**Abstract**

Buildings are one of the highest emitters of greenhouse gases globally. To reduce the detrimental effects of buildings on the environment and recognise their potential for emissions reductions, a transition towards sustainable building solutions has been observed globally. This trend and the associated benefits have been discussed and argued for more than three decades now. However, the impacts of sustainable buildings are yet to be demonstrated at macro, meso, and micro levels in the community, as the actual versus expected performance of such buildings are still being questioned. Consequently, this entry discusses the concepts underpinning sustainable buildings outlining the drivers and practices to achieve sustainable built environment solutions from the design to operation stage using university buildings as a case study. The chapter also recommends evidence-based solutions on understanding the actual and perceived gaps to achieve expected performance using "Green Star" rated academic buildings in Australia.

**Keywords:** facility management, green academic buildings, green construction, green star, post-occupancy evaluation, sustainable buildings

## **1. Introduction**

Globally, it is a critical time to act on climate change either through developing appropriate policies, focused research or implementing sustainable and green strategies across various sectors. The report by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and International Energy Agency (IEA) [1] indicates that by 2056, globally, there is going to be a rapid increase by five-fold in the economic activity and by three-fold in energy consumption compared to the current numbers. Furthermore, there would be a population increase by 50% and a drastic rise in global manufacturing activities imposing further pressure on the resources and planet. Buildings alone are responsible for 40% of the GHG emissions [2, 3]. As a consequence of the rapid growth in economic activities, urbanization, and growing population, the impact of the built environment sector on the planet is anticipated to worsen further. The building industry's exhaustively growing consumption of energy through the construction to operation phase is considered as a major contributor to environmental pollution, producing an enormous amount of waste [4–8].

However, the building industry also demonstrates high potential and has capabilities to contribute towards significant emissions reduction [9–10]. As stated by the United Nations Environment Programme [2], "the solution that sits at the intersection of urbanisation and climate change which can cut carbon emissions, boost productivity, and enhance the health and wellbeing of people is a green building." The outcomes and commitments of the built environment sector have also been recognized as a critical sector at COP26 at Glasgow demonstrating leadership, resilience, and social inclusiveness for climate action [11]. However, a "sustainable" or "green building" is a broad and complex concept, which is still quite perplexing for the building industry. Sustainability is a concept that is built upon three key aspects, namely environmental, economic, and social sustainability. These three aspects need to be incorporated collectively and cannot be targeted individually to achieve expected results [4, 6, 7]. Jenson [12] states that it is when all these aspects fit together in the planning and governance strategies, one can deliver buildings that perform as desired and are truly sensitive to our environment. This is a challenge continually encountered by design, construction, and building management practitioners. The objectives primarily established are mostly only incremental changes; however, what is required is a step-change in these design and management approaches being currently followed to acknowledge the veritable potential of buildings.

Supporting this concept, many recent studies have argued the potential of buildings for delivering significant cuts in emissions at no cost or little extra cost, reducing harmful environmental effects, and acting as the backbone of any economy [3, 6, 8]. There is immense potential for this as the building industry employs more than 10% of the global workforce [1, 3, 6, 10], resulting in gains in social outcomes as well. Underpinned by this argument, this chapter discusses the key concepts of sustainability in buildings and recommends a best practice model to close the gap between actual versus expected performance taking "Green Star" rated tertiary education institutions in Melbourne, Australia as case studies. Green Star is the internationally recognised sustainability rating and certification of the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA). This is cross-referenced in Section 2 – Background (p4) with further information. The results of the study presented assists the design community to deploy strategies that not only meet a building's energy and savings targets but also respond to occupants' requirements of space comfort and use, creating an overall efficient system for users and building managers alike, thus achieving all three components of sustainability – reduction of environmental impacts, increased social outcomes, and reduced economic costs.
