SOFTWARE REVIEWS
A Review of Tools to Assess the
Sustainability in Building
Construction
Abhilash Vijayan and Ashok Kumar
Dept. of Civil Engineering, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43606
Published online 28 January 2005 in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ep.10065
INTRODUCTION
Resource management has always been a priority
for mankind. From the early ages, when it was a fight
for survival, humans have learned the importance of
resource conservation. Today, the focus of resource
management has not just stopped at the conservation
of food but has evolved and entails an even larger
picture. Moreover, technological advancements and
growing population have added an additional burden
on Mother Nature and her resources [1]. For instance,
the uncontrolled chopping of trees for human use has
not only resulted in loss of forests but has also in-
creased environmental pollution. Humankind now un-
derstands the consequences of its actions and has come
to terms with the fact that the resources are limited and
should be preserved and conserved for future genera-
tions. This concept of sustainability, and the develop-
ment stemming from it, has been applied to a variety of
actions that have been the foremost consumers of re-
sources for years.
The building industry is one of the largest consum-
ers in terms of natural resources, and one of the largest
producers of pollution thereafter, which has been a
cause for concern for scientists. According to the U.S.
Green Building Council (USGBC), in the United States
[2] buildings account for:
● 36% of total energy use and 65% of electricity con-
sumption
● 30% of greenhouse gas emissions
● 30% of raw materials use
● 30% of waste output, which is 136 million tons
annually
● 12% of potable water consumption
In the United Kingdom (U.K.) [3],
© 2005 American Institute of Chemical Engineers
Environmental Progress (Vol.24, No.2)
● 10% of the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions arise
from the production and use of building materials
● Construction industry uses 6 tons of building mate-
rials per head of population every year
● Materials production and construction accounts for
an estimated 122 million tons of waste, or 30% of the
total
This has led to an increased focus on the opportunities
to reduce the depletion caused by construction world-
wide. Advanced research is being conducted in the
fields of resource management, pollution prevention,
and sustainable or green construction. Breakthroughs
in building science, technology, and operations are
available to designers, builders, and owners who want
to build green and maximize both economic and envi-
ronmental performance. Sustainable building incorpo-
rates the concepts and principles of energy efficiency,
water conservation, recycled-content materials, waste
reduction, building longevity, healthy structures, and
the integration of environmental concerns and green
construction, thereby striking a balance between social,
economic, and environmental issues. Building green
has the following benefits over traditional construction
style:
Environmental Benefits
● Enhance and protect ecosystems and biodiversity
● Improve air and water quality
● Reduce waste generation
● Conserve natural resources
Economic Benefits
● Reduce operating costs
● Enhance asset value and profits
● Improve employee productivity and satisfaction
● Optimize life-cycle economic performance
July 2005 125
 ● Minimize strain on local infrastructure
Social Benefits
● Enhance health and general well-being
● Improve air, thermal, and acoustic environments
● Enhance occupant comfort and health
● Contribute to overall quality of life
The success of sustainable construction lies in the avail-
ability of standards by which we can compare and
assess the sustainability of any given building. This
paper is an attempt to review the available tools around
the world that help position a building along the road
to sustainability.
LEED
® tion if it can meet all prerequisites and achieve a min-
LEED , the “Leadership in Energy & Environmental
Design” Green Building Rating System, is a voluntary
consensus standard developed by the U.S. Green
Building Council (USGBC) for developing sustainable
buildings that have superior performance in the areas
of sustainable site development, water savings, energy
efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmen-
tal quality. It is a voluntary, consensus standard that
recognizes expertise in green building through a sys-
tem that offers high-level training and knowledge in
addition to certification and accreditation.
LEED standards are currently available or under de-
velopment for
● New commercial construction and major renovation
projects (LEED-NC)
● Existing building operations (LEED-EB)
● Commercial interiors projects (LEED-CI)
● Core and shell projects (LEED-CS)
● Homes (LEED-H)
Certification requires certain prerequisites in the fields
of site sustainability, energy systems and practices, ma-
terials and resources, and indoor environmental qual-
ity. For instance, site analysis for certification proceeds
only if erosion and sedimentation control techniques
have been applied to the site. Fundamental building
systems commissioning, minimum energy perfor-
mance, and CFC reduction in HVAC&R equipment
must be met with for energy systems analysis. Storage
and collection of recyclables is a must in the field of
materials and resources practices. The building must
meet the minimum requirements in indoor air quality
performance and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS)
control for it to be considered for certification. Figure 1
presents the varied sections in LEED analysis.
