The need to implement sustainable development (SD) in the construction industry has given birth to the green building (GB) movement. GB is a promising construction approach through which the construction industry contributes to SD. However, the adoption of GB has been hampered in many parts of the world by numerous barriers. To date, no attention has been paid to the need to review existing knowledge of barriers affecting GB adoption. This paper presents a systematic review of literature on barriers to GB adoption published in academic journals.

Various green rating systems are established globally to evaluate the sustainability of construction projects. Their categories and criteria have been under constant updates to follow the sustainable trend of building development. This paper aims to develop a systematic review of the development of green rating systems.

Objectives of this rapid review The energy usage of a home is often an important factor for people when considering renting or buying. Using an energy performance rating is one way to show how “energy hungry” a home could be. In some countries, it is mandatory for the seller to obtain, and disclose, a home’s energy rating. For countries in the European Union, this has been the case for 10 years. In the ACT a disclosure scheme has been operating for 20 years.

Building energy efficiency has been identified as a cost-effective opportunity to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and a variety of policies are being implemented to harvest this efficiency potential. However, there are growing concerns about a gap between predicted or expected energy consumption levels in buildings and the actual measured energy consumption in operation, both at an individual building level as well as in the building sector as a whole.

The purpose of this study was to complete a literature review of the economic assessment of the costs, benefits and methods for the construction of houses that are designed and built to standards that exceed the minimum requirements as defined by the Building Code. The scope included international and local assessments, academic and grey literature and industry material such as facts sheets. Key findings Many studies focused on energy savings as the sole benefit.