Search Results (148)

The successful deployment of sustainable building construction (SBC) is connected to sound knowledge sharing. Concerning SBC, knowledge sharing has been identified to directly and indirectly increase innovation, environmental performance, cost saving, regulatory compliance awareness and so on. The necessity of enhancing SBC practice globally has been emphasised by earlier research. Consequently, this study aims to investigate knowledge-sharing elements to enhance SBC in South Africa (SA). Utilising a questionnaire survey, this study elicited data from 281 professionals in the built environment. Data analysis was performed with “descriptive statistics”, the “Kruskal–Wallis H-test”, and “principal component analysis” to determine the principal knowledge-sharing features (KSFs). This study found that “creating public awareness of sustainable practices”, the “content of SBC training, raising awareness of green building products”, “SBC integration in professional certifications”, an “information hub or repository for sustainable construction”, and “mentoring younger professionals in sustainable practices” are the most critical KSFs for SBC deployment. These formed a central cluster, the Green Education Initiative and Eco-Awareness Alliance. The results achieved a reliability test value of 0.956. It was concluded that to embrace the full adoption of SBC, corporate involvement is critical, and all stakeholders must embrace the sustainability paradigm. It is recommended that the principal knowledge-sharing features revealed in this study should be carefully considered to help construction stakeholders in fostering knowledge sharing for a sustainable built environment. Full article

Enhancing the real-world performance of sustainably designed and certified green buildings remains a significant challenge, particularly in hot climates where efforts to improve thermal comfort often conflict with energy efficiency goals. In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), even newly constructed facilities with green building certifications present opportunities for retrofitting and performance optimization. This study investigates the energy and thermal comfort performance of a LEED Gold-certified, mixed-use university campus in Dubai through a calibrated digital twin developed using IES thermal modelling software. The analysis evaluated existing sustainable design strategies alongside three retrofit energy conservation measures (ECMs): (1) improved building envelope U-values, (2) installation of additional daylight sensors, and (3) optimization of fan coil unit efficiency. Simulation results demonstrated that the three ECMs collectively achieved a total reduction of 15% in annual energy consumption. Thermal comfort was assessed using operative temperature distributions, Predicted Mean Vote (PMV), and Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfaction (PPD) metrics. While fan coil optimization yielded the highest energy savings, it led to less favorable comfort outcomes. In contrast, enhancing envelope U-values maintained indoor conditions consistently within ASHRAE-recommended comfort zones. To further support energy reduction and progress toward Net Zero targets, the study also evaluated the integration of a 228.87 kW rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) system, which offset 8.09% of the campus’s annual energy demand. By applying data-driven thermal modelling to assess retrofit impacts on both energy performance and occupant comfort in a certified green building, this study addresses a critical gap in the literature and offers a replicable framework for advancing building performance in hot climate regions. Full article

In the context of achieving low-carbon goals, building low-carbon energy systems is a crucial development direction and implementation pathway. Renewable energy is favored because of its clean characteristics, but the access may have an impact on the power grid. Microgrid technology provides an effective solution to this problem. Uncertainty exists in single microgrids, so multiple microgrids are introduced to improve system stability and robustness. Electric carbon trading and profit redistribution among multiple microgrids have been challenges. To promote energy commensurability among microgrids, expand the types of energy interactions, and improve the utilization rate of renewable energy, this paper proposes a cooperative operation optimization model of multi-microgrids based on the green certificate and carbon trading mechanism to promote local energy consumption and a low carbon economy. First, this paper introduces a carbon capture system (CCS) and power-to-gas (P2G) device in the microgrid and constructs a cogeneration operation model coupled with a power-to-gas carbon capture system. On this basis, a low-carbon operation model for multi-energy microgrids is proposed by combining the local carbon trading market, the stepped carbon trading mechanism, and the green certificate trading mechanism. Secondly, this paper establishes a cooperative game model for multiple microgrid electricity carbon trading based on the Nash negotiation theory after constructing the single microgrid model. Finally, the ADMM method and the asymmetric energy mapping contribution function are used for the solution. The case study uses a typical 24 h period as an example for the calculation. Case study analysis shows that, compared with the independent operation mode of microgrids, the total benefits of the entire system increased by 38,296.1 yuan and carbon emissions were reduced by 30,535 kg through the coordinated operation of electricity–carbon coupling. The arithmetic example verifies that the method proposed in this paper can effectively improve the economic benefits of each microgrid and reduce carbon emissions. Full article

