3-Star - Green Building Rating System

CHINA

Current green building scenario- China

Because of rapid urbanization in China, the building market is booming: by 2020, builders are expected to construct 215 billion square feet (20 billion square meters) of new construction in the country.

According to Baidu, the most popular online search engine in the Mandarin language, the volume of searches with “green building” as a keyword has increased substantially in the last few years

China now has more than 80 millionsquare feet of LEED-certified buildings,many of which were certified in 2011.

3-Star is grew at 191 percent in 2011 And has 242 buildings already awardedhighest 3-Star ratings

Most of these are: • Government buildings• Demonstration projects

Definition of Green Building in China

China’s Three-Star certification program is an integral part of the national Green Building Evaluation Standard (GBES), which defines green buildings as

“buildings that save a maximum amount of resources (including energy, land, water, and materials), protect the environment, reduce pollution, provide healthy, comfortable and efficient space for people, and exist harmoniously with nature” throughout their lifecycle.

Various green building rating systems in China

• LEED

• 3- Star Rating - GBAS

(Green Building Assessment System)

• GOBES (Green Olympics Building Evaluation Standards)

3-Star Rating System

3-star system is run by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MOHURD)

The China three-Star program is a national standard but offers provincial flexibility. Some provincial-level authorities in China have enacted provincial GBES as adapted versions of the national GBES. (Provincial Flexibility)

MOHURD central office in Beijing, China is the only agency authorized to grant Three-Star status to buildings, whereas local offices are authorized to certify One- and Two-Star buildings.

Chinese Three-Star Green Building Certification program, which started in 2006, has seen significant growth. Experts estimate that China now has roughly 242 buildings certified at the Three-Star (highest) level of that program.

Local standards vary in the operational definitions of green buildings, but they still agree upon the conceptual definition of green buildings, as defined by the China GBES

“Regular assessment indicators” for buildings, can vary from 39 to as much as 71

MOHURD central office in Beijing GBES (Green Building Evaluation Standards) 3-Star

(Authorized Agency) (Standard document) (Rating System)

Government Initiative

12th five year plan of China includes policies to implement the National Green Building Action plan and also defines some benefits for owners to go green which were announce at World Green Building Event in Toronto

Among building owners, the strongest motivations for going for 3-Star rating are:

1. Energy cost savings

2. An award of 1/3 of the cost premium to achieve a rating

3. Property Tax Halved

4. Rating is a Prerequisite for Land Auction

5. Carbon Credit Policy (Levying of carbon taxes)

6. 5% Extra FAR awarded to green buildings

7. Preferential Interest Rate for Home Loans

Procedure to Apply

Projects apply online through the Green Building Label Management Office Website

1st Stage: Design documents and design calculations2nd Stage: One year post occupancy and an on site inspection.

Review process is more consultative and more subjective than LEED, since the assessment process involves evaluation by Expert and Professional Reviewers

There are 3 parties that make up the evaluation team:1. Green Building Label Office (handles the paperwork)2. Professional evaluation group (Lower Body)3. Expert evaluation group (Higher Body- have final say,

and also responsible for on site inspections)

3-star Rating by the MOHURD central office in Beijing1-2 star Rating by local offices of MOHURD

Evaluation and Grade Classification

The evaluation index system of a green building shall consist of the six indexes:

1. Land saving and outdoor environment2. Energy saving and energy utilization3. Water saving and water resource utilization4. Material saving and material resource utilization5. Indoor environment quality 6. Operating management

Each index shall include control items (prerequisites), general items and preference items

A green building shall meet the requirements of all the control items as described in the Standard (GBES) for :7. Residential building or 8. Public building

Classification shall be in three grades according to the degrees of fulfilling the general and preference items. The grade classification shall be determined according to Tables.

Item Requirement for Grade Classification of Green Building (Residential Building)

Item Requirement for Grade Classification of Green Building (Public Building)

Residential Building

1. Land Saving and Outdoor Environment.Control Item

1) The construction of a site shall not damage a local cultural relic, water system, moor, fundamental farmland, forest or any other protected area.

2) The selected site of a building shall be free from such a threat as a flood, landslide or radon-containing soil, and within the safe range of the building site, there shall be no such a dangerous source as an electromagnetic radiation danger, fire, explosion or poisonous substance.

3) Per-capita residence-used land index: For a low-rise building, it shall not be greater than 43m2, for a multi-story one, not greater than 28m2, for a medium-rise one, not greater than 24m2, and for a high-rise one, not greater than 15m2.

