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The purpose of this study is to identify an objective energy performance assessment method in Korea, and to build a building information modelling (BIM) based system that can assess the energy performance of buildings.

The energy performance assessment methods currently used in Korea were first identified via a literature review. A system was then implemented to solve the problem of objectivity. The system was implemented through a data‐based building information model, instead of the existing method of documented two‐dimensional (2D) CAD. In addition, Revit Architecture (a BIM tool), MS Access, and Visual Basic (VB) were used to implement the system. To verify the system's efficiency, it was compared to the existing method by applying both to an actual case (a school facility).

This study found that the issue of subjectivity in the Korean energy performance assessment method may be resolved with a data‐based BIM.

This study presented the BIM‐EPAS to reduce errors and the time needed to conduct an energy performance assessment. In order to follow a realistic approach, the BIM‐EPAS was applied to an actual assessment case, thereby verifying the system's applicability.

Over the past decade, the establishment and growth of quality awards has stimulated organizational self‐assessment using the award models. Four new methods developed from fieldwork in the UK can be used not only to support the gathering of data required by the models, but also in stand‐alone mode to assist managers to identify and recognize the symptoms, root causes and issues that are adversely affecting their improvement process in the areas of sustainability, tools and techniques, human resources and product design and development.

Health profession education has evolved to incorporate didactic instruction and experiential learning opportunities over time. Constructivism and interprofessional education are essential theoretical concepts that have shaped modern health profession education. However, transformative active learning is an approach that is particularly well suited to the needs of healthcare professionals. By integrating theoretical knowledge with practical skills, transformative active learning helps prepare students for the complex challenges they will face in their future careers and encourages them to become agents of change committed to improving healthcare practice. Saudi National Institute of Health (Saudi NIH) is one of the Ministry of Health's initiatives in the National Transformation Program 2020 to achieve the Kingdom's Vision 2030, as it supports biomedical research in the health sector in Saudi Arabia. One of the mandates of Saudi NIH is to build the research capacity through well-designed educational and training programs through the directory of education and research skills adopting active learning strategies. This chapter aims to communicate the methodological framework of the Education and Research Skills Directory of the SNIH for integrating active learning in the various training programs and initiatives aiming to promote the core learning capabilities with excellence, diversity, diversity, uniqueness, competency, and efficiency values.

To present ways for empowering contractors in improving environmental performance particularly to meet the requirements defined in ISO 14000.

To review the traditional methodologies for protecting the environment in undertaking construction activities, investigate the limitations of these methods and the associated reasons, and apply the principles of ISO 14000 environmental management system (EMS) to develop an effective framework for helping contractors to become competent in implementing environmental management.

The major methodologies developed for protecting the environment in construction include governmental regulations, economic measures, and EMSs. However, the applications of these measures are limited. The typical causes contributing to the limitation include the clash between cost and environment, environmentally passive culture within construction industry, lack of cooperation among project parties, and clash between contract time and implementing environmental management methods. Furthermore, the practice of environment management is mainly driven by external impetus such as legal enforcement incentive programmes from government. However, the effectiveness cannot be gained if internal motivation does not exist. This paper introduces a framework to help a contractor to cultivate an environmentally friendly culture within its organization.

This paper proposes a framework for empowering contractors in improving environmental performance by identifying the weaknesses of the existing practice and applying a systematic approach of implementing environmental management approaches.

The paper aims to investigate the emergence the Hong Kong Building Environmental Assessment Methods (HK BEAM) certification scheme and starts to explore the impact of BEAMs on the building industry and the potential emergence and stabilisation of a green building field.

The research presented draws upon content analysis of all 19 versions of the HK BEAM scheme(s) as well as 94 policy reports. This is complemented by an investigation and collation of the participating companies in 100 HK BEAM certified projects. The theoretical framework of Strategic Action Fields is applied to explore the emergence of a potential green building field.

The findings are tentative, but they point out that a green building field is yet to emerge in Hong Kong.

The research is still ongoing and parts of the analysis are yet to be finalised. Therefore, only tentative conclusions are drawn.

From a practical perspective, the findings point towards a correlation between the memberships in the working committees charged with deciding on the content of the BEAMs and their content.

So far, very little is known about how exactly BEAMs have come into being. Furthermore, their impact on working practices outside of “certified” projects has received little research attention. This research project is an attempt to rectify this.

Energy efficient building design strategies are growing in popularity, promoted through increased awareness of climate change, rising energy prices, global consciousness and a demand for energy security. To aid this design process, assessment tools such as Code for Sustainable Homes (CSHs) and Passivhaus were introduced in the UK. However, it is suggested that these tools prioritise energy efficiency over occupant health through a fundamental lack of attention to indoor air quality (IAQ). The purpose of this paper is to investigate IAQ in selected dwellings built using CSHs level 6, level 3 and Passivhaus homes in the UK.

