TOOL NAME: SPeAR Sustainable Project Appraisal Routine - second link
OWNED/DEVELOPED BY: ARUP UK
- Form of the CAT – whether it is a rating tool, strategic framework, guidelines etc. – and capacity to link with other tools.
SPeAR is a methodology framework to assess the sustainability of projects, products or organizations. It was originally designed for buildings and infrastructure, but has been applied to projects as diverse as curriculum etc. SPeAR is an appraisal routine designed to provide a performance summary of multiple aspects of sustainability via graphical representation, to assist in making complex decisions about sustainability.
Projects are scored under broad categories of environmental protection, social equity, economic viability and efficient use of natural resources via a colour-coding system denoting best-case to worst-case performance – enabling clients to easily identify project strengths and weaknesses in relation to different aspects of sustainability. Tool is stand-alone, but able to also incorporate requirements of other rating schemes – e.g. reference green star etc.
- Governance/administration of the CAT – its purpose and the organization behind it, the jurisdiction or scale of influence/application.
Registered product, owned and controlled by ARUP. Implementation is voluntary. Applied to around 200 projects internationally (since 2002), and works across a range of scales. Can be set up with a standard or customised set of indicators, giving increased flexibility.
- Sector or phase of development to which the CAT is applicable – e.g. planning, design, construction – residential, commercial, infrastructure etc. – including capacity to influence urban renewal and retrofitting outcomes.
SPeAR works best when applied at concept design stage – to aid decision-making on planning options – and to test organizational or project performance against previously established benchmarks. This capacity is useful in analysing a range of options for urban renewal and retrofitting against set sustainability targets and outcomes, for example.
- Ability to promote systems thinking – how well the CAT encompasses and integrates the component factors and measures of urban sustainability.
The design of the tool is inherently supportive of a systems-thinking approach to sustainability assessment. A comprehensive set of environmental, social and economic indicators is included, with flexibility for incorporating additional subcategory indicators in conjunction with the client. All aspects of sustainability performance are displayed within a single output diagram, which enables the client/user to easily comprehend inter-relationships between sustainability parameters, and identify impacts of proposed actions across multiple aspects of performance.
- Capacity to inform design decisions – how well the CAT is able to derive and test alternative design strategies to inform decision-making.
This is promoted as a particular strength of the tool – the tool’s inherent flexibility is a desirable attribute in this regard, as well. It is difficult to compare individual project performance against external benchmarks, however, as information on individual projects is not generally publicly accessible, and individual projects may be designed to respond to unique sets of indicators.
- Capacity to encourage collaboration – how effectively the CAT integrates input from multiple stakeholders in the context of its implementation and use.
Tool developed internally by ARUP – extent of collaboration employed in development of tool unclear, but tool encourages stakeholder collaboration in use via co-ordination of a range of cross-sector inputs. The process of deriving indicator sets for individual projects – essentially ARUP’s application/implementation capability which lies outside the tool itself - is a key factor in achieving successful outcomes.
- Adaptability of the CAT to differing local environmental contexts
SPeAR is well-suited for use in a variety of differing local contexts, as indicators can be customised in collaboration with the client, and it can be applied across a range of different scales.
- Ability of the CAT to drive innovation in urban planning and development.
There are some publicly available examples of projects where indicators on encouraging innovation were added – and such indicators could be designed as prescriptive or performance-based.
- Flexibility of the CAT to adapt and evolve over time to changing understanding and measures of urban sustainability – including review processes and systems for ongoing monitoring, evaluation and reporting of outcomes.
SPeAR has very good capacity in this regard. Each project can potentially employ a unique set of indicators, allowing the tool to evolve with changing technology, economics, governance and legislative frameworks and environmental conditions.
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