Cost and value: Fact and fiction

Assessing the costs and benefits of any building - let alone a green one - can be elusive. This paper considers the triple bottom line of economic, human and environmental costs and benefits. It identifies inertia in the system; perceived and actual risks; areas in which value can most easily be added or subtracted at various stages in the process; and where improvements might be made. Much of the supporting information comes from recent studies of occupied UK buildings, and may not represent the situation in other countries. However, there appear to be growing similarities in today's globalizing market.