Sustainability in Building Construction - Can New Standards Deliver Answers to Old Questions?

摘要

The requirements and goals of the realization of sustainable principles in the construction and building sector tend to strongly influence the planning and decision making process within construction projects of every type and scale. Among the players concerned with construction there is a growing need for coordinated and commonly accepted fundamentals and tools. In this regard the following issues are currently discussed intensively: questions concerning the appropriate choice and description of the functional unit; questions concerning the assortment and application of indicators and assessment criteria as well as problems linked with the availability and quality of data and of product information. It is now necessary to transform this current process of forming opinions and drafting the methodological framework into the preparation of precise, manageable rules and procedures. Continued uncertainty among planners and decision makers regarding the necessity and feasibility of integrating aspects of sustainability into the building and construction related decision making process would hamper the current development. By using the standardization activities linked with the technical committee of the International Standards Organization (ISO TC 59/SC 17) on Sustainability in building construction as an example the author, who is directly involved in the development of this standard, will discuss which solutions for the issues raised above could be provided by standardization.