What Else Do Design Professionals Need to Know About Sustainable Buildings Investment? A New Assessment Approach
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17831/rep:arcc%25y350Keywords:
true value of sustainability, sustainable building assessment techniques, financial performance, risk, uncertaintyAbstract
Design professionals typically do not report the true value of sustainable building to their clients in reliable and understandable terms. It is necessary for designers, particularly architects, to understand how investment professionals value their investment choices, what techniques traditionally they use to evaluate their alternatives, and how they account for risk and uncertainty in their investment decision making process. In this paper, first, the deficiency of current building performance tools, such as building simulation programs, sustainability certifications, simple financial methods and building performance-based techniques in evaluation of sustainable buildings are presented. Recommendations are then provided regarding the additional knowledge of financial, risk and uncertainty modeling that designers need if they want to estimate and communicate a more complete assessment of value to the real estate decision makers. The Discounted Cash Flow approach is explained as a financial method, capable of incorporating all costs, benefits and risks for estimating the value. The Monte Carlo simulation is suggested for modeling uncertainties inherent in the evaluation process. Finally, a new assessment process is proposed to align the environmental and social benefits with economic returns of sustainability and to thoroughly evaluate the true value of sustainable buildings, while explicitly including uncertainty.Downloads
Published
2014-08-01
How to Cite
Bozorgi, A., & Jones, J. R. (2014). What Else Do Design Professionals Need to Know About Sustainable Buildings Investment? A New Assessment Approach. ARCC Conference Repository. https://doi.org/10.17831/rep:arcc%y350
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Section
Peer-reviewed Papers