Evidence-based Performance is the missing link between hoping and knowing in the world of sustainability for the built environment.
Empirical Evidence
Over the last 40 years, our industry has tried nobly to improve the performance of buildings, from energy conservation to indoor environmental qualities. We have many well-established programs to guide decision makers on how to build higher performing buildings. Decades later and billions of dollars spent on sustainability, we are “hoping” we are making the right choices but we still do not “know”.
Earlier this year, we reviewed why LEED is no longer sufficient (LINK). The supporting article written by John H. Scofield, professor of physics at Oberlin College (2015) titled, “Are U.S. ‘Green Buildings’ Really Saving Energy? The Facts May Surprise You.” The key message is that “despite the large numbers of LEED-certified buildings, we have little data on which to judge their actual energy performance. The limited data available indicates that, on average, they perform like other new buildings, no better and no worse. There is some hint in the data that buildings certified at the Gold or higher level are yielding modest source energy savings, but the data are too limited to see a definite pattern. Those who claim that LEED-certification saves energy are speaking from faith not fact.”
Auros360 was founded on the idea of Evidence-based Performance. By connecting planning to operations in the construction cycle, we provide the digital infrastructure to dynamically track performance against owner’s sustainability goals post occupancy. Only with an integrated dashboard, showing how a building is performing against key metrics, will an owner know if a building is performing to their sustainability expectations.
We deliver Evidence-based Performance to building owners, developers and architects. www.aurosgroup.com.