how to measure it

Sustainability as a science is still evolving. We do not yet know exactly what a sustainable building will be like, so all buildings we currently call “sustainable” are really just more sustainable than average. But that puts them in a very important position: they are trendsetters, landmarks, beacons to all others.

There are a number of possible motivations for being part of a sustainable building project. They are cheaper to run while costing little or nothing more to build; they are safer to live and work in; they are nicer, healthier and happier places; they make you feel better about what you have done; and they will make everybody else feel better about it in the long run, too.

Thermal performance We can predict thermal performance with some accuracy, although personal preferences will always override this. Thermal comfort is an issue for any society which has the ability to create artificial comfort at the push of a button. Behind that button lies the inevitable pollution from greenhouse gas. AccuRate is our normally preferred software tool for measuring thermal comfort energy demand. Click here to go to the CSIRO AccuRate website - for the technically minded.

BASIX - energy Other energy uses such as lighting, appliance etc, can also be predicted, often quite accurately. Putting all the energy used in one basket – called operational energy – allows us to compare different buildings under the same predictive parameters. BASIX has some useful (if approximate) ways of measuring this. Click here to go to the BASIX website - not so technical.

BASIX – water Water consumption can also be predicted, with limited accuracy – once again user choices make all the difference. What can be achieved is a building and landscape which minimise the amount of water used by any occupant. BASIX also has some useful approximations which allow comparisons between design options. Click here to go to the BASIX website.

Materials Materials used in construction have an enormous effect on a project’s sustainability. This can be a consideration of what it takes to create a construction material, to erect it, its lifespan and maintenance, and its potential for re-use or recycling. This is called a life-cycle analysis, and there are several tools which set out to measure this, including LCAid and SimaPro, and these provide a wealth of information in the hands of specialists. These are not yet commonly available, but soon they will be widely available, and ultimately mandatory.

Specification & selection The ecological impact of materials at source, during manufacture, and at end of service-life must also be considered. Rainforest timbers, for instance, may be perfect for the task on site, but their logging has catastrophic consequences for local people, causing massive social disruption and dislocation, destruction of habitat for endangered species, and reduced green ballast. All these are unsustainable, and must be avoided. Tools like Ecopsecifier enable us to select materials with all these considerations in place. Click here to go to Ecospecifier.

Healthy buildings The health of the building in use must also be considered. “Sick building syndrome” is well documented, and can apply to homes and offices alike. Off-gassing of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by many synthetic materials is to be seriously avoided. Ecospecifier also provides important information to help avoid such problems. Click here to go to Ecospecifier.

Rating tools - Green Star Some rating systems set out to measure all of the above impacts, and more. Green Star is one such system in Australia, and although it only applies to commercial buildings, it is an extremely useful set of standards that tell us how well a building has been designed and built. Click here to go to the Green Star website.

Rating tools – NABERS & ABGR From the above discussion, it is obvious that much depends upon the occupant of any building. Therefore, sustainability can most accurately be measured once a building is occupied. There are several tools which do this, including a version of Green Star (mentioned above). The Australian Building Greenhouse rating Scheme (ABGR) is a useful and scientifically defensible tool for measuring the greenhouse impact of commercial buildings. Click here to go the ABGR website.

A tool for all building types, especially residential, is the excellent and very user-friendly NABERS tool. Click here to go to the NABERS website.

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