Roger Woodson, a well-known author and contractor says, “In theory, you don’t have to know much about construction to be a builder who subs all the work out to independent contractors, but as the general contractor it is you who will ultimately be responsible for the integrity of the work.”

It is a well-known fact that buildings have an enormous impact on the environment—both during construction and through their operation. “Green/sustainable building” remains a loosely defined collection of strategies including land use, building design, construction, and operation that reduce environmental impacts. Green building practices facilitate the creation of environmentally sound and resource-efficient, high-performance buildings by employing an integrated team approach to design in which architects, engineers, builders/contractors, land planners, building owners, and operators, pool their resources to design the project.

In December 1983 the United Nations founded the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) with the mission of addressing growing concerns “about the accelerating deterioration of the human environment and natural resources and the consequences of that deterioration for economic and social development.” The WCED was later followed by the Brundtland Commission in 1987 which produced the Brundtland Report, whose findings were particularly troubling. Among other things, the report stated:

The Report goes on to say, “A variety of air pollutants are killing trees and lakes and damaging buildings and cultural treasures, close to and sometimes thousands of miles from points of emission. The acidification of the environment threatens large areas of Europe and North America. Central Europe is currently receiving more than 1 g of sulfur on every square meter of ground each year. The loss of forests could bring in its wake disastrous erosion, siltation, floods, and local climatic change. Air pollution damage is also becoming evident in some newly industrialized countries.”

The building industry in the United States is sometimes plagued by inferior design and construction strategies as well as highly inefficient HVAC systems, helping to make buildings the largest contributors to global warming. Several federal and private organizations are making continuous efforts to address these problems, and partly because of these efforts, we are now witnessing a surge of interest in green concepts and sustainability to the extent that “green” has now dashed into the mainstream of the construction industry. Most project owners are aware of the many benefits of incorporating green strategies into their projects and are now increasingly aspiring to achieve LEED certification for their buildings. There are several green building rating systems currently being employed in the United States. They generally serve two principal functions—the promotion of high-performance buildings and the facilitation and creation of demand for sustainable construction.

Research clearly shows that green buildings are economically viable, ecologically benign and whose operation is supportable over the long term. With this in mind, the Partnership for Achieving Construction Excellence and the Pentagon Renovation and Construction Program Office recently published (June 2004) a Field Guide for Sustainable Construction to assist and educate field workers, supervisors, and managers in making decisions that help the project team meet its sustainable project goals and how to incorporate sustainable building practices into the construction process. The salient points outlined in this Guide are:

In 2004, the Department of Energy (DOE) had also developed an Environmental Protection Program, the goals and objectives of which are “to implement sound stewardship practices that are protective of the air, water, land, and other natural and cultural resources impacted by DOE operations and by which DOE cost effectively meets or exceeds compliance with applicable environmental; public health; and resource protection laws, regulations, and DOE requirements. This objective must be accomplished by implementing Environmental Management Systems (EMSs) at DOE sites. An EMS is a continuing cycle of planning, implementing, evaluating, and improving processes and actions undertaken to achieve environmental goals.” Some of these goals and objectives include:

All project team members need to have a clear understanding of LEED certification and the role it can play in improving property owners’ competitive edge in an increasingly green market. Certification also gives independent verification that a building has achieved accepted standards in these areas, as outlined in the LEED Green Building Rating System. LEED certification of a project provides recognition of its quality and environmental stewardship and is widely accepted and recognized by both the public and private sectors, further fueling the demand for green building certification systems, both in the United States and globally.

