Assessment Methodologies for Water Efficiency in Buildings

Assessment methodologies and supporting tools are developed and distributed by the green building council in the respective countries to define and measure the extent to which buildings and associated developments are sustainable. The assessment methods utilise a number of indicators such as energy, water and material consumption, as well as social and economic variables. This chapter reviews the BREEAM (UK), LEED (USA), Green Star (Australia), HK-BEAM (Hong Kong) and CASBEE (Japan) building energy assessment methodologies. The discussion includes a brief overview of each assessment methodology and explores key components such as management provisions, energy consumption, indoor environment, local transportation network, water supply and usage, materials, waste management, land use, ecology and pollution from the buildings. The chapter then explores the water-efficiency provisions in each tool, highlighting the specificities and influences on the evolution and provisions for water efficiency based on the political, social, economic, environmental and technological context of the country or region where they are deployed.