Sustainable Construction Test Q

201415_1.a) Principal of sustainable development & explain further in context of

sustainable construction.

3 aspects of sustainable development:

1. Economic:
 An economically sustainable system must be able to produce goods and
services on a continuing basis
 to maintain manageable levels of government and external debt
2. Environmental:
 An environmentally sustainable system must:
maintain a stable resource base
 avoiding over-exploitation of renewable resource systems and depleting non-
renewable resources only to the extent that investment is made in adequate
substitutes.
 This includes maintenance of biodiversity, atmospheric stability, and other
ecosystem functions
3. Social:
 A socially sustainable system must achieve distributional equity, adequate
provision of social services include health and education, gender equity, and
political accountability and participation.

 Sustainable construction aims to meet present day needs for housing, working
environments and infrastructure without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs.
 It incorporates elements of economic efficiency, environmental performance and
social responsibility and contributes to the greatest extent when architectural
quality, technical innovation and transferability are included.
 8 Principal of sustainable development:
1 Conservation Conserve the earth to make the Minimizing a project’s ecological footprint
of Ecosystem ecological system durable. and maximizing its positive impact on the
Preservation of terrestrial and environment; reduction of harm.
aquatic ecosystem Environmentally-conscious land use
strategies and policies that preserve the
natural landscape, while taking water and
land reclamation into account.
2 Sustainable Ensure each people must available Projects must adhere to the highest ethical
Development for healthy residence, balanced diet, standards and promote social inclusion at
of Society adequate health service, all stages of construction, from planning
employment and quality education. and building
3 Conservation People should learn to conserve the Maximize resources reuse by using
of natural resources in order to protect renewable or recyclable resources. Use
Biodiversity the living beings. National and renewable energy in construction, use and
international programs for the upkeep of the built fabric to reduce CO2
conservation of biodiversity should emissions and avoid toxicity.
be conducted.
4 Conservation Human resource contributes to provide those working in the construction
of Human adopt the principles of sustainable industry with the knowledge required to
Resource development. The knowledge and ensure that construction is carried out with
skill on caring of the earth should suitable environmentally sympathetic
be developed by providing equipment
education, health care and training
5 increase in Sustainable development cannot be Participation of stakeholders in a
Peoples' maintained personally. A joint construction project, including users,
Participation effort of every individual is clients, neighborhood affiliations, local
indispensable. authorities and non-governmental
organizations.
6 Conservation Sustainable development has Construction carry out without damage the
of Cultural emphasized the conservation of historical building.
heritage social traditions, customs, religious
places and cultural aspects of
people.
7 Included Development work must be within Projects must exhibit a sensible use and
within the carrying capacity of the earth. management of natural resources
Carrying People is avoid to over-exploitation throughout their entire life cycle.
Capacity of of the resources from earth. Construction carried out should be protect
Earth the natural environment and create a
healthy and non-toxic environment.
8 Population population control and management Sustainable design encourage retrofitting
Control are essential to support the existing buildings rather than building
environmental balance due to anew. Retrofitting an existing building is
resources available in the world more cost-effective than building a new
cannot be increased to meet the facility.
population growth
 201415_1.b) Evolution of sustainable development from Brundland Report until
Kyoto Protocol.
 Sustainable development was the solution to the problems of environmental
degradation discussed by the Brundtland Commission in the 1987 report Our
Common Future (or the Brundtland report).
 The Brundtland Report was investigate the numerous concerns that human activity
was having severe and negative impacts on the planet, and that patterns of growth
and development would be unsustainable if they continued unchecked
 The Brundtland report provided the momentum for the landmark 1992 Rio
Summit that laid the foundations for the global institutionalization of sustainable
development.
 Marking the twentieth anniversary of the Stockholm Conference, the Earth
Summit adopted the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development and
Agenda 21, a global plan of action for sustainable development.
 Agenda 21 is not binding document, but the aim of the agenda is to promote
sustainable development for the future generation's well-being. It included 40
separate chapters, setting out actions in regard to the social and economic
dimensions of sustainable development, conservation and management of natural
resources, the role of major groups, and means of implementation.