Globally, construction is among the leading sectors causing carbon emissions. Sustainable practices have become the focus, which aligns with the nation’s commitments to the Paris Agreement by targeting a 30% reduction in emissions from the 2005 levels by 2030. However, evaluation for sustainability is critical, and the Green Star certification provides assurance. Building information modelling has emerged as a transformative technology, integrating environmental sustainability into building design and construction. This study explores the use of BIM to enhance green building outcomes, focusing on optimising stakeholder engagement, energy efficiency, waste control, and environmentally sustainable design. This study employed a case study of an educational building, illustrating how BIM frameworks support Green Star certifications by streamlining design analysis, enhancing project value, and improving compliance with sustainability metrics. Findings highlight BIM’s role in advancing low-carbon, energy-efficient building designs while fostering collaboration across disciplines. This research investigates the foundational approach required to establish a framework for implementing the Green Star certification in non-residential, environmentally sustainable designs. Further, this study underscores the importance of integrating BIM in achieving Green Star benchmarks and provides a roadmap for leveraging digital modelling to meet global sustainability goals. Recommendations include expanding BIM capabilities to support broader environmental assessments and operational efficiencies. Full article

The global push for sustainable development has intensified the need for innovative tools to assess and enhance sustainability in the built environment. This study explores the role of materials efficiency (ME) within a nature-inspired sustainability assessment framework, focusing on green building projects in South Africa. Using a nature-based (biomimicry) approach, this study identifies and prioritises key ME criteria such as eco-friendly materials, local sourcing, and responsible processing. The methodology employed the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), with input from 38 carefully sampled construction experts, to rank ME criteria through pairwise comparisons. The findings revealed that eco-friendly materials (29.5%) and locally sourced materials (25.1%) were the highest-weighted factors, with strong expert consensus (CR = 0.01). The study highlights how nature-inspired principles like closed-loop systems and minimal waste can guide sustainable construction aligned with global goals such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The conclusion advocates for integrating ME criteria into green certification systems, industry collaboration, and further research to scale the framework globally. This study bridges biomimicry theory with practical sustainability assessment, offering actionable insights for the built environment. Full article

In the context of the intensifying global climate crisis, the power industry, as a significant carbon emitter, urgently needs to promote low-carbon transformation using market mechanisms. In this paper, a multi-objective stochastic optimization scheduling framework for regional power grids integrating carbon trading (CET) and green certificate trading (GCT) is proposed to coordinate the conflict between economic benefits and environmental objectives. By building a deterministic optimization model, the goal of maximizing power generation profit and minimizing carbon emissions is combined in a weighted form, and the power balance, carbon quota constraint, and the proportion of renewable energy are introduced. To deal with the uncertainty of power demand, carbon baseline, and the green certificate ratio, Monte Carlo simulation was further used to generate random parameter scenarios, and the CPLEX solver was used to optimize scheduling schemes iteratively. The simulation results show that when the proportion of green certificates increases from 0.35 to 0.45, the proportion of renewable energy generation increases by 4%, the output of coal power decreases by 12–15%, and the carbon emission decreases by 3–4.5%. At the same time, the tightening of carbon quotas (coefficient increased from 0.78 to 0.84) promoted the output of gas units to increase by 70 MWh, verifying the synergistic emission reduction effect of the “total control + market incentive” policy. Economic–environmental tradeoff analysis shows that high-cost inputs are positively correlated with the proportion of renewable energy, and carbon emissions are significantly negatively correlated with the proportion of green certificates (correlation coefficient −0.79). This study emphasizes that dynamic adjustments of carbon quota and green certificate targets can avoid diminishing marginal emission reduction efficiency, while the independent carbon price mechanism needs to enhance its linkage with economic targets through policy design. This framework provides theoretical support and a practical path for decision-makers to design a flexible market mechanism and build a multi-energy complementary system of “coal power base load protection, gas peak regulation, and renewable energy supplement”. Full article

Considering the climate crisis, global environmental awareness, and the pursuit of sustainable architecture, various methodologies and global standards have been developed to assess and reduce the environmental impact of construction projects. Green Building Codes (GBCs) and rating systems have been implemented worldwide to support green building practices based on the use of simulation models to evaluate energy consumption, such as the ENERGYui and others to rate buildings based on their simulated energy performance. Israel has also established green building standards, such as SI 5281, which provide practical tools for architects to promote the use of green building methods. However, several studies have cast doubt on the actual measured performance of certified buildings. This study evaluates the effectiveness of the Israeli green building certification process (SI 5281/SI 5282) through a comparison between simulation-based ratings with measured post-occupancy electricity consumption. Through four case studies, the research identifies discrepancies, explores their causes, and proposes refinements to certification assumptions and evaluation methods. The research is intended to enhance the effectiveness of assessment tools in architectural design and contribute to more precise and sustainable green building practices. This study identifies significant gaps between simulated and actual energy consumption in Israeli green buildings, highlighting that, within this framework, educational buildings tend to exceed predicted usage, while residential buildings often consume less, thereby exposing limitations in current simulation assumptions and standard evaluation criteria. Full article

