Performance measurement and improvement of non residential buildings: carbon dioxide accounting and energy saving

The paper deals with the themes of sustainability with the aim to set up a general framework for the assessment and the improvement of selected environmental performances of large non residential building (e.g. commercial, exhibition,...) taking into account: - strategies for energy saving in heating and air conditioning, - definition of accounting criteria for carbon dioxide emissions - definition of life cycle costing procedures with the inclusion of environmental costs. The paper presents different approaches that could be combined in order to create supports for evaluations and for decisions in the field of environmental performances of buildings. The aim is to give to owners and/or to others operators (designers, energy managers,...) tools (methods, procedures,...) to monitor the building performances, to evaluate the results of alternative strategies and to assume decisions on possible improvement actions.