Critical risks influencing the application of EERTs in Australian green office buildings

This paper aims to explore the risks of applying energy efficient and renewable technologies (EERTs) in Australian green office buildings. An online questionnaire survey was conducted in several Australian states and territories to identify and evaluate the potential critical risks that may influence the implementation of EERTs. Consisting of architects, engineers, project managers, and contractors, participants of the survey were asked to evaluate the generic and some specific EERTs risks occurring in the implementation of a selected number of commonly used EERTs in Australian green office buildings. In addition, the participants were asked to pinpoint those stakeholders who were the most affected by the risks and the lifecycle stage of the technology or buildings at which these risks might mostly occur. The data analysis results shows that uncertain governmental policies were identified as the critical risk with the highest mean risk impact value, Lack of access to funds and Presence of system constraints were the most popular risks with influences on most of EERTs. It also identifies the EERTs owners as most affected stakeholders by EERTs risks and that the majority of these risks occur during the operation stage.