realization of any kind of construction, starting from buildings for housing, business, as well as for the multifunctional and specialized ones. Sustainable architecture presumes environmental considerations, then the use of passive solar systems protection from the adverse conditions of climate, noise, micro location. This paper presents some of the sustainable architecture principles by example of the project for a corner building between the streets Kralja Milana and Kralja Milutina in Belgrade.
The new district energy : building blocks for sustainable community development
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
2008-01-01
The price of energy is expected to rise as world demand for fossil fuels increases and energy supplies become harder to access. Governments and businesses are interested in the role of energy in the design, development and operation of buildings and whole communities. In addition to contributing to community economic development, district energy (DE) systems can assist communities in meeting their goals for sustainable growth and in managing the changing nature of risk in the generation and delivery of energy. This handbook was developed in order to encourage information sharing and provide ideas on how to advance district energy development in communities across Canada. The handbook identified those who could use DE and listed the benefits provided by DE. These included community, environmental, and business benefits. The handbook also offered suggestions for overcoming common challenges experienced by communities initiating a DE system and provided a checklist to help accelerate the uptake of DE systems in a community. These challenges included working with the community; using integrated design; building knowledge, know-how and technical skills; and partnering to improve project financing and reducing development risk. 50 refs., 8 tabs., 11 figs
Grecu, Valentin
2015-09-01
There is rarely an optimal solution in sustainable development but most frequently a need to build compromises between conflicting aspects such as economic, social and environmental ones and different expectations of stakeholders. Moreover, information is rarely available and precise. This paper will focus on how to use indicators to monitor sustainable development, integrating the information provided by many of them into a complex general sustainability index. Having this general indicator is essential for decision makers as it is very complicated to evaluate the performance of the organization based on multiple indicators. The objective of this paper is to find mathematical algorithms for simplifying the decision-making process by offering an instrument for the evaluation of the sustainability progress.
Bennett, Jeffrey V.; Ylimaki, Rose M.; Dugan, Thad M.; Brunderman, Lynnette A.
2014-01-01
This mixed-method study examines Arizona principals' capacity-building skills and practices in Tier III schools aimed at developing potential for sustained improvements in student outcomes. Data sources included surveys (62 individuals) and semistructured interviews (29 individuals) of principals and staff (e.g. teachers, instructional coaches,…
The impact of greening systems on building energy performance : A literature review
Raji, B.; Tenpierik, M.J.; Van den Dobbelsteen, A.
2015-01-01
Scarcity of resources and environmental issues caused by human activities stimulate designers and policy makers to search for energy efficient strategies for sustainable development. A considerable amount of energy consumption and CO2 emission comes from the building sector which today accounts for
Green building challenge 2002 in Canada : an overview
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
NONE
2002-02-01
The Green Building Challenge (GBC) in Canada was launched to help the building community meet environmental challenges and improve the environmental performance of buildings. Tools have been made available to the building industry to make informed environmental choices during the conception design stage of a project. The tools help architects, researchers and policy analysts in choosing material mixes and other design options that will minimize a building's potential life cycle environmental impacts and promote sustainable development. Green buildings involve the complete structure and envelope, including cladding, insulation, gypsum wall board, roofing and windows. The type of building and its location is also considered. Long term sustainability also considers energy use and emissions related to a building's energy system. This presentation described the following 3 projects which were selected for assessment in the GBC-2002: (1) the Mayo School in Mayo, Yukon Territory, (2) the Jackson-Triggs Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, and (3) the Red River College in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The GBC-2002 Canadian Team nominated them as the best buildings being designed in Canada.10 figs.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Laila Mohamed Khodeir
2017-03-01
Full Text Available Although architectural heritage reflects the evolution of human civilization throughout history, nevertheless, civilized and social changes of heritage areas in many countries led to their degradation. Historical building management and planning conservation raise two important issues: the restoration and improvement of historical areas features and adopting a framework of sustainable development in heritage regions. Recently a number of processes have arose to aid in the aforementioned problems, namely the heritage building information modelling (HBIM and the cyber-physical systems approach (CPS, where the latter is believed to achieve great potentials hereby integrating virtual models and physical construction and enabling bidirectional coordination. Since HBIM has recently been investigated through a number of recent research and application, the aim of this paper is to explore the potentials offered by the CPS, to move from 3D content model to bi-dimensional coordination for achieving efficient management of built heritage. To tackle the objective of this paper, firstly, a review of the BIM use in the field of cultural heritage was undergone, Secondly, reporting the existing BIM/HBIM platforms, analyzing cyber-physical systems integration in extant heritage buildings and in planning conservation were performed. Results of this paper took the form of detailed comparative analysis between both CPS and HBIM, which could guide decision makers working in the field of heritage buildings management, in addition to shedding light on the main potentials of the emerging CPS.
Procedure for Measuring and Reporting Commercial Building Energy Performance
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Barley, D.; Deru, M.; Pless, S.; Torcellini, P.
2005-10-01
This procedure is intended to provide a standard method for measuring and characterizing the energy performance of commercial buildings. The procedure determines the energy consumption, electrical energy demand, and on-site energy production in existing commercial buildings of all types. The performance metrics determined here may be compared against benchmarks to evaluate performance and verify that performance targets have been achieved.
Use of industrial waste for the manufacturing of sustainable building materials.
Sugrañez, Rafael; Cruz-Yusta, Manuel; Mármol, Isabel; Martín, Francisco; Morales, Julián; Sánchez, Luis
2012-04-01
Presently, appropriate waste management is one of the main requisites for sustainable development; this task is tackled by the material construction industry. The work described herein is focused on the valorization of granite waste through incorporation, as a filler-functional admixture, into cement-based mortar formulations. The main components of the waste are SiO(2) (62.1 %), Al(2)O(3) (13.2 %), Fe(2)O(3) (10.1 %), and CaO (4.6 %). The presence of iron oxides is used to develop the photocatalytic properties of the waste. Following heating at 700 °C, α-Fe(2)O(3) forms in the waste. The inclusion of the heated sample as a filler admixture in a cement-based mortar is possible. Moreover, this sample exhibits a moderate ability in the photodegradation of organic dye solutions. Also, the plastering mortars, in which the heated samples have been used, show self-cleaning properties. The preparation of sustainable building materials is demonstrated through the adequate reuse of the granite waste. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.
Key Performance Indicator of Building Maintenance and Its Effect on the Building Life Cycle
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
M.A. Othuman Mydin
2014-07-01
Full Text Available Building maintenance is considered as one of the national agenda. Multitude barriers received by the services providers have undergone various difficulties in satisfying public interest have been progressively resolved as a sign towards becoming a more developed country. In real practice, building maintenance is the thing which we mostly tolerate. If the building is able to weather the elements, we may with delay taking action on it. Most buildings are always treated with ‘ad-hoc’ maintenance. In some instances, the building disrepair will wait until complaints are made before any repair work is done. It shows that the situation is not considered critical as it may. Maintenance is still being practiced in improper procedure by the maintenance managers which subsequently caused bad impacts to the facilities and the services provided. It can be seen that the managers prefer carrying out reactive maintenance works rather than proactive works and at times do not consider the clients satisfaction and also the performance of services. This paper will focus on some important elements of building maintenance and its relation to building performance holistically.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Eugene Mohareb
2017-08-01
Full Text Available Research on the performance gap suggests that the actual energy consumption in buildings can be twice as much as expected from modelled estimates. Energy models rely on predictive indicators and assumptions that are usually done at the design stage, without acknowledging behavioral patterns of actual users, amongst other uncertain elements. Moreover, in the context of the performance gap, it is evident that energy efficiency is overemphasized while other key issues such as health and comfort of occupants associated with indoor air quality, noise levels etc., have been less stressed and discussed. This paper discusses physical measurements of indoor temperature in a case study building at the University of Cambridge and reports findings of a workshop with researchers, building professionals and graduate students working on environmental performance in the built environment. The workshop addressed research issues related to energy, comfort and health (couched in terms of thermal performance, used as a means to understand the complexities of and trade-off between different aspects of sustainable buildings. Retrofit measures were suggested while considering how to balance energy and comfort needs, with some these measures being modelled to determine their efficacy. This research concludes with a reflection on how to implement these retrofit measures in a manner that addresses the performance gap.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Giancarlo Mangone
2015-09-01
Full Text Available The design of office buildings can substantially improve the building, social, and ecological performance of office building projects. However, existing research on improving the performance of work environments has primarily focused on identifying and evaluating methods to make work environments less bad, rather than focusing on how to develop work environments that are positively performing. Moreover, the potential of building projects to perform positively, in terms of economic, social, and ecological performance, remains relatively unexplored in existing research and building projects. To this end, this PhD research project is focused on exploring the positive economic, social, and ecological performance potential of buildings. Specifically, this research project identifies and evaluates the potential economic, social, and ecological performance benefits of integrating microforests into office buildings. Microforests are defined in this book as dynamic, stimulating, cohesive spatial environments that are composed of vegetation and soil layers that mimic the structural, perceptual, and ecological composition of a forest ecosystem, yet are not large enough to reliably provide the myriad of functions of a robust, mature forest ecosystem. This design research focus is based on findings from existing literature that suggest that natural environments and stimuli can provide a diverse range of economic, social, and ecological performance benefits. The Design Research Methodology [DRM], an established research methodology that facilitates the use of diverse research methods in a rigorous, effective manner, is used in this research project to explore and evaluate the performance potential of microforests, by investigating the following sub research questions: • How can microforests improve the performance of office buildings? • How can microforests improve employee performance + comfort? • How can microforests improve the ecological performance
Edwards, N
2008-10-01
The international introduction of performance-based building codes calls for a re-examination of indicators used to monitor their implementation. Indicators used in the building sector have a business orientation, target the life cycle of buildings, and guide asset management. In contrast, indicators used in the health sector focus on injury prevention, have a behavioural orientation, lack specificity with respect to features of the built environment, and do not take into account patterns of building use or building longevity. Suggestions for metrics that bridge the building and health sectors are discussed. The need for integrated surveillance systems in health and building sectors is outlined. It is time to reconsider commonly used epidemiological indicators in the field of injury prevention and determine their utility to address the accountability requirements of performance-based codes.