Since its inception in 1998, the LEED rating system has made significant inroads into the mainstream design and construction industry, and contractors and property developers are realizing that they too can contribute toward a project’s success in achieving green objectives. This would be accomplished first by understanding the LEED process and the specific role they can play in achieving LEED credits, and then, through early involvement and participation throughout the different project phases by incorporating a team approach in an integrated design process. Though, measureable benchmarks are required to achieve verification and confirm a building’s acceptable performance. In this respect ASHRAE puts this responsibility of defining design intent requirements squarely on the shoulders of the owner. However, it is not possible to correctly evaluate a building or project, unless certain relevant information is made available regarding the criteria on which the project’s design and execution was based. A project’s plans and specifications, etc. need, therefore, to be prepared in a manner that can achieve measurable results. Otherwise a meaningful assessment to see if a project has met the required results and original design intent is not possible. Moreover, before measureable green criteria can be established, it is necessary to first agree on a finite definition of green construction and to specify exactly what is required to be achieved.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has put forward a set of green home building guidelines that “should be viewed as a dynamic document that will change and evolve as new information becomes available, improvements are made to existing techniques and technologies, and new research tools are developed.” In this respect, NAHB says that their Model Green Home Building Guidelines were written to facilitate moving environmentally friendly home building concepts further into the mainstream marketplace and is one of two rating systems that make up NAHBGreen, the National Green Building Program.

Although the US housing market is sometimes unpredictable, Ed Brady, chairman of the NAHB who is both a home builder and developer, said the February (2016) bounce back in sales “is in line with our builders’ reports that the housing market continues to recover at a slow but steady pace”. This is reaffirmed by NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz who says, “While builders contend with industry headwinds such as labor shortages, relatively low mortgage interest rates and solid job growth should keep the housing market moving ahead as we enter the spring buying season.”

The NAHB point system consists of three different levels of green building—Bronze, Silver, and Gold which are available to builders wishing to use these guidelines to rate their projects. NAHB stipulates that, “At all levels, there are a minimum number of points required for each of the seven guiding principles to assure that all aspects of green building are addressed and that there is a balanced, whole-systems approach. After reaching the thresholds, an additional 100 points must be achieved by implementing any of the remaining line items.” Table 2.1 outlines the points needed to achieve one of the three different level rating thresholds of green building.

While Green Buildings may appear to be similar to traditional building forms, the conceptual approach in sustainable design differs substantially in that it revolves round a concern for the environment by extending the life span of natural resources, provide human comfort and well-being, security, productivity, and energy efficiency. This approach offers many benefits such as reduced operating costs including energy, and water, as well as other intangible benefits. For example, according to the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) which administers the LEED India rating system, there are a number of salient attributes of a Green Building, including:

The Whole Building Design Guide (WBDG), a program of the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS), also outlines specific objectives and principles of sustainable design:

James Woods, executive director of The Building Diagnostics Research Institute notes, “Building performance is a set of facts and not just promises. If the promises are achieved and verified through measurement, beneficial consequences will result and risks will be managed. However, if the promises are not achieved, adverse consequences are likely to lead to increased risks to the occupants and tenants, building owners, designers and contractors; and to the larger interests of national security and climate change.”

Alan Bilka, another sustainability design expert, with ICC Technical Services, also correctly points out that, “Over time, more and more “green” materials and methods will appear in the coders and/or have an effect on current code text. But the implications of green and sustainable building are so wide and far reaching that their effects will most certainly not be limited to one single code or standard. On the contrary, they will affect virtually all codes and will spill beyond the codes. Some green building concepts may become hotly contested political issues in the future, possibly requiring the creation of new legislation and/or entirely new government agencies.”

These are but a few of the many evaluation systems in place within the United States and world wide. The development of such systems is necessary because buildings have major environmental impacts over their entire life cycle. Today, many of our natural resources such as ground cover, forests, water, and energy are being depleted to give way to new building construction. We have found that green buildings only minimally deplete the natural resources during their construction and operation. Generally speaking, to be able to make a proper evaluation of how “green” a building is, it is necessary to evaluate and consider the application and incorporation of the following green building design principles and their integration into the design process:

The idea and market for green buildings has been growing rapidly, and although there are a number of green building rating systems available in the United States, the two systems most widely used for commercial structures are LEED and Green Globes (Go Green Plus). LEED Green Building Rating System is focused largely on assessing new construction sustainable high-performance buildings, although existing buildings are also included in LEED Rating System (Fig. 2.6). Go Green mainly targets existing buildings owners who want to have a more environmentally friendly building. In this section, we will analyze and compare the Green Globes Rating System with the LEED Rating System. While Green Globes currently has a relatively small share of certified buildings in the United States which pales with LEED’s certified buildings market share, it continues making a determined effort to rectify this situation (Fig. 2.5).