The certification review process includes the follow-
ing:
1. Application Submittal. The project team submits
copies of all project application materials to the
LEED Certification Manager along with the project
details and the building drawings and plans.
2. LEED Version 2 Technical Reviews. The submitted
material on prerequisites and credits are reviewed
for compliance and a preliminary LEED document
explaining the credits earned, pending, and denied
is issued by the USGBC within 30 days. The appli-
cant can provide corrections or additions as a sup-
plement to the original submittal within 30 days of
126 July 2005
receipt of the preliminary document, upon which
the USGBC conducts a Final LEED Review of the
application and notifies the project contact of the
LEED certification.
3. Award and Appeal. The project team needs to ac-
cept or appeal the awarded certification from US-
GBC within 30 days, failing which the awarded
certification becomes absolute and cannot be con-
tested. The project team receives an award letter,
certificate, and metal LEED plaque indicating the
certification level and projects are referred to as
LEED-certified buildings.
Certification Criteria
The project is a viable candidate for LEED certifica-
imum of 26 points. To rate a building, it receives one or
more points for meeting individual requirements spec-
ified in the rating system. The certification officer
makes use of a Project Checklist [4] to assess a building
and award points, as shown in Figure 2. The total of all
points constitutes the building’s rating and, based on
the rating, the building can be classified into one of
four certification levels:
1. Platinum Level: 69 –52 points
2. Gold Level: 39 –51 points
3. Silver Level: 33–38 points
4. Certified: 26 –32 points
ENVEST 2
ENVEST 2 is the first UK software that estimates the
sustainability of a building using the BRE (Building
Research Establishment) environmental profiles meth-
odology, and identifies its environmental impacts at-
tributed to the construction materials and the energy
and resources consumed throughout the building life
cycle. It allows the comparison of different building
projects, thereby allowing identification of best prac-
tices and thus benchmarking for value. Envest facili-
tates the building to reach a balance between its envi-
ronmental impacts and life-cycle costs. Envest can
either estimate the performance of a building using
default values for environmental and financial data, or
calculate with a user-specific financial data. Details on
this product can be obtained at http://envestv2.
bre.co.uk/.
The user starts the project by registering the profile.
The Envest software allows different projects to be
assessed at different times from a single account. All the
projects can be saved for future reference and compar-
ison.
The first stage of the tool necessitates information on
the building details that include the physical details and
the structural characteristics. These details constitute
the preliminary information on the project to be ana-
lyzed. Varied building shapes are made available on
the tool with their corresponding Whole Life Costs
(WLC) and Ecopoints. This facilitates the comparison of
the user’s building shape to that provided in the tool,
and an opportunity to the user to select a different
building shape with better Life Cycle Costs (LCC) com-
pared to that of the original.
Environmental Progress (Vol.24, No.2)
Figure 1. Avenues for LEED analysis.
Building Fabric and Structure is the next area of
analysis in the tool. This carries out a detailed analysis
on the different elements of structure and fabric and
presents the Ecopoints and WLC for each element. The
elements involved in this part of analysis include:
1. Structure and Cement (building frame and founda-
tion)
2. External Wall
3. Internal Wall
4. Floors at different levels
5. External Openings (windows, roof lights)
6. Ceiling
7. Roof
The tool is designed to delve into the finer details of
each of these elements that contribute toward the en-
Environmental Progress (Vol.24, No.2)
vironmental impact and Ecopoints. Envest uses mini-
mum data to help designers identify the elements that
have maximum impact on the environment.
The tool also analyzes the various services in a
building that include Heating, Lighting, Water, Ventila-
tion, Cooling, Lifts, Catering, Office Equipments, and
Humidification and discusses heat losses through walls,
roofs, windows, and flooring.
The final results of the analysis are supplied in the form
of a number of reports and graphs that compare the
environmental and economic impacts of the various de-
signs, thus catering to the user’s needs and understanding.
The user has the option of choosing the reports on Eco-
points or Ecopoints/sq-m and LCC or LCC/sq-m. The
various reports and graphs are as follows:
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Figure 2. Project checklist for LEED assessment.