1992 The UN Conference on the Environment and Development is held in Rio de Janeiro.
It results in the Framework Convention on Climate Change ("FCCC" or "UNFCCC")
among other agreements
1995 Parties to the UNFCCC meet in Berlin (the 1st Conference of Parties (COP) to the
UNFCCC) to outline specific targets on emissions.
1997 In December, Governments met in Kyoto, Japan to look at the problem of global
warming. Previous agreements had tried to limit emissions of carbon dioxide to the
levels they were in 1990. Many countries had failed to achieve even this small
reduction. After discussion, the parties conclude the Kyoto Protocol in Kyoto, Japan,
in which they agree to the new set of targets for the reduction of greenhouse gases.
2000 The UKs climate change programme was updated in the light of the Kyoto protocol.
It details how the UK is going to meet the Kyoto targets and reduce emissions in each
of the sectors of the economy. (DETR, 2000)
2002 Russia and Canada ratify the Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC bringing the treaty into
effect on 16 February 2005.
2011 Canada became the first signatory to announce its withdrawal from the Kyoto
Protocol.
2012 On 31 December 2012, the first commitment period under the Protocol expired.
 201415_2.a) Explain one of six assessment criteria in GBI.

CRITERIA AREA OF ASSESSMENT EXPLANATION

1 Energy -Design (5 sub area - Improve energy consumption by optimizing
Efficiency assessment) building orientation, minimizing solar heat
(EE) -Commissioning (2 sub area) gain through the building envelope, harvesting
natural lighting, adopting the best practices in
-Verification & Maintenance
building services including use of renewable
-contribute35 (2 sub area)
energy, and ensuring proper testing,
points
commissioning and regular maintenance.
2 Indoor -Air Quality (5 sub area -Achieve good quality performance in indoor
Environment assessment) air quality, acoustics, visual and thermal
Quality (EQ) -Thermal Comfort (2) comfort. These will involve the use of low
volatile organic compound materials,
-Lighting, Visual & Acoustic
application of quality air filtration, proper
-21 points Comfort (6)
control of air temperature, movement and
-Verification (2) humidity.
3 Sustainable -Site Planning (4 sub area) -Selecting appropriate sites with planned
Site Planning -Construction Management access to public transportation, community
& (3) services, open spaces and landscaping.
Management Avoiding and conserving environmentally
-Transportation (3)
(SM) sensitive areas through the redevelopment of
-Design (3) existing sites and brownfields. Implementing
proper construction management, storm water
-16 points
management and reducing the strain on
existing infrastructure capacity.
4 Materials & -Reused & Recycled -Promote the use of environment-friendly
Resources Materials (2 sub area) materials sourced from sustainable sources and
(MR) -Sustainable Resources (2) recycling. Implement proper construction
waste management with storage, collection and
-Waste Management (2)
re-use of recyclables and construction
-11 points -Green Products (1) formwork and waste.
5 Water -Water Harvesting & -Rainwater harvesting, water recycling and
Efficiency Recycling (2) water-saving fittings.
(WE) -Increased Efficiency (3)

-10 points
6 Innovation -Innovation in Design & -Innovative design and initiatives that meet the
(IN) Environmental Design objectives of the GBI.
Initiatives
-7 points -Green Building Index
Accredited Facilitator
201415_2.b) Explain the impact of implementation of environment building
assessment method upon the optimum project selection process & financial aspects.

 A project may have various development options. By implement

Optimum
environment assessment during the identification and preparation
project selection
stages of a proposed project, it enables the project to choose the option
process
that that minimizes detrimental effects to the environment in order to
achieve sustainable goals.
 Environmental issues should be considered as early as possible in the
selection phase in order to minimize environmental damage, maximize
the return to natural resources and reduce remedial costs due to
environment problem.

 Environmental building assessment methods focus on the evaluation

Financial
of design against a set of environmental criteria.
aspects
 The tools assess several issues including resource consumption such as
energy, land and water, environmental loading, indoor comfort and the
like without include financial aspects in the evaluation framework.
 It had contradicted to the principle of a development, as financial
return is fundamental to all projects. A project may be
environmentally sound but very expensive to build cause developer
less attractive to develop even though it may be environment friendly.
 Hence, implementation of environment assessment method will
impact on financial aspect of a project in which it involve extra cost
and reduce financial return to developers.