Today, USGBC has rating systems for new construction, existing buildings, core and shell, commercial interiors, schools, retail, homes, healthcare, and neighborhood development, whereas the GBI has a rating system for commercial buildings which includes new construction buildings and existing buildings. The GBI also partners with the NAHB to promote green homes.

Rating and certification systems are required to verify the sustainability and “greenness” of buildings in the market. They basically inform us how ecofriendly and environmentally sound a building is, and delineate to what extent green components have been incorporated and identify the sustainable principles and practices that have been employed. Moreover, rating or certifying a green building helps remove some of the subjectivity that often surrounds buildings that have not been certified. Moreover, rating a green building makes a property more marketable by informing tenants and the public about the environmental benefits of a property and also discloses the additional innovation and effort that the owner has invested to achieve a high-performance building. Certification also reveals the level of sustainability achieved.

A holistic approach to design translates into a strategic integration of mechanical, electrical, and materials systems. Such an approach often creates substantial efficiencies, the complexities of which are not always apparent. Rating a green building identifies these differences objectively, and quantifies their contribution to energy and resource efficiency. The fact that rating systems typically require independent third-party testing of the various elements means there is less risk that these systems will not perform as predicted. Furthermore, formally rating or certifying a building dramatically reduces the risk of the possibility of falsely marketing a building under the perception that it is green when in fact it is not. Below are examples of some of the more widely used rating systems in the United States:

LEED: This rating system was developed by the US Green Building Council (USGBC) and continues to be the most widely applied rating system in the United States for commercial buildings. The LEED system consists of several rating categories, applicable to different points in a building’s life cycle and is discussed in other parts of this chapter. The GSA and other municipalities and government departments, as well as an increasing number of private investors and owners have instituted policies requiring LEED certification for new construction projects. The USGBC also holds an annual green building conference—Greenbuild, which helps promote the green building industry.

Green Globes: This rating system is an interactive, web-based commercial green building assessment protocol offered by the Green Building Initiative (GBI) and is discussed in the following section of this Chapter. It offers immediate feedback on the building’s strengths and weaknesses and automatically generates links to engineering, design, and product sources. The system basically evaluates buildings in seven areas (www.thegbi.org/greenglobes). Green Globes continues to gain traction. Indeed, the parent company of Green Globes was recently acquired by a highly respected, established company: Jones Lang LaSalle.

ENERGY STAR: This is a joint government-backed program of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Department of Energy (www.energystar.gov). Since its inception in 1992, the program has overcome many market barriers and helped revolutionize the marketplace for cost-effective, energy-efficient products and services. It has now transformed into an international standard for energy-efficient consumer products and has been adopted by numerous countries including the European Union, Canada, Japan, and Australia. The mission of the program is to help businesses and individuals protect the environment through superior energy efficiency. The program is also designed for existing buildings, consisting of an Energy Performance Rating System that is free with an online tool that focuses on energy performance. With ENERGY STAR, impacts of other factors such as indoor air quality, materials, or water conservation are not taken into consideration. The program has grown to encompass more than 60 product categories for the home and workplace, new homes, and superior energy management within organizations. The system basically compares the energy performance of a specific building to that of a national stock of similar buildings. The data entered into the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool will model energy consumption based on a building’s size, occupancy, climate, and space type. A minimum of 1 year’s utility information input is required before the property can be assigned a rating (from 1 to 100). To apply for and receive the ENERGY STAR label, buildings must acquire a score of 75 or more.

Other Green Building Standards Worldwide: Many countries throughout the world continue to develop their own standards of energy efficiency for buildings. Only a small number of these systems are currently being applied in the United States, but they may still prove influential in the emerging green building industry. Examples include BREEAM in the United Kingdom, Green Star in Australia, and BOMA Go Green Plus in Canada. Below are examples of building environmental assessment tools currently being used by different countries around the world.

