BEAM Plus Interiors Manual

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air, land and water.

Performance Benchmarks

BEAM Plus uses local performance standards, codes and guides where

these are available. Where these are not available, international or

national standards, codes and guides are referenced. Where there are

differences in the performance criteria set by the various authorities

BEAM Plus will avoid specifying the performance criteria, allowing the

Applicant to specify what they consider to be appropriate for their

premises.

The BEAM rating process seeks confirmation that the performance

levels have been achieved. Where performance standards are not well

defined BEAM establishes its own performance benchmarks based on

available data and stakeholder consensus. More points are awarded for

higher levels of performance achieved.

Raising Building Performance Standards

Responding to environmental priorities and to social and economic

issues, BEAM strives to improve the overall performance of buildings.

BEAM encourages progressively higher standards of performance and

innovations that contribute to such performance.

Absolute versus Relative Performance

Through opinion surveys of BEAM Society members it is apparent that

there should be a balance between assessment of performance issues

over which the Applicant may have little or no control and performance

issues that can be influenced by the Applicant.

In addition, BEAM’s position is that assessment of some aspects of

performance should not be penalised because of externalities that are

not under the control of the Applicant. For example, the efficiency of the

utility supplying electricity to a building. In this case only consumption is

quantified (e.g. kWh) and rated, and not the environmental loading (e.g.

) unless the mix of energy sources (gas, oil, electricity) is significant.

The rational is that in the case of an inefficient supply, demand side

management can make a significant contribution to reducing

environmental load.

Regionally Responsive Criteria

Assessment criteria need to be relevant to the building and interior types

and setting, and environmental, social and economic priorities.

Consequently, some of the performance criteria in BEAM Plus reflect

Hong Kong’s humid sub-tropical climate and dense urban living

environment.

Scientific Rigour

Whilst BEAM Plus endeavours to provide for a comprehensive and fair

assessment it recognises that assessment criteria, assessment methods

and allocation of points are not comprehensive.

BEAM Plus addresses items only where the associated environmental

impacts have been proven, and for which reasonably objective

performance criteria can be defined. Certain performance aspects

attributable to buildings and interior spaces and their use have yet to be

included, either because the environmental impacts are not well defined,

or because performance criteria have not been established. They may

be included in future updates, when information becomes available to

permit a reasonably objective assessment.

In the meantime, it is argued that the real value of BEAM Plus lies not in

scientific rigour but in the actual improvements to built quality and the

levels of awareness amongst stakeholders resulting from its increasingly