High-Performance Buildings – Value, Messaging, Financial and Policy Mechanisms
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
McCabe, Molly
2011-02-22
At the request of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, an in-depth analysis of the rapidly evolving state of real estate investments, high-performance building technology, and interest in efficiency was conducted by HaydenTanner, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Building Technologies Program. The analysis objectives were • to evaluate the link between high-performance buildings and their market value • to identify core messaging to motivate owners, investors, financiers, and others in the real estate sector to appropriately value and deploy high-performance strategies and technologies across new and existing buildings • to summarize financial mechanisms that facilitate increased investment in these buildings. To meet these objectives, work consisted of a literature review of relevant writings, examination of existing and emergent financial and policy mechanisms, interviews with industry stakeholders, and an evaluation of the value implications through financial modeling. This report documents the analysis methodology and findings, conclusion and recommendations. Its intent is to support and inform the DOE Building Technologies Program on policy and program planning for the financing of high-performance new buildings and building retrofit projects.
Performance evaluation of existing building structure with pushover analysis
Handana, MAP; Karolina, R.; Steven
2018-02-01
In the management of the infrastructure of the building, during the period of buildings common building damage as a result of several reasons, earthquakes are common. The building is planned to work for a certain service life. But during the certain service life, the building vulnerable to damage due to various things. Any damage to cultivate can be detected as early as possible, because the damage could spread, triggering and exacerbating the latest. The newest concept to earthquake engineering is Performance Based Earthquake Engineering (PBEE). PBEE divided into two, namely Performance Based Seismic Design (PBSD) and Performance Based Seismic Evaluation (PBSE). Evaluation on PBSE one of which is the analysis of nonlinear pushover. Pushover analysis is a static analysis of nonlinear where the influence of the earthquake plan on building structure is considered as burdens static catch at the center of mass of each floor, which it was increased gradually until the loading causing the melting (plastic hinge) first within the building structure, then the load increases further changes the shapes of post-elastic large it reached the condition of elastic. Then followed melting (plastic hinge) in the location of the other structured.
CSIR Research Space (South Africa)
De Jager, Peta
2016-05-01
Full Text Available is not, for instance, addressed. The N&S cost model has been developed to take into consideration life-cycle costs. This takes into account that different building elements and materials have different expected service lives and in this way contribute... that it is currently not on a sustainable trajectory, which the 2012 UNU-IHDP and UNEP report contends (p 272). According to the report this is - in large part - due to poor health status and poor life expectancy. The dual epidemics of tuberculosis (TB) and HIV...
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Chen, Yixing [Building Energy and Environmental Systems Lab. (BEESL), Syracuse, NY (United States); Zhang, Jianshun [Syracuse Univ., NY (United States); Pelken, Michael [Syracuse Univ., NY (United States); Gu, Lixing [Univ. of Central Florida, Orlando, FL (United States); Rice, Danial [Building Energy and Environmental Systems Lab. (BEESL), Syracuse, NY (United States); Meng, Zhaozhou [Building Energy and Environmental Systems Lab. (BEESL), Syracuse, NY (United States); Semahegn, Shewangizaw [Building Energy and Environmental Systems Lab. (BEESL), Syracuse, NY (United States); Feng, Wei [Building Energy and Environmental Systems Lab. (BEESL), Syracuse, NY (United States); Ling, Francesca [Syracuse Univ., NY (United States); Shi, Jun [Building Energy and Environmental Systems Lab. (BEESL), Syracuse, NY (United States); Henderson, Hugh [CDH Energy, Cazenovia, NY (United States)
2013-09-01
Executive Summary The objective of this study was to develop a “Virtual Design Studio (VDS)”: a software platform for integrated, coordinated and optimized design of green building systems with low energy consumption, high indoor environmental quality (IEQ), and high level of sustainability. This VDS is intended to assist collaborating architects, engineers and project management team members throughout from the early phases to the detailed building design stages. It can be used to plan design tasks and workflow, and evaluate the potential impacts of various green building strategies on the building performance by using the state of the art simulation tools as well as industrial/professional standards and guidelines for green building system design. Engaged in the development of VDS was a multi-disciplinary research team that included architects, engineers, and software developers. Based on the review and analysis of how existing professional practices in building systems design operate, particularly those used in the U.S., Germany and UK, a generic process for performance-based building design, construction and operation was proposed. It distinguishes the whole process into five distinct stages: Assess, Define, Design, Apply, and Monitoring (ADDAM). The current VDS is focused on the first three stages. The VDS considers building design as a multi-dimensional process, involving multiple design teams, design factors, and design stages. The intersection among these three dimensions defines a specific design task in terms of “who”, “what” and “when”. It also considers building design as a multi-objective process that aims to enhance the five aspects of performance for green building systems: site sustainability, materials and resource efficiency, water utilization efficiency, energy efficiency and impacts to the atmospheric environment, and IEQ. The current VDS development has been limited to energy efficiency and IEQ performance, with particular focus
Labeodan, T.M.; Aduda, K.O.; Boxem, G.; Zeiler, W.
2015-01-01
Toward efforts to improve sustainability of energy supply and to achieve worthwhile reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, in addition to the increased use of renewable energy sources in buildings, more emphasis is being placed on the need for improved control, management and coordination of
A Global Perspective on the Sustainable Performance of Urbanization
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Liyin Shen
2016-08-01
Full Text Available Urbanization, particularly in developing countries, is a major strategy for development. However, major concerns accompany it, such as air pollution, habitat destruction, and loss of arable land. In responding to these challenges, governments throughout the world have been implementing various policy mechanisms to guide the practice of urbanization towards sustainable development. It appears that there is little research investigating the outcomes of those efforts in implementing sustainable urbanization strategies. This paper provides a profile of sustainable urbanization from a global perspective. Data used for this research cover 111 countries and are collected from the World Bank database and the United Nation database. A ranking list of sustainable performance of urbanization between these countries is produced and discussed. The study suggests that countries at different stages of urbanization have achieved different levels of sustainable performance. The research results provide significant references for future study in the field of urbanization from a global perspective.
Building a Strong Culture That Produces Sustainable Performance - 13444
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
McDonald, John A. Jr
2013-01-01
Washington River Protection Solutions LLC (WRPS) has been involved with culture improvement for a number of years which has included co-chairing the industry effort to develop the EFCOG safety culture guidance documents [1, 2], and integration of this guidance into organizational processes and behavior expectations, described in more detail below. As various organizational cultural assessments have been periodically performed, and subsequent actions implemented to address improvement opportunities, organizational performance has shown improvement. Culture improvement is evident in the company's industrial safety statistics, event rates, safety culture survey results, employee morale, productivity, leadership effectiveness, and employee engagement. There does appear to be a relationship between striving to demonstrate behaviors consistent with excellent safety culture and good organizational performance over the past couple of years at WRPS. As performance continues to be evaluated, an improvement opportunity was identified to further enhance performance through field oriented behavioral/cultural improvement activities. WRPS recently conducted a three month effort to improve consistent implementation of management expectations by increasing management field presence with a focus on interacting real-time with workers and first line supervisors, and changing behaviors as appropriate. (authors)
Building a Strong Culture That Produces Sustainable Performance - 13444
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
McDonald, John A. Jr [Washington River Protection Solutions LLC, PO Box 850, MSIN R2-53, Richland, WA 99352 (United States)
2013-07-01
Washington River Protection Solutions LLC (WRPS) has been involved with culture improvement for a number of years which has included co-chairing the industry effort to develop the EFCOG safety culture guidance documents [1, 2], and integration of this guidance into organizational processes and behavior expectations, described in more detail below. As various organizational cultural assessments have been periodically performed, and subsequent actions implemented to address improvement opportunities, organizational performance has shown improvement. Culture improvement is evident in the company's industrial safety statistics, event rates, safety culture survey results, employee morale, productivity, leadership effectiveness, and employee engagement. There does appear to be a relationship between striving to demonstrate behaviors consistent with excellent safety culture and good organizational performance over the past couple of years at WRPS. As performance continues to be evaluated, an improvement opportunity was identified to further enhance performance through field oriented behavioral/cultural improvement activities. WRPS recently conducted a three month effort to improve consistent implementation of management expectations by increasing management field presence with a focus on interacting real-time with workers and first line supervisors, and changing behaviors as appropriate. (authors)
The Impact of Corporate Sustainability on Organizational Processes and Performance
Eccles, Robert G; Ioannou, Ioannis; Serafeim, Georgios
2014-01-01
We investigate the effect of corporate sustainability on organizational processes and performance. Using a matched sample of 180 US companies, we find that corporations that voluntarily adopted sustainability policies by 1993 - termed as High Sustainability companies - exhibit by 2009 distinct organizational processes compared to a matched sample of companies that adopted almost none of these policies - termed as Low Sustainability companies. The boards of directors of High Sustainability com...