Australia: The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) was launched in 2002 and is a national, not-for-profit organization that is committed to developing a sustainable property industry for Australia by encouraging the adoption of green building practices. The GBCA is supported by both industry and governments across the country. The GBCA developed a green building standard known as the Green Star environmental rating system which is accepted as the Australian industry standard for green buildings. The system is essentially a comprehensive, national, voluntary environmental rating system that evaluates the environmental design and construction of buildings in Australia. According to the GBCA website, its main objectives are “to drive the transition of the Australian property industry towards sustainability by promoting green building programs, technologies, design practices and operations as well as the integration of green building initiatives into mainstream design, construction and operation of buildings.” It has now been mandated in three states as a minimum for Government office accommodation. The Green Star environmental rating tools for buildings benchmark the potential of buildings based on nine environmental impact categories. There are other standards that are used such as Energy-Efficiency Rating (EER) and National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS) which is a government initiative to measure and compare the environmental performance of Australian buildings. NABERS is a performance-based rating system for existing buildings. It now incorporates the Australian Building Greenhouse Rating (ABGR) and has been renamed NABERS Energy for offices. Of note, the GBCA has recently forged a new partnership with the Australian Supply Chain Sustainability School to fast-track the industry’s green skills.

Canada: LEEDS and Green Globes are the two most widely applied green rating systems in Canada. The CaGBC which was established in December 2002 acquired an exclusive license in 2003 from the USGBC to adapt the LEED rating system to Canadian circumstances. The Canadian LEED for Homes rating system was released on March 03, 2009. Canada has also implemented the “R-2000” program which is a made-in-Canada home building technology to promote construction that goes beyond their building code to increase energy efficiency and promote sustainability. An optional feature of the R-2000 home program is the EnerGuide rating service which is available across Canada and which allows home builders and home buyers to measure and rate the performance of their homes and confirm that those specifications and standards have been met.

The R-2000 Program consists of a collaboration between the Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA) and the Office of Energy Efficiency (OEE) of Natural Resources Canada (NRCan). For close to three decades, the two partners have worked together on the components that make up the R-2000 Program. Regional initiatives based on R-2000 include ENERGY STAR for New Homes, Built Green, Novoclimat, GreenHome, Power Smart for New Homes, and GreenHouse. In March 2006, Canada’s first green building point of service, Light House Sustainable Building Centre, opened in Vancouver, BC which is funded by Canadian government departments and businesses to help implement green building practices.

China: China reportedly has the biggest construction volume in the world; nearly half of the world’s new building construction is now estimated to be in China. Yet the green building industry is still in its infancy in China, and green building demand continues to be driven mainly by multinational companies. There are currently two sets of national building energy standards being applied in China (one for public buildings and another for residential buildings). China has in place mandatory building energy standards but which are narrow in their scope and currently lack a strong regulatory framework to incorporate energy-efficient standards in construction. Moreover, MoC enforcement remains problematic, and the central government put in place a building inspection program to monitor the implementation of building energy efficiency. Design institutions, developers, and construction companies will lose their licenses or certificates under this program if they do not comply with the regulations. China also recently launched a new green building standard, which is meant to complement better known labels like BREEAM (United Kingdom) and LEED, which are presently only used in office buildings for multinationals or upscale apartments.

Standards and Ratings: Multinational companies have taken the lead to promote green building construction in China by pursuing more stringent LEED certification. The trend was initiated by Plantronics, a California-based electronics company, when it achieved a LEED gold certification for its new manufacturing and design center in Suzhou. This was followed by Nokia who received its first LEED gold certification globally for the Nokia China Campus in Beijing. Other big names followed including Siemens and BHP Billiton.

An MOU on building energy efficiency was signed between the United States and China in which the United States pledged $15 million for a joint US–China clean energy research center. The MoC also recently introduced the “Evaluation Standard for Green Building” (GB/T 50378-2006), which resembles in structure and rating process of the USGBC’s LEED (which is also being used). The building energy consumption data will be collected by MoC and will be used to assess building performance; a three-star Green Building certificate will be awarded to qualified buildings. Green Olympic Building Assessment System (GOBAS) is another green building rating system that was initially based on Japan’s Comprehensive Assessment System for Building Environment Efficiency (CASBEE). High-performance building projects are being supported both by the government and the private business sector. The World Green Building Council (WBGC), a Sustainable Buildings and Climate Initiative Member (SBCI) has assisted the MoC in China to establish the China Green Building Council. This Council is also supported by the USGBC.

