GBC '98 and GBTool: Background

Green Building Challenge '98 (GBC '98) was a 2 year development process involving international teams from 14 countries. The overall goal of Green Building Challenge '98 (GBC '98) was to develop, test and demonstrate an improved method for measuring building performance across a range of environmental and energy issues and then to inform the international community of scientists, designers, builders and clients about the results. 34 case study buildings from 14 countries were used to test and demonstrate this new method. As a second-generation method for assessing building performance, the GBC '98 assessment framework builds on the first generation systems developed in a number of countries. Unique to GBC '98 is the provision of an international framework capable of being adapted to national or regional circumstances. A description of the design goals and design features of the GBC '98 assessment method and GBTool is provided. Both the process and the product have served to stimulate critical debate about the scope and role of building environmental performance assessment and the actual design of green buildings.