A Government Sustainable Building Rating Tool?

Published on August 18, 2024

Some countries have significant public building backlogs. Schools, colleges, clinics, and hospitals still need to be built and existing infrastructure needs to be updated and refurbished. In addressing backlogs, there is the prospect of developing more sustainable buildings and infrastructure. However, often this opportunity is not taken, and the design and construction of public buildings continue to follow conventional unsustainable approaches. Reasons for this include the lack of a suitable sustainable building rating tool that aligns with government priorities. To address this gap, this study explores development a Government Sustainable Building Rating Tool (GSBRT). It investigates this for South Africa, a country with large public building backlogs. Government policy is analysed to establish the key development priorities and translate these into building performance criteria. These criteria are compared with criteria from an existing green building rating tool, to determine alignment. The study finds that while there is some overlap, there are also significant differences and that the conventional green building rating tool does not cater for some government sustainable development priorities. Recommendations are made for further research and development of a GSBRT as a means of addressing sustainability in government buildings.

Developing countries often have significant public building backlogs. Buildings such as schools, colleges, clinics, and hospitals still need to be built and existing infrastructure needs to be updated and refurbished. In addressing these backlogs there is a valuable opportunity to develop more sustainable buildings and infrastructure. However, in many countries, this prospect is not taken and the design and construction of public buildings continue to follow conventional methods. Reasons for this include the lack of a suitable sustainable building rating tool that aligns well with government priorities. This study explores the possibility of developing a government sustainable building rating tool (GSBRT). It investigates this in South Africa, where there are large public building backlogs. Government policy is analysed to establish the key development priorities and translate this into building performance criteria. These criteria are compared with criteria from an existing green building rating tool, to determine alignment. The study finds that while there is overlap in some areas, there are also significant differences and that the conventional green building rating tool does not appear to cater for some government priorities. Recommendations are made for further research and development of a GSBRT as a means of addressing sustainability in government buildings.