201516_1 What is the implementation barrier factor of sustainable construction in

construction industry and what is the efficiency way to speed up the implementation?

IMPLEMENTATION BARRIER:
Financial -fear of higher investment costs, fear of long Pay-back period, client worries
barriers in profitability, lack of financial resources
-additional financial cost of providing measures to improve the
sustainability of construction works provides long-term benefit. However,
long-term benefits
are normally not expressed in terms of financial return but focused instead
on the environmental and social benefits
Management Lack of leadership, motivation and aspiration values of managers, Delay in
/leadership decision making as barriers to implementation of SC.
barriers Sustainable construction implementation lies in the commitment of
managers and leaders in develop an effective plan, providing required
resources. Without support, innovative management and leadership in
implementing the SC concept, the concept implementation may face
numerous difficulties.
Technical lack of environmentally sustainable materials, lack of sustainability
barriers measurement tools, lack of easily accessible guidance, lack of technical
ability, chronic skills and labour shortages as the major barriers.
Socio-cultural construction industry has operated in a particular style for a long period of
barriers time is very difficult to change especially with respect to construction
methods practiced and building materials used.
lack of demand for sustainable products, cultural change resistance as the
major barriers to implementation of SC.
Knowledge/a “sustainability” relatively new concept
wareness lack of awareness of professionals, lack of professional knowledge, lack
barriers of awareness of clients, lack of awareness of benefits, ignorance or
misunderstanding about sustainability, lack of training, education and
knowledge in sustainable design as the major barriers to implementation of
SC.
Political lack of government policies/support, lack of building codes on
barriers sustainability, lack of government commitment, and lack of legislation.

EFFICIENCY WAY TO SPEED UP THE IMPLEMENTATION:

Government Government takes the lead in adopting sustainable construction in public sector
taking the projects.
lead Eg: use of recycled materials in construction, adopt green procurement practices
for public sector developments, with new government buildings designed to
achieve the highest tiers of green building rating
Promote to Promote private sector to embrace sustainable construction as part of their
private sector corporate social commitment to the environment.
Persuasion to developers, engineers and contractors.
Eg: Projects in Singapore such as the Goodwood Residence is one of private
sector initiatives to use sustainable materials in construction.
Legislative Setting minimum standards through legislative requirements.
requirements Eg: required demolition contractors to declare the quantity of demolition waste
that would be generated, as part of the conditions of the permit to commence
demolition work.
Strategic Strategic profiling and raising awareness to generate sustained demand
Profiling Engage the industry continually on the benefits of sustainable construction,
organized conferences and exhibitions to provide a platform for knowledge
sharing.
Education/ Education/ training incorporate sustainable dev. concept
Training Promote sustainable development, improve capacity of ppl to address
environment/ development issues
Increase awareness of public/ party in entire construction process
Buildg owner/ Disseminating (宣传) sus.construction
clients
Designers Adopting an integrated approach to design
Manufacturers Taking life cycle considerations as basis of product development
of bdg
materials/
products
Development Help in decision making
of tools
* Need of capacities, technologies, tools & broad involvement of construction stakeholders to
achieve sustainability
201516_2. How the element of social, environment & economy being adopt in
construction industry and what is the benefit of the adoption to the developers?
ELEMENTS ADOPTION OF ELEMENTS
1. Environmental  Concern on built environment
Protection  refer to activity within
(built construction project
environment  if no handle effectively will
& natural hv serious adverse impact
resources) on environment
 Natural environment
 Extraction of natural
resources to maintain
sustainability by:
a) demanding less non-
renewable natural resources
b) more recycled materials
c) efficient use of energy/
mineral resources
 Eg. Location & land utilization,
material selection, energy
conservation, water quality,
waste minimization, pollution
control, biodiversity/ ecology
2. Social Well-  Human feelings: security,
being satisfaction, safety, comfort
(benefits of  Human contributions: skills,
workers & health, knowledge, motivation
future users/  Eg. Health @ welfare, safety
community) issues, users’ comfort/
satisfaction, accessibility,
aesthetic/ visual, nuisance to
neighbours, social involvement
BENEFITS TO DEVELOPERS
 Improve project delivery to
provide best value to client
 Increase profitability &
productivity
 Minimize defects
 Shorter & more predictable
completion time
 Lower project cost v increase
cost predictability
 Consistent profit growth
 Employee, supplier, client
satisfaction
 Focus on developing client
business
(economic)
 Avoid pollution
 Protect & enhance biodiversity
 Transport planning
 Improve energy efficiency
 Efficient use of resources
 Energy efficient at depots &
sites
 Design for whole life costs
 Use of local suppliers &
materials v low embodied energy
 Lean design & construction
avoid waste
 Use of recycled/ sustainability
sourced products
 Prevent nuisance from noise &
dust by good site & depot
management
 Waste minimization &
elimination
 Minimizing pollution emission
 Prevent pollution incidents &
breaches of environmental
requirements
 Habitat creation &
environmental improvement