A Framework for Fully Automated Performance Testing for Smart Buildings
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Markoska, Elena; Johansen, Aslak; Lazarova-Molnar, Sanja
2018-01-01
, setup of performance tests has been manual and labor-intensive and has required intimate knowledge of buildings’ complexity and systems. The emergence of the concept of smart buildings has provided an opportunity to overcome this restriction. In this paper, we propose a framework for automated......A significant proportion of energy consumption by buildings worldwide, estimated to ca. 40%, has yielded a high importance to studying buildings’ performance. Performance testing is a mean by which buildings can be continuously commissioned to ensure that they operate as designed. Historically...... performance testing of smart buildings that utilizes metadata models. The approach features automatic detection of applicable performance tests using metadata queries and their corresponding instantiation, as well as continuous commissioning based on metadata. The presented approach has been implemented...
Building a sustainable complementary and alternative medicine research network in Europe.
Reiter, Bettina; Baumhöfener, Franziska; Dlaboha, Meike; Odde Madsen, Jesper; Regenfelder, Stephanie; Weidenhammer, Wolfgang
2012-01-01
Since CAMbrella is a networking project funded by the European Commission explicitly to build and sustain a complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) research network in Europe, communication and dissemination play a large role and form a work package of their own. The present article gives an outline of the communication and dissemination work in the CAMbrella consortium. The intensive building of sound internal communication is an essential part in establishing a functioning structure for collaboration in a diverse group of 16 partner institutions from 12 countries, as exists in the CAMbrella project. The means and tools for dissemination of results to the scientific community and the European public at large, as well as to the European policy makers, are presented. The development of the corporate design and a dissemination strategy are described in detail. In addition, some basic information regarding previous CAM research efforts, which might be interesting for future consortium building in the field of CAM research, is given. Internal communication within a heterogeneous research group, the maintenance of a work-oriented style of communication and a consensus oriented effort in establishing dissemination tools and products will be essential for any future consortium in the CAM field. The outlook shows the necessity for active political encouragement of CAM research and the desideratum of a Pan-European institution analogous to the NIH (National Institutes of Health) in the USA.
The performance of energy efficient residential building envelope systems
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Proskiw, G.
1996-08-01
The adequacy and durability of residential building envelope systems under actual field conditions were evaluated. A building envelope offers protection from cold, heat, moisture, wind and noise. However, they are exposed to thermal, structural, and moisture stresses and their performance can degrade over time. Envelope performance was evaluated at 20 energy efficient and four conventional, detached modern homes in Winnipeg, Canada. The three complementary measurement tools were wood moisture content (WMC) of framing members, thermographic examinations, and airtightness tests. As expected, energy efficient building envelope systems performed better than the conventional systems. No evidence of envelope degradation was found in any of the energy efficient houses. The building envelopes using polyethylene air barriers performed slightly better than those which used the airtight drywall approach, although both were considered satisfactory. WMC levels were a bit lower in the polyethylene-clad house. 1 ref., 1 tab.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Semczyszyn, D.
2004-01-01
'Full text:' The National Research Council Institute For Fuel Cell Innovation is relocating to a purpose-built 71,343 sq. Ft. (6598 sq. M) Research, Testing, Evaluation, and Industry Incubation Facility in the spring of 2006. The new facility will contain Hydrogen-ready laboratories, the existing relocated Hydrogen Safe Environmental Test Chamber, a hydrogen vehicle maintenance bay, a hydrogen vehicle refuelling station, and the following demonstration projects and features: 1. A Ground Source Heat Pump: This long-proven natural-source heating and cooling technology to provide climate control for the new IFCI's atrium and galleria. It is being designed by Keen Engineering of North Vancouver, BC. 2. 5 KW Solid Oxide Fuel Cell System: Fuelled by natural gas and in the future, from biomass, the fuel cell will also produce approximately 15 kW of waste heat, which will be captured and used to supply heat for the building. The Solid Oxide Fuel Cell will be supplied by Fuel Cell Technologies in Kingston, ON. 3. LEED Building certification: Attaining LEED 'green building' certification is considered an important complement to the plans for the new NRC-IFCI, because it will provide respected third-party verification of government's commitment to efficient building design and construction. Project architects Bunting Coady of Vancouver, BC believe the IFCI has strong potential to earn gold LEED certification. 4. Photovoltaic hydrogen source for back-up power fuel cell system: A photovoltaic array will capture energy from sunlight to power an electrolyzer that will produce and store hydrogen for a PEM fuel cell emergency backup power system. The electrolyzer will be provided by Hydrogenics of Mississauga, ON. Photovoltaics are being designed and installed by the British Columbia Institute of Technology. (author)
Environmental analysis for building legislation purposes. A challenge to science and policy making
Scholten, N.P.M.; Huppes, G.; Haes, H.A.U. de
2000-01-01
The Dutch Government is cooperating with the building industry to prepare legislation for environmental performance requirements for dwellings and residential buildings. These requirements, also known as dubo-eisen (requirements for sustainable building) will have to apply to all newly built
Data and analytics to inform energy retrofit of high performance buildings
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Hong, Tianzhen; Yang, Le; Hill, David; Feng, Wei
2014-01-01
Highlights: • High performance buildings can be retrofitted using measured data and analytics. • Data of energy use, systems operating and environmental conditions are needed. • An energy data model based on the ISO Standard 12655 is key for energy benchmarking. • Three types of analytics are used: energy profiling, benchmarking, and diagnostics. • The case study shows 20% of electricity can be saved by retrofit. - Abstract: Buildings consume more than one-third of the world’s primary energy. Reducing energy use in buildings with energy efficient technologies is feasible and also driven by energy policies such as energy benchmarking, disclosure, rating, and labeling in both the developed and developing countries. Current energy retrofits focus on the existing building stocks, especially older buildings, but the growing number of new high performance buildings built around the world raises a question that how these buildings perform and whether there are retrofit opportunities to further reduce their energy use. This is a new and unique problem for the building industry. Traditional energy audit or analysis methods are inadequate to look deep into the energy use of the high performance buildings. This study aims to tackle this problem with a new holistic approach powered by building performance data and analytics. First, three types of measured data are introduced, including the time series energy use, building systems operating conditions, and indoor and outdoor environmental parameters. An energy data model based on the ISO Standard 12655 is used to represent the energy use in buildings in a three-level hierarchy. Secondly, a suite of analytics were proposed to analyze energy use and to identify retrofit measures for high performance buildings. The data-driven analytics are based on monitored data at short time intervals, and cover three levels of analysis – energy profiling, benchmarking and diagnostics. Thirdly, the analytics were applied to a high
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Lauring, Gert Michael
2016-01-01
Sustainable Housing Design. Integrating technical and housing quality aspects of sustainable architecture in civil engineering education. Summary An integrated design approach to sustainable architecture is outlined that combines concerns for zero energy building, good indoor climate and adequate...... phases. The outcome shows that integrated design further solutions where sustainable urban forms of settlement can be highly energy efficient while also attractive from a user perspective. Key words: Sustainable architecture, integrated design, zero-energy-housing, dense urban living. 1. Introduction...... When designing sustainable housing, energy optimization and satisfactory indoor climates are central issues that need to be incorporated from early design phases if to reach a coherent design. It might also be argued that the energy consumption of contemporary buildings only plays a rela-tively minor...
Sustainable Entrepreneurship in SMEs: A Business Performance Perspective
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Pedro Soto-Acosta
2016-04-01
Full Text Available Assuming that sustainable entrepreneurship leads to business performance, the present paper intends to investigate the standpoints of SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises entrepreneurs on different facets. The emphasis is laid on the entrepreneurs’ approaches towards people, planet and profit and on their prioritization within business dynamics. The aforementioned dimensions are deemed important factors engendering business performance in terms of turnover, customer attraction and retention and market share. With a view to testing the advanced hypotheses, we employed a quantitative perspective relying on a questionnaire-based survey. As the results posited, the proposed model accounts for almost 50 percent of variance in business performance, whereas sustainable entrepreneurship approaches towards the people and profit dimensions have a significant positive influence on business performance.
