Green Building Rating Systems and the New Framework Level(s): A Critical Review of Sustainability Certification within Europe

Antonio Sánchez Cordero, Sergio Gómez Melgar and José Manuel Andújar Márquez
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Antonio Sánchez Cordero: Programa de Ciencia y Tecnología Industrial y Ambiental, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería, Universidad de Huelva, CP. 21007 Huelva, Spain
Sergio Gómez Melgar: TEP192 Control y Robótica, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería, Universidad de Huelva, CP. 21007 Huelva, Spain
José Manuel Andújar Márquez: TEP192 Control y Robótica, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería, Universidad de Huelva, CP. 21007 Huelva, Spain

Energies, 2019, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-25

Abstract: Increasing problems regarding pollution and climate change have long been demonstrated by scientific evidence. An important portion of carbon emissions are produced by the building sector. These emissions are directly related not only to the building’s energy consumption, but also other building attributes affecting the construction and operation of existing buildings: materials selection, waste management, transportation, water consumption, and others. To help reduce these emissions, several green building rating system (GBRSs) have appeared during the last years. This has made it difficult for stakeholders to identify which GBRSs could be more suitable to a specific project. The heterogeneity of the GRBS scenario requires the creation of a transparent and robust indicator framework that can be used in any country within the European Union (EU), which is a common EU framework of core sustainability indicators for office and residential buildings Level(s) with the goal to provide a solid structure for building sustainability certification across all countries of the EU. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the most common GBRSs within the EU: Building Research Establishment Assessment Method (BREEAM), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen (DGNB), Haute Qualité Environnementale (HQE), and Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED), and a bottom up comparison of the influence in the final score produced by the indicators stated by Level(s). The indicators studied show a different influence of Level(s) indicators on every GBRS, where LEED and BREEAM were most affected while HQE and DGNB were less so. This paper demonstrates the heterogeneity of current GRBSs in the EU scenario and the difference between sustainability assessments, where DGNB seems to be more aligned to the current EU framework. Finally, the paper concludes with the need to work to achieve alignment between the GBRS and Level(s).

Keywords: Level(s); green building rating systems; Building Research Establishment Assessment Method (BREEAM); Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen (DGNB); Haute Qualité Environnementale (HQE); Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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