Barriers and drivers to green buildings in Australia and New Zealand

Abstract

Purpose -Improving energy efficiency of buildings and appliances has been shown to be the most cost-effective way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The aim of this research is to identify householders' lifestyle choices within homes that impact on energy use and their motivation to conserve energy. The results help to identify methods to increase the uptake of sustainability practices that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions in residential buildings. Design/methodology/approach -A postal survey was adopted as the quickest and most cost-effective way of surveying a large sample of householders across Australia. The survey was sent to 2,500 randomly selected residents, 500 in each of the five largest Australian cities by population. Findings -The results identified that barriers to energy efficiency in households include: larger homes and smaller households; initial costs of sustainable features, and a lack of consumer information about benefits and savings from incorporating energy-efficient devices. The most common reason why people are not acting in more sustainable ways is inconvenience or laziness.Research limitations/implications -The response rate was very low and retired persons were over-represented, as they are the people with more time to answer surveys. Further research is warranted to achieve a larger, more representative sample. Practical implications -These results will be useful to Government policy makers as they help to identify methods to increase the uptake of sustainable features and energy conservation in homes. Originality/value -This study is the first attempt at a nation-wide study of residential behavior to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in homes.

Drivers for and barriers to low-energy buildings in Sweden

“…Knowledge society is built on information and the existence of independent and impartial information about the benefits of energy-efficient technology is crucial for adoption (Rogers, 2003;Toole, 1998;Tushman and Nadler, 1978;Bond, 2011;Stern and Aronson, 1984;Halme et al, 2005;Attari et al, 2010). Accordingly, Rogers (2003) stresses the importance of good communication channels through which trustworthy information can flow.…”

Is New Governance the Silver Bullet? Insights from the Australian Buildings Sector

“…Nevertheless, various studies on the Australian buildings sector question whether these Federal policies and programmes are sufficient for meeting the complex problems faced (for an overview, see Bond, 2011). Two conclusions recur in these studies (AGO, 2006;Johanson, 2011;Maller & Horne, 2011): the existing policies, legislative requirements, and regulations in the Australian buildings sector pay too limited attention to potential improvements of the environmental performance of the residential sector, and they pay too little attention to the existing building stock.…”

“…This sector presently accounts for roughly 23 per cent of Australia's carbon emissions (CIE, 2007), but with the current technologies reductions of up to 50 per cent of carbon emissions may be achieved in a cost-effective way and without losing the utility of our built environment (Newman et al, 2009). The achievement of such reductions through more sustainable construction and use of buildings is addressed in Federal policies and programmes, yet these policies and programmes are criticised for having a limited reach and for moving too slowly to take up the challenges faced and exploit the potential the buildings sector holds to reduce Australia's carbon emissions significantly (Bond, 2011).…”

Voluntary Environmental Governance Arrangements in the Australian Building Sector

“…From 2000 onwards, a series of studies has been undertaken to gain a better understanding of the key issues in the sector that need attention in VOLUNTARY ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE ARRANGEMENTS 351 addressing environmental risks (for an overview, see Bond 2011). Two conclusions recur, namely, that existing policies, legislative requirements and regulations do not pay enough attention to potential improvements in the environmental performance of the residential sector, and they do not pay enough attention to the existing building stock (AGO 2006;Johanson 2011;Maller and Horne 2011).…”