Real-time supervision of building HVAC system performance
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Djuric, Natasa
2008-07-01
This thesis presents techniques for improving building HVAC system performance in existing buildings generated using simulation-based tools and real data. Therefore, one of the aims has been to research the needs and possibilities to assess and improve building HVAC system performance. In addition, this thesis aims at an advanced utilization of building energy management system (BEMS) and the provision of useful information to building operators using simulation tools. Buildings are becoming more complex systems with many elements, while BEMS provide many data about the building systems. There are, however, many faults and issues in building performance, but there are legislative and cost-benefit forces induced by energy savings. Therefore, both BEMS and the computer-based tools have to be utilized more efficiently to improve building performance. The thesis consists of four main parts that can be read separately. The first part explains the term commissioning and the commissioning tool work principal based on literature reviews. The second part presents practical experiences and issues introduced through the work on this study. The third part deals with the computer-based tools application in design and operation. This part is divided into two chapters. The first deals with improvement in the design, and the second deals with the improvement in the control strategies. The last part of the thesis gives several rules for fault diagnosis developed using simulation tools. In addition, this part aims at the practical explanation of the faults in the building HVAC systems. The practical background for the thesis was obtained though two surveys. The first survey was carried out with the aim to find the commissioning targets in Norwegian building facilities. In that way, an overview of the most typical buildings, HVAC equipment, and their related problems was obtained. An on-site survey was carried out on an example building, which was beneficial for introducing the
Wireless sensor network performance metrics for building applications
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Jang, W.S. (Department of Civil Engineering Yeungnam University 214-1 Dae-Dong, Gyeongsan-Si Gyeongsangbuk-Do 712-749 South Korea); Healy, W.M. [Building and Fire Research Laboratory, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8632 (United States)
2010-06-15
Metrics are investigated to help assess the performance of wireless sensors in buildings. Wireless sensor networks present tremendous opportunities for energy savings and improvement in occupant comfort in buildings by making data about conditions and equipment more readily available. A key barrier to their adoption, however, is the uncertainty among users regarding the reliability of the wireless links through building construction. Tests were carried out that examined three performance metrics as a function of transmitter-receiver separation distance, transmitter power level, and obstruction type. These tests demonstrated, via the packet delivery rate, a clear transition from reliable to unreliable communications at different separation distances. While the packet delivery rate is difficult to measure in actual applications, the received signal strength indication correlated well with the drop in packet delivery rate in the relatively noise-free environment used in these tests. The concept of an equivalent distance was introduced to translate the range of reliability in open field operation to that seen in a typical building, thereby providing wireless system designers a rough estimate of the necessary spacing between sensor nodes in building applications. It is anticipated that the availability of straightforward metrics on the range of wireless sensors in buildings will enable more widespread sensing in buildings for improved control and fault detection. (author)
1998 ACEEE summer study on energy efficiency in buildings: Proceedings
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
NONE
1998-07-01
These proceedings are contained in the following 10 volumes: (1) Residential buildings--Technologies, design and performance analysis; (2) Residential buildings--Program design, implementation and evaluation; (3) Commercial buildings--Technologies, design and performance analysis; (4) Commercial buildings--Program design, implementation and evaluation; (5) International collaborations and global market issues; (6) Deregulation of the utility industry and role of energy services companies; (7) Market transformation; (8) Information technologies, consumer behavior, and non-energy benefits; (9) Sustainable development, climate change, energy planning, and policy; and (10) Building industry trends. Papers have been processed separately for inclusion on the data base.
Climate Responsive Buildings Concepts in Hong Kong
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Haase, M.; Amato, A.; van der Aa, A.
2006-01-01
There is a global need for a more sustainable building development. About 50% of energy is used in buildings indicating that buildings provide a considerable potential for operational energy savings. Studies were conducted with the following objectives: to perform a state-of-the-art review...... energy saving installations are increasingly applied as heat pumps in combination with energy storage, balanced ventilation with heat recovery, cooling towers etc. In Hong Kong in most cases there is no integrated design process for building projects. This means that projects are developed and designed...
Sustainability and Entrepreneurial Action
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Korsgaard, Steffen T.; Anderson, Alistair
Abstract Objectives - This paper explores how entrepreneurial action can lead to environmental sustainability. It builds on the assumption that the creation of sustainble practices is one of the most important challenges facing the global society, and that entrepreneurial action is a vital......: resource oriented sustainable entrepreneurial action. Approach - The paper uses a case study approach to build deeper theoretical knowledge of environmentally sustainable entrepreneurship. Results - The paper identifies and analyses a distinct form of sustainable entrepreneurship - resource oriented...... entrepreneurship - which uses bricolage in various ways to create sustainable solutions. Implications and value - The concept of resource oriented sustainable entrepreneurship contributes to the theoretical understanding of how entrepreneurial action can support sustainability, Furthermore the case study has...
Wood as a sustainable building material
Robert H. Falk
2009-01-01
Few building materials possess the environmental benefits of wood. It is not only the most widely used building material in the United States but also one with characteristics that make it suitable for a wide range of applications. Efficient, durable, and useful wood products produced from trees range from a minimally processed log at a log-home building site to a...
THE FEASIBILITY OF “OSCAR” AS AN INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR SUSTAINABLE REHABILITATION OF BUILT HERITAGE
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
C. Farmer
2017-08-01
Full Text Available This paper aims to examine the feasibility of the Online Sustainable Conservation Assistance Resource (OSCAR as an information system and framework to help find appropriate ways to improve the sustainable performance of heritage buildings in North America. The paper reviews the need for holistic comprehensive authoritative information in the field of sustainable conservation, how OSCAR addresses this gap, the OSCAR workflow, and how it was used in two case studies. It was found that OSCAR has potential to become a practical educational tool and design aide to address the sustainable performance of heritage buildings. The paper contributes to the discourse on sustainable conservation by examining resources and tools which address the need for holistic retrofit approaches. The findings will be useful to educators and professionals in the fields of sustainable design and heritage conservation.
Blevins, B.; Prados, A. I.; Hook, E.
2017-12-01
The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) looks to build a future where the international community uses Earth observations to make better, informed decisions. This includes application in international agreements such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, and the Convention on Biological Diversity. To do this, decision makers first need to build the necessary skills. NASA's Applied Remote Sensing Training program (ARSET) seeks to build capacity through remote sensing training. In-person and online trainings raise awareness, enable data access, and demonstrate applications of Earth observations. Starting in 2017, ARSET began offering training focused on applying Earth data to the UN SDGs. These trainings offer insight into applications of satellite data in support of implementing, monitoring, and evaluating the SDGs. This presentation will provide an overview of the use of NASA satellite data to track progress towards increased food security, disaster risk reduction, and conservation of natural resources for societal benefit. It will also include a discussion on capacity building best practices and lessons learned for using Earth observations to meet SDG targets, based on feedback from engaging over 800 participants from 89 nations and 580 organizations in ARSET SDG trainings.
BUILDING INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN MONTENEGRO
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Bosiljka Vuković
2010-01-01
Full Text Available There are many proofs confirming the importance of sustainable development for Montenegro. Shared international challenges, global economic crisis, and, particularly, the country's natural characteristics emphasize that sustainable development is the only way ahead. In 2002 Montenegro formed the National Council for Sustainable Development; in 2005 the Office for Sustainable Development was established, and the National Strategy of Sustainable Development was adopted in 2007. With these developments, Montenegro created the most advanced institutional basis for sustainable development in its region. After carefully observing the functioning of national sustainable development institutions, however, the Office for Sustainable Development embarked upon the process of their reform in 2008. As a result, the Council was fundamentally reformed, having its membership downsized and composition transformed. Two Annual Reports on the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Strategy have been completed and the process of defining sustainable development indicators commenced in co-operation with the United Nations. This paper critically examines the evolution of the set-up of the Montenegrin sustainable development system, presents the advantages and disadvantages of the government-anchored Council. Based on the lessons learnt, it presents recommendations for policy makers on promoting and enforcing sustainable development. The paper argues that only by effectively co-ordinating all segments of society and ensuring genuine participation of outside-government stakeholders, the countries can ensure that sustainable development principles are incorporated in national and local policies. The independence and pro-activeness in approach of sustainable development institutions is essential in ensuring the supremacy of sustainable practices in decision-making. Considering the similarities in historic, economic and social developments of the former socialist
2016-12-01
Manager /Operators Enhanced Fault Detection ............................................... 22 3.2.9 Ease of System Use by FM and Building Occupants ...Federal Energy Management Program FM Facility Manager GHG Green House Gases HASP Health and Safety Plan HVAC Heating Ventilation and...facility managers and occupants in the control of building energy systems can reduce energy waste and increase user satisfaction. Together, the
Christensson, Lars Stefan Bjerke; Skagestad, Ole Jakob
2017-01-01
This thesis compares the performance and risk factor exposure of sustainable and conventional mutual funds in emerging markets from January 2012 to July 2017. We use the latest sustainability ratings provided by Morningstar to define sustainable funds, and apply CAPM, Fama-French and Carhart models to control for the market, size, book-to-market and momentum factors. Additionally, we add a dummy to compare the risk-adjusted returns of the funds, and examine if the difference is...
Corporate sustainability and economic performance in small and medium sized enterprises
Bojnec, Štefan; Simčič, Blaž; Tomšič, Nastja
2015-01-01
Various studies have investigated drivers of corporate sustainability, however only a few attempts have been made to link corporate sustainability and economic performance of enterprises by measuring labour productivity in new European Union member states that have transitioned from socialism. This paper analyses the link between corporate sustainability and economic performance, by simultaneously using the following control variables: human capital, the innovation process, leadership, and Eu...
Brandt, Urs Steiner; Svendsen, Gert Tinggaard
2013-11-15
Is local participation always optimal for sustainable action? Here, Local Agenda 21 is a relevant case as it broadly calls for consensus-building among stakeholders. Consensus-building is, however, costly. We show that the costs of making local decisions are likely to rapidly exceed the benefits. Why? Because as the number of participants grows, the more likely it is that the group will include individuals who have an extreme position and are unwilling to make compromises. Thus, the net gain of self-organization should be compared with those of its alternatives, for example voting, market-solutions, or not making any choices at all. Even though the informational value of meetings may be helpful to policy makers, the model shows that it also decreases as the number of participants increase. Overall, the result is a thought provoking scenario for Local Agenda 21 as it highlights the risk of less sustainable action in the future. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Building Fit-for-Purpose Spatial Frameworks for Sustainable Land Governaqnce in Sub-Sahara Africa
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Enemark, Stig
2013-01-01
SUMMARY Arguably sound land governance is the key to achieve sustainable development and to support the global agenda set by adoption of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The operational component of land governance is the country specific land administration systems dealing with the four...... then be incrementally improved over time when relevant and justified by serving the needs of citizen, business and society in general. Such a fit-for-purpose approach is fundamental for building adequate land administration systems in developing regions in support of sustainable land governance. In most developed...... key functions of land tenure, land value, land, and land development. Land administration systems, whether highly advanced or very basic, require a spatial framework to operate. Spatial frameworks identify the spatial units such as land parcels, as a basis for dealing with land administration...
