Green Building Design Certification

Dr. Sonal Desai

17th Sep 2021

Green Building Design Certification

Green building certification systems are a set of rating systems and tools that are used to evaluate a building or a construction project's overall performance from a sustainability and environmental perspective. These Green building rating system goals to enhance the general quality of buildings and infrastructures, combine a lifestyles cycle technique in its design and construction, Buildings which have been assessed and are deemed to fulfil a certain level of overall performance and quality, acquire a certificate proving this success. Currently, more than 100 building certifications systems exist across the world. Goals and advantages of Green Building Certification The aim of all certification rating systems is to offer tools and methods to evaluate the environmental and resource-efficient overall performance of a building.

The foremost targets of such tools are:

1. optimize building overall performance and decrease environmental effects 
2. offer a way to quantify a building’s environmental effects 
3. set standards and benchmarks to evaluate buildings objectively Furthermore, the end result of such an assessment is to offer a certificate verifying the achievement of the desired overall performance and quality of the building.

Some advantages of certifying a building or a property include:

1. The negative impacts of a building on the surroundings may be better understood and this information may be applied to reduce such effects. 
2. holistic sustainability concerns can be made for the fulfilment of technical, economic, social and functional necessities of the building. 
3. promotes sustainable design and construction standards at some point of the building lifecycle. 
4. will increase the monetary value of a building or a property in the actual property market.
This blog is about world-wide certification process for Green building certifications:

LEED 

LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a green building certification used in the United States. Managed through the U.S. Green Building Council, this constructing rating system is completed by on-site or third-party verification. Many building kinds can apply for this certification application, which include new construction, existing buildings, homes, and communities. LEED has 4 certification stages which include, certified, silver, gold, and platinum. LEED has 9 areas of focus, which include location and transportation, sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, material and resources, indoor environmental quality, innovation, regional priority, and integrative processes. The LEED certification program pursuits to have buildings use their sources extra efficiently and create secure surroundings for all its occupants throughout the building’s life cycle. As of today, 80,000 projects had been registered, with 32,500 projects having completed the certification process. Top customers of LEED certification consist of Intel Corp., Colgate-Palmotive, Mars Inc., and Method Southside Soapbox Factory.

Energy Star

Energy Star is another famous green building certification that is offered via the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency. To qualify, your building needs to be at least 15% extra energy efficient than conventional properties. These certifications last for one year.

WELL

WELL is a building certification program controlled by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI). WELL focuses totally on building layout attributes that affect occupant health and well-being. WELL evaluates buildings on eleven concepts: air, water, nourishment, light, movement, thermal comfort, sound, materials, mind, community, and innovation. This green building system features a few preconditions or prerequisites to completing a WELL certification. Like LEED, WELL can be used for a wide type of building and building spaces. As of today, 3865 projects had been registered, and 232 had earned their WELL certification. Top customers of WELL encompass Wells Fargo, EY, Deloitte, Lenovo, and Fandango.

Fitwel

Like WELL, Fitwel focuses on the health and well-being of the building occupants as well as the surrounding community. However, FitWel does not have any prerequisites for completing this green building certification program. Like the formerly mentioned programs, FitWel also can be utilized in a variety of building sorts and spaces. FitWel focuses on location, building access, outdoor spaces, entrances, stairs, indoor environment, workspaces, shared spaces, water supply, cafeterias and organized meals areas, vending machines and snack bars, and emergency procedures. As of today, 840 had been registered, and 240 had finished their FitWel certification. Top customers of FitWel encompass Skanska Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc., and the Tower Companies.

Green Globes

Green Globes is a building rating system used in the US and Canada. Green Globes is based in order that it can be accomplished as a self-evaluation in-house with the project manager and design team. It makes use of a questionnaire this is geared toward assisting the person make changes to complete the certification. Like FitWel, there are no prerequisites to finish this certification. Like LEED, Green Globes has 4 levels of certification. Green Globes may be used in new construction, existing buildings, and commercial interiors. This certification program focuses on power usage, water, waste management, emissions, indoor environment, and environmental management.

BREEAM

BREEM, or the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method, is the oldest green building rating system. Created in 1990, it has since certified projects in over 50 countries, has over 560,000 certified projects, and over 2 million registered. This green building rating system is measured throughout nine categories: management, health and well-being, transport, water, materials, land use and ecology, and pollution. BREEAM is geared toward making buildings more sustainable, in addition to improving building overall performance and efficiency. Many different green building certification programs, along with Green Globes, had been inspired by the thoughts and innovations of BREEAM. Top users of BREEAM encompass Futurebuild and Overbury.

