Evaluation of existing sustainable infrastructure rating systems for their application in developing countries

Abstract

Several sustainable building rating systems were created worldwide during the last decades due to economic growth and the significance of environmental impact associated with the building industry. Similar infrastructure rating tools have started to be developed and implemented, being highly necessary to promote its development. Even though the existing sustainable infrastructure rating systems are focused on advanced economies, growing environmental concerns are increasing the need for new systems in the Developing World. This research analyses some of the mainstream infrastructure rating frameworks such as Envision (USA), Civil Engineering Environmental Quality (CEEQUAL) assessment (UK) and Infrastructure Sustainability (IS) Rating Tool (Australia) from the perspective of the Triple Bottom Line (economy, environment and society), in order to determine the effectiveness of their application in the context of the least developed countries. The analysis revealed that the three tools are biased towards the environmental dimension and are mainly oriented to developed countries. Consequently, the foundations on which these systems are based need to be further developed and enhanced to be of real relevance in poorer nations by balancing the weight of sustainable pillars, incorporating effective management guidelines and development goals set by United Nations declarations, and considering impacts beyond the single project framework.

Evaluating the regional social sustainability contribution of public‐private partnerships in China: The development of an indicator system

“…Evaluating the contribution of PPPs to regional social sustainability at the institutional level is neglected likely because there is no consensus on which criteria and perspectives should be adopted in defining the relationship between PPPs and social sustainability (Hueskes et al, ; Missimer, Robèrt, & Broman, ). Social sustainability is a series of processes for improving the quality of living environment of current and future generations (Colantonio, ; Diaz‐Sarachaga et al, ; Yang et al, ), which will put enormous pressure on public services (Ardeshiri, Willis, & Ardeshiri, Willis, & Ardeshiri, ). Public service is an intangible process or activity that constitutes the content of a physical container—infrastructures—which exists to provide appropriate conditions for general public (Rusek, Marsal‐Llacuna, Torrent Fontbona, & Colomer Llinas, ).…”

“…SIA can be defined as the process of assessing or estimating in advance the social consequences that are likely to follow from specific policy actions or project developments, particularly in the context of the appropriate national, state, or provincial environmental policy legislation (Vanclay, ). SIA has played an increasingly important role in conducting planned interventions (projects, programs, plans, and policies), providing proponents with the capacity to assess and to manage the social consequences of their activities (Arce‐Gomez, Donovan, & Bedggood, ). Furthermore, international sustainable development indicators, which are expected to be adapted to the national context, should be considered (Diaz‐Sarachaga et al, ). Thus, international SDGs indicators proposed by UN () were reviewed. Meanwhile, a number of local factors should also be taken into account, such as the level of development and existing national and local policies (Biermann, Kanie, & Kim, ).…”

“…Sustainable development can be monitored using an indicator system that suggested or used in special contexts and for specific purposes (Sun et al, ). Existing PPPs sustainable evaluation tools are mainly designed for environment or economic sustainability (Diaz‐Sarachaga, Jato‐Espino, Alsulami, & Castro‐Fresno, ; Olakitan Atanda, ). Even though several evaluation tools have begun focusing on the social sustainability, they are mainly designed for the individual project, aiming to translate the SDGs into concrete actions at the project level (Chou, Tserng, Lin, & Huang, ; Hueskes et al, ; Patil & Laishram, ).…”

Case Study of Standard Multi-Storey Residential Building Owners and Tenants’ Perception of Building Technical Conditions and Renovation Issues

“…(Abdulai, Obeng-Odoom, Ochieng, and Maliene (2016), Ali and Nsairat (2009), Cole (2005), Chau, Tse, and Chung (2010), Ding (2008), Tambovceva, Geipele, and Geipele (2012), Kibert (2012), Lavasani and Werner (2012), Sarsby and Meggyes (2009), Diaz-Sarachaga, Jato-Espino, Alsulami, and Castro-Fresno, (2016) The economic crisis, which most severely hit the economy of Latvia, forced the real estate and construction sectors to purify themselves, improve and think of survival and future development opportunities. Therefore, like elsewhere in Europe, many concepts became topical in the construction sector of Latvia, such as sustainable construction, low-energy consumption buildings or low-energy building, green buildings or green construction, passive houses, lean construction or ascetic, economic construction and others (Stāmure, Kamola, & Geipele, 2015).…”

MCDM Assessment of a Healthy and Safe Built Environment According to Sustainable Development Principles: A Practical Neighborhood Approach in Vilnius

“…The direct basis weights of the j-th criteria are calculated using the following equation: (10) where j = 1, 2, . .…”