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Moving towards green university: a method of analysis based on multi-criteria decision-making approach to assess sustainability indicators

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Abstract

Increase of greenhouse gases surrounding the earth has recently put the world in a dangerous condition. Thus, the term green building technology has progressively been used to control sustainability matters and to develop standards that can control carbon emissions and energy consumptions. University buildings are not excluded from the energy conservation problems due to their population and activities. Consequently, this study intended to find and prioritize the criteria, sub-criteria, and the associated indicators based on their level of importance in assessing green building universities in Malaysia. Based on the green building index (GBI), the most well-known sustainability rating system for buildings in Malaysia, the criteria and their associated indicators were identified. A panel of experts in consultation and implementation of green buildings in Malaysia was selected for data collection purposes. Criteria and their associated indicators were ranked based on their level of significance using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP). Results showed that indoor environmental quality and energy efficiency were the most significant criteria while the innovation was the least important criteria in evaluating green building universities. Findings of this research provide new knowledge for stakeholders involved in the implementation of green building in universities.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank all who assisted in conducting this work.

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Correspondence to E. Yadegaridehkordi.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Editorial responsibility: Chenxi Li.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Green building index assessment criteria for NRNC (Greenbuildingindex 2009b)

See Tables 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13.

Table 8 EE
Table 9 EQ
Table 10 SM
Table 11 MR
Table 12 WE
Table 13 IN

Appendix 2: Compassion matrices for criteria, sub-criteria and indicators

See Tables 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 and 36.

Table 14 The results of main criteria pairwise comparison
Table 15 The results of EE sub-criteria pairwise comparison
Table 16 The results of design indicators pairwise comparison
Table 17 The results of commissioning indicators pairwise comparison
Table 18 The results of verification and maintenance indicators pairwise comparison
Table 19 The results of EQ sub-criteria pairwise comparison
Table 20 The results of air quality indicators pairwise comparison
Table 21 The results of thermal comfort indicators pairwise comparison
Table 22 The results of lighting, visual & acoustic comfort indicators pairwise comparison
Table 23 The results of verification indicators pairwise comparison
Table 24 The results of SM sub-criteria pairwise comparison
Table 25 The results of site planning indicators pairwise comparison
Table 26 The results of construction management indicators pairwise comparison
Table 27 The results of transportation indicators pairwise comparison
Table 28 The results of design indicators pairwise comparison
Table 29 The results of MR sub-criteria pairwise comparison
Table 30 The results of reused and recycled materials indicators pairwise comparison
Table 31 The results of Sustainable Resources indicators pairwise comparison
Table 32 The results of Waste Management indicators pairwise comparison
Table 33 The results of WE sub-criteria pairwise comparison
Table 34 The results of water harvesting and recycling indicators pairwise comparison
Table 35 The results of Increased Efficiency indicators pairwise comparison
Table 36 The results of IN indicators pairwise comparison

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Yadegaridehkordi, E., Nilashi, M. Moving towards green university: a method of analysis based on multi-criteria decision-making approach to assess sustainability indicators. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 19, 8207–8230 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-022-04086-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-022-04086-y

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