4) The architectural layout of a residential quarter shall meet the requirements for indoor and outdoor sunshine, day lighting and ventilation, and the requirement for day lighting concerning a residential building described in the existing national standard.

5) Indigenous plants adapted to a local climate and soil condition shall be grown, and the plants shall be those having little care, strong weather resistance, few diseases and insect pests, and no harm to the human body.

6) The green space rate in a residential quarter shall not be less than 30%, and the per-capita public green space area, not less than 1m2.

7) There shall be no pollution source exceeding a discharging standard within a residential quarter.8) During the process of construction, concrete measures for environmental protection shall be drawn up and

implemented to control construction–caused air pollution, soil contamination, noise, water contamination, light pollution and the influences on the surrounding areas of the construction site.

Residential Building

1. Land Saving and Outdoor Environment.General Item

1) Public service facilities shall be constructed concurrently for a residential quarter, and a multifunctional building shall be reasonably used so as to be shared by its surrounding areas.

2) An old building that is still usable shall be made full use of.3) The ambient noise in a residential quarter shall accord with the stipulations in the existing national standard.4) The daily average heat island intensity of a residential quarter shall not be higher than 1.5℃.5) The wind environment in a residential quarter shall be beneficial to the snugness for walking outdoors in

winter and to the natural ventilation in a transit season and in summer.6) According to local climatic conditions and the characteristics of plant natural distribution, many varieties of

plants shall be grown to form a multiple plant community with a combination of trees, bushes and grass, and there shall not be less than 3 trees per 100m2 of green space.

7) The site selection and the entrance arrangement of a residential quarter shall facilitate a resident making full use of public transport networks. The walking distance between an entrance of the quarter and a public transport station shall not be greater than 500 m.

8) Permeable flooring shall be used for paving a non-motor vehicle road, ground parking lot or any other hard ground in a residential quarter, and plants shall be used as sunshades. The area ratio for the outdoor permeable ground shall not be less than 45 %.

Residential Building

1. Land Saving and Outdoor Environment.Preference Item

1) Underground spaces shall be reasonably developed and utilized.2) An abandoned site shall be reasonably used for construction. A polluted abandoned site shall be treated.

Public Building

1. Land Saving and Outdoor Environment.Control Item

1) The construction of a site shall not damage a local cultural relic, natural water system, moor, fundamental farmland, forest or any other protected area.

2) The selected site of a building shall be free from such a threat as a flood, landslide or ammonia-containing soil, and within the safe range of the building site, there shall be no such a dangerous source as an electromagnetic radiation danger, fire, explosion or poisonous substance.

3) *No light pollution shall be brought to a surrounding building, and the sunshine requirements from a surrounding residential building shall not be affected.

4) There shall be no pollution source exceeding a discharging standard within a site.5) During the process of construction, concrete measures for environmental protection shall be drawn up and

implemented to control construction–caused pollution and the influences on the surrounding areas of the construction site.

Public Building

1. Land Saving and Outdoor Environment.General Item

1) *The ambient noise of a site shall accord with the existing national standard.2) The wind speed on a pedestrian zone around a building shall be less than 5 m/s, not affecting the snugness for

outdoor activities, or building ventilation.3) *Such a method as roof greening or perpendicular greening shall be reasonably used.4) Indigenous plants adapted to local climatic and soil conditions shall be selected as greening species, and multiple

greening comprising trees and bushes shall be used.5) The transport organization of a site shall be reasonable, with the walking distance for arriving at a public transport

station not exceeding 500m.6) *Underground spaces shall be reasonably developed and utilized.

Preference Item

7) An abandoned site shall be used reasonably for construction. A polluted abandoned site shall be treated to relevant standards.

8) *An old building that is still usable shall be made full use of and be included into a planned project.9) *The area ratio of outdoor permeable ground shall be greater than or equal to 40%.

Residential Building

2. Energy Saving and Energy Utilization.Control Item

1) HVAC designs of a residential quarter shall accord with the stipulations in the energy saving standards for a residential building approved or put on record by the State.

2) A residential building with a central heating or air-conditioning system shall be equipped with room temperature regulating and heat quantity metering facilities.

Residential Building

2. Energy Saving and Energy Utilization.General Item

1) The shape, orientation, distance between buildings and window-wall area ratio of a building shall be reasonably designed by using the natural conditions of the site so as to provide the building with good sunshine, ventilation and day lighting, and sun shading facilities shall be provided as required.

