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The housing construction industry in Saudi Arabia has been booming rapidly in the past two decades. This boom has faced multiple downfalls in relation to government regulations and building codes, one of which is the application of sustainable methods to the housing construction. This paper sheds some light on the current role of the Saudi government and the role of the Saudi Building Code (SBC) in the housing construction industry. The methodology utilised in this paper was a Delphi survey that was distributed to twenty-five key stakeholders in the housing construction industry in Saudi Arabia. The results indicate that there is a lack of integration between the Saudi Building Code and the current construction methods used in the current construction industry. Some factors and elements are recommended to be incorporated into the Saudi Building Code and to be adopted as regulations in the Saudi housing construction industry.

Various countries have been introducing sustainable assessment tools for real estate design to produce integrated sustainability components not just for the building, but also the landscape component of the development. This paper aims to present the comparison between international and local assessment tools of landscape design for housing estate developments in Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMR), Thailand. The methodologies used are to review, then compare and identify discrepancy indicators among the tools. This paper will examine four international tools; LEED for Neighbourhood Development (LEED – ND) of United State of America (USA), EnviroDevelopment standards of Australia, Residential Landscape Sustainability of United Kingdom (UK) and Green Mark for Infrastructure of Singapore; and three BMR’s existing tools; Land Subdivision Act B.E. 2543, Environmental Impact Assessment Monitoring Awards (EIA-MA) and Thai’s Rating for Energy and Environmental Sustainability of New construction and major renovation (TREES-NC). The findings show that there are twenty two elements of three categories which are neighbourhood design, community management, and environmental condition. Moreover, only one element in neighbourhood designs different between the international and local tools. The sustainable assessment tools have existed in BMR but they are not complete in only one assessment tool. Thus, the development of new comprehensive assessment tool will be necessary in BMR; however, it should meet the specific environment and climate condition for housing estate development at BMR.

The opening of free market in 2003, leads into the stridently escalating business competition both in domestic and global market. The company, therefore, is trying to win the competition by obtaining ISO 9000 certification which can be applied in the construction business. The purpose of the research is to investigate the reason, the obstacles, the gap between expectation and reality of using ISO 9000, as well as the main priority to be implemented in the company. This research uses survey on contractor companies in Surabaya and Gresik which has implemented ISO 9000. The statistical results show that the main reason to implement ISO 9000 is to increase consistency and to improve its quality. Meanwhile, the main obstacle is time constraint to complete the implementation. Companies still need to increase customer satisfaction and attend on customer focus principle to increase the quality of their outcomes.

Byron Shire, NSW, Australia, aims to transition to zero emissions within ten years in five sectors - energy, buildings, transport, land use and waste. This study investigates the potential of Geodesign to effectively map the shire during this transition. A contextual study of the shire's residential pockets is initiated using open source Geographic Information System (GIS) data and a typical case study site selected based on demographic information. CO2 equiva- lents from current electricity usage and offsets from renewable energy systems are added to the database and visualized in ArcGIS software. Site specific benchmarks are derived as the first step of developing a Regenerative Sustainability Design (RSD) strategy using Geodesign tools. The tenets of RS require each building to use systems that enhance overall ecosystem health by achieving positive outcomes for energy, waste, water, biodiversity, etc. ArcGIS is used for designing built and natural environments in an integrated process. It enables evaluation of RSD alternatives against their impacts, collaborative decision making and community engagement (via apps, online surveys). Vector data can be directly quantified, multiple parameters accounted for and the on- ground situation presented to stakeholders in a legible and easy to understand format. Complex datasets can be quickly accessed and visualized in order to identify opportunities for positive contributions to the community. This work shows the value of Geodesign for community planning processes to drive positive change. ArcGIS can assist in holistic assessments to identify the most effective retrofit opportunities, monitor the transition to zero emissions over time and inform policy.