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Abstract
Problem: Building assessment systems allow planners to examine whether buildings and developments meet sustainability goals, but no framework exists to help planners choose among them.
Purpose: This study develops a framework for planners to use in considering which building assessment system would be most appropriate for their purposes and analyzes nine such systems.
Methods: I conducted a content analysis of the system documentation for nine building assessment systems used in the United States and interviewed administrators of the systems.
Results and conclusions: Although many building assessment systems appear at first to be quite similar, they have substantial differences, and could produce significantly different results when used to implement green building programs. Among the important differences are the scales at which they consider various issues, whether or not they emphasize communication, and how they prioritize and weight concerns. I also found that most national building assessment systems lack a mechanism for adapting them to local concerns and conditions.
Takeaway for practice: While building assessment systems offer new tools to help communities meet sustainability goals, planners should consider the details of each system carefully before deciding on which to use in their communities. It would be very desirable for building assessment systems to become adaptable, so they will be more locally relevant and appropriate.
Research support: None.
Notes
1. However, see CitationMoe (2007) for a discussion of the use of these figures.
2. According to the American Institute of Architects, the number of cities with green building programs rose from 22 to 92 cities between 2003 and 2007 (CitationRainwater, 2007).
3. For example, the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) used in the United Kingdom and elsewhere was developed in 1990. In 1998, the U.S. Green Building Council created the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) system, based largely on BREEAM. In 2005, the Green Building Institute adapted the Canadian version of BREEAM for a U.S. market and named it Green Globes (CitationSmith, Fishlein, Suh, & Huelman, 2006). Additionally, the Enterprise Communities Green Communities Criteria “are aligned with the LEED green building rating system. The U.S. Green Building Council, through LEED, strongly supports the Green Communities initiative. In addition, the Green Communities criteria reflect and are compatible with leading state and local green building programs” (Enterprise Community Partners, n.d.).
4. See CitationGrant, Manuel, and Joudrey (1996) and CitationJepson (2001), for a discussion of the concepts of sustainable development. See CitationBerke and Conroy (2000) for the definition, challenges, and role of sustainable development in planning. In an analysis of the use of sustainable development principles in 30 comprehensive plans, Berke and Conroy found that plans focus narrowly on attributes of the built environment instead of on holistic concepts of sustainability. CitationJepson (2004) notes that while sustainable development is being used as the conceptual basis for plans, those concepts are 0not being carried through to policies and programs.
5. According to the AIA report “Communities, both large and small, typically follow a similar path in designing their green building programs. The initial idea oftentimes grows out of concepts formulated in the planning department of the city…. After the master plan is updated, the green building issue generally moves in one of two directions” (CitationRainwater, 2007, p. 10). Also according to the report, the more common direction is the formation of a green team to analyze the issue of sustainability in the city, followed by passage of a municipal ordinance establishing incentives or requirements for green buildings. The second direction involves the planning department rewriting the zoning ordinance to include provisions for green buildings. In other cases, attention to green buildings leads to requirements for the energy efficiency of windows and certain building systems, such as might be included in a building code. However, as Rainwater notes, “this certainly improves building quality but falls short of a comprehensive green building program” (p. 10).
6. I was unable to reach an administrator from the National Association of Home Builders Green Building program.
7. EarthCraft Homes has separate guidelines for climate zone 2 (southern and coastal Georgia), climate zone 3 (Alabama, central Georgia, South Carolina, and southwestern Tennessee), and climate zone 4 (the majority of Tennessee and northern Georgia). EarthCraft Communities has separate guidelines for Piedmont and coastal communities.
8. LEED rating systems are currently available for new commercial construction and major renovation, existing building operations and maintenance, commercial interiors projects, core and shell development projects, homes, neighborhood development, multiple buildings and on-campus building projects, schools, and retail (CitationUSGBC, 2007a).
9. LEED for healthcare and LEED for laboratories are currently in the works.
10. According to the NAHB website, 11 local home builders' organizations have used the NAHB green building guidelines as a model for developing their own guidelines (CitationNAHB, 2005).
11. These three themes overlap. For example, many building materials and energy elements also pertain to indoor environmental quality, especially in the Health House program, which does not have an indoor environmental quality theme. Combining all three themes yields percentages ranging from 34% (LEED-ND) to 87% (Health House).
12. LEED-H, which assesses building- and product-level items, and LEED-ND, which assesses site- and community-level items, can be used together to assess the same building.
13. There are two exceptions to this. In the Enterprise Community Partners system criteria affordable housing is a goal of the entire building rating system, but is not included in the individual elements (or points) within the system. The Health House program has as its goal improving human health for occupants of homes.
14. As the NAHB manual says, “a line item's point value is determined by consensus of the green home program's development committee. This is primarily a qualitative process, and some acknowledgement of the decision-making process should be clearly stated in the program” (CitationNAHB, 2005, p. 6).
15. LEED-H does this, awarding two points for developments that have an average housing density of seven or more units per acre, three points for developments that have an average housing density of 10 or more units per acre, and four points for developments that have an average housing density of 20 of more units per acre.