A Framework for Developing Green Building Rating Tools Based on Pakistan’s Local Context

Abstract

Most countries have developed green building rating tools that are based on social, environmental, and economic dimensions. Pakistan followed a similar approach and has developed a rating tool known as Sustainability in Energy and Environmental Development (SEED). However, SEED is built on developed western countries’ rating tool standards which do not address Pakistan’s unique local context, especially from the cultural and governmental perspectives. This research aims to fill this research gap by developing a holistic framework of building rating tools that incorporates cultural and governmental dimensions. Based on an extensive literature review, a hypothetical framework, incorporating Pakistan’s unique local contexts and adding cultural and governmental dimensions to the widely adopted social, environmental, and economic dimensions of sustainability, was proposed in this paper. This framework was further validated by in-depth interviews with multiple stakeholders in Pakistan. A qualitative analysis of the interview results was carried out, and the final framework was proposed with key indicators, reflecting all five dimensions of sustainability. The verified sustainability framework can be used to improve or develop green building rating tools for Pakistan, and it can also inform other developing countries’ rating tool development.

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“…As mentioned above, many indicators used in Europe and the United States are referenced, and standards differ depending on the characteristics of countries [32]. Specifically, considering sustainability, there was a discussion about applying detailed items, with an appropriate weight, based on the characteristics of each country [33]. The creation of sustainable buildings in Korea is promoted by five principles according to the GBA.…”

“…Based on these principles, a certification system related to the energy efficiency of public buildings was prepared and classified. In previous studies, energy-related evaluation tools for buildings were compared using five dimensions of sustainability: environmental, social, economic, cultural, and governance [33]. The Korean certifications, however, focus mainly on energy resources and material, along with resource consumption and environmental waste [23].…”

CEO Overconfidence and Corporate Governance in Affecting Australian Listed Construction and Property Firms’ Trading Activity

“…The developed framework arguably would enhance corporate governance of REITs and limit behavioural biases such as overconfidence. Importantly, corporate governance has been widely seen as a key pillar of sustainability in many green rating systems [28]. Daniel and Titman [29] also argued overconfidence is likely to influence REIT investors as REITs do provide less subjective information with stable incomes.…”

“…ESG and corporate governance, therefore, have received a vast amount of attention from policy makers and property researchers that studied many issues of CSR and sustainability [10,28,40]. Further, a large number of property studies have been performed in managerial and behavioural issues [41], including the aspects of risk management [42][43][44], agency, information asymmetry, and capital structure [44,45], as well as purchasing decision making [45,46].…”

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“…Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) was launched in the United Kingdom as the first rating tool, while Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) introduced by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) is the most widely used rating tool (Illankoon et al, 2019, Khan et al, 2019. Other frequently used certification standards include Comprehensive Assessment System for Building Environmental Efficiency (CASBEE) in Japan, Green Star in Australia, and Green Mark in Singapore (Khan et al, 2021, Illankoon et al, 2019. Energy use is one of the major elements examined in the assessment process of these rating tools, and the primary approach to reducing energy use is improving energy efficiency (Chen et al, 2015, Yu et al, 2020.…”