Urban density significantly impacts urban energy use and the quality of life of urban residents. Here, the authors provide a global-scale analysis of future urban densities and associated energy use in the built environment under different urbanization scenarios. The relative importance of urban density and energy-efficient technologies varies geographically. In developing regions, urban density tends to be the more critical factor in building energy use.

Green building assessment methods, which play an essential role in promoting the development of greenbuildings, have attracted much attention in recent years. Many studies have been conducted on the development of new assessment methods and improvement of existing ones through comparative analysis. However, there is no comprehensive study that explicitly explores these efforts. For this purpose, a systematic review of the existing literature on green building assessment methods through comparative analysis is carried out in this paper.

Australian residential sector contributes approximately 13 per cent of the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The New South Wales (NSW) government in Australia has introduced mandatory energy efficiency/ GHG emissions reduction target through the Building Sustainability Index (BASIX) assessment tool, which estimates the operational energy consumption and GHG emissions from new residential developments based on information available at the building design stage.

This paper explores potential future implications of climate change on building energy expenditures around the globe. Increasing expenditures result from increased electricity use for cooling, and are offset to varying degrees, depending on the region, by decreased energy consumption for heating. The analysis is conducted using a model of the global buildings sector within the GCAM integrated assessment model.

Limited literature exists on how insurance companies incorporate a focus on environmental sustainability into their core business strategy and practices. The article is intended to contribute to the implementation of corporate sustainability practices by presenting a framework or blueprint for insurance companies to follow which will enable them to integrate sustainability goals into their culture, core business, strategy and structure.

India has demonstrated that it is possible to reduce energy demand and increase the energy efficiency of its buildings, particularly for air-conditioning appliances. Given the rapid and large expected increase in India's building stock over the next 20 or more years, the opportunity exists to make significant increases in overall energy efficiency and reduce energy demand through the application of its Energy Conservation Building Code that influences the design, construction and operation of buildings.

India’s growth of energy demand in the building stock, and efforts to curb it, are placed into an international context by adapting the reporting criteria developed for the Global Alliance on Building & Construction's (GABC) Global Status Report (2017) on buildings and construction.

The Nationally Determined Contributions are allowing countries to examine options for reducing emissions through a range of domestic policies. India, like many developing countries, has committed to reducing emissions through specific policies, including building energy codes. Here we assess the potential of these sectoral policies to help in achieving mitigation targets. Collectively, it is critically important to see the potential impact of such policies across developing countries in meeting national and global emission goals.

Smart city experiments have the potential to reshape urban climate change governance. Smart city initiatives have been supported by international technology companies and the European Union for many years and continue to be promoted by national and municipal governments. In relation to sustainability and climate change, such initiatives promise more efficient use of resources through the use of information and communications technology in energy infrastructure.

Building energy codes have been widely implemented in the world to regulate energy consumption and CO2 emissions from the building sector. In order to assess the impacts of building energy codes on Australian building performance, this paper has compared the energy efficiency requirements of the Building Code of Australia (BCA) with the USA ASHRAE Standard 90.1 and Chinese GB50189, in terms of the building envelope, HVAC chiller efficiency, internal load density, and HVAC temperature set-points.

The main problem in creating successful efficiency improvement policies is adjusting objectives to local development programs, dependent on public awareness. This article attempts to find a framework for the costs of changing energy policies using neural networks to identify the social-infrastructure conditions. An analysis model is presented of social-infrastructure conditions of energy costs reduction and buildings’ efficiency improvement.

The article deals with efforts to reduce energy as a means to support the formulation of climate change public policies and strategies. Energy use in building design and operation is integral to these efforts. Energy efficiency advocates suggest that new buildings can (and should) be net-zero energy, and retrofitting existing buildings can achieve savings of approximately 50% (Architecture 2030, 2014).

The difference between actual and calculated energy is called the ‘energy-performance gap’. Possible explanations for this gap are construction mistakes, improper adjusting of equipment, excessive simplification in simulation models and occupant behaviour. Many researchers and governmental institutions think the occupant is the main cause of this gap. However, only limited evidence exists for this. Therefore, an analysis is presented of actual and theoretical energy consumption based on specific household types and building characteristics.

This study describes the results of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) applied to 24 statistically-based dwelling archetypes, representative of the EU housing stock in 2010. The aim is to quantify the average environmental impacts related to housing in Europe and to define reference values (baseline scenario) for policies development.

Environmental issues, costs, and limited energy supply, among other concerns have been driving the efforts toward more energy efficient buildings over the last four decades. Hence, energy efficiency is not only well-established within the building design and construction industries, but is also an active field of research. Many countries have state-mandated building energy codes that are becoming more stringent with time. Therefore, the building stock in many regions is becoming more efficient.

This paper applies cost–benefits analysis (CBA) and transaction cost (TC) theory to systematically evaluate the costs and benefits of implementing the green building economic incentives, with focused study on the Gross Floor Area (GFA) Concession Scheme in Hong Kong. The data of costs and benefits indicate how the GFA Concession Scheme motivates stakeholders and how much it benefits the built environment, which provides a solid foundation for the improvement of the GFA Concession Scheme.

It is increasingly recognised that the risks associated with climate change must be addressed through both mitigation and adaptation. Buildings are vulnerable to climate change risk and are also the source of a significant proportion of greenhouse gas emissions which contribute to climate change.

The current study aims for understanding the barriers and drivers towards energy efficiency renovations (EERs) amongst Dutch homeowners, and to aid in gaining a better insight into the role of public authorities in promoting EERs. First, the extrinsic drivers, including policies and other initiatives in the EER process are explained. Second, the intrinsic drivers and intrinsic/extrinsic barriers are explored. Regression analyses are performed on the national Dutch survey data for renovators and potential renovators.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the residential sector is central to European energy policy. However, the speed and scale of sustainable energy transitions need to accelerate. There is a growing consensus that meeting energy targets is highly dependent on interrelated socio-material and cultural aspects of energy use. New ways of framing energy demand that go beyond dominant efficiency- and behavior models are needed.

Highlights

The paper has a focus on energy consumption habits and trends using statistical methods.

Occupants’ behavior is monitored using smart metering system and awareness surveys.

The impact of a serious game on occupant's behavior is evaluated.

Abstract