Analytic network process model for sustainable lean and green manufacturing performance indicator
Aminuddin, Adam Shariff Adli; Nawawi, Mohd Kamal Mohd; Mohamed, Nik Mohd Zuki Nik
2014-09-01
Sustainable manufacturing is regarded as the most complex manufacturing paradigm to date as it holds the widest scope of requirements. In addition, its three major pillars of economic, environment and society though distinct, have some overlapping among each of its elements. Even though the concept of sustainability is not new, the development of the performance indicator still needs a lot of improvement due to its multifaceted nature, which requires integrated approach to solve the problem. This paper proposed the best combination of criteria en route a robust sustainable manufacturing performance indicator formation via Analytic Network Process (ANP). The integrated lean, green and sustainable ANP model can be used to comprehend the complex decision system of the sustainability assessment. The finding shows that green manufacturing is more sustainable than lean manufacturing. It also illustrates that procurement practice is the most important criteria in the sustainable manufacturing performance indicator.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
2001-04-01
The concept of a trade and sustainability agenda for the Americas is explained and a historical account of the process of making this concept a reality is discussed in a background paper for the Hemispheric Trade and Sustainability Symposium held on April 18, 2001 in Quebec City. The Symposium was held in conjunction with the Third Summit of the Americas, where heads of 34 American nations discussed ways and means to encourage hemispheric cooperation. The object of the Symposium was to provide a constructive, policy-oriented, and knowledge-based open forum for dialogue on trade and sustainability issues; to identify policy options that can be mutually beneficial to trade, environment and development, and to increase public support for trade liberalisation in the Americas. The strategy aims to build a sustainable FTAA through the identification of a series of environmental provisions to be incorporated in the Agreement; strengthen environmental cooperation in the Americas, especially in trade-sensitive, or trade-related sectors, and create a high level hemispheric expert group on trade and sustainability for continuous and constructive dialogue with civil society and industry on these issues. The backgrounder provides a precis of the fundamental aspect of building a sustainable FTAA, explains the origin of the prevailing fear of unilateral environment-related trade sanctions by the United States, the fear of protectionist measures by Canada and the United States based on environmental provisions in the FTAA, and the fear that higher environmental standards and regulations would undermine the competitiveness of Latin American and Caribbean businesses. The paper attempts to dispel these fears by explaining the mechanism envisaged to be predominant in creating the triple-win strategy, namely impact assessment, transparency, participation and dispute resolution processes. The eventual agreement should also mention sustainable development as an overarching objective of
A Step towards Developing a Sustainability Performance Measure within Industrial Networks
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Samaneh Shokravi
2014-04-01
Full Text Available Despite the plethora of literature in sustainability and supply chain management in the recent years, a quantitative tool that measures the sustainability performance of an industrial supply network, considering the uncertainties of existing data, is hard to find. This conceptual paper is aimed at establishing a quantitative measure for the sustainability performance of industrial supply networks that considers aleatory and epistemic uncertainties in its environmental performance evaluation. The measure is built upon economic, environmental and social performance evaluation models. These models address a number of shortcomings in the literature, such as incomplete and inaccurate calculation of environmental impacts, as well as the disregard for aleatory and epistemic uncertainties in the input data and, more importantly, the scarce number of quantitative social sustainability measures. Dyadic interactions are chosen for the network, while the network members have a revenue-sharing relationship. This relationship promotes sharing of the required information for the use of the proposed model. This measure provides an approach to quantify the environmental, social and economic sustainability performances of a supply network. Moreover, as this measure is not specifically designed for an industrial sector, it can be employed over an evolving and diverse industrial network.
Continuous Performance Tasks: Not Just about Sustaining Attention
Roebuck, Hettie; Freigang, Claudia; Barry, Johanna G.
2016-01-01
Purpose: Continuous performance tasks (CPTs) are used to measure individual differences in sustained attention. Many different stimuli have been used as response targets without consideration of their impact on task performance. Here, we compared CPT performance in typically developing adults and children to assess the role of stimulus processing…
Using the Program Sustainability Assessment Tool to Assess and Plan for Sustainability
Mainor, Avia; Moreland-Russell, Sarah; Maier, Ryan C.; Brossart, Laura; Luke, Douglas A.
2014-01-01
Implementing and growing a public health program that benefits society takes considerable time and effort. To ensure that positive outcomes are maintained over time, program managers and stakeholders should plan and implement activities to build sustainability capacity within their programs. We describe a 3-part sustainability planning process that programs can follow to build their sustainability capacity. First, program staff and stakeholders take the Program Sustainability Assessment Tool to measure their program’s sustainability across 8 domains. Next, managers and stakeholders use results from the assessment to inform and prioritize sustainability action planning. Lastly, staff members implement the plan and keep track of progress toward their sustainability goals. Through this process, staff can more holistically address the internal and external challenges and pressures associated with sustaining a program. We include a case example of a chronic disease program that completed the Program Sustainability Assessment Tool and engaged in program sustainability planning. PMID:24456644
2016-12-01
Federal Energy Management Program FM Facility Manager GHG Green House Gases HASP Health and Safety Plan HVAC Heating Ventilation and... workplace energy efficiency enhancement by the DOD personnel. 2.1.2 ID-F Intelligent Dashboards for Facility Managers Creation of the Base Building...demonstration project. The first technology, ‘ID-F,’ targets building facility managers and allows real time diagnostics for BAS systems with features
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Dian ASWITA
2018-05-01
Full Text Available One of the existing natural and environmental uses in Aceh (Indonesia is tourism. One of the aspects that determine the development and sustainability of tourism is the institutional and community aspects. Sustainable tourism is a picture of the ecosystem sustainability and socio-economic development of the community. This study aims to reveal and find local wisdom practices and explore local knowledge owned by Sabang Island community in the management and conservation of the environment so as to support the realization of sustainable tourism. This study uses rationalistic paradigm and uses qualitative research method. The data that has been collected is analyzed descriptively. Local wisdom and local knowledge are reflected in how society has a unique way of looking at and understanding nature and interacting with it. In the Aceh community, there are customary institutions that regulate the rules or interactions of the community with the environment, including “panglima laot”, “keujreun blang”, “peutua seuneubok”, “pawang glee or peutua uteun”, “haria peukan” and “syahbanda”. Local wisdom and local knowledge have great potential in maintaining, preserving and sustainability of the environment used by communities to meet their living needs. Ecological, social and religious intelligence formed through local wisdom and local knowledge can be an aspect in maintaining environmental sustainability in order to build sustainable tourism on Sabang Island.
Building America House Performance Analysis Procedures
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Hendron, R.; Farrar-Nagy, S.; Anderson, R.; Judkoff, R.
2001-10-29
As the Building America Program has grown to include a large and diverse cross section of the home building industry, accurate and consistent analysis techniques have become more important to help all program partners as they perform design tradeoffs and calculate energy savings for prototype houses built as part of the program. This document illustrates some of the analysis concepts proven effective and reliable for analyzing the transient energy usage of advanced energy systems as well as entire houses. The analysis procedure described here provides a starting point for calculating energy savings of a prototype house relative to two base cases: builder standard practice and regional standard practice. Also provides building simulation analysis to calculate annual energy savings based on side-by-side short-term field testing of a prototype house.
Entrepreneurial Leadership, Performance, and Sustainability of Micro-Enterprises in Malaysia
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Abdullah Al Mamun
2018-05-01
Full Text Available This study probed into the impact of entrepreneurial leadership dimensions (i.e., responsibility, accountability, analytical thinking, and emotional intelligence on the performance and sustainability of micro-enterprises in Kelantan, Malaysia, through the lens of resource-based view (RBV theory. Through the implementation of a cross-sectional design, data were randomly gathered from 403 micro-entrepreneurs whose names appeared in the list of low-income households registered under “Majlis Amanah Rakyat” Kelantan and “Majlis Agama Islam Dan Adat Istiadat” Kelantan. The quantitative data were collected during structured interview sessions held between September and December 2017. The findings of the study revealed that the aspects of responsibility, accountability, and emotional intelligence exhibited significantly positive effects on micro-enterprise performance; while accountability, analytical thinking, and micro-enterprise performance displayed a significantly positive influence on sustainability among micro-enterprises owned by low-income households in Kelantan, Malaysia. The outcomes further portrayed a significant mediating effect of micro-enterprise performance on the correlations of responsibility, analytical thinking, and emotional intelligence with micro-enterprise sustainability. The outcomes of this study extend the scope of RBV theory and simultaneously enhance our understanding pertaining to leadership, performance, and sustainability interplay, particularly within the context of micro-enterprises in emerging economies. As such, it is recommended that the government of Malaysia formulate and to adopt policies that promote varied entrepreneurial-leadership-related traits among budding micro-entrepreneurs, which may not only boost sustainability performance among firms, but also encourage low-income household heads to actively engage in more entrepreneurial activities.
Navigating Sustainability Embeddedness in Management Decision-Making
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Catherine Le Roux
2016-05-01
Full Text Available Sustainability is an essential theme for business. In order to compete, strategies need to be improvised and efficient and effective decisions need to be made for improved sustainability performance. Despite management’s apparent knowledge of this, it appears that challenges persist with sustainability’s embeddedness in decision-making and its implementation in practice. In this study we propose a metaphor applying an integrative view of sustainability as support for management. We offer six antecedents of sustainability embeddedness in decision-making that contribute to building and confirming theory, and also provide a better understanding of current practice around sustainability embeddedness so that strategies can be developed for improved sustainability performance. Employees on all management levels in a stock exchange listed company provided rich empirical data for the study. Through the analysis of data in a case study, antecedents were inductively identified, conceptualized, and presented as using descriptive labels, namely: A True North Destination—a vision of sustainability embeddedness; Mountains—three obstacles; Fog—confusion and complexity; Myopia—shortsightedness; Navigation Necessities—requirements for the journey; and finally, the Chosen Team—selected stakeholders. Sustainability embeddedness was found to be dependent on leadership, the strategy message and structures, performance measures, and policies that support a unified culture for sustainability embeddedness.
