Guide for conducting Sustainable Buildings and Construction country assessments

Published on December 21, 2020

This guide proposes an approach and methodology to conduct Sustainable Buildings and Construction country assessments for developing and emerging economies. Conducting the SBC country assessment will facilitate the identification of a country's SBC priorities and opportunities, the mobilization of local stakeholders and getting the commitment from governments and other actors towards sustainable buildings and construction approaches and practices.

SBC country assessments help increasing the awareness on what sustainable building and construction (and related concepts) mean in each context and make the case for SBC by contextualizing its opportunities and benefits for the targeted country. The SBC country assessments intend to be a tool for governments and practionners/development partners to take stock of and analyse existing policies, strategies, institutions, and specific contexts related to building and construction through the perspective of sustainability, using an evidence-based approach. The tool has been shared with different experts and the feedback has been positive. However, the tool still needs to be tested. Through piloting this first version of the guide, it will be further enhanced by collecting lessons from its use, so the assessment tools and approach can be fine-tuned for future uses. The main challenge has been to secure funding for testing the tool in a country.