scholarly journals Estidama and the Pearl Rating System: A Comprehensive Review and Alignment with LCA

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5041
Author(s):  
Ayyagari Ramani ◽  
Borja García de Soto
Keyword(s):  
Construction Projects ◽  
Rating System ◽  
Practical Relevance ◽  
Rating Systems ◽  
Sustainable Buildings ◽  
System A ◽  
Robust Implementation ◽  
New Construction ◽  
Main Components ◽  
Sustainability Standards

Multiple sustainability standards and rating systems have been developed to draw attention to constructing sustainable buildings. The Pearl Rating System (PRS) is a mandate for all new construction projects in Abu Dhabi. Hence, it is important to understand the main components, advantages, and limitations of the PRS. The feasibility and the practical relevance of the PRS are still being studied. This paper addresses this gap and critically evaluates the PRS against some of the well-established rating systems like LEED and BREEAM. The analysis suggests that the PRS considers the cultural aspect of sustainability, in addition to the environmental, societal, and economic aspects. It was also found that most rating systems, including the PRS, have a very superficial inclusion of life cycle assessment (LCA). The paper finally concludes with other observations and outlook for a more robust implementation of the PRS.

scholarly journals Cost-effective infrastructure choices in education: Location, build or repair

2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-83
Author(s):  
Glenn P Jenkins ◽  
Armin Zeinali
Keyword(s):  
Construction Projects ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Capital Budgeting ◽  
Limpopo Province ◽  
New School ◽  
System A ◽  
Optimal Mix ◽  
New Construction ◽  
Practical Tool

The purpose of this study is to develop a model to arrive at a joint optimising strategy for capital budgeting for the construction of new school buildings and for the renovation of existing schools. This model provides a practical tool for ranking construction projects so as to yield the maximum positive impact on the education system. A key aspect of the model is that it provides the optimal mix of renovation and new construction that should be undertaken under a fixed budget constraint.The model is applied to a sample dataset from the education sector of Limpopo province, South Africa, in order to quantify the benefits of using the model. The benefits from using this model for decision making on the evaluation of new and renovation investments in school infrastructure is estimated to increase the effectiveness of these investments by up to 300 percent over the counterfactual system for making these decisions.

scholarly journals Comparison between qualitative rockfall risk rating systems for a road affected by high traffic intensity

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1643-1653 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Budetta ◽  
M. Nappi
Keyword(s):  
Rating System ◽  
Traffic Intensity ◽  
Rock Slopes ◽  
Rating Systems ◽  
Rockfall Hazard ◽  
The Road ◽  
Risk Rating ◽  
System A ◽  
Sight Distance ◽  
Hazard Rating

Abstract. The paper deals with the assessment of the rockfall risk for a road stretch, in southern Italy, affected by high traffic intensity. Three qualitative rockfall risk rating systems (QRSs) which use an exponential scoring with a base of 3 were employed, and then the results were compared. The used methods are the following: the Rockfall Hazard Rating System, a modified version of this method already proposed in the past by one of the authors, and the modified version of the Colorado Rockfall Hazard Rating System. The studied road stretch is about 11 km in length and is part of a very tortuous road flanked by rock slopes characterised by complex geostructural and geomechanical layouts. The road was subdivided into 56 sections, defined so as to have – as much as possible – homogeneous geological characteristics. By means of the three QRSs, it was possible to ascertain that high levels of rockfall risks are due to the lack of ditches, a very limited percentage of decision sight distance (PDSD) values and a small roadway width, whereas a subordinate factor is the hazard caused by rockfalls. Several positive and negative aspects arising from the use of the employed methods are highlighted and discussed.

scholarly journals Revision of Sustainable Road Rating Systems: Selection of the Best Suited System for Hungarian Road Construction Using TOPSIS Method

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (21) ◽  
pp. 8884
Author(s):  
Réka Szpotowicz (née Nádasi) ◽  
Csaba Tóth
Keyword(s):  
Construction Projects ◽  
Input Data ◽  
Road Construction ◽  
Rating System ◽  
Topsis Method ◽  
Rating Systems ◽  
Order Preference ◽  
Academic Professionals ◽  
Selection Of ◽  
The Ideal