Sustainable Innovation, Management Accounting and Control Systems, and International Performance
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ernesto Lopez-Valeiras
2015-03-01
Full Text Available This study analyzes how Management Accounting and Control Systems (MACS facilitate the appropriation of the benefits of sustainable innovations in organizations. In particular, this paper examines the moderating role of different types of MACS in the relationships between sustainable innovation and international performance at an organizational level. We collected survey data from 123 Spanish and Portuguese organizations. Partial Least Square was used to analyze the data. Results show that the effect of sustainable innovations on international performance is enhanced by contemporary rather than traditional types of MACS. Overall our findings show that MACS can help managers to develop and monitor organizational activities (e.g., costumer services and distribution activities, which support the appropriation of the potential benefits from sustainable innovation. This paper responds to recent calls for in-depth studies about the organizational mechanism that may enhance the success of sustainable innovation.
Competitive Strategy and Sustainable Performance: The Application of Sustainable Balanced Scorecard
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Riana Sitawati
2015-03-01
This study aims to help fill the knowledge gap of Indonesian hotel managers by providing empirical evidence on how competitive strategy could play a role in improving hotel sustainable performance (HSP. The Sustainable Balanced Scorecard (SBSC approach was used to measure HSP based on financial, customer, internal business process, learning and growth, and social and environmental perspectives. A mixed methods research approach was used to test the relationships among the above mentioned variables. Online survey and in-depth interviews were used to collect data. The quantitative data were analysed using Partial Least Square (PLS. The results revealed that competitive strategy, particularly in the form of differentiation, had a significant influence on HSP.
Hazli Abdellah, Roy; Asrul Nasid Masrom, Md; Chen, Goh Kai; Mohamed, Sulzakimin; Omar, Roshartini
2017-11-01
The focus on net-zero energy buildings (NZEBs) has been widely analysed and discussed particularly when European Union Parliament are progressively moving towards regulation that promotes the improvement of energy efficiency (EE). Additionally, it also to reduce energy consumption through the recast of the EU Directive on Energy Performance of Buildings (EPBD) in which all new buildings to be “nearly Zero-Energy” Buildings by 2020. Broadly, there is a growing trend to explore the feasibility of net zero energy in healthcare sector as the level energy consumption for healthcare sector is found significantly high. Besides that, healthcare buildings energy consumption also exceeds of many other nondomestic building types, and this shortcoming is still undetermined yet especially for developing countries. This paper aims to review the potential of NZEBs in healthcare buildings by considering its concept in design features. Data are gathered through a comprehensive energy management literature review from previous studies. The review is vital to encourage construction players to increase their awareness, practices, and implementation of NZEBs in healthcare buildings. It suggests that NZEBs concept has a potential to be adapted in healthcare buildings through emphasizing of passive approach as well as the utilization of energy efficiency systems and renewable energy systems in buildings. This paper will provide a basis knowledge for construction key players mainly architects to promote NZEBs concept at design stage for healthcare buildings development.
Greenroads : a sustainability performance metric for roadway design and construction.
2009-11-01
Greenroads is a performance metric for quantifying sustainable practices associated with roadway design and construction. Sustainability is defined as having seven key components: ecology, equity, economy, extent, expectations, experience and exposur...
Procedure for Measuring and Reporting the Performance of Photovoltaic Systems in Buildings
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Pless, S.; Deru, M.; Torcellini, P.; Hayter, S.
2005-10-01
This procedure provides a standard method for measuring and characterizing the long-term energy performance of photovoltaic (PV) systems in buildings and the resulting implications to the building's energy use. The performance metrics determined here may be compared against benchmarks for evaluating system performance and verifying that performance targets have been achieved. Uses may include comparison of performance with the design intent; comparison with other PV systems in buildings; economic analysis of PV systems in buildings; and the establishment of long-term performance records that enable maintenance staff to monitor trends in energy performance.
Evaluating Tourist Destination Performance: Expanding the Sustainability Concept
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Wenbin Luo
2018-02-01
Full Text Available Performance evaluations are a critical tool in promoting the sustainability of tourist destinations. The literature shows a lack of consensus on basic terminology and definitions of destination performance. While research focuses on business efficiency, areas such as development effectiveness, social equality, and environmental integrity are still not well understood, even though these are salient elements of sustainable development. This paper provides a framework for evaluating destination performance under the 4E rubric of economy, efficiency, effectiveness, and environmental quality, which reflects a more holistic and effective destination performance. The information entropy weight method and a multi-factor comprehensive evaluation model are developed and applied to an international destination, Zhangjiajie, China, which was selected as a case study to test the framework developed. Results show that the economy, efficiency, effectiveness, and environmental quality aspects should be considered when evaluating tourism development performance. The empirical analysis shows that based on these criteria, Zhangjiajie’s destination performance improved measurably during the test period from 2005 to 2009. The results indicate that significant events, natural disasters, and financial crises influence performance most.
Use of LCA as a Tool for Building Ecodesign. A Case Study of a Low Energy Building in Spain
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Alberto Jáñez
2013-08-01
Full Text Available This paper demonstrates how to achieve energy savings in the construction and operation of buildings by promoting the use of life cycle assessment techniques in the design for new buildings and for refurbishment. The paper aims to draw on the application of a specific methodology for low energy consumption, integrated planning, environmental performance evaluation of buildings, and design for sustainability and LCA techniques applied to buildings. The ENergy Saving through promotion of LIfe Cycle assessment in buildings (ENSLIC methodology based on LCA for use in an integral planning process has been promoted to stakeholders who require a means to optimize the environmental performance of buildings. Feedback from the stakeholders has facilitated the creation of simplified LCA guidelines, a systematic approach guiding the user through the alternative options regarding software choices, their strengths and weaknesses, the databases available, the usefulness of different indicators, aggregation, definition of limits and options for simplifying the process. As a result, this paper presents the applied results of a case study where this methodology is implemented serving as an energy savings evaluation tool for decision makers, end-users, professionals involved in the different stages of construction, etc. Finally, it is demonstrated how LCA can facilitate comparisons between different buildings, showing the influence of all variables on a building’s life cycle environmental impact and showing the potential for energy savings. Removing market barriers to sustainable construction is actually stricter and this is good news for promoting higher energy efficiency in buildings.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hartini Sri
2018-01-01
Full Text Available Lean manufacturing tools do not consider environmental and societal benefits. The conventional value stream mapping (VSM methodology examines the economics of a manufacturing line, most of which are in regards to time (cycle time, lead time, change-out time, etc.. Incorporating the capability to capture environmental and societal performance visually through VSMs will increase its usefulness as a tool that can be used to assess manufacturing operations from a sustainability perspective. A number of studies have addressed the extension of VSM to incorporate additional criteria. A vast majority of these efforts have focused on adding energy-related metrics to VSMs, while several other studies refer to ‘sustainable’ VSM by including environmental performance in conventional VSMs. This research has developed a method for VSM integrated with environment metric and social metric for ensuring sustainable manufacture. The proposed technique is capable of visualizing and evaluating manufacturing process performance from sustainability view point. The capability of proposed technique has been tested by an application study on furniture company. The study provides insights to practitioners to visualize process performance in economic, environment and social metric.
Dataset on the energy performance of atrium type hotel buildings.
Vujosevic, Milica; Krstic-Furundzic, Aleksandra
2018-04-01
The data presented in this article are related to the research article entitled "The Influence of Atrium on Energy Performance of Hotel Building" (Vujosevic and Krstic-Furundzic, 2017) [1], which describes the annual energy performance of atrium type hotel building in Belgrade climate conditions, with the objective to present the impact of the atrium on the hotel building's energy demands for space heating and cooling. This dataset is made publicly available to show energy performance of selected hotel design alternatives, in order to enable extended analyzes of these data for other researchers.
Best Practices Guide for High-Performance Indian Office Buildings
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Singh, Reshma [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Sartor, Dale [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Ghatikar, Girish [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
2013-04-01
This document provides best practice guidance and energy- efficiency recommendations for the design, construction, and operation of high-performance office buildings in India. Through a discussion of learnings from exemplary projects and inputs from experts, it provides recommendations that can potentially help achieve (1) enhanced working environments, (2) economic construction/faster payback, (3) reduced operating costs, and (4) reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It also provides ambitious (but achievable) energy performance benchmarks, both as adopted targets during building modeling (design phase) and during measurement and verification (operations phase). These benchmarks have been derived from a set of representative best-in-class office buildings in India. The best practices strategies presented in this guide would ideally help in delivering high-performance in terms of a triad—of energy efficiency, cost efficiency, and occupant comfort and well-being. These best practices strategies and metrics should be normalized—that is, corrected to account for building characteristics, diversity of operations, weather, and materials and construction methods.