France: The French President, Nicolas Sarkozy instigated a “Le Grenelle de l’Environnement” (“Grenelle Environment Round Table”) to define the key points of public policy on ecological and sustainable development issues for the coming 5 years and to find ways to redefine France’s environment policy. The process led to a set of recommendations released at the end of October 2007 and which were put to the French parliament in early 2008. Six working groups were formed composed of representatives of the central government, local governments, employer organizations, and trade unions and NGOs to debate and address various themes such as climate change, energy (the building sector consumes 42.5% and transports 31% of total French energy) biodiversity, natural resources, health and the environment, production and consumption, democracy and governance, and competitiveness, development patterns, and environmental employment. Within the framework of the “Grenelle de l’environnement,” the performance acceleration is designed to meet the following objectives for tertiary buildings:

All these developments match with the European and international regulations and frameworks.

These developments are intended to match with European and international regulations and frameworks. Additionally, two property companies, AXA Real Estate Investment Management and ING Real Estate recently set up a rival rating system in the United Kingdom called Green Rating which allows owners to compare properties’ sustainability across Europe. It was recently launched in France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, and Germany. In 2010, it is expected to be launched in the United States and Japan. The advantage of Green Rating is that it is an assessment of the energy efficiency of a building and looks at both the building materials and the waste generated by the building. The audit process has been tested on 50 sites in Europe and is broken into four stages:

Since January 01, 2013, all new buildings or parts must meet the requirements of the RT 2012. It is the aim to limit the consumption of primary energy housing 50 kWh/m² on an average through bioclimatic design and energy-efficient buildings. These developments are intended to match with European and international regulations and frameworks.

Germany: In January 2009 the first German standard for the new certificates was developed for sustainable buildings by the DGNB (Deutsche Gesellschaft für nachhaltiges Bauen e.V. - German Sustainable Building Council) and the BMVBS (Bundesministeriums für Verkehr, Bau und Stadtentwicklung—Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs) to be used as a tool for the planning and evaluation of buildings. The DGNB is a clear and easy to understand rating system and covers all relevant topics of sustainable construction. There are six subjects that affect the evaluation: ecology, economy, social-cultural and functional topics, techniques, processes, and location. Outstanding buildings can achieve awards in the categories bronze, silver, and gold.

There are a number of German organizations that employ green building techniques such as:

India: GRIHA, a rating system for green buildings developed by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) of India and which plays a key role in developing green building awareness and strategies in the country. GRIHA was adopted and endorsed by the Government of India as the National Green Building Rating System for the country, and measures are being taken to spread awareness about this rating system, and TERI signed an MOU with the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to this effect. The aim of GRIHA is to ensure that all types of buildings become green buildings. One of the strengths of GRIHA is that it puts great emphasis on local and traditional construction knowledge and even rates nonair conditioned buildings as green.

GRIHA uses 32 criteria to evaluate and rate buildings, totaling a maximum of 100 points. A building must score at least 50 to apply to for certification. Preserving landscape during construction; soil conservation after construction; and reducing air pollution are some of the qualifying criteria. Buildings will also need to quantify energy consumption in absolute terms and not percentages alone.

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is also playing an active role in promoting sustainability in the Indian construction sector. The CII is the central pillar of the IGBC. The IGBC in turn is licensed by the LEED Green Building Standard from the USGBC and is currently responsible for certifying LEED New Construction and LEED Core and Shell buildings in India. All other projects are certified through the USGBC. According to the IGBC, “The building sector in India is growing at a rapid pace and contributing immensely to the growth of the economy. This augurs well for the country and now there is an imminent need to introduce green concepts and techniques in this sector, which can aid growth in a sustainable manner.” There are many energy-efficient buildings in India, situated in a variety of climatic zones (Fig. 2.10).

In June 2007 the Indian Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) launched the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC), which specifies the energy performance requirements for all commercial buildings that are to be constructed in India. The ECBC is set for energy efficiency standards for design and construction with any building of minimum conditioned area of 1000 square meters (10,764 sq. ft.) and a connected demand of power of 500 KW or 600 KVA. On February 25, 2009 the BEE launched a five star rating scheme for office buildings operated only in the day time in three climatic zones—composite; hot and dry; and warm and humid. It is worth noting that the Green Business Certification, Inc. (GBCI) and the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) Ministry of Power, Government of India recently signed a landmark agreement with the goal of spurring energy efficiency progress in building sectors. The agreement recognizes the many benefits of green building through improved energy intensity, environmental, and economic performance.