2) Highly efficient energy-consuming devices or system shall be used. 3) When a central air-conditioning system is used, the efficiency ratio of a selected water chilling unit shall be higher

by one grade than the relevant specified value described in the existing national standard.4) For the illumination of a public space, highly efficient light sources and lighting fixtures shall be used. An area with

natural lighting shall be equipped with photoelectric control.5) A residential building with a central heating or air-conditioning system shall be equipped with an energy

recovering system*.6) Renewable energy resources such as solar energy and geothermal energy shall be made full use of according to

local climatic and natural resource conditions. The renewable energy resource proportion of the total energy consumption of a building shall be greater than 5%.

* As Energy consumption involves converting one energy system to another so, Energy recovery systems harvest the output energy and provide this as input power to the same or another process.e.g. Steel mill- Heated cooling water from the process is sold for heating of homes, shops and offices in the surrounding area.

Residential Building

2. Energy Saving and Energy Utilization.Preference Item

1) The heating or air-conditioning energy consumption shall not be higher than 80 % of the specified value for the energy saving of a building approved or put on record by the State.

2) The renewable energy resource proportion of the total energy consumption of a building should not be less than 10%.

Public Building

2. Energy Saving and Energy UtilizationControl Item

1) HVAC designs of a building shall accord with the stipulations in the energy saving standards for a residential building approved or put on record by the State.

2) The energy efficiency ratio of a chilling and heating source set for a air-conditioning or heating system shall accord with the stipulations of Articles in the existing national standard.

3) An electric boiler or electric water heater shall not be used as the heat source of a heating or air-conditioning system.

4) The illumination power density value for each room or site shall not be higher than the specified current value described in the existing national standard.

5) The energy consumption for each part of a newly-constructed public building, chill-heat source, transmission-distribution system or lighting system shall be independently measured.

Public Building

2. Energy Saving and Energy UtilizationGeneral Item

1) An architectural site planning design shall be beneficial to the sunshine in winter and the aversion of the dominant wind direction in winter, and to the natural ventilation in summer. .

2) The opening area of the external windows of a building shall not be less than 30% of the total area of the external windows.

3) The air-tightness of an external window of a building shall not be lower than the requirement stipulated in the existing national standard.

4) Chill-heat-storage techniques shall be used reasonably.5) Exhaust wind shall be used to pre-heat or pre-chill fresh wind so as to reduce fresh wind load.6) For an conditioning system, the measures for realizing all-fresh-wind operation or adjustable fresh wind ratio shall

be taken.7) When a building is subject to partial cooling or heat load and only a part of its spaces is used, effective measures

shall be taken to save the energy consumption of the ventilating and air-conditioning system.8) The unit wind-volume power consumption of a wind machine for a ventilating and air-conditioning system shall

conform to the stipulations in the existing national standard.9) Residual heat or waste heat shall be utilized to provide steam or domestic hot water for a building.10) The energy consumption for each part of a newly-constructed public building, chill-heat source, transmission-

distribution system or lighting system shall be independently measured.

Public Building

2. Energy Saving and Energy UtilizationPreference Item

1) The total energy consumption for a building shall be lower than 80% of the specified value stipulated in the energy saving standards approved or put on record by the State.

2) According to local climatic and natural resource conditions, reusable energy resources such as solar energy and geothermal energy shall be made full use of. The hot water amount produced from renewable energy shall not be less than 10% of the hot water consumption for domestic use in a building, or the power generation amount produced from renewable energy shall not be less than 2% the power consumption in a building.

Residential Building

3. Water Saving and Water Resource UtilizationControl Item

1) During the phase of schemes and planning, a scheme for water system planning shall be formulated so as to overall plan and comprehensively utilize various water resources.

2) Effective measures shall be taken to avoid pipe network leakage.3) Water saving apparatuses and appliances shall be used with the water saving rate being not less than 8%.4) The water for a landscape shall not be from a municipal water supply or a self-contained underground water well.5) When a non-traditional water source is used, safeguard measures for water-use safety shall be taken so as not to

produce bad effects on human health and the ambient environment.

Residential Building

3. Water Saving and Water Resource UtilizationGeneral Item

1) The runoff path for ground and roof rain water shall be planned reasonably so as to diminish ground runoff, and various permeation measures shall be taken to increase rain seepage amount.

2) A non-traditional water source such as resurgent or rain water shall be used as nondrinking water for irrigating plants or washing a car.

3) An efficient and water saving irrigation method such as spray irrigation or micro irrigation shall be used for irrigating plants.