Buildings Indicators for Sustainable Mobility: the District of Naples
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Pietro D'Amico
2011-07-01
complex index could take place. The main result of this research was the design and implementation of a database via a GIS. Not only could this GIS be updated, but it could also convert information within each indicator into a single complex index. It could immediately give the trend towards sustainable mobility.The database was useful to compare either a zone of the district in different times or different areas of the district at the same time. In addition, the process of building indices could help transparency in planning procedures and social learning through the appraisal process, if citizenship and stakeholders had been involved. The combined use of participatory techniques and multiple criteria analysis takes conflicting interest into account and is the only way to solve them in a common vision.The method implemented in this research should be applied to planning process as well and should involve most of the society.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
2002-01-01
Today, approximately one third of the world's population lack access to modern energy services. Poverty eradication and sustainable development will require not just access, but also clean and affordable energy services. Expanding access to such services requires careful planning. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) helps developing countries and economies in transition build their energy planning capabilities with respect to all three pillars of sustainable development - economic, environmental, and social. The Agency develops and transfers planning models tailored to their special circumstances. It transfers the latest data on technologies, resources, and economics. It trains local experts. It jointly analyzes national options and interprets results. And the IAEA helps establish the continuing local planning expertise needed to independently chart national paths to sustainable development
Building Sustainable Capacity for Cardiovascular Care at a Public Hospital in Western Kenya.
Binanay, Cynthia A; Akwanalo, Constantine O; Aruasa, Wilson; Barasa, Felix A; Corey, G Ralph; Crowe, Susie; Esamai, Fabian; Einterz, Robert; Foster, Michael C; Gardner, Adrian; Kibosia, John; Kimaiyo, Sylvester; Koech, Myra; Korir, Belinda; Lawrence, John E; Lukas, Stephanie; Manji, Imran; Maritim, Peris; Ogaro, Francis; Park, Peter; Pastakia, Sonak D; Sugut, Wilson; Vedanthan, Rajesh; Yanoh, Reuben; Velazquez, Eric J; Bloomfield, Gerald S
2015-12-08
Cardiovascular disease deaths are increasing in low- and middle-income countries and are exacerbated by health care systems that are ill-equipped to manage chronic diseases. Global health partnerships, which have stemmed the tide of infectious diseases in low- and middle-income countries, can be similarly applied to address cardiovascular diseases. In this review, we present the experiences of an academic partnership between North American and Kenyan medical centers to improve cardiovascular health in a national public referral hospital. We highlight our stepwise approach to developing sustainable cardiovascular services using the health system strengthening World Health Organization Framework for Action. The building blocks of this framework (leadership and governance, health workforce, health service delivery, health financing, access to essential medicines, and health information system) guided our comprehensive and sustainable approach to delivering subspecialty care in a resource-limited setting. Our experiences may guide the development of similar collaborations in other settings. Copyright © 2015 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Creating a Culture of Sustainability using Mission Statements of Cooperative Organizations
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Nooraslinda Abdul Aris
2016-01-01
Full Text Available Mission statements are recognized as effective strategic management tools that influence firms’ performance. The evolution of a culture of sustainability begins with a mission statement that strikes a balance between financial performance and social commitments. The clear articulation of sustainability as part of the firm’s mission, values, goals, and strategy are key factors in fostering sustainability focused culture. This study illustrates the fundamental tenets of the culture of organizational sustainability model proposed by Galpin, Whitttington, and Bell (2015 using selected cooperatives in Malaysia. The contents of the mission statements were then analyze using the nine elements model by Pearce and David (1987 in findings its relations to and the existence of sustainability culture within the cooperatives. Findings from the study confirm building an organizational infrastructure that fosters a culture of sustainability results in positive employee and organizational-level sustainability performance. A reference was made to Bank Rakyat, one of the leading cooperative-based banking in the country for its outstanding performance.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Vestergaard, Inge
The project Sustainable Renovation examines the challenge of the current and future architectural renovation of Danish suburbs which were designed in the period from 1945 to 1973. The research project takes its starting point in the perspectives of energy optimization and the fact that the building...
Scalability of Sustainable Business Models in Hybrid Organizations
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Adam Jabłoński
2016-02-01
Full Text Available The dynamics of change in modern business create new mechanisms for company management to determine their pursuit and the achievement of their high performance. This performance maintained over a long period of time becomes a source of ensuring business continuity by companies. An ontological being enabling the adoption of such assumptions is such a business model that has the ability to generate results in every possible market situation and, moreover, it has the features of permanent adaptability. A feature that describes the adaptability of the business model is its scalability. Being a factor ensuring more work and more efficient work with an increasing number of components, scalability can be applied to the concept of business models as the company’s ability to maintain similar or higher performance through it. Ensuring the company’s performance in the long term helps to build the so-called sustainable business model that often balances the objectives of stakeholders and shareholders, and that is created by the implemented principles of value-based management and corporate social responsibility. This perception of business paves the way for building hybrid organizations that integrate business activities with pro-social ones. The combination of an approach typical of hybrid organizations in designing and implementing sustainable business models pursuant to the scalability criterion seems interesting from the cognitive point of view. Today, hybrid organizations are great spaces for building effective and efficient mechanisms for dialogue between business and society. This requires the appropriate business model. The purpose of the paper is to present the conceptualization and operationalization of scalability of sustainable business models that determine the performance of a hybrid organization in the network environment. The paper presents the original concept of applying scalability in sustainable business models with detailed
Ern, Peniel Ang Soon; Ling, Lim Mei; Kasim, Narimah; Hamid, Zuhairi Abd; Masrom, Md Asrul Nasid Bin
2017-10-01
Malaysia’s awareness of performance criteria in construction industry towards a sustainable built environment with the use of precast concrete sandwich panel (PCSP) system is applied in the building’s wall to study the structural behaviour. However, very limited studies are conducted on the thermal insulation of exterior and interior panels in PCSP design. In hot countries such as Malaysia, proper designs of panel are important to obtain better thermal insulation for building. This study is based on thermal performance of precast concrete sandwich panel design for sustainable built environment in Malaysia. In this research, three full specimens, which are control specimen (C), foamed concrete (FC) panels and concrete panels with added palm oil fuel ash (FC+ POFA), where FC and FC+POFA sandwiched with gypsum board (G) were produced to investigate their thermal performance. Temperature difference of exterior and interior surface of specimen was used as indicators of thermal-insulating performance of PCSP design. Heat transfer test by halogen lamp was carried out on three specimens where the exterior surface of specimens was exposed to the halogen lamp. The temperature reading of exterior and interior surface for three specimens were recorded with the help of thermocouple. Other factors also studied the workability, compressive strength and axial compressive strength of the specimens. This study has shown that FC + POFA specimen has the strength nearer to normal specimen (C + FC specimen). Meanwhile, the heat transfer results show that the FC+POFA has better thermal insulation performance compared to C and FC specimens with the highest temperature difference, 3.4°C compared to other specimens. The results from this research are useful to be implemented in construction due to its benefits such as reduction of energy consumption in air-conditioning, reduction of construction periods and eco-friendly materials.
Performance versus Values in Sustainability Transformation of Food Systems
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Hugo F. Alrøe
2017-02-01
Full Text Available Questions have been raised on what role the knowledge provided by sustainability science actually plays in the transition to sustainability and what role it may play in the future. In this paper we investigate different approaches to sustainability transformation of food systems by analyzing the rationale behind transformative acts-the ground that the direct agents of change act upon- and how the type of rationale is connected to the role of research and how the agents of change are involved. To do this we employ Max Weber’s distinction between instrumental rationality and value-rationality in social action. In particular, we compare two different approaches to the role of research in sustainability transformation: (1 Performance-based approaches that measure performance and set up sustainability indicator targets and benchmarks to motivate the agents in the food system to change; (2 Values-based approaches that aim at communicating and mediating sustainability values to enable coordinated and cooperative action to transform the food system. We identify their respective strengths and weaknesses based on a cross-case analysis of four cases, and propose that the two approaches, like Weber’s two types of rationality, are complementary-because they are based on complementary observer stances—and that an optimal in-between approach therefore cannot be found. However, there are options for reflexive learning by observing one perspective-and its possible blind spots-from the vantage point of the other, so we suggest that new strategies for sustainability transformation can be found based on reflexive rationality as a third and distinct type of rationality.
Assessing the Sustainability Performance of Urban Plans based on Ecosystem Services
Menteşe, E. Y.; Tezer, A.