Israel: A green building standard, approved in November 2005, which is awarded to new or renovated residential and office buildings that comply with the requisite requirements and criteria. This is a voluntary new standard for “Buildings with Reduced Environmental Impact” SI-5281. The standard is comprised of four sections covering: energy, land, water, wastewater, drainage, and other environmentally related elements. A building which meets the prerequisites in each chapter and accumulates the minimum number of credit points in every environment-related sphere is eligible for “green building” certification. The standard is based on a point rating system. Thus, a cumulative score of 55–75 points entitles a building to a “green building” label, whereas a cumulative score of more than 75 points allows it to be certified as an “outstanding green building.” Together with complementary standards 5282-1, 5282-2 for energy analysis, and 1738 for sustainable products, it provides a system for evaluating environmental sustainability of buildings. In 2011 Israel’s main green building standard—SI 5281: Sustainable Buildings—was upgraded to international standards. The other two noteworthy green building standards in Israel are: SI 5282: Energy Rating of Buildings and SI 1045: Thermal Insulation of Buildings. As of July 2013, SI 5281 was undergoing another revision. Changes to be made are expected to include expanding it to industrial buildings, neighborhoods, campuses, and more. In 2014, there were 140 buildings built in accordance with green building standards, either by Forum 15 municipalities or by private companies/contractors. The standard is to be reevaluated every 2 years to ensure that it is up to date and includes the latest knowledge on the subject. It should be noted that compliance with all three Israeli green building standards remains voluntary.

United States Green Building Council’s LEED rating system has also been implemented on several building projects in Israel, and there is a strong industry drive to introduce an Israeli version of LEED in the near future. The reason is that due to different climatic conditions and building construction methods in Israel, the LEED rating system cannot be adopted as is. In Fig. 2.11, is a photo of Israeli’s first Platinum-rated building.

Japan: A joint industrial/government/academic project was created in 2001 with the support of the Housing Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). This led to the creation of the Japan GreenBuild Council (JaGBC)/Japan Sustainable Building Consortium (JSBC), which in turn created the CASBEE system. The CASBEE system was developed according to the following principals:

CASBEE certification is currently available for New Construction, Existing Building, Renovation, Urban Development, Heat Island, Urban Area plus Buildings and detailed home.

The CASBEE system is composed of four assessment tools that are intended to correspond to a building’s life cycle. The collective name for these four tools and the expanded tools for specific purposes is the “CASBEE Family” and are designed to serve at each stage of the design process. Each tool is designed for a separate purpose and target user, with the purpose of accommodating a wide range of uses (offices, schools, apartments, etc.) in the buildings evaluation process. Furthermore, the process of obtaining CASBEE certification differs from LEED in that the LEED certification process starts at the beginning of the design process, with review and comments taking place throughout the design and construction of a project. Although CASBEE’s latest version for New Construction ranking uses predesign tools, certification consists primarily of site visits once the building is completed. Of note, the 2014 editions of CASBEE tools were released in February 2015.

Malaysia: The main organization promoting green practices and building techniques is the Standards and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (SIRIM). However, Malaysia has now put in place a new rating system called Green Building index (GBI) for commercial and residential properties. The GBI was developed in 2009 by Pertubuhan Akitek Malaysia (PAM) and the Association of Consulting Engineers Malaysia (ACEM). It is a profession-driven initiative to lead the Malaysian property industry toward becoming more environment friendly (Fig. 2.12). The GBI’s purpose is to promote sustainability in the built environment and raise awareness among those in the development, construction, and design industry, as well as the general public about environmental issues and the importance of green technology in buildings. The GBI rating system provides an opportunity for developers to design and construct sustainable buildings that can provide increased energy savings, water savings, a healthier indoor environment, better connectivity to public transport, and the adoption of material recycling and greenery for their projects.