1. Embodied (materials) vs. Operational: Pie chart be- 2. Embodied elemental breakdown: Graph showing
tween Ecopoints attributed to materials vs. opera- Ecopoints arising from materials in each element of
tion of the building the building

128 July 2005 Environmental Progress (Vol.24, No.2)

Figure 3. Report showing the impact arising from various elements in the Building Fabric and Structure.
3. Embodied environmental breakdown: Table show-
ing environmental impacts of every material in each
element
4. Operational elemental breakdown: Graph showing
Ecopoints from every service type in the operation
of building
5. Operational environmental breakdown: Table
showing environmental impact of every operation
of the building
6. Ecopoints environmental breakdown: Graph show-
ing the Ecopoints for materials and operations per
environmental impact
7. Totals: Graph showing the Ecopoints for the equip-
ment and materials, and operation of services for
each service type (heating, lighting, etc.)
8. Embodied: Graph showing the Ecopoints for the
equipment and materials (embodied) broken down
by service type
9. Operational: Graph showing the Ecopoints for the
operation of services, broken down by service type
The graphs and tables mentioned above can be pro-
duced for more than one building, allowing compari-
sons with one or more buildings. Comparisons can be
made on a building-to-building level, or on a per m2
basis. Because this tool deals with the environmental
impact, the user has an opportunity to assess the dif-
ferent impacts an element can produce when replaced
with another. Results are interpreted in terms of envi-
ronmental impacts. This feature highlights the software
because it enables the user to analyze a building’s
impact under different types and usage of building
material in various sections.
Environmental Progress (Vol.24, No.2)
Figure 3 is a screenshot of a report generated by
ENVEST that shows the impact arising from various
elements in the Building Fabric and Structure. Figure 4
explains the breakdown of operational impact by en-
vironmental issues.
Envest measures the environmental impacts in terms
of Ecopoints. Ecopoints are a measure of overall envi-
ronmental impact developed by BRE. Ecopoints are
normalized scores, obtained by dividing the impacts of
UK by its population because normalization gives
equal importance to all the measured issues; 100 Eco-
points are equivalent to the environmental impact of
the average UK citizen in one year. More Ecopoints
indicate higher environmental impact. Figure 5 shows
the various environmental impacts that an Ecopoint
measures.
BRE Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM)
is the world’s most widely used means of reviewing
and improving the environmental performance of
buildings since its launch in 1990. ENVEST when used
with the BREEAM and EcoHomes (the homes version
of BREEAM) offers a complete picture on the best
practices in environmental design and management.
BASIX
Building Sustainability Index, or BASIX is a web-
based, self-assessment tool to assess the sustainability
performance of new residential construction and to
reduce their environmental impact so as to create more
water- and energy-efficient homes and reduce the
greenhouse gas contribution of each dwelling. Every
applicant wishing to build a new home in New South
July 2005 129
Figure 4. Breakdown of operational impact by environmental issues.
Wales (NSW) is required to complete a BASIX assess-
ment in relation to his or her proposal. Currently BASIX
applies only to single dwellings in the greater Sydney
region, although it will apply to multidwelling devel-
opments in Sydney as of Feb. 1, 2005; apply to all of
NSW by July 1, 2005; and be applicable to alterations
and additions to existing residential structures as of
Oct. 1, 2005.
The BASIX assessment procedure requires the user
to analyze the project using the assessment tool and
meet the BASIX targets to be eligible for certification.
The proposal is scored according to its potential to
consume 40% less of the main water supply and 25%
less energy than those of an average existing home
within Sydney. BASIX assesses the building’s perfor-
mance with the help of sustainability indices in the
areas of Landscape, Storm water, Water (Demand),
Thermal Comfort, and Energy.
The assessment begins once the user registers and
creates a project portfolio. The tool requires the input
Figure 5. Ecopoints— environmental impacts.
130 July 2005
of landscape and land usage area such as the site
location, dwelling size, floor area, landscaped area, and
services of the user for the assessment of water and
energy. BASIX uses its interactive format to enable the
exchange of information between indices. The data
entered into the landscape section merely assist in
assessing water demand and usage of the proposed
development. Data input for Landscape and Storm water
is considered in the assessment of water usage and to-
wards its score. The tool provides tips to the user to come
into compliance with the standards. Different fittings such
as showerhead, toilets, tap fittings, swimming pool, and
different appliances that use water, such as a washing
machine and dishwasher, contribute toward the water
score. However, it is interesting to know that the appli-
ances cannot be used to reach the BASIX target. A sum-
mary of the possible (maximum) score for each topic,
compared with the user’s score, is made available once all
the data are entered. The user meets the target for water
section by achieving a score of 40.
