A Conceptual Framework for a Sustainable Building Rating System

Accompanied by the increasing popularity of green buildings (GB) and circular buildings (CB), corresponding rating systems and tools have been developed for measuring the level of “greenness” and “circularity” achieved by a building. However, recent studies indicated that green building rating tools (GBRTs) and circular building performance assessments (CBPAs) are developed inconsistently regarding their purposes, indicators, and possible applications, which may lead to misunderstanding and confusion for many practitioners, authorities, and scholars. Thus, this research aims to review the development of GBRT and CBPA systems and further provides a conceptual framework for a sustainable building rating system (SBRS) by integrating the features of both systems. This research first discusses the importance of a rating system for the construction industry and identifies its key issuers, promoters, and users by reviewing literature and existing tools. Subsequently, five representative GBRTs and CBPAs are selected to compare the features and categories among these tools. The result shows that the social dimension has not been considered broadly in both rating systems compared to the environmental and economic dimensions, which should be improved in the future rating system, especially in CBPA. A conceptual framework for a new SBRS is proposed, combining the features of the existing tools. In the end, this paper discusses the challenges that need further research to develop an effective SBRS.