The Green Building Index (GBI) has six key criteria, they are: energy efficiency, IEQ, sustainable site and management, MR, and water efficiency. Based on the scores achieved, commercial buildings will be rated and then certified as silver, gold, or platinum. Final award is presented one year after the building is first occupied. Buildings are also required to be reassessed every 3 years to maintain their GBI rating by ensuring that the buildings are well maintained. Internationally, there are other green rating systems such as LEED (the United States and Canada), ENERGY STAR (United States), BREEAM (Britain), CASBEE (Japan), Green Star, and NABERS (Australia).

Mexico: The Mexico Green Building Council (CMES) is the principal organization dedicated to promotion of best practices that improve the environmental performance of buildings and fostering sustainable building technology and policy. It is an independent nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that works from within the construction industry to promote a broad-based transition toward sustainability. Its stated mission is to promote sustainable development through the realization and construction of a superior built environment. Mexico is also setting trends relating to health and wellness. The WELL Building Standard, the first building standard to focus on human health and well-being which was launched in October 2014, has started making inroads in Mexico as the first projects begin pursuing WELL Certification in the region. Attaining LEED certification is important for achieving the best possible results for environmental sustainability, and WELL maximizes the potential for supporting human health and wellness.

Under a new partnership agreement, ASHRAE and the CMES will work together to promote buildings that are healthful, environmentally responsible, comfortable and productive, and profitable. The agreement is part of ASHRAE’s new strategy for a global environment, committing the Society to working with organizations with shared interests and values.

Mexico City’s government is promoting the creation of a standard certification program for green buildings, and the City’s Minister of the Environment announced that certified green buildings will be able to obtain up to 25% discount on property taxes. The Green Building Certification Program will have three levels of certification: lowest rate from 21 to 50 points; efficiency level goes from 51 to 80 points; and excellence level from 81 to 100 points. The higher the level, the greater the level of property tax discounts. At the beginning the tax discount will be a voluntary scheme but is intended to become mandatory in the future.

New Zealand: In July 2005 the New Zealand Green Building Council (NZGBC) was formed; this is a not-for-profit, industry organization dedicated to accelerating the development and adoption of market-based green building practices. In 2006/2007, several major milestones were achieved including the NZGBC becoming a member of the World GBC and the launching of the Green Star NZ (Office Design Tool and welcoming of member companies). Green Star is a comprehensive, national, voluntary environmental rating scheme that evaluates environmental attributes and performance of New Zealand’s buildings using a suit of rating tool kits developed to be applicable to each building type and function. Green Star was developed by the NZGBC in partnership with the building industry. Likewise, for more than 7 years, Green Star has been successfully influencing and improving New Zealand’s commercial built environment. However, it is important to continuously refresh and update the tool to ensure that Green Star is up to date and meeting industry’s needs. Although there have been incremental improvements, this is the first major review of Green Star since 2009. Indeed, over the past few months, NZGBC’s technical team has been working alongside professionals and developers and the building industry to review four key categories: Innovation, Energy, Water, and Materials.

South Africa: The Green Building Council (GBC) of South Africa was launched in 2007; its stated mission is, “To promote, encourage and facilitate green building in the South African property and construction industry through market-based solutions, by:

The South African GBC has since developed a Green Star SA rating tools, based on the GBCA tools, to provide the property industry with an objective measurement tool for green/sustainable buildings and to recognize and reward environmental leadership. Each Green Star SA rating tool reflects a different market sector (e.g., office, retail, multiunit residential, etc.). Green Star SA - Office was the first tool developed and which was released in final form (version 1) at the GBC of South Africa Convention & Exhibition ’08 in November 2008. South Africa is in the process of incorporating an energy standard SANS 204 which aims to provide energy-saving practices as a basic standard in the South African context. Green Building Media which was launched 2007 has also played an instrumental role in green building in South Africa. Also, the Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA) has recently announced that it intends to play a bigger role in creating greener homes using the EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies) residential green building certification scheme.

United Arab Emirates: The LEED has been commonly used in the UAE, mostly in Dubai; taking advantage of its international, national, regional, and local applicability to create buildings that alleviate greenhouse gas emissions and enhance other sustainability actions. On the other hand, the Abu Dhabi emirate applies the Estidama Pearl Rating System, as a regulation and a sustainable development framework, whereas the Dