{"id":{"repo_id":"cape-town","oai_identifier":"oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/9868"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/cape-town/oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/9868","repository":{"repo_id":"cape-town","name":"University of Cape Town","base_url":"https://open.uct.ac.za/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Environmental sustainability assessment methods for buildings in South Africa","abstract":"In the past, economic instruments for environmental purposes were strongly resisted by industry, government and the public. As such, they were used only in exceptional circumstances. More recently, there has been a realisation that economic instruments can be a powerful complement to direct regulations. Consequently, economic instruments1 are playing an increasingly important role in the environmental management of buildings. The activities of the construction industry are driven by economic forces, so using market mechanisms is a logical strategy to pursue the objectives of sustainable construction2 . Perhaps the question is not whether economic mechanisms should be employed to improve environmental building performance, but rather how this should be achieved. This paper suggests that it can be achieved by using the economic instrument of ecolabelling to create market competition for improved building performance. Ecolabelling has traditionally been associated with household products, but has more recently been applied to a wider range of products, including buildings and building materials. The basis for building ecolabels is provided by the results of building environmental assessments, which evaluate building performance. In developed countries, these assessments have stimulated market demand for 'green' building developments. Building environmental assessment methods have used the concept of ecolabelling to provide consumers with an additional benchmark in renting or purchasing buildings.","abstract_html":"In the past, economic instruments for environmental purposes were strongly resisted by industry, government and the public. As such, they were used only in exceptional circumstances. More recently, there has been a realisation that economic instruments can be a powerful complement to direct regulations. Consequently, economic instruments1 are playing an increasingly important role in the environmental management of buildings. The activities of the construction industry are driven by economic forces, so using market mechanisms is a logical strategy to pursue the objectives of sustainable construction2 . Perhaps the question is not whether economic mechanisms should be employed to improve environmental building performance, but rather how this should be achieved. This paper suggests that it can be achieved by using the economic instrument of ecolabelling to create market competition for improved building performance. Ecolabelling has traditionally been associated with household products, but has more recently been applied to a wider range of products, including buildings and building materials. The basis for building ecolabels is provided by the results of building environmental assessments, which evaluate building performance. In developed countries, these assessments have stimulated market demand for 'green' building developments. Building environmental assessment methods have used the concept of ecolabelling to provide consumers with an additional benchmark in renting or purchasing buildings.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Barker, Greg"],"institution":"Department of Environmental and Geographical Science","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2001,"date_issued":"2001","date_published":"2001","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:23:29Z","subjects":[],"languages":["eng"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9868","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Barker, Greg"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2014-12-02T14:59:07Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-12-02T14:59:07Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2001"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.department","label":"Dc Publisher Department","values":["Department of Environmental and Geographical Science"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.institution","label":"Dc Publisher Institution","values":["University of Cape Town"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Master Thesis"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationlevel","label":"Dc Type Qualificationlevel","values":["Masters"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationname","label":"Dc Type Qualificationname","values":["MPhil"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["eng"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9868"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Bibliography: leaves 223-228."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In the past, economic instruments for environmental purposes were strongly resisted by industry, government and the public. As such, they were used only in exceptional circumstances. More recently, there has been a realisation that economic instruments can be a powerful complement to direct regulations. Consequently, economic instruments1 are playing an increasingly important role in the environmental management of buildings. The activities of the construction industry are driven by economic forces, so using market mechanisms is a logical strategy to pursue the objectives of sustainable construction2 . Perhaps the question is not whether economic mechanisms should be employed to improve environmental building performance, but rather how this should be achieved. This paper suggests that it can be achieved by using the economic instrument of ecolabelling to create market competition for improved building performance. Ecolabelling has traditionally been associated with household products, but has more recently been applied to a wider range of products, including buildings and building materials. The basis for building ecolabels is provided by the results of building environmental assessments, which evaluate building performance. In developed countries, these assessments have stimulated market demand for 'green' building developments. Building environmental assessment methods have used the concept of ecolabelling to provide consumers with an additional benchmark in renting or purchasing buildings."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Environmental sustainability assessment methods for buildings in South Africa"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Barker, Greg"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2014-12-02T14:59:07Z"],"dc:date.available":["2014-12-02T14:59:07Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2001"],"dc:description":["Bibliography: leaves 223-228."],"dc:description.abstract":["In the past, economic instruments for environmental purposes were strongly resisted by industry, government and the public. As such, they were used only in exceptional circumstances. More recently, there has been a realisation that economic instruments can be a powerful complement to direct regulations. Consequently, economic instruments1 are playing an increasingly important role in the environmental management of buildings. The activities of the construction industry are driven by economic forces, so using market mechanisms is a logical strategy to pursue the objectives of sustainable construction2 . Perhaps the question is not whether economic mechanisms should be employed to improve environmental building performance, but rather how this should be achieved. This paper suggests that it can be achieved by using the economic instrument of ecolabelling to create market competition for improved building performance. Ecolabelling has traditionally been associated with household products, but has more recently been applied to a wider range of products, including buildings and building materials. The basis for building ecolabels is provided by the results of building environmental assessments, which evaluate building performance. In developed countries, these assessments have stimulated market demand for 'green' building developments. Building environmental assessment methods have used the concept of ecolabelling to provide consumers with an additional benchmark in renting or purchasing buildings."],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9868"],"dc:language.iso":["eng"],"dc:publisher.department":["Department of Environmental and Geographical Science"],"dc:publisher.institution":["University of Cape Town"],"dc:title":["Environmental sustainability assessment methods for buildings in South Africa"],"dc:type":["Master Thesis"],"dc:type.qualificationlevel":["Masters"],"dc:type.qualificationname":["MPhil"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:23:29Z"}