Green building rating
tools provide third-party validation of the design and/or performance of a
building. Certification systems are vital as they provide an independent
assessment of the green performance of projects; increasingly a key
consideration for owners, tenants, agents and capital providers. Certification
systems have been particularly successful in raising awareness of green buildings,
resulting in greater market demand and industry response. By defining what is
considered ‘green’ in a particular market, rating tools are able to recognize
and reward best practice and thereby help move the entire market beyond simple
code compliance. In more mature green building markets, building codes often
become more stringent as the baseline for what is considered standard
performance – at least as defined by ratings tools – increases. Green building
rating tools also help create demand for green buildings. There are currently
31 different certification systems currently supported by Green Building
Councils; the most widely used examples include LEED, GreenStar and BREEAM. The
systems often serve as a guideline from the first day of planning and throughout
the construction phase, and increasingly focus on life cycle analysis and the
in use phase of the building life-cycle. Ratings tools create a common language
around green building by providing definitions and performance benchmarks,
which can provide verification for capital providers and developers. They have
expanded the understanding of green building beyond simply energy or water
efficiency in operations. Areas of building design and operation that were
previously overlooked, such as indoor environment quality and the life-cycle of
buildings materials, have gained attention in the market and in policy. Meeting
a certification standard can be a means for contractual agreement between all
players in the design and construction process, as well as potential policy
targets for the public and private sectors. For example, many public
authorities are adopting certification as a requirement, primarily in public
buildings.
THE ABC FOR SUSTAINABLE CITIES
UNEP / UN HABITAT / FIDIC / GI-REC