In the context of global climate governance and the low-carbon energy transition, virtual power plant (VPP), a key technology for integrating distributed energy resources, is urgently needed to solve the problem of decentralization and lack of synergy in electricity, carbon, and green certificate trading. Existing studies mostly focus on single energy or carbon trading scenarios and lack a multi-market coupling mechanism supported by blockchain technology, resulting in low transaction transparency and a high risk of information tampering. For this reason, this paper proposes a synergistic optimization strategy for electricity/carbon/green certificate virtual power plants based on blockchain cross-chain transactions. First, Latin Hypercubic Sampling (LHS) is used to generate new energy output and load scenarios, and the K-means clustering method with improved particle swarm optimization are combined to cut down the scenarios and improve the prediction accuracy; second, a relay chain cross-chain trading framework integrating quota system is constructed to realize organic synergy and credible data interaction among electricity, carbon, and green certificate markets; lastly, the multi-energy optimization model of the virtual power plant is designed to integrate carbon capture, Finally, a virtual power plant multi-energy optimization model is designed, integrating carbon capture, power-to-gas (P2G) and other technologies to balance the economy and low-carbon goals. The simulation results show that compared with the traditional model, the proposed strategy reduces the carbon emission intensity by 13.3% (1.43 tons/million CNY), increases the rate of new energy consumption to 98.75%, and partially offsets the cost through the carbon trading revenue, which verifies the Pareto improvement of environmental and economic benefits. This study provides theoretical support for the synergistic optimization of multi-energy markets and helps to build a low-carbon power system with a high proportion of renewable energy. Full article

Green building materials play a vital role in mitigating the significant carbon emissions produced by the construction industry. However, the widespread presence of greenwashing, where firms falsely portray their products or practices as environmentally friendly, presents a critical obstacle to the adoption of genuinely sustainable materials. The risk of collusion between building material enterprises and certification institutions further exacerbates this challenge by undermining trust in green certification processes. To investigate these issues, this study develops an evolutionary game model that captures the strategic interactions between building material enterprises and certification institutions. The model incorporates the behavioral assumptions of prospect theory, specifically bounded rationality, loss aversion, and diminishing sensitivity, to reflect the real-world decision-making behavior of the involved actors. The findings reveal three evolutionarily stable strategies (ESS) within the system. First, a higher initial willingness by both enterprises and certifiers to engage in ethical practices increases the likelihood of convergence to an optimal and stable outcome. Second, a greater degree of diminishing sensitivity in the value function promotes the adoption of authentic green behavior by enterprises. In contrast, a lower degree of diminishing sensitivity encourages certification institutions to refrain from collusion. Third, although the loss aversion coefficient does not directly affect strategy selection, higher levels of loss aversion lead to stronger preferences for green behavior among enterprises and noncollusive behavior among certifiers. This research makes a novel theoretical contribution by introducing prospect theory into the analysis of greenwashing behavior in the building materials sector. It also provides actionable insights for improving regulatory frameworks and certification standards to mitigate greenwashing and enhance institutional accountability. Full article

In promoting sustainable cities and societies, accelerating the shift from sustainable building design to sustainable building operations is essential. A persistent challenge lies in the absence of a unified, multidimensional metric that enables meaningful performance comparisons across buildings of similar types and functions, both regionally and globally. This study develops and demonstrates the operational sustainability index (OPSi)—a novel metric grounded in case study research that integrates indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and energy utility quality (EUQ). OPSi is applied to six buildings in three comparative cases: (1) LEED-certified and non-certified dormitories, (2) LEED-certified and non-certified event buildings, and (3) male- and female-occupied multifamily housing units. Results show that the LEED-certified dormitory underperformed in two of five OPSi variants compared to its non-certified counterpart despite achieving up to 18% higher objective IEQ performance. The LEED-certified event building outperformed its non-certified counterpart across all OPSi metrics, with up to 88% higher objective IEQ scores. Findings also include higher energy performance in male-occupied housing units than in female-occupied ones, highlighting behavioral differences worthy of future study. This research addresses longstanding criticisms of green certification systems—particularly their limited capacity to holistically measure post-certification operational performance—by offering a practical and scalable evaluation framework. OPSi aligns with global sustainability goals, including SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), and supports smart, data-driven decision-making. Future applications may extend OPSi to include carbon life cycle assessment and maintenance metrics to further strengthen building sustainability in urban contexts. Full article