3. Economic  Microeconomic: focus on
Sustainability factors/ act which lead to
(micro @ monetary gains from
macro- construction
economic  Macroeconomic: relate to
benefit) advantages gained by public/
government from project
success
 Eg. Whole life cost, image/
business enhancement,
legislation compliance, cost
efficiency, risk assessment
 Protection of sensitive
ecosystem thrg good
construction practice &
supervision
 Green transport plan for sites &
business actiivties
 Respect to staff
 Working v local communities &
road users
 Partnership working
 Contributing to local economy
thrg local employment &
procurement
 Build long-term relationship v
clients & suppliers
 Corporate citizenship
 Effective training & appraisals
 Equal opportunities
 Health, safety & conducive
working environment
 Maintain morale & employee
satisfaction
 Minimize local nuisance &
disruption, traffic disruption &
delays
 Bdg effective channels of
communications

social
Other benefits of the adoption to the developers?
1. Reduction of operating cost
 By decreasing electricity consumption (most common energy sources for
bdg)
 Bdg industry 30% energy saving, other than bdg industry 60-68%
2. Reduction of maintenance cost
 By conducting comprehensive functional testing of all energy using
system b4 occupancy
3. Increase of bdg value directly correlated to energy saving
4. Tax benefits offered by local, state or provincial/ federal governmental authorities
 As incentive for implementation of green strategies
5. Address energy efficiency processes (eg. LEED tools)
 By including credits to promote bttr bdg energy performance (developers
seeking cert. can gain 33 points in area of energy)
6. Green/ sustainable certified bdg offer options & opportunities for risk
management
 Green bdg cert. can provide some measure installed to protect indoor air
quality, beyond just meeting code-required minimums.

7. Faster permitting/ special permit assistance as type of risk mitigation

 Green certified bdg in private sector are faster to sale/ leasing while are
seen as less risky by insures
8. Past sustainable project can be used as reference/ guidance for next coming
project (procurement procedure)
 Practically apply these sustainability knowledge for future project thrg past
exp
 Developers, designers & providers of goods become familiar v sustainable
construction activities.
 eg. Address the change by introducing new materials, modify existing one
& taking out of the market those not meeting required specifications
9. Increase its own organization value (reinforce new ecological ethics)
10. Increase positive publicity/ reputation
 +ve corporate image/ impression on society >> build closer relationship
(more socially integrated into society)
 Build reputational capital >> improve ability to negotiate more attractive
concept v suppliers/ gov (being able to select its partners at more
advantageous rates)

Extra:
 Reduce waste
 save money
 less time in repair environmental damage
 reduce risk of legal cost (fines)
 bttr company profile
 increase tender opportunity
 reduce neighbor disputes
 reduce demand for resources
 create more effective supply chain management
 achieve greater employee motivation.

(Final) 201516_3.a) Explain the OTTV formula

(Final) 201516_3.b) Discuss on how thermal comfort could be one of the factors
contributing to building occupant’s comfort.