Contribution of Facilities Management Services to Green Building Rating Score

Calcutt, Ryan (2018) Contribution of Facilities Management Services to Green Building Rating Score. [USQ Project]


Abstract

Over the past decade, global attention has shifted towards climate change threat caused by human activities. Several studies have highlighted the tremendous adverse impacts caused by the built environment as a major contributor to the climate change problem. Moreover, it has been well instated that the majority of these impact occur during the operational phase of a building’s life cycle. This means that the efficient management of buildings can play a significant role in reducing carbon dioxide emissions and sustaining the environment. Facilities managers scope includes the management and maintenance of several building services such as HVAC, lighting, cleaning and waste management that can significantly impact the environmental performance of buildings. Despite the significant number of studies on Green Building benefits and certification systems and the pressing efforts to mainstream green building processes, there is very limited evidence of research on the specific contribution of facilities managers to improving buildings’ green rating. This study attempts to understand the impact of Facilities Management (FM) in improving the Green Building (GB) rating of existing buildings, through benchmarking against three internationally recognised GB rating systems, Green Star – Performance v1.2, LEED v4.1 EB: O+M and BREEAM In-Use v2. The study uses a combined qualitative research methodology of three parts; the first part is a case study of the 6 stars Green Star certified Commonwealth bank of Australia, the second part is a qualitative analysis of the technical manuals of the three identified rating systems to understand the implied FM role under each system. The third part is a survey questionnaire targeting building professionals of engineers, contractors and facility managers with relevant green building experience to understand their perspectives of FM role in the GB rating process. The study finds that under all three rating systems, FM plays a central role in meeting the majority of the predetermined assessment criteria. FM internal processes and policies have direct influence over the majority of the credit requirements. Moreover, the study finds that although FM’s role is mostly significant during operations, the involvement of FM in the GB facilitation process is required from as early as the planning stage to ensure smooth and well-integrated GB delivery.


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Item Type: USQ Project
Item Status: Live Archive
Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: Historic - Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Civil Engineering and Surveying (1 Jul 2013 - 31 Dec 2021)
Supervisors: Thorpe, David
Qualification: Bachelor of Construction (Management)
Date Deposited: 29 Aug 2022 23:56
Last Modified: 27 Jun 2023 04:51
Uncontrolled Keywords: climate change; built environment; Green Building
URI: https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/40683

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