There is great potential for carbon emission reduction in commercial buildings. Determining the spatial-temporal heterogeneity of CCBCE (China’s commercial building carbon emissions) is crucial for developing differentiated emissions mitigation policies. This paper estimated CCBCE and then adopted a method involving the visualization of spatial data, Dagum Gini coefficient, and kernel density estimation to analyze the spatial-temporal characteristics and regional differences in China’s eight economic regions in 2006–2019. The results indicate that: (1) The CCBCE displayed a general upward trend, increasing from 400.99 million t (tons) to 853.23 million t. The CCBCE from electricity accounted for the largest share (65.93% in 2009). Moreover, Guangdong was the only high-emission province in 2019 with 77.8 million t CCBCE. (2) The contribution rate of the different economic regions to incremental carbon emissions made a significant difference, and inter-regional differences (61.81%) were much higher than intra-regional differences (7.99%). (3) The greatest intra-regional differences were found in the Southern coastal economic region (average Gini coefficient up to 0.4782). For inter-regional differences, the disparity between the Northern coastal economic region and Northwest economic region was greatest. Further, the regional differences presented a trend of increase. The study concludes that effective measures should be taken to reduce the CCBCE in each region and narrow the regional gap of CCBCE.

Energy-efficient retrofitting has emerged as a primary strategy for reducing the energy consumption of buildings. Buildings in China account for about 40% of total national energy consumption. Large office buildings account for the most. Less than 5% of the building area of existing office buildings is energy efficient. Energy-efficient retrofitting for sustainable buildings is a complicated system that involves various sustainable dimensions and operational technical schemes. Making multi-criteria decisions becomes a challenging problem for stakeholders. Based on the theory of sustainability, this paper establishes a sustainable analysis framework to guide stakeholders to select an optimal technical combination of energy-efficient retrofit measures for large office buildings. Based on empirical data collected in Beijing, a number of energy efficiency measures are selected, tailored and applied to a virtual model of a typical large office building. Technical features and the energy performance are simulated accordingly. The energy consumption, energy-saving ratio and lifecycle costs are derived to identify the optimal configuration. The outcome of this research offers a feasible technical plan for stakeholders relating to technical design and design making. The study finds that an LED lighting system and frequency conversion device for the cooling water chiller cannot only sufficiently reduce the building’s energy consumption but also perform economically. Different thermal insulation materials for reconstructing the building envelope have no obvious effect on the thermal performance in comprehensive simulations of technology combinations. The sustainable analysis framework offers theoretical and practical support and can be used as a reference for the other types of buildings in future research.

Water distribution networks (WDNs) represent a class of critical infrastructure networks. When a disaster occurs, component failures in a WDN may trigger system failures that result in larger-scale reactions. The aim of the paper is to evaluate the evolution of system reliability and failure propagation time for a WDN experiencing cascading failures, and find the critical pipes which may reduce system reliability dramatically. Multiple factors are considered in the method such as network topology, the balance of water supply and demand, demand multiplier, and pipe break isolation. The pipe-based attack with multiple failure scenarios is simulated in the paper. A case WDN is used to illustrate the method. The results show that the lowest capacity gets stronger when a WDN is short of supply, becoming the dominant factor that decides the evolution of system reliability and failure propagation time. The valve ratio (VR) and system reliability present a flattened S curve relationship, and there are two turning points in VR. The critical pipes can be identified. With the fixed 5% valves, a WDN can improve system reliability and resist cascading failures effectively. The findings provide insights into the system reliability and failure propagation time for WDNs experiencing cascading failures. It is proven to be useful in future studies focused on the operation and management of water services.

Local Ghanaian construction firms have been accused of underperformance due to inadequate resources and capabilities, lack of market information, poor managerial skills, and other external factors. While construction firms may be unable to control external challenges, how they mobilize internal resources to confront them may be crucial for their performance and survival. An emerging consensus is that how organizations use their resources to respond to externalities is related to their organizational culture (OC). We contend that the unique contribution of organizational culture to firm performance (FP) may diminish in the absence of appropriate firm capabilities. Drawing on the resource-based view and capability theories, we attempt to investigate (a) how the types of OC influence FP and (b) whether innovation and marketing capabilities mediate the link between types of OC and construction firm performance. Results of partial least squares structural equation modelling show that clan, adhocracy, and market culture have significant positive association with FP, while hierarchy culture is negatively related to FP. Furthermore, innovation and marketing capabilities demonstrate a combination of full and partial mediation effects on the link between OC types and FP. Thus, the results direct senior managers’ attention towards the significance of soft assets in construction firm performance outcomes, signaling a shift from a purely technical and rationalistic approach to a more adaptable and humanistic approach. It implies that while emphasizing cultural values, managers should also give priority to these two capability dimensions.

The rapid development of public buildings has greatly increased the country’s energy consumption and carbon emissions. Excessive carbon emissions contribute to global warming. This paper aims to measure the carbon emissions in the operation of public buildings, and to identify the multiple influencing factors of carbon emissions in operational public buildings. First, the spatial and temporal variation characteristics of carbon emissions from public buildings in 30 provinces of China from 2008–2019 are analyzed. Second, a green building index is constructed, and the STIRPAT (Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, and Technology) model is utilized to explore the relationship between each influencing factor and carbon emissions, using spatial and temporal geographically weighted regression analysis. The results show that the effects of population, urbanization rate, GDP per capita, green building index, and industrial structure on carbon emissions from public buildings all show spatial correlation and differences. There are east-west differences in the operational carbon emissions of public buildings in China’s provinces. Cluster evolution shows a spatially increasing trend from west to east. To some extent, policymakers can develop appropriate policies for different provinces through the findings.

Purpose: This article aims to establish a dynamic Energy Performance Contract (EPC) risk allocation model for commercial buildings based on the theory of Incomplete Contract. The purpose is to fill the policy vacuum and allow stakeholders to manage risks in energy conservation management by EPCs to better adapt to climate change in the building sector.Design/methodology/approach: The article chooses a qualitative research approach to depict the whole risk allocation picture of EPC projects and establish a dynamic EPC risk allocation model for commercial buildings in China. It starts with a comprehensive literature review on risks of EPCs. By modifying the theory of Incomplete Contract and adopting the so-called bow-tie model, a theoretical EPC risk allocation model is developed and verified by interview results. By discussing its application in the commercial building sector in China, an operational EPC three-stage risk allocation model is developed.Findings: This study points out the contract incompleteness of the risk allocation for EPC projects and offered an operational method to guide practice. The reasonable risk allocation between building owners and Energy Service Companies can realize their bilateral targets on commercial building energy-saving benefits, which makes EPC more attractive for energy conservation.Originality/value: Existing research focused mainly on static risk allocation. Less research was directed to the phased and dynamic risk allocation. This study developed a theoretical three-stage EPC risk allocation model, which provided the theoretical support for dynamic EPC risk allocation of EPC projects. By addressing the contract incompleteness of the risk allocation, an operational method is developed. This is a new approach to allocate risks for EPC projects in a dynamic and staged way.