A Comparison Of Global Rating Systems In Green Building With The Safari Green Building Index. A Case Of Nairobi, Kenya.

Abstract

The effect of building design and construction on the planet’s natural environment has in the past two decades come to the forefront of the global conservationist agenda. The use of raw materials as well as the production of waste materials during building construction, renovation, repurposing and occupancy all have a lasting effect on the immediate and surrounding area where the building is situated. To determine the extent of this impact, several environmental sustainable assessment programs are continuously developed worldwide to identify the environmental and energy effect of buildings. With the increased realization of the harm that building construction can cause to the natural environment, came the creation of green building technology, rating systems and standards that aim to mitigate these potential negative effects before they occur through sustainable design. This study focused on four such building rating systems that are used in Kenya to assess green buildings in Nairobi. The rating systems examined in this study are the Safari Green Building Index (SGBI) rating system developed in Kenya, the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) developed in the UK, the Green Star rating system developed in Australia and, the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) system developed in the USA. The overriding objective of this study was to determine whether internationally developed rating systems are better suited to evaluate green buildings in Nairobi County than locally developed ones. To this end, the study examined the three green building rating systems (Green Star, BREEAM and LEED) used internationally to discern the similarities and differences among them as regards to their development, implementation, and evaluation criteria. The study also examined the 5 Safari Green Building Index with the intent of determining its suitability for use in Nairobi taking into consideration the unique climatic and socio-economic conditions in Kenya. The study critically analyzed three green buildings located in Nairobi County using the Green Star SA- Kenya green building rating system and the Safari Green Building Index to identify the points of divergence between these two green building rating systems. The buildings analyzed in this study were the Garden City Residential Buildings – Phase 1, The University of Nairobi Towers and the Strathmore Business School building in Strathmore University. The study found that while the Green Star rating system comprehensively evaluates internationally accepted green building standards, the Safari Green Building Index is better suited to address the specific building design and construction requirements of green buildings in Nairobi. The study thus proposes that the Safari Green Building Index or other locally developed rating systems be adopted for use in Kenya and the East African region as a whole. The study also recommends that further research is needed to reassess the environmental impact of green buildings in Nairobi that are certified under international green building rating systems to determine if they are in fact environmentally friendly given the country’s unique climatic and socio-economic conditions as well as its present and future environmental conservation objectives.