The link between continuous commissioning and sustainable growth: a sustainable business model

Over 40% of the greenhouse gas (GHG) production in the world can be attributed to our buildings (Sisson and van Aerschot, 2007). Recent legislation and standards will lead to the construction of more sustainable buildings and zero energy buildings. However, what are we to do with all of the existing buildings? Continuous commissioning (CCx) is a process of commissioning a building to a base point and then operating it with a continuous monitoring regime grouped with a regime of preventative maintenance to optimize energy consumption, environmental comfort, security, indoor air quality, water consumption, etc. The course of the paper follows a natural progression through a description of CCx and the path for implementation, and an overview of sustainable growth for the corporation. An exploration of the environmental, economic and social benefits and the interplay or ‘link’ between the two follows. Finally, the paper covers the possible drawbacks of the union between sustainable growth and CCx. The paper concludes supporting the legitimacy and feasibility of the link between CCx and sustainable growth for the corporation. The paper is limited to the evaluation of the existing building as a business model and it is concluded that this ‘link’ is specific, measurable, achievable, reasonable and timely.