Using a case study approach, the investigation consisted of IAQ measurements during summer and winter months, occupant diaries and occupant interviews.

The results from the IAQ measurements show the recommended maximum level of 1,000 ppm was breached in all three Code 6 and two Code 3 homes, with levels slightly below this limit in the two Passivhaus homes. Measurements found high levels of formaldehyde, carbon dioxide and low levels of relative humidity.

There is a need for the adequate consideration of IAQ in sustainable assessment methods, including the use of mandatory credits to ensure occupant health is not disregarded in the drive towards zero carbon.

These results can be used to recognise areas of improvement in the CSHs and Passivhaus standard, and the design of energy efficient homes in general. Research of this nature is essential to ensure occupant health is not sacrificed through the drive towards zero carbon.

Sustainability has become a topical issue in many countries, with emphasis on green buildings. Though Ghana has recently adopted green buildings, there is lack of its speedy implementation. There is little literature on the adoption of green certification of buildings, especially in a developing country like Ghana. The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors that drive the adoption of green certification of buildings in Ghana.

The study adopts face-to-face and telephone interviews, using a semi-structured interview guide among ten built environment professionals. Qualitative responses to the interview are thematically analysed using Nvivo 11 Pro analysis application software.

The findings suggest that “observability of the benefits of green certified buildings”, “commitment of Government to green building initiatives”, “incorporating green certification of buildings into the code of practice of professional bodies”, “green building certification incentives”, “public acknowledgement of the green building concept”, “policies and regulations to enforce the adoption of the concept” and “effective communication and source of information on the concept” are the factors that drive the adoption of green certification of buildings in Ghana.

The paper contributes to the understanding of the factors that drive the adoption of green building certification in Ghana. With these findings, stakeholders and industry practitioners can make informed decisions regarding how they can put in place strategies to ensure the effective adoption of green certification of buildings. Though this study was conducted within the context of Ghana, its findings and implications can be useful to policy makers, stakeholders and practitioners in other developing countries.

For the sake of public health and safety, a territory‐wide evaluation of the quality of buildings in Hong Kong is crucial. However, it is a lengthy process to assess the performance of the whole stock of buildings in the city. To get around this predicament, this paper aims to propose a statistical approach for a fast and reliable building evaluation algorithm using the Building Quality Index (BQI) developed by The University of Hong Kong.

Using the BQI assessment framework, the condition of 133 and 160 private apartment buildings in Yau Tsim Mong and the Eastern District respectively are assessed and rated. The data of the Yau Tsim Mong buildings are used to estimate a regression model associating the relationships between building performance, measured by the BQI, and other exogenous factors. The resulting model is then employed to predict the performance of the surveyed buildings in the Eastern District.

The regression analyses on the Yau Tsim Mong data indicate that building age, development scale and building management mode are significant determinants of the existing condition of the sampled buildings, echoing the findings of previous studies. BQI scores of buildings in the Eastern District are estimated using the resulting regression model, and there is a highly positive relationship between the predicted BQI and in‐situ BQI scores.

The study is the first in the literature to provide an algorithm for estimating building condition in a densely developed high‐rise urban area.

This research aims to examine the main findings of the SusTEACH study of the carbon-based environmental impacts of 30 higher education (HE) courses in 15 UK institutions, based on an analysis of the likely energy consumption and carbon emissions of a range of face-to-face, distance, online and information and communication technology (ICT)-enhanced blended teaching models.

An environmental assessment of 19 campus-based and 11 distance-based HE courses was conducted using questionnaire surveys to gather data from students and lecturers on course-related travel: the purchase and use of ICTs and paper materials, residential energy consumption and campus site operations. Results were converted into average energy and CO₂ emissions, normalised per student per 100 study hours, and then classified by the primary teaching model used by lecturers.

The main sources of HE course carbon emissions were travel, residential energy consumption and campus site operations. Distance-based HE models (distance, online and ICT-enhanced teaching models) reduced energy consumption by 88 per cent and achieved significant carbon reductions of 83 per cent when compared with campus-based HE models (face-to-face and ICT-enhanced teaching models). The online teaching model achieved the lowest energy consumption and carbon emissions, although there were potential rebound effects associated with increased ICT-related energy consumption and paper used for printing.

New pedagogical designs using online and distance-based teaching methods can achieve carbon reductions by reducing student travel via residential and campus accommodation.

Few studies have examined the environmental performance of HE teaching models. A new classification of HE traditional, online and blended teaching models is used to examine the role of ICTs and the likely carbon impacts.