4) When resurgent water is used as non-drinking water, a priority shall be given to utilizing resurgent water from a nearby concentrated resurgent water works, but if there is no such a works, other sources and treatment techniques of resurgent water shall be selected reasonably by making technical and economic comparisons.

5) The utilization rate of non-traditional water sources shall not be less than 10 %.

Preference Item

a) The utilization rate of non-traditional water sources shall not be less than 30 %.

Public Building

3. Water Saving and Water Resource UtilizationControl Item

1) During the phase of schemes and planning, a scheme for water system planning shall be formulated so as to overall plan and comprehensively utilize various water resources.

2) Reasonable and perfect water supply and drainage system shall be established.3) Effective measures shall be taken to avoid pipe network leakage.4) A sanitary ware in a building shall be a water saving one.5) When a non-traditional water source is used, safeguard measures for water-use safety shall be taken so as

not to produce bad effects on human health and the ambient environment.

Public Building

3. Water Saving and Water Resource UtilizationGeneral Item

1) The schemes for storing, treating and utilizing rain water shall be determined by making technical and economical comparisons.

2) A non-traditional water source such as resurgent or rain water shall be used as nondrinking water for irrigating plants or washing a car.

3) An efficient and water saving irrigation method such as spray irrigation or micro irrigation shall be used for irrigating plants.

4) When resurgent water is used as non-drinking water, a priority shall be given to utilizing resurgent water from a nearby concentrated resurgent water works, but if there is no such a works, other sources and treatment techniques of resurgent water shall be selected reasonably by making technical and economic comparisons.

5) Water measuring meters shall be provided according to uses.6) For an office building or supermarket building, the utilization rate for non-traditional water sources shall not be

less than 20%, while for a hotel building, not less than 15%.

Preference Item

7) For an office building or supermarket building, the utilization rate for non-traditional water sources shall not be less than 40%, while for a hotel building, not less than 25%.

Residential Building

4. Material Saving and Material Resource UtilizationControl Item

1) The harmful matter content in a building material shall accord with the requirements in the existing national standard.

2) Architectural form factors shall be succinct and shall not have many ornamental components..

Residential Building4. Material Saving and Material Resource Utilization

General Item1) The weight of the building materials produced within 500 km of a construction site shall make up more than 70% of

the total weight of the materials.2) Ready-mixed concrete shall be used as cast-in-place concrete.3) High-performance concrete and high-strength steel shall be used reasonably as building structural materials.4) Solid waste produced during the construction of a building, the dismantlement of a old building or the clearance of

a site shall be classified, and the reusable or recyclable materials among the waste shall be recovered and reutilized.

5) The recyclable serviceability of a material shall be considered for use when a material is selected during architectural design. Under the circumstances of ensuring safety and not polluting the environment, the weight of the used recyclable materials shall make up more than 10 % of the total weight of the used building materials.

6) The integration of design and construction shall be involved for civil and decorating engineering, and an existing building unit or facility shall not be damaged or dismantled.

7) Under the condition of ensuring performance, the consumption of the building materials made of waste shall make up not less than 30 % of the consumption of the same kinds of building materials.

Preference Item8) An architectural structural system that consumes a small amount of resources and has little effect on the

environment shall be adopted.9) The utilization rate for reusable building materials shall be greater than 5%.

Public Building4. Material Saving and Material Resource Utilization

Control Item1) The harmful matter content in a building material shall accord with the requirements in the existing national

standard. 2) Architectural form factors shall be succinct and shall not have many ornamental components.

General Item3) The weight of the building materials produced within 500km of a construction site shall make up more than 60% of

the total weight of the materials.4) Ready-mixed concrete shall be used as cast-in-place concrete.5) High-performance concrete and high-strength steel shall be used reasonably as building structural materials.6) Solid waste produced during the construction of a building, the dismantlement of an old building or the clearance of

a site shall be classified, and the renewable and recyclable materials among the waste shall be recovered and reutilized.

7) The recyclable serviceability of a material shall be considered for use when a material is selected during architectural design. Under the circumstances of ensuring safety and not polluting the environment, the weight of the used recyclable materials shall make up more than 10 % of the total weight of the used building materials.

8) The integration of design and construction shall be involved for civil and decorating engineering, an existing building unit or facility shall not be damaged or dismantled, and repeated decoration shall be avoided.

Public Building

4. Material Saving and Material Resource Utilization

General Item7) Inside an office or supermarket building, flexible partitions shall be used to reduce the material waste and trash from re-decoration.8) Under the condition of ensuring performance, the consumption of the building materials made of waste shall

make up not less than 30 % of the consumption of the same kinds of building materials.

