This article provides concise answers to the ten most relevant issues for builders of sustainable commercial buildings.
The ten questions were developed through industry consultation - including a cross-industry, cross-geography workshop, telephone surveys, and a series of focus groups in 2005 and 2006. For each question, specialised authors provided brief answers and links to further information. Over time, the ten questions are likely to evolve through additional surveys and in response to your comments on this website.
How can I profit from building a sustainable commercial building?
Sustainable buildings can incorporate a variety of features that have positive impact on its profitability. Each case is different it is important to identify and communicate where opportunities are for increasing bottom line profit, and also to identify areas where profit may be reduced.
Sustainable buildings are said to have greater public support which may result in a fast planning approval process, thereby reducing the carrying costs of development. An integrated design process can lead to time savings resulting from improved communications, faster exchange of information, and increased innovation. Sustainable building development reflects well on corporate responsibility and as such can help an organisation's marketability. It is a rapidly expanding business sector and is a market differentiator and may give firms competitive advantage opening them up new clients and market sectors.
See Profit and the business case for sustainable commercial buildings and The business case for builders of sustainable commercial buildings for more information.
Won't sustainability cost me money?
To increase the level of sustainability in a building, either new or refurbished, there must be an initial financial outlay. However the first step prior to spending the financial outlay is to identify the highest and best sustainable use of the property, and to what degree sustainability can be incorporated into the building itself. This will depend on many factors including the age of the building and its anticipated remaining lifespan, the design of the building with regards to ease of incorporating sustainability, the cost of the sustainable initiatives, and the degree to which today's market (either investors/owners or tenants) will pay for sustainability in a building. There is a balance between over spending (resulting in over-capitalisation) and under spending (resulting in under-capitalisation) on sustainability. Incorporating sustainability into a building will have both direct and indirect benefits. Direct benefits may be an overall higher capital value of the building, increased rents and/or lower operating costs. Indirect benefits may include enhanced corporate social responsibility and reducing long-term obsolescence and depreciation in the building. At times it is difficult to convert the wider benefits of sustainability into a monetary amount, but consideration can be given the impact of sustainable attributes upon the valuation and how much extra is the business willing to spend on sustainable features.
See Valuation of sustainable commercial buildings for more information.
What are the legislated sustainability requirements for commercial buildings?
The answer to this question is dependent on the meanings of the terms 'commercial buildings' and 'sustainability'. In The legislative context of sustainable commercial buildings article, 'commercial buildings' are generally taken to mean buildings of Class 5 - 9 in accordance with the Building Code of Australia
(BCA) Classification (Section 1.3) and 'sustainability' indicates issues associated with energy efficiency, water efficiency, material usage or indoor environment conditions.
The current mandatory requirements - common to most States and Territories - are the operating Energy Efficiency Provisions of the BCA (Section 2.1 & 2.2) and Existing Building Provisions (Section 2.3). Sustainability requirements and related legislations (Section 2.4) particular to each Australian state and territory are listed under States and Territories Provisions.
Water issues are regulated under Plumbing Code of Australia but its current content is mainly about installation. Material usage regulations are currently mainly about waste disposal which are under state and territory control, well established long before the term sustainability was invented. Similarly, there are long established requirements in the BCA about indoor environment conditions such as indoor air quality, sound, light and disabled access.
See The legislative context of sustainable commercial buildings for more information.
What do I have to do to achieve a sustainability rating?
The role of Builders in achieving a sustainability rating for a building may be proactive or potentially passive, depending on the procurement or contractual model (e.g. full documentation to tender vs design-build, etc) and the project delivery process adopted by the client.
When the Builder comes in only at the time of construction, with detailed plans and specifications from the design team or client achieving a certain sustainability rating, the Builder should follow the specifications as closely as possible to ensure that the design intent to realise sustainability goals is met. The Builder can ask the designers and ESD consultants when unsure about interpretation of design, or if the Builder has a potentially better solution. Either way, it will be best to consult with the designers and ESD consultants before doing anything different; not doing so may adversely affect actual performance.
When the Builder is involved from the very beginning, it has an opportunity to be proactively involved in: (a) setting sustainability goals and building performance targets, and (b) integrated planning and design. This interdisciplinary, integrated approach most often yields better or more cost-effective solutions.
See Performance setting and measurement for sustainable commercial buildings for more information.
How much does it cost to achieve a five star rating?
