The relevance of Green Building Challenge: an observer's perspective

The objectives and achievements of the international Green Building Challenge project are analysed. GBC is situated within the context of other international environmental methods. The differences between assessment tools, design tools, environmental management and audit tools and the large data problems entailed by these are discussed. Possible development scenarios for extending GBC into Life Cycle Assessment methodology, into other life cycle phases (maintenance and refurbishment) and adapting GBC for use with the existing building stocks are proposed. The notion of 'green' buildings is replaced by a larger concept of sustainable development. New aggregation principles and scaleable design methods are proposed. Finally, the question of how relevant the proposed targets of GBC are in relation to the longterm sustainable development of buildings, building stock and urban environments is addressed.