Environmental Progress (Vol.24, No.2)
Figure 6. Visual interpretation of energy and water scores.
Thermal comfort of a building is analyzed by using
either the Simulation method or the Deemed-to-com-
ply method. There is no score given to this area, how-
ever; certification is obtained only if the user’s project
gets a “pass ” for thermal comfort. For the Simulation
method heating and cooling loads are calculated using
the nationwide House Energy Rating System
(natHERS). The cooling load must not exceed a maxi-
mum cooling load based on net conditioned floor area
and the total cooling, and heating loads must be less
than the maximum allowable to pass the Thermal com-
fort requirements in the Simulation method of analysis.
In the Deemed-to-comply method, complete details of
construction, glazing, shading, insulation, and roof
color need to be entered for the analysis. The Deemed-
to-comply method is used by the tool only if the dwell-
ing is not significantly overshadowed and the total
skylight area is less than 2% of the gross floor area;
otherwise, the Simulation method is used for analysis.
In the energy section users must supply information
on heating, cooling, and hot water systems, as well as
data with respect to lighting, cooking, swimming pool
and spa, and design enhancements. Energy ratings of
the appliances affect the user’s score, but the appli-
ances cannot be used to reach the BASIX energy target.
A score of 25 in energy is required to obtain certifica-
tion.
The tool facilitates the representation of energy and
water scores on a scale for visual interpretation (Figure
Environmental Progress (Vol.24, No.2)
6) that helps the user to identify and position the
proposed project on the road to sustainability.
The projects page of the tool provides graphs on
water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of
the proposed project compared to that of an average
dwelling of the same type. The user can view and print
a detailed report of the entire assessment for his/her
records and future use from the reports section. A
BASIX certification is given to the project if it achieves
the BASIX targets for water, thermal comfort, and en-
ergy. The user can print the BASIX certificate that also
lists the various sustainability commitments made for
the proposed project. The BASIX certificate must be
submitted with the development application and certi-
fiers and building inspectors check that commitments
made are indeed incorporated into the development’s
final construction. If in case the user is unable to meet
the targets or complete the assessment, the project can
be submitted for alternate assessment with a modified
design or a commitment to additional sustainability
measures.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
Building green is the solution for the present-day
environmental and resource crisis. Sustainable build-
ings enhance the living environment for the user, while
being an ecofriendlier option for the environment. It
not only turns out as a cost-efficient alternative for the
July 2005 131
owner, but is also a boon to the national and global
economy.
Certification establishes recognized leadership in the 2.
green building sector, while at the same time contrib-
uting to the growing green building awareness. It pro-
vides an incentive for better environmental perfor- 3.
mance by means of publicizing the achievements and
recognizing the effort.
The three tools discussed in this paper stand out as 4.
exemplary models to publicize the importance of sus-
tainable construction. These tools have helped to
broaden the objectives, and recognize the societal im- 5.
pacts of buildings and construction as a whole. Al-
though they are the best tools available at present, the
makers of these tools understand the need for improve- 6.
ment, and are constantly in the process of upgrading,
appreciating the inputs from public, and other institu-
tions of research to expand their knowledge base and 7.
set a higher standard.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 8.
The authors thank the following people for their
guidance and help: Dara Zycherman and the team of
LEED; Thomas Piper and the team of Envest; and Rob 9.
Nicoll and the team of BASIX.
10.
LITERATURE CITED
1. Roodman, D.M., & Lenssen, N. (1995). A building 11.
revolution: How ecology and health concerns are
132 July 2005
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USGBC News. (2004). http://www.usgbc.org/
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jsp, Sept.
Porter, D.R., & Platt, R.H. (2000). The practice of
sustainable development, Washington, DC: The
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LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental
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www.usgbc.org/Docs/LEEDdocs/LEED-NC_
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Envest 2 website. (2004). http://envestv2.bre.
co.uk, Sept.
Envest—Understanding your results. (2004).
http://www.bre.co.uk/pdf/Envest_results.pdf,
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BASIX website. (2004). www.basix.nsw.gov.au,
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153.11/basix_home.jsp, Sept.
Environmental Progress (Vol.24, No.2)