The cost to achieve 5 Green Stars rating can vary a lot because this depends on many factors including size, geometry and type of building, whether it is new or existing, knowledge, experience and skills of the delivery team, innovation and risk appetite in technology, process and procurement method, among others. In some cases, it may be possible to achieve a high rating without additional cost while in others, it can cost up to 10% or more than that for a comparable building delivered without explicit sustainability goals in mind. However, this is not the full picture. The payback period for the extra investment (when it costs more) should also be considered. For example, a 10% extra investment may be fully recovered within 10 years, after which any further financial benefits are extras (which a comparable building without sustainability features will not have).
See Performance setting and measurement for sustainable commercial buildings for more information.
What is an environmental management plan?
An Environmental Management Plan (EMP) is a tool for managing energy and water consumption and waste production within a facility. The steps to developing an Environmental Management Plan are:
- Identify priorities
- Set objectives and targets
- Define performance indicators
- Document strategies and time frames to achieve targets
- Determine specific actions to implement each strategy
- Allocate responsibilities and resources
- Establish mechanisms to monitor evaluate and report progress (use existing mechanisms where possible)
- Track costs and benefits
See the section on Developing an environmental management plan for more information.
How can I cut through the greenwash when choosing building products and systems?
Cutting through 'greenwash' when choosing building products and materials is often difficult. Suppliers rarely intentionally mislead, but are often unable (due to trade secret constraints or inability to access detailed information) or unwilling (due to time and cost implications) to provide a full life cycle understanding of a product, including upstream and downstream impacts.
Seek independent advice from specialists, comparing costs and benefits with competing technologies where possible. Additionally request case studies of local examples from the supplier, backed up by monitored performance. Discussing your experiences with the materials and technology at industry meetings can assist your colleagues as well.
Independent, professional, third-party assessment is another good means of comparing product sustainability.
See the sections on Products and materials policies and Implementing and operating for improved performance in the Products and materials and sustainable commercial buildings article for more information.
What do I have to do with my construction waste?
Construction and demolition of buildings contributes 30% to 40%, or approximately eight million tonnes, of all solid wastes disposed at landfill in Australia. A large proportion of this is avoidable through waste minimisation and avoidance, and much of what cannot be avoided is recyclable or reusable.
Waste should be dealt with on site by implementing segregated waste disposal and conducting regular waste audits, plus providing sufficient education and training to staff and subcontractors. A Waste Management Plan (WMP) should be developed at the beginning of the project to identify, control and report on waste flows. It should clearly outline waste targets and how these targets will be achieved. An on-site waste management coordinator should be nominated to oversee the implementation of the WMP.
See Waste and sustainable commercial buildings for more information.
How can I make sure consultants deliver on sustainability?
There is chain of events that must occur in order for sustainability outcomes to be delivered:
- Identify sustainability goals in the brief
- Develop a process for evaluating sustainability measures during design development
- Document the design intent for systems that impact on sustainability
- Monitor changes during construction to ensure that sustainability measures are not compromised
- Plan for adequate commissioning
- At handover, ensure documents are updated to reflect the systems "as installed"
- Monitor performance and compare with sustainability targets
- Fine-tune systems for improved performance
- Continue to monitor and report performance
In the conventional design process, the architect or engineer have often taken up the role of ESD champion, which can lead to a focus on the ESD aspects of the building fabric or building services, not necessarily a building solution that integrates both fabric and services in a holistic manner. The appointment of a sustainability ombudsman to the project team is aimed at providing an independent facilitator to guide the sustainability discussion and to negotiate and advance the sustainability inputs of the design professionals, ensuring consistent application of objectives and assessment criteria.
See Contracting for sustainable commercial buildings, Design and sustainable commercial buildings and Commissioning of sustainable commercial buildings for more information.
Do I need to do anything different with commissioning the plant?
A clearly defiined comissioning process is important to isolate building and defect liability from design faults and user expectations. Commisioning of the plant is a critical stage as it affects occupant satisfaction and can lead to complaints early in the building occupation. This is likely to co-incide with the builder's period of defect liability and if the plant is not properly commissioned, lead to confusion over responsibilility to address the problem.
communications, faster exchange of information, and increased innovation. Sustainable building development reflects well on corporate responsibility and as such can help an organisation's marketability. It is a rapidly expanding business sector and is a market differentiator and may give firms competitive advantage opening them up new clients and market sectors.
See The business case for builders of sustainable commercial buildings for more information.
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