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

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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)

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).

Suggested Citation

  • Antonio Sánchez Cordero & Sergio Gómez Melgar & José Manuel Andújar Márquez, 2019. "Green Building Rating Systems and the New Framework Level(s): A Critical Review of Sustainability Certification within Europe," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-25, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:13:y:2019:i:1:p:66-:d:300670
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    1. Giovanni M. Chiri & Maddalena Achenza & Anselmo Canì & Leonardo Neves & Luca Tendas & Simone Ferrari, 2020. "The Microclimate Design Process in Current African Development: The UEM Campus in Maputo, Mozambique," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-22, May.
    2. Ali Alhaij & Bassem Jamoussi & Asad Abu-Rizaiza, 2023. "The Development of a Life-Cycle-Based Sustainability Index That Incorporates Patient-Centredness for Assessing and Reporting the Sustainability of Healthcare Buildings in Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-17, March.
    3. Licia Felicioni & Antonín Lupíšek & Jacopo Gaspari, 2023. "Exploring the Common Ground of Sustainability and Resilience in the Building Sector: A Systematic Literature Review and Analysis of Building Rating Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-24, January.
    4. Ana Ferreira & Manuel Pinheiro & Jorge de Brito & Ricardo Mateus, 2022. "Assessing the Sustainability of Retail Buildings: The Portuguese Method LiderA," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-26, November.
    5. Sergio Gómez Melgar & Miguel Ángel Martínez Bohórquez & José Manuel Andújar Márquez, 2020. "uhuMEBr: Energy Refurbishment of Existing Buildings in Subtropical Climates to Become Minimum Energy Buildings," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-35, March.
    6. Woon, Kok Sin & Phuang, Zhen Xin & Taler, Jan & Varbanov, Petar Sabev & Chong, Cheng Tung & Klemeš, Jiří Jaromír & Lee, Chew Tin, 2023. "Recent advances in urban green energy development towards carbon emissions neutrality," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 267(C).
    7. Vyshali Simhachalam & Tong Wang & Yan Liu & Hans Wamelink & Lorena Montenegro & Geert van Gorp, 2021. "Accelerating Building Energy Retrofitting with BIM-Enabled BREEAM-NL Assessment," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-18, December.
    8. Pamela Del Rosario & Elisabetta Palumbo & Marzia Traverso, 2021. "Environmental Product Declarations as Data Source for the Environmental Assessment of Buildings in the Context of Level(s) and DGNB: How Feasible Is Their Adoption?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-22, May.
    9. Borja Izaola & Ortzi Akizu-Gardoki & Xabat Oregi, 2022. "Life Cycle Analysis Challenges through Building Rating Schemes within the European Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-24, April.
    10. Ferrari, S. & Zoghi, M. & Blázquez, T. & Dall’O’, G., 2022. "Towards worldwide application of neighborhood sustainability assessments: A systematic review on realized case studies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    11. Ferrari, S. & Zoghi, M. & Blázquez, T. & Dall’O’, G., 2022. "New Level(s) framework: Assessing the affinity between the main international Green Building Rating Systems and the european scheme," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).

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