A green cost allocation model for office and commercial buildings in Malaysia

Abstract

First issue often concerned a green building is its incremental costs as compared to a conventional building. Lack of data addressing this issue has discouraged the pursuant of green consideration including contractors and stakeholders to consider green goals in their projects. The aim of this study is to identify Green Building Index (GBI) criteria that contribute to optimum project costs as well as minimum design impacts. In addition, a green cost allocation model is developed to aid contractors and developers to not only fulfill the green criteria, but also allocate their budget appropriately. In order to achieve this aim, a 4-point Likert Scale questionnaire was designed and sent to green building experts. The purpose of the questionnaire was to obtain perceptions regarding cost and design impacts of GBI criteria on office and commercial buildings. In addition, the green building experts were interviewed and their points of views were gathered to develop a green cost allocation model. GBI criteria that contribute to lower cost and design impacts were identified with statistical tools while the green cost allocation model was developed based on interviews. In conclusion, this study has identified cost and design impacts of GBI criteria and developed a Green Cost Allocation Model whereby all parties including contractors, consultants, and developers can determine the optimum green cost allocation to the projects.