Preference Item

9) An architectural structural system that consumes a small amount of resources and has little effect on the environment shall be adopted.

10) The utilization rate for reusable building materials shall be greater than 5%.

Residential Building

5. Indoor Environment QualityControl Item

1) At least one living space for each apartment shall When there are 4 or more than 4 living spaces, at least two shall meet sunshine standard requirements.

2) A bedroom, living room, study or kitchen shall be equipped with an external window or windows, and the coefficient of lighting for a room shall not be lower than the stipulations in the existing national standard.

3) Effective sound insulation and noise reduction measures for a building enclosure shall be taken. 4) If a living space can be ventilated naturally, for a region hot in summer and warm in winter or hot in summer and

cold in winter, its ventilation opening area shall not be less than 8% of the floor area of the room, and for another region, the area shall not be less than 5%.

5) The concentration of indoor air pollutants such as free formaldehyde, benzene, ammonia, radon and TVOC shall accord with the stipulations in the existing national standard.

Residential Building

5. Indoor Environment QualityGeneral Item

1) A window of a living space shall overlook a good visual field and avoid the sight interference from another living space. When an apartment is provided with 2 or more toilets, at least one shall be equipped with an external window.

2) There shall be no frost on the inner surface of a roof, ground, external wall or external window under the conditions of designed indoor temperature and humidity.

3) Under the condition of natural ventilation, the maximum temperature of the inner surface of a room roof, east external wall or west external wall shall meet the requirements of the existing national standard.

4) For an apartment with a heating or air-conditioning system (unit), a user shall regulate room temperature as required while the system or unit is running.

5) Adjustable external sun-shading devices shall be used to prevent solar radiation in summer from entering a room through window glass.

6) A ventilating device, air interchanger or indoor air quality monitoring device shall be installed.

Preference Item7) Functional materials which can store energy, regulate humidity or improve indoor air quality shall be used in a

bedroom or living room.

Public Building

5. Indoor Environment QualityControl Item

1) For a central air-conditioning building, such parameters as room temperature, humidity and wind speed shall accord with the designing and calculating requirements of the existing national standard.

2) The inside and surface of a building enclosure structure shall be free from frost and mildew.3) For a building with central air conditioning, the fresh wind amount shall accord with the design requirements of

existing national standard. 4) The concentration of indoor air pollutants such as free formaldehyde, benzene, ammonia, radon and TVOC shall

accord with the stipulations in the existing national standard. The indoor background noise in a hotel or office building shall conform to Grade 2 requirements for the indoor allowable noise standards., while the indoor background noise level shall meet the relevant requirements of national standards

5) The indoor illumination intensity, uniform glare value, general coloration index, etc. of a building shall meet the relevant requirements of the existing national standard.

Public Building

5. Indoor Environment QualityGeneral Item

1) The measures promoting natural ventilation shall be included in architectural and structural designs.2) Air-conditioning terminals with easy regulation and the function of raising human snugness shall be used indoors.3) The sound insulation performance of a enclosure structure component of a hotel building shall meet Grade 1

requirements of the existing national standard.4) The layout of architectural plane and the arrangement of space functions for building shall be reasonable so as to

reduce the noise interference from a neighboring space and the indoor influence from outside noise.5) The indoor coefficient of lighting for more than 75% of the main-functional spaces in an office or hotel building

shall meet the requirements in the existing national standard.6) An entrance or main activity spaces of building shall be provided with obstacle-free facilities.

Preference Item

7) Adjustable external sunshades shall be used for improving indoor hot environment.8) A indoor air quality monitoring system shall be established to ensure a healthy and snug indoor environment.9) Reasonable measures shall be taken to improve the natural lighting effects in a indoor or underground space.

6. Operation ManagementPublic Buildings

Control Item1) A system for saving resources such as energy, water, etc. and for managing greening shall be worked out and

implemented.2) No non-standard waste gas or water shall be discharged during the process of a building operation. .3) Waste shall be collected and treated in a classifying way, with no secondary pollution.

General Item4) The construction of a building shall coordinate the balance of earthwork and the construction of roads.5) A property management department shall pass the authentication of the environment management system.6) The arrangement of equipment or pipes shall facilitate maintenance, renovation and replacement.7) An air-conditioning and ventilating system shall be checked and cleaned periodically according to the national

Standard.8) An architectural intelligent system shall be positioned reasonably, with perfect functions of information network.9) The automatic monitoring system for ventilation, air-conditioning, lighting, etc. in a building shall have reasonable

techniques and efficient operation.10) The power consumption, cooling and heat quantity in an office or supermarket building shall be measured and

charged for.

