Environmental attributes are considered in respect of eight key categories specified in the Green Star rating tool , which is the main Green Building tool used in the Australian market . There are many similarities with the attributes considered in other international rating tools ( Reed et al , 2009 ). Building management covers engaging the services of suitably qualified professionals , setting performance targets , having adequate means of metering and measuring consumption of attributes and so on . Within the building six Indoor Environment Quality ( IEQ ) sustainability attributes are taken into account , these are : Indoor Air Quality ( IAQ ), acoustic , lighting , visual and thermal comfort , and indoor pollutants . Other categories are energy , water , transport , materials , land use and ecology and finally innovation . Innovation includes adoption of an innovative technology or process or improving on Green Star Benchmarks for example . The sustainability attributes that could be embraced by the market in conversion adaptations are illustrated in Table 1 below . In Europe , the rating tool BREEAM is most commonly used . The sustainability attributes comprised in BREEAM are added in the table to give a comparison , and shows that although the categories are different , most attributes measured are similar .
Table 1 : Sustainability characteristics in conversion adaptation |
|
Sustainability criteria Green Star |
Sustainability criteria BREEAM |
Management |
Green Star Accredited Professional Commissioning and Tuning Adaptation and Resilience Building Information Commitment to Performance Metering and Monitoring Construction Environmental Management Operational Waste |
Performance assurance Building site and surroundings Environmental impact building site User manual Consultation Safety Knowledge transfer Maintenance / serviceability Life cycle costing analysis |
IEQ in Green Star , Health and Wellbeing in BREEAM
ENERGY
Indoor Air Quality Acoustic Comfort Lighting Comfort Visual Comfort Indoor Pollutants Thermal Comfort
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Peak Electricity Demand Reduction
Daylight admittance View / vista Daylight control High frequency lighting Indoor and outdoor artificial lighting Lighting control Purge ventilation Internal air quality Volatile organic compounds Thermal comfort Temperature control Acoustics Private outdoor space Accessibility
Energy efficiency Sub-metering energy use Energy efficient outdoor lighting Renewable energy sources Energy efficient cooling / freezer space Energy efficient elevators Energy efficient escalators and ribbons Guarantee thermal quality facade
TRANSPORT |
Sustainable transport |
Availability public transportation Distance to facilities Alternative transportation Pedestrian and bike safety Traffic plan and parking policy Traffic information point |
( Source : Authors ) |
766 ZEMCH 2015 | International Conference | Bari - Lecce , Italy