Developing Residential Building Sustainability Assessment Framework: Delphi consultation approach

Green building rating systems are geared at achieving environmental sustainability. While international rating systems are recognized global scale, others are tailored to the requirements of countries. The Moroccan Building Sustainability Assessment Framework (MBSAF) for residential buildings was developed according to the triple bottom line approach sustainability. To select the assessment categories, local experts from the academic, architectural and engineering consulting firms used a Delphi method that was conducted in two rounds. The Interrater Agreement confirmed expert consensus, with Kendall's W progressing from 0.12 in the first round to 0.25 in the second. Over 28 degrees of freedom, the Chi-square reveals a progressive convergence of opinions across the expert panel and its subgroups, suggesting that professional affiliation significantly influences expert judgments. The MBSAF framework, adapted to Morocco's environmental, social, and economic context, includes 13 assessment categories subdivided into 50 subcategories. “HW. Health and well-being”, “EE. Energy efficiency” and “LCC. Life Cycle Cost” are the categories that have been revealed to be the most significant. The framework was developed in collaboration with a panel of local experts, and it is expected to play a key role in promoting sustainable practices in Morocco by stimulating market demand for sustainable residential buildings.