2017-12-01
Aiming at efficient and mindful use of natural resources while enabling social cohesion and economic development; sustainable development is one of the most emerging phenomenon in last decade. In this regard, role of urban development is critical by means of achieving sustainability since more than half of the world's population lives in cities. However, there is no solid and widely accepted approach for sustainability assessment in land use planning because there is not enough evidence on the relation between land use plans and environmental sustainability. With the basic aim of setting up relation between environmental sustainability and urban plans, this study utilizes ecosystem services phenomenon to define sustainability performance of a land use plan. Since ecosystem services can easily be related with land cover and land use they can be used as an efficient tool to act as indicators of sustainability. Meanwhile, while urban plans can provide ecosystem services and their level of service provision can be quantified, this is not solely enough for understanding its sustainability. Because it is also known that a land use plan mostly has negative impact on sustainability. Hence, this study embraces land use plans as a source of ecosystem services and environmental impacts. The difference between these entities are assumed to be the sustainability performance of a plan. The analysis relies on four parameters: ecosystem service capacity (environmental impact capacity), areal quantity of a land cover / use function, fragmantation level of the land use / cover and weight of ecosystem services / environmental impacts. Lastly, this approach is adopted for Istanbul's environmental master plan of 2009 and actual land cover of the same period. By calculating both data's environmental performance, the change of sustainability level sourced from environmental plan is analyzed.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Rosa Maria Vitrano
2011-04-01
Full Text Available How can we turn the tide on the indiscriminate sale of land? What sort of development would conform to environmental and economic needs? With a view to laying the foundations for effectively redressing criticalities determined by the abuse or improper use of buildings, the University of Palermo has promoted: the APRAE Project (Analysis, Prevention and Recovery of unauthorized construction, the HERA Project (Habitat Recovery Environment, Aegean-Med Project, arose from virtuous collaboration with the Hellenic Ministry of Culture (Greece. The research explored the phenomenological structure of unauthorized building and its negative impact on balance of the «housing system» in depth on one hand; on the other it has identified competitive rehabilitation strategies based on sustainability, innovation and participation.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
S. Servigne
2016-09-01
Full Text Available Concerning energy consumption and monitoring architectures, our goal is to develop a sustainable declarative monitoring architecture for lower energy consumption taking into account the monitoring system itself. Our second is to develop theoretical and practical tools to model, explore and exploit heterogeneous data from various sources in order to understand a phenomenon like energy consumption of smart building vs inhabitants' social behaviours. We focus on a generic model for data acquisition campaigns based on the concept of generic sensor. The concept of generic sensor is centered on acquired data and on their inherent multi-dimensional structure, to support complex domain-specific or field-oriented analysis processes. We consider that a methodological breakthrough may pave the way to deep understanding of voluminous and heterogeneous scientific data sets. Our use case concerns energy efficiency of buildings to understand relationship between physical phenomena and user behaviors. The aim of this paper is to give a presentation of our methodology and results concerning architecture and user-centric tools.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Rannia Nijhoff‐Savvaki
2012-06-01
Full Text Available The present paper aims to give insight into critical issues contributing to the successful building of viable and sustainable regional netchains, focussing on chain governance mechanisms (coordination mechanisms, quality management systems, information systems and social embedding. It uses three representative case studies from the regional pork sector in Spain, Germany, and The Netherlands, illustrating different trajectories to commercially viable and sustainable regional netchains. By analysing the cases on each critical aspect, the present paper describes important issues and proposes specific elements of further research, including on the roles for(nongovernmental organisations.
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Mager, Hans; Schulz, Juergen; Weigand, Reinhold (comps.)
2011-06-15
With the move into the office building in the Stresemann Street in Berlin (Federal Republic of Germany), the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety adopts a remarkable new building in the new centre of Berlin. It is the first Federal authority at all which works in a low-energy and passive house. This brochure under consideration reports on the history and architecture of the new office building as well as its sustainable energy management and life cycle assessments.
Seismic performance of existing R.C. framed buildings
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Sameh A. El-Betar
2017-08-01
Full Text Available The earthquakes disasters basically occur due to buildings damage not because of the earth shaking. Therefore, the countries have being updated the seismic codes. The seismic loads for buildings design in Egyptian Code have been changed from (EC-1994 to (ECP-201, 2012. On the other hand, the need is raised to study the vulnerability of existing buildings, which can be divided into the buildings designed to resist the gravity loads only (GLD and the buildings designed according to Egyptian code (EC-1994. Comparison between forces due to Egyptian code for loads (EC-1994 and (ECP-201, 2012 is carried out on the multi-stories R.C. framed buildings which are the most common type of existing buildings in Egypt. To investigate the vulnerability of existing buildings, nonlinear static pushover analysis is conducted to evaluate the real strength of the existing buildings. Moreover, it is considered a useful and effective tool for the performance of three framed buildings: 3, 6 and 10 stories due to expected future earthquakes. Finally, it is found that the vulnerability of existing GLD buildings occurs at expected ground accelerations (ag greater than 0.125 g in Egyptian seismic map, while the EC-94 designed buildings behave elastically up to (ag equals to 0.2 g and above that a slight damage may occur.
Sustainability of public health in diadema, 2000 - 2011: a picture of SUS building limits
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Mariana Alves Melo
2015-12-01
Full Text Available Introduction: between 2000 to 2011, Diadema paulista municipality has faced many obstacles in health management, struggling to ensure the sustainability of its health system. Objective: to contribute to the discussion of the Unified Health System (SUS and its foreseable turbulent future, based on the analysis of the municipal point of view, identifying the limits of its building in Diadema. Methods: Diadema is characterized as one of the first municipalities that adhered to the principles of the SUS, since its implementation, allowing an analysis as a case study in view of the system's sustainability at the local level. The term sustainability used was addressed in two dimensions: the structure of this system and its process. Results: in SUS implementation period, Diadema stood out by increasing investment in health, reaching an average allocation of about 30% of its tax revenues, including constitutional transfers. Results diagnosed by observing the structure of dimensions and the process indicate that the sustainability of the municipal health system is threatened, as the significant expansion of the range of services and health actions was not followed by sufficient resources to its health maintenance. Conclusions: the existence of obstacles justified and formed the basis for the diagnosis of the main limits on SUS conformation, in health policy and management of resources, funding and budgetary impacts.
Performance indices and evaluation of algorithms in building energy efficient design optimization
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Si, Binghui; Tian, Zhichao; Jin, Xing; Zhou, Xin; Tang, Peng; Shi, Xing
2016-01-01
Building energy efficient design optimization is an emerging technique that is increasingly being used to design buildings with better overall performance and a particular emphasis on energy efficiency. To achieve building energy efficient design optimization, algorithms are vital to generate new designs and thus drive the design optimization process. Therefore, the performance of algorithms is crucial to achieving effective energy efficient design techniques. This study evaluates algorithms used for building energy efficient design optimization. A set of performance indices, namely, stability, robustness, validity, speed, coverage, and locality, is proposed to evaluate the overall performance of algorithms. A benchmark building and a design optimization problem are also developed. Hooke–Jeeves algorithm, Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm II, and Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm are evaluated by using the proposed performance indices and benchmark design problem. Results indicate that no algorithm performs best in all six areas. Therefore, when facing an energy efficient design problem, the algorithm must be carefully selected based on the nature of the problem and the performance indices that matter the most. - Highlights: • Six indices of algorithm performance in building energy optimization are developed. • For each index, its concept is defined and the calculation formulas are proposed. • A benchmark building and benchmark energy efficient design problem are proposed. • The performance of three selected algorithms are evaluated.
Boston Architectural College Urban Sustainability Initiative
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Byers, Arthur C.
2013-07-31
The Boston Architectural College's Urban Sustainability initiative is a demonstration project as defined by the National Energy Technology Laboratory. BAC's proposed project with the U.S. Department of Energy - NETL, is a large part of that overall initiative. The BAC's Urban Sustainability Initiative is a multi-part project with several important goals and objectives that will have a significant impact on the surrounding neighborhood including: energy conservation, reduction of storm water runoff, generation of power through alternative energy sources, elimination/reduction of BAC carbon footprint, and to create a vehicle for ongoing public outreach and education. Education and outreach opportunities will serve to add to the already comprehensive Sustainability Design courses offered at BAC relative to energy savings, performance and conservation in building design. At the finish of these essential capital projects there will be technical materials created for the education of the design, sustainability, engineering, community development and historic preservation communities, to inform a new generation of environmentally-minded designers and practitioners, the city of Boston and the general public. The purpose of the initiative, through our green renovations program, is to develop our green alley projects and energy saving renovations to the BAC physical plant, to serve as a working model for energy efficient design in enclosed 19th century and 20th century urban sites and as an educational laboratory for teaching ecological and sustainable technologies to students and the public while creating jobs. The scope of our project as it relates to the BAC and the U.S. Department of Energy- NETL combined efforts includes: Task I of the project is Phase II (Green Alley). Task I encompasses various renovation activities that will demonstrate the effectiveness of permeable paving and ground water recharge systems. It will aid in the reduction of storm water
Lessons Learned from Field Evaluation of Six High-Performance Buildings: Preprint
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Torcellini, P.; Deru, M.; Griffith, B.; Long, N.; Pless, S.; Judkoff, R.; Crawley, D. B.
2004-07-01
The energy performance of six high-performance buildings around the United States was monitored in detail. The six buildings include the Visitor Center at Zion National Park; the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Thermal Test Facility; the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Merrill Center; The BigHorn Home Improvement Center; the Cambria DEP Office Building; and the Oberlin College Lewis Center. This paper discusses the design energy targets and actual performance.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Diana MIHAIU
2016-12-01
Full Text Available Building a sustainable performance system at the level of the local public administrations must have as starting point the local public administration’s (LPA mission and must go down to the level of the individual. This system must follow the external performance that it delivers to the citizens, the outcomes generated, but also the internal performance which suggests how to achieve the external performance. We propose in this regard the simultaneous use of the Balanced Scorecard tool for managing the internal performance and the Public Service Value Model for measuring the external performance measurement which derives from the organization's mission. In the second part of the work we analyzed comparatively the external performance created by the county capitals of Romania in the year 2013 using the Public Service Value Model (PSVM. Based on this analysis, the county capitals of Romania can be divided in the following categories: high performance organizations (value driven, budget conscious organizations, low performance organizations (sleeping giants and quality conscious organizations. This classification is useful both for the external and internal stakeholders because it shows the efficiency of public money spending and the areas in which the LPA is performing well, and also the ones that need to be improved.
Sustainable Supplier Performance Evaluation and Selection with Neofuzzy TOPSIS Method
Chaharsooghi, S. K.; Ashrafi, Mehdi
2014-01-01
Supplier selection plays an important role in the supply chain management and traditional criteria such as price, quality, and flexibility are considered for supplier performance evaluation in researches. In recent years sustainability has received more attention in the supply chain management literature with triple bottom line (TBL) describing the sustainability in supply chain management with social, environmental, and economic initiatives. This paper explores sustainability in supply chain...