Reaching for the stars

The last decade has seen an almost meteoric rise in the range, sophistication and prominence of environmental rating tools for building developments. In line with the general move from energy efficiency to a more comprehensive and integrated understanding of “sustainability”, the trend within environmental rating tools is to provide a similarly complex assessment of environmental impacts within one framework, resulting in a single-point indicator. Two other trends can be identified within environmental rating tools: firstly, a focus on quantifiable outcomes; and secondly, a convergence of criteria and methodology.