By Tracy Wong Harris, Joy Song, Flora Yu, Audrey Wong
8 December 2020

About the Study

Green Building Rating Systems (GBRSs) play a key role in assessing environmental impact and sustainability, and in facilitating decarbonisation in the building sector.

Eight GBRSs were chosen for this comparative study: CGBL, BEAM Plus, BREEAM, Green Mark, Green Star, LEED, EDGE, and NABERS Energy. They are categorised into two main types: scoring-based rating systems and performance-based rating systems, based on their certification methodologies. Of these, BEAM Plus is a Hong Kong-based GBRS and the others are from other jurisdictions.

This study compares the similarities and differences between the GBRSs, in particular taking a deep dive into energy-related requirements. The purpose is to gain insight into whether existing GBRSs sufficiently facilitate decarbonisation in the building sector.

Starting from top left to right: Mr. Evan Auyang, Civic Exchange Chairperson, Dr. Ma Jun, HKGFA Chairman and President, Mr. Lawrence Iu, HK2050 is Now Project Lead, Ms. Tracy Wong Harris, Deputy Secretary-General, Hong Kong Green Finance Association & Green Building Project Lead, Mr. Prashant Kapoor, Chief Industry Specialist, World Bank Group (IFC), Ir. CS Ho, General Manager, BEAM Society Ltd (BSL), Mr. Amit Tanna, Managing Director, Leveraged Finance, Regional Head, North East Asia, Standard Chartered Bank, Ms. Grace Kwok, Chairman and Executive Director, Allied Sustainability and Environmental Consultants Group Ltd (AEC), Ms. Flora Yu, CECEP Environmental Consulting Group Limited Sustainability Development Dept Manager, Ir. Dr. Vincent Cheng, Arup Director of Building Sustainability Group, Ms. Annie Chen, Civic Exchange Board Member.