The digital transition and decarbonization are strategic European objectives, supported at different levels by the Green Deal, the Energy Performance Building Directive (EPBD), and policies and tools such as the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) and the Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI). The SRI measures a building’s ability to use intelligent technologies to reduce its consumption and increase the energy awareness of occupants for energy efficiency. Furthermore, today, it has a limited impact on national regulations and public decision-making. Its application presents challenges including those related to heritage conservation. This paper contributes to the Italian SRI framework through an experimental application in the renovation of a historic building in the metropolitan city of Reggio Calabria (Italy). The analysis evaluates the SRI’s adaptability by comparing its pre-renovated state, current state, and pre-design plan. The SRI calculation integrates assessment tools with BIM models for a potential future digital twin approach. The study, part of a funded national research project, aims to enhance policies for digitalization in the green transition. The paper is organized into the Introduction; Materials and Methods, which contains the methodological approach; Results; and Discussion and Conclusions. Following the experimental application, the results show that standardizing the SRI approach could enhance energy efficiency and digitalization in buildings. Full article

This study investigates factors influencing net-zero building (NZB) adoption in the South African commercial property sector through a qualitative analysis of four case studies, with a net-zero carbon building focus. Findings indicate that while green building certifications have exceeded 1000 since 2009, NZB adoption remains limited (64 certifications as of 2024). Key barriers include retrofit cost premiums (20–30%), technical capacity gaps, and insufficient policy frameworks. Primary drivers comprise demonstrated energy efficiency gains (15–25% reductions), tenant demand for sustainable properties, and institutional support through certification programs. This research contributes an empirical model identifying transitional “Amber Zone” factors, including energy security concerns and renewable energy returns on investment, which mediate between barriers and drivers. Case evidence shows NZB implementation can be achieved within existing budgets through integrated design approaches. These findings provide a structured framework for understanding NZB adoption dynamics in emerging markets facing similar energy and sustainability challenges. Full article

This study investigates the impact of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) certifications on the performance of Class A office buildings within Madrid’s Central Business District (CBD). Employing a Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methodology, the research evaluates 21 office properties, analyzing the influence of ESG certifications on key performance indicators, including green building certifications, valuation, market perception, and financial outcomes. The findings reveal that ESG-certified buildings demonstrate superior performance, commanding higher valuations, mitigating brown discounts, and achieving increased rental rates, thereby enhancing their investment attractiveness. These results underscore the importance of ESG certifications in the Spanish office market and provide valuable insights for investors, developers, and policymakers navigating the integration of sustainability and commercial real estate. Full article

The construction sector plays a pivotal role in sustainability efforts, driving the need for innovative solutions like Building Information Modeling (BIM) to optimize green building design and performance. This study examines the diffusion of BIM functionalities that support sustainability, particularly in energy efficiency, water management, material selection, indoor environmental quality, and green building certification. Using the innovation diffusion theory, the research employs three mathematical models—internal, external, and mixed—to analyze the adoption patterns of BIM for green building applications. Empirical findings reveal that external factors, such as government regulations, financial incentives, and industry trends, significantly influence the diffusion of BIM functions related to environmental performance. The mixed diffusion model demonstrates the highest explanatory power, indicating that both external and internal drivers play a role, particularly in material selection and lifecycle assessment. This study highlights the growing integration of BIM in sustainable construction, reinforcing the need for regulatory support to accelerate adoption. These findings offer valuable insights for researchers, policymakers, and industry professionals, demonstrating how BIM can drive greener practices in the built environment. Policymakers should focus on developing policies and offering incentives such as feed-in tariffs, investment tax credits, and integrating Green BIM requirements into building codes to encourage sustainable construction practices. Also, curricula should be updated to include real-world projects and experiential learning to improve the adoption and efficiency of Green BIM practices. Future research should explore enhanced digital frameworks to further improve BIM’s impact on sustainability and lifecycle optimization. Full article

The built environment directly impacts human health and well-being, yet most green certification systems prioritize energy efficiency over occupant health. The WELL Building Standard (WELL), launched in 2014, addresses this gap by focusing on the health and comfort of building users. Despite its growing importance, limited academic research systematically examines its global implementation. This study will fill this research gap by analyzing 1559 WELL-certified projects worldwide using the WELL database. The results reveal that 50% of certifications are concentrated in China and the United States, while regions such as Africa and Latin America show minimal adoption. Most projects are office buildings (83%), with fewer in education, healthcare and residential sectors. Additionally, most certified projects have achieved Gold or Platinum levels, and there has been a notable increase in certifications since the COVID-19 pandemic. By identifying geographic and typological disparities, this research provides a global overview of WELL adoption and offers insights for practitioners and policymakers seeking to promote health-focused building practices. Full article