18. Assessing the Built Environment

This chapter introduces the concept of assessing the built environment. In this chapter we look to understand what it is, how it measures sustainability, and characteristics and limitations it has. The early sections describe the importance of sustainable construction and material selection, highlighting the environmental challenges we face today and how assessments can potentially make a difference. The main body of the chapter includes a selection of commonly adopted assessment methods and how they function. A particular section is devoted to other types of industry tools. Finally, we look at common features shared between assessments and how the marketplace delivers in response to these collective measures. Learning outcomes: on successful completion of this chapter, readers should be able to: (1) appreciate how building construction and operation impacts on the environment, (2) have a general knowledge of how building assessment methods operate, their differing characteristics, applicability, and limitations, and (3) understand how the marketplace reacts to such measures when engaging with assessment methods