A Standardised Framework for Evaluating Building Performance Towards Carbon Neutrality

Abstract

The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change, aiming to limit global temperature rise to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels while pursuing efforts to cap the increase at 1.5°C. Tackling this challenge demands immediate and transformative action to decarbonise all sectors of the economy, with particular focus on the building and construction industry, which accounts for approximately 40% of global carbon emissions and is the largest consumer of materials and energy. To drive the necessary transformation, this research adopts a Design Science Research (DSR) strategy to develop a standardised framework as an ‘artefact’ for evaluating building performance towards carbon neutrality. A mixed-methods research methodology, integrating qualitative and quantitative approaches, was employed to analyse how macro-level policies influence meso-level project decisions and, ultimately, micro-level building life cycle performance. A Systematic Literature Review, an examination of industry regulations and standards, and 63 in-depth semi-structured interviews with building experts and policymakers highlighted the absence of a standardised methodological framework for assessing decarbonisation decisions. To bridge this gap, this study developed a framework that identifies key decision variables for decarbonising buildings along with their evaluation criteria. The Voting Analytic Hierarchy Process (VAHP) was then applied to determine the priority weightings of these variables, revealing that profitability and affordability considerations consistently outweigh environmental concerns in decision-making. To validate the practical implications of the proposed ‘artefact’, a case study approach was adopted, assessing a building’s emissions against a computed component-level carbon budget. The findings demonstrate that the building exceeded its embodied carbon budget throughout its life cycle, underscoring the limitations of conventional operational energy metrics in evaluating building performance. These results advocate for a paradigm shift towards a carbon budget approach, which establishes a maximum allowable emissions threshold for each project, providing a standardised benchmark for performance assessment. The outputs of this research offer actionable guidance for integrating environmental assessment into decision-making and facilitating transparent communication of trade-offs between key variables. By bridging the gap between emission reduction targets and practical building design strategies, this study contributes to advancing sustainability in the construction sector and supports the broader decarbonisation agenda.

Date of Award	18 Feb 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	The University of Manchester
Supervisor	Obuks Ejohwomu (Main Supervisor) & Akilu Yunusa-Kaltungo (Co Supervisor)