Selecting Cost-Effective Green Building Products: BEES Approach
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 125, Issue 6
Abstract
The Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability (BEES) tool implements a rational, systematic technique for selecting cost-effective green building products. The technique is based on consensus standards and designed to be practical, flexible, and transparent. The Windows-based decision support software, aimed at designers, builders, and product manufacturers, includes actual environmental and economic performance data for 24 building products across a range of functional applications. BEES measures the environmental performance of building products using the environmental life-cycle assessment approach specified in the latest versions of ISO 14000 draft standards. The approach is based on the belief that all stages in the life of a product generate environmental impacts and must be analyzed. The stages include raw material acquisition, manufacture, transportation, installation, use, and waste management. Economic performance is measured using the ASTM standard life-cycle cost method. The technique includes the costs over a given study period of initial investment, replacement, operation, maintenance and repair, and disposal. Environmental and economic performance are combined into an overall performance measure using the ASTM standard for multiattribute decision analysis.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 125 • Issue 6 • December 1999
Pages: 448 - 455
History
Received: Oct 22, 1998
Published online: Dec 1, 1999
Published in print: Dec 1999
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