IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2023i1p157-d1305945.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sustainability Factor for the Cost–Benefit Analysis of Building-Integrated Greenery Systems

Author

Listed:
  • Marcelo Reyes

    (Engineering Faculty, Andrés Bello National University, Santiago 7500971, Chile)

  • Gabriel Pérez

    (IT4S Research Group, Universitat de Lleida, Pere de Cabrera s/n, 25001 Lleida, Spain)

  • Julià Coma

    (IT4S Research Group, Universitat de Lleida, Pere de Cabrera s/n, 25001 Lleida, Spain)

Abstract

Building-integrated greenery (BIG) systems, which include green roofs and green facades, are well-established nature-based solutions (NBS) with proven scientific benefits. However, initial costs and economic apprehensions stemming from potential negative outcomes act as adoption barriers. Furthermore, the lack of standardized indicators and assessment methodologies for evaluating the city-level impacts of BIG systems presents challenges for investors and policy makers. This paper addresses these issues by presenting a comprehensive set of indicators derived from widely accepted frameworks, such as the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES) and the NBS impact evaluation handbook. These indicators contribute to the creation of a ‘sustainability factor’, which facilitates cost–benefit analyses for BIG projects using locally sourced data. The practical application of this factor to a 3500 m 2 green roof in Lleida, Catalonia (Spain) demonstrates that allocating space for urban horticultural production (i.e., food production), CO 2 capture, and creating new recreational areas produces benefits that outweigh the costs by a factor value of nine during the operational phase of the green roof. This cost–benefit analysis provides critical insights for investment decisions and public policies, especially considering the significant benefits at the city level associated with the implementation of BIG systems.

Suggested Citation

  • Marcelo Reyes & Gabriel Pérez & Julià Coma, 2023. "Sustainability Factor for the Cost–Benefit Analysis of Building-Integrated Greenery Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-20, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2023:i:1:p:157-:d:1305945
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/1/157/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/1/157/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bohringer, Christoph & Jochem, Patrick E.P., 2007. "Measuring the immeasurable -- A survey of sustainability indices," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(1), pages 1-8, June.
    2. Massarutto, Antonio, 2020. "Servant of too many masters: Residential water pricing and the challenge of sustainability," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    3. Pérez, Gabriel & Coma, Julià & Sol, Salvador & Cabeza, Luisa F., 2017. "Green facade for energy savings in buildings: The influence of leaf area index and facade orientation on the shadow effect," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 424-437.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Povellato, Andrea & Bodini, Antonella & Longhitano, Davide & Scardera, Alfonso, 2012. "Assessing farm sustainability. An application with the Italian FADN sample," 2012 First Congress, June 4-5, 2012, Trento, Italy 124381, Italian Association of Agricultural and Applied Economics (AIEAA).
    2. Cynthia H. Stahl, 2014. "Out of the Land of Oz: the importance of tackling wicked environmental problems without taming them," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 34(4), pages 473-477, December.
    3. Susca, T. & Zanghirella, F. & Colasuonno, L. & Del Fatto, V., 2022. "Effect of green wall installation on urban heat island and building energy use: A climate-informed systematic literature review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    4. Nisreen Salti & Jad Chaaban & Alexandra Irani & Rima Al Mokdad, 2021. "A Multi-Dimensional Measure of Well-being among Youth: The Case of Palestinian Refugee Youth in Lebanon," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 154(1), pages 1-34, February.
    5. Daniela Cristina Momete & Manuel Mihail Momete, 2021. "Map and Track the Performance in Education for Sustainable Development across the European Union," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-14, November.
    6. Duck Bong Kim, 2019. "An approach for composing predictive models from disparate knowledge sources in smart manufacturing environments," Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing, Springer, vol. 30(4), pages 1999-2012, April.
    7. Daniela C. Momete, 2016. "Building a Sustainable Healthcare Model: A Cross-Country Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(9), pages 1-15, August.
    8. Ernest Reig‐Martínez & José A. Gómez‐Limón & Andrés J. Picazo‐Tadeo, 2011. "Ranking farms with a composite indicator of sustainability," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 42(5), pages 561-575, September.
    9. Franks, Jeremy & Frater, Poppy, 2013. "Measuring agricultural sustainability at the farm-level: A pragmatic approach," International Journal of Agricultural Management, Institute of Agricultural Management, vol. 2(4), pages 1-19, July.
    10. Zhicheng Lai & Lei Li & Zhuomin Tao & Tao Li & Xiaoting Shi & Jialing Li & Xin Li, 2023. "Spatio-Temporal Evolution and Influencing Factors of Ecological Well-Being Performance from the Perspective of Strong Sustainability: A Case Study of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-25, January.
    11. Bakhshoodeh, Reza & Ocampo, Carlos & Oldham, Carolyn, 2022. "Thermal performance of green façades: Review and analysis of published data," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    12. Carmen García-Peña & Moneyba González-Medina & Jose Manuel Diaz-Sarachaga, 2021. "Assessment of the Governance Dimension in the Frame of the 2030 Agenda: Evidence from 100 Spanish Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-21, May.
    13. Pollesch, N.L. & Dale, V.H., 2016. "Normalization in sustainability assessment: Methods and implications," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 195-208.
    14. Svatava Janoušková & Tomáš Hák & Bedřich Moldan, 2018. "Global SDGs Assessments: Helping or Confusing Indicators?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-14, May.
    15. Zia Ullah & Mohammed Ali Bait Ali Sulaiman & Syed Babar Ali & Naveed Ahmad & Miklas Scholz & Heesup Han, 2021. "The Effect of Work Safety on Organizational Social Sustainability Improvement in the Healthcare Sector: The Case of a Public Sector Hospital in Pakistan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(12), pages 1-18, June.
    16. Pedrini, Giulio & Cappiello, Giuseppe, 2022. "The impact of training on labour productivity in the European utilities sector: An empirical analysis," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    17. Mioara, BORZA, 2016. "The Sustainability Dashboard: An Appraisal Tool For Business Area Competitiveness," Contemporary Economy Journal, Constantin Brancoveanu University, vol. 1(2), pages 5-12.
    18. Kajsa Borgnäs, 2017. "Indicators as ‘circular argumentation constructs’? An input–output analysis of the variable structure of five environmental sustainability country rankings," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 769-790, June.
    19. Sowby, Robert B. & South, Andrew J., 2023. "Innovative water rates as a policy tool for drought response: Two case studies from Utah, USA," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    20. Shelby D. Hunt, 2017. "Strategic marketing, sustainability, the triple bottom line, and resource-advantage (R-A) theory: Securing the foundations of strategic marketing theory and research," AMS Review, Springer;Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 7(1), pages 52-66, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2023:i:1:p:157-:d:1305945. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.