There are a number of sustainable and environmentally friendly techniques and methods currently available in the construction industry. To promote sustainable development, different rating and certificating systems that evaluate the level of sustainability during the development of infrastructure construction projects have been developed. The aim of the research presented in this paper was to examine the applicability of sustainability rating systems in Hungary and find the most suitable option. After a review of commonly used rating systems, i.e., Greenroads, GreenLITES, I-LAST, Envision, and INVEST, the most suitable existing rating system is selected with the help of the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to the Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) mathematical decision analysis method. This was achieved by utilizing 12 categories of input data (weights) analyzed through TOPSIS. The input data (weights) of the TOPSIS method were determined by a small research group of industry experts and academic professionals based on Hungarian practices and methodology. As a result of the calculation, the study found that the Envision rating system satisfies the criteria best, closely followed by Greenroads.

A STEP FORWARD ENHANCING GREEN BUILDINGS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nahla Hazem Hussein ◽  
Irene Samy Fahim
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Life Quality ◽  
Green Building ◽  
The United States ◽  
Rating System ◽  
Sustainable Construction ◽  
Rating Systems ◽  
New Construction ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Hierarchy Process

Sustainability is essential for maintaining certain levels of life quality for next generations. Accordingly, Egypt started to establish its own rating system to achieve sustainable development. There are several green building rating systems that are recently used such as: the LEED (Leadership in energy and environmental Design) rating system, Green Pyramid Rating System “GPRS”, and TARSHEED rating system. GPRS and LEED are almost the same since GPRS is based on LEED. Due to the significant cultural and environmental changes between Egypt and the United States, LEED rating system cannot be implemented in Egypt. On the other hand, the rating system TARSHEED includes three categories only, namely energy, water, and habitat, to determine sustainable construction performances. For example, waste management category which is one of Egypt’s challenges is ignored by TARSHEED. This research introduces a new modified rating system for new construction with new weights to suit Egypt requirements. This work presents a comprehensive study and comparative analysis between the existing green building rating systems for new construction in Egypt. Moreover, some surveys and questionnaires are conducted to take the experts opinion in the green field. A new checklist for new construction is constructed using data obtained from Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) decision making tool. This list includes new categories and subcategories with new weights, which suit the environmental challenges in Egypt.

scholarly journals Greening Existing Buildings with the LEED Rating System

2009 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brad Jones ◽  
Peter Dahl ◽  
John Stokes
Keyword(s):  
Implementation Strategies ◽  
Rating System ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Existing Buildings ◽  
Rating Systems ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Existing Building ◽  
Operations And Maintenance ◽  
New Construction ◽  
The Impact

When considering the current situation of the built environment it becomes readily apparent that the LEED for Existing Buildings Operations and Maintenance (LEED-EBOM) Rating System is the most important of all the LEED Rating Systems. Historically its adoption in the industry has lagged behind the better known LEED for New Construction Rating System. In the effort to create more efficient, healthy, and financially sound buildings, LEED-EBOM accounts for two significant classes of buildings: buildings certified under the LEED Rating Systems geared toward design and construction, and buildings not previously certified. LEED-EBOM is a tool to measure the impact of a building's operations and provide a means to track performance over time. This information allows stakeholders to make informed decisions about operating policies that support energy efficiency, reduced environmental impact, and comfortable spaces for the occupants of the building. This article presents statistics about the existing building stock, provides an overview of the LEED-EBOM Rating System, and offers examples of successful implementation strategies drawn from over a dozen projects certified through the LEED-EB Rating Systems.

scholarly journals Embodied Carbon as a Material Selection Criterion: Insights from Sri Lankan Construction Sector

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 2202
Author(s):  
Amalka Nawarathna ◽  
Muditha Siriwardana ◽  
Zaid Alwan
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Material Selection ◽  
Selection Criterion ◽  
Green Building ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Rating Systems ◽  
Embodied Carbon ◽  
The Government

