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Opinion of tools
Name of the case study
Evaluation of the Hedebygade Block
Name of tool
Green Accounting
Opinion of tool - argumentation for choosing the tool
The evaluation was a request from the Ministry of Housing and Buildings who funded a major part of the green initiatives. There is no other general method available to evaluate green buildings and the project team had no knowledge of other tools, although BEAT 2000 is a tool for assessing sustainable buildings, but is mainly used to assess buildings in the design phase (not in operation).
Opinion of tool - barriers for the tool implementation
Data availability was a main problem. There were many technical problems related to the measuring-program that gave input to the green accounts.
Opinion of tool - assessment by tool users
There have been no measurable results as a consequence of the evaluation. However, the evaluation pointed out some of the improvements gained by the green features in Hedebygade. Generally, the projects in Hedebygade have given the participants important experience and strengthened their expertise. Also, the demands for documentation and evaluation of the projects have been an advantage. As an example, one of the more experimental projects had to document the claimed benefits of the project (project 2, "Flora": Re-circulation of indoor air through plants and reed-beds in order to clean the air and to save energy.). The documentation, however, has eventually proved to give the company a strong competitive advantage in Europe.
The characteristic of green accounts is that it is based on actual consumption, and not calculated (theoretical) benefits. This is a largely accepted method amongst the actors in the sector. It means that the actions of the residents are taken into the evaluation, giving a more realistic picture of the environmental benefits. However, it can be a difficult and time consuming process to collect reliable data for all flats in all building. Moreover, is also difficult to interpret the data collected. As mentioned before, the data can show very different results depending on the measure unit chosen (per m2 or per person).
There is a large potential for evaluation of sustainable projects, and the green accounts that actually measures the consumption, is one possible tool. Applying green accounts for all green projects with public subsidies would provide a much better basis for comparing projects and initiatives. However, the green accounts have primarily been used in relation to operation of "normal" buildings, and to initiate as process of making the residents more environmentally aware.
The actors would probably recommend evaluations, with this method or other available methods.
Opinion of tool - reviewer\'s assessment
The characteristic of green accounts is that it is based on actual consumption, and not calculated (theoretical) benefits. This is a largely accepted method amongst the actors in the sector. It means that the actions of the residents are taken into the evaluation, giving a more realistic picture of the environmental benefits. However, it can be a difficult and time consuming process to collect reliable data for all flats in all building. Moreover, is also difficult to interpret the data collected. As mentioned before, the data can show very different results depending on the measure unit chosen (per m2 or per person).
Conclusions / lessons learned:
• The evaluation generally gives a positive picture of the Hedebygade project, although the environmental efficiency is not overwhelming, and the residents’ satisfaction limited. One of the main positive features is that architecturally and aesthetically Hedebygade gives a more modern impression compare to the "traditional" picture of urban ecology as something alternative, homemade and messy.
• Green accounting is strongly influenced by residential composition. Benchmarks for different types of families should be developed, in order to make the green accounts comparable, and to provide a more clear evaluation of technical initiatives and residents behaviour.
• The evaluation raises questions on how such projects should be evaluated: In relation to the criteria defined by the initiators themselves – or by the effectiveness in terms of overall-effect on the buildings green performance?
• There is a need to develop more clear guidelines for evaluations (including which benchmarks, references and goals to be used), and to develop guidelines for interpreting the green accounts.
What tools were used to assess sustainability?
More information