DGNB

DGNB, a green building certification program created by the German Sustainable Building Council, focuses on promoting sustainable building practices across Europe. DGNB uses a innovative approach with a focus on performance. This green building rating system has 3 levels of certification, platinum, gold, and silver. For this certification program, buildings are evaluated on ecological quality, socio-cultural and function quality, technical quality, and process quality. As of today, over 4800 buildings have earned a DGNB certification.

Green Star

Green Star is an international sustainability reporting and rating system, that is popular particularly in Australia and South Africa. All Green Star categories include an innovation category that rewards projects for creating and utilizing new approaches to sustainability. Like the other certification programs on this list, Green Star can be used for different building types and is performed in categories such as indoor environmental air quality, energy, transportation, water, materials, land use and ecology, and emissions. The main goal of Green Star is to guide project teams to make conscious decisions regarding energy usage and material selection. As of today, over 1450 projects had completed the Green Star certification.

NABERS

NABERS is a green building certification meant for Australian projects only. It measures environmental impact on a six-star scale, based on energy use, waste production, water use, and indoor environment. To apply, one can estimate rating using the program’s online calculator or find an accredited assessor.
CASBEE

The Comprehensive Assessment System for Built Environment Efficiency is a green building certification in Japan, though it’s currently being piloted for international use. The program certifies both, residential and commercial construction, urban development, and city management.

BCA Green Mark Scheme

BCA (Building and Construction Authority) Green Mark Scheme is a green certification program focused on the establishment of sustainable buildings in Singapore. This certification program focuses on innovation and governance to create a community of care and a more sustainable environment. BCA Green Mark Scheme has 5 key attributes: energy efficiency, water efficiency, environmental protection, indoor environmental quality, and innovation features. Since its launch in January of 2005, BCA Green Mark Scheme has certified over 1700 buildings.

BEAM PLUS

BEAM PLUS is a certification program recognized by the Hong Kong Business Environment Council that focuses on incorporating sustainability into planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of a building. BEAM PLUS has five focuses for assessment: site, material, water and energy use, indoor environmental quality, and innovation. The BEAM PLUS certification program has a goal of educating the community about sustainability and sustainable practices and has intentions to extend BEAM PLUS beyond Hong Kong.

CASBEE

CASBEE, or Comprehensive Assessment System for Build Energy Environment Efficiency, was launched in 2015 and can be used for both new construction and existing buildings throughout Japan. Starting in 2005, earning a CASBEE certification became mandatory in 24 Japanese municipalities. CASBEE moved internationally in 2014 when a building in Tianjin, China earned their CASBEE certification. This program focuses on energy and resource efficiency, and local and indoor environments. CASBEE was designed to reduce the life cycle of resource use, as well as improve quality of life for building occupants and the surrounding community.

GORD

GORD, or Gulf Organization for Research and Development, aims to encourage sustainable economic development and environmental leadership through sustainable building design. GORD is the first performance based green building certification program in the Middle East and North Africa. 

This certification has two stages:

(1) obtain the design and build certificate following design phase and, 
(2) pursue the conformance design audit. Since its launch in 2007, over 100 million square feet of building space have received GORD certification.

Miljöbyggnad------

Miljöbyggnad, or Environmental Building in English, is a green building certification program created by the Sweden Green Building Council in 2010. Including both new construction and existing building pathways, buildings can earn gold, silver, or bronze certification levels. Interesting, since water usage is not a threatened resource in Sweden, there is no section regarding water efficiency. However, this program focuses on indoor environmental quality, energy use, and material use. Miljöbyggnad uses principles from LEED and BREEAM to develop its certification attributes. Thus far, over 1000 buildings have received Miljöbyggnad certification.

Mostadam aims to create a better built environment in Saudi Arabia. The rating system includes a set of sustainability technical requirements that projects must implement and integrate to be awarded the certificate, which acknowledges their efforts and distinguishes them from conventional developments. Mostadam is projected to have a big impact on the region. After all, more than 5,200 construction projects are currently ongoing in Saudi Arabia at a value of USD 819 billion. These projects account for approximately 35% of the total value of active projects across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

Please visit our site to know more about Green Building Design Courses and contact us for consultation regarding Green building Design.

Dr. Sonal Desai

✓ Certified Energy Auditor and Green Building Consultant

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