The choice of materials is crucial in responding to the increasing embodied carbon (EC) impacts of buildings. Building professionals involved in material selection for construction projects have a vital role to play in this regard. This paper aimed to explore the extent to which building professionals in Sri Lanka considered EC as a material selection criterion. A questionnaire survey was conducted among a sample of building professionals in Sri Lanka. The results indicated that the consideration of EC as a material selection criterion remained low among key professionals, such as architects, engineers, and sustainability managers, despite their reasonable influencing powers and knowledge of EC. Those respondents who had considered EC as a selection criterion said they had been primarily driven by green building rating systems and previous experience. Those respondents who had not considered EC during material selection commonly reported that they had been prevented from doing so by the lack of regulations and the lack of alternative low carbon materials. Respondents believed that the involvement of actors, such as the government, professional bodies, environmental organizations, activist groups, and the public, may be significant in promoting the greater consideration of EC during material selection.

scholarly journals Designing Informative Rating Systems: Evidence from an Online Labor Market

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikhil Garg ◽  
Ramesh Johari
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Rating Scales ◽  
Problem Definition ◽  
Rating System ◽  
Rating Systems ◽  
Market Participants ◽  
Model Based ◽  
Treatment Conditions ◽  
Online Labor

Problem definition: Platforms critically rely on rating systems to learn the quality of market participants. In practice, however, ratings are often highly inflated and therefore, not very informative. In this paper, we first investigate whether the platform can obtain less inflated, more informative ratings by altering the meaning and relative importance of the levels in the rating system. Second, we seek a principled approach for the platform to make these choices in the design of the rating system. Academic/practical relevance: Platforms critically rely on rating systems to learn the quality of market participants, and so, ensuring these ratings are informative is of first-order importance. Methodology: We analyze the results of a randomized, controlled trial on an online labor market in which an additional question was added to the feedback form. Between treatment conditions, we vary the question phrasing and answer choices; in particular, the treatment conditions include several positive-skewed verbal rating scales with descriptive phrases or adjectives providing specific interpretation for each rating level. We then develop a model-based framework to compare and select among rating system designs and apply this framework to the data obtained from the online labor market test. Results: Our test reveals that current inflationary norms can be countered by reanchoring the meaning of the levels of the rating system. In particular, positive-skewed verbal rating scales yield substantially deflated rating distributions that are much more informative about seller quality. Further, we demonstrate that our model-based framework for scale design and optimization can identify the most informative rating system and substantially improve the quality of information obtained over baseline designs. Managerial implications: Our study illustrates that practical, informative rating systems can be designed and demonstrates how to compare and design them in a principled manner.

scholarly journals COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF TRANSPORTATION SUSTAINABILITY RATING SYSTEMS

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Oluwatobi Oluwalaiye ◽  
Mehmet E. Ozbek
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
New York State ◽  
Triple Bottom Line ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Rating System ◽  
Rating Systems ◽  
Bottom Line ◽  
Environmental Aspect ◽  
Transportation Sustainability

The construction industry contributes a significant amount of greenhouse gas emissions to the environment. This highlights the need for this industry to implement sustainable practices to mitigate its negative effects. Sustainability in the construction industry involves considering project development in terms of economic, social, and environmental aspects (triple bottom line). In the transportation sector of the construction industry, several transportation sustainability rating systems (TSRS) have been developed to measure and promote sustainability. However, studies show that these TSRS have not been developed within a consistent “sustainability scope”. This raises the question of the consistency of these TSRS in measuring sustainability of transportation projects. This study assesses three prominent TSRS to determine how each measures sustainability with respect to the triple bottom line. The TSRS that are in the scope of this study are: (i) Envision-a third-party rating system, (ii) INVEST-a self-assessed rating and, (iii) GreenLITES-an in-house developed self-assessed rating system for the New York State DOT. Results show that while these three rating systems provide different levels of credits/points with respect to the triple bottom line, they all place the highest focus on the environmental aspect.

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