Preference Item11) A resource management and excitation mechanism shall be established and implemented, with the integration of

management result, resource saving and enhancement of economic effects.

Residential Buildings1) A management system for energy saving, water saving, material saving and greening shall be worked out and implemented.2) The water, electricity and fuel gas for each apartment shall be measured and charged for.3) A trash control system shall be worked out to effectively control trash transport, collect waste in a classifying way, and

prevent the disorderly dumpling of trash and secondary contamination.4) Sealed trash cans shall be provided, rigorous cleaning measures shall be taken and domestic trash shall be stored in bags.

General Item1) A trash station or closet shall be equipped with flushing and draining facilities. Stored trash shall be carried away in time in order not

to pollute the environment or shed odor.2) An intelligent system shall be positioned correctly and meet the basic configuring requirements for a technically advanced, practical,

reliable and safety subsystem, a managing and equipment monitoring subsystem and information network subsystem.3) Pollution-free pest control techniques shall be used to standardize the utilization of chemicals such as insecticide, herbicide, chemical

fertilizer and pesticide and to effectively avoid the harm to soil and underground water.4) The survival rate for grown and transplanted trees or bushes shall be greater than 90%, with good growing state.5) A property management department shall pass the authentication of the environment management system.6) The collection rate of classified trash (the proportion of the residents practicing collection of classified trash among all the residents)

shall be greater than 90%.7) The arrangement of equipment and pipes shall facilitate maintenance, renovation and replacement.

Preference Item8) For biodegradable trash, independent collection shall be made or a biodegradable trash treatment house shall be built. The house

shall be equipped with air passages, or ventilating, flushing and draining facilities, with no secondary pollution during the process of treatment.

Control Item

Comparison between 3-Star system and other Rating Systems in the world:

Similarities between Three-Star System and LEED1. Both are credit based systems rather than command

and control systems. This gives the developer maximum leeway over what credits they wish to pursue. China’s system does have more prerequisites (32 in residential, 26 in public buildings) than LEED.

2. The categories are almost the same, other than the Three Star's additional operations and management category.

3. The rating categories are very similar: 1-, 2- and 3- stars in the Chinese system and Silver, Gold and Platinum in LEED.

4. LEED and China’s Three Star System can work together and complement each other quite nicely. This will allow developers who want to get the marketing benefits of LEED pre-certification and then ensure that the predicted energy savings were achieved by going for Three Star certification. (In 3-Star System rating can only be awarded after one year of property operation)

Dissimilarities between Three-Star System and LEED1. One complaint about LEED is that many credits are based

on energy savings predicted by energy modeling, rather than actual certified energy savings.

The Three Star System remedies this by basing results on hard data, and collection of this data may be an important first step toward better measurement of building energy use in China.2. The LEED Core and Shell system allows developers to

submit their design and achieve “pre-certification”, which they can then market to prospective tenants before the building is built. This allows developers to capture some of the benefits of going green by getting higher rents and faster lease up and ultimately drives more developers to build green.

In 3-Star System rating can only be awarded after one year of property operation and this process could slow the market transformation in China contrary to what LEED has driven so efficiently in America.

Comparison between Three-Star System and Building Environment Assessment Method - Hong Kong (HK-BEAM)

Similarities1. Both are credit based systems rather than command and

control systems.

2. The categories are almost the same, other than BEAM's Innovation and Performance Enhancement category and Three-Star’s Operations Management category.

Dissimilarities1. BEAM has two standards, one for New Buildings

and the other for Existing Buildings. While the Three Star rating system has the same evaluation criteria for all buildings.

2. BEAM has a 4-point scale measurement points system (Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum), while Three Star has a 3-point rating system (1-star, 2-star and 3-star).

3. In BEAM, an assessment for a new building is not finalized until a building is completed, ensuring that ‘green’ and ‘sustainable’ design features are actually implemented and construction practice meets the required performance standards.

While in Three-Star rating the rating can be awarded only after one year of property operation.

BEAM Rating Credits

New Buildings(Total 185)

Existing Buildings(Total 208)

Bronze (40%) 74 83

Silver (55%) 102 114

Gold (65%) 120 135

Platinum (75%) 139 156

Three-Star

Rating

Credits

Residential Buildings(Total 49)

Public Buildings(Total 57)

One Star

18 22

Two Star

27 35

Three Star

35 46