Broadening project participation through a modified building sustainability assessment

Building assessment tools are used as a means to assess and encourage the adoption of sustainability-led thinking and practice in the delivery of buildings. However, the established tools focus primarily on the aspects of green or sustainable building (i.e. building as an end-product), rarely exploring the contributions towards sustainable product delivery (i.e. the building process). However, some principles of sustainable development are best implemented within the process rather than by being embedded in the product. By addressing the issues of equity via participation through stakeholder-oriented sustainability assessment, building assessment tools could be used to enhance significantly the overall sustainability of project delivery in the construction sector. A theoretical justification is advocated for implementing a participatory approach that is underpinning the development of a specification for a building sustainability assessment model currently under development. The barriers to participation in the construction process are considered as well as the need to develop innovative mechanisms to broaden membership of the construction project team. The philosophical approaches and resultant practices drawn from Environmental Assessment and the Process Protocol are presented as examples of potential solutions for incorporating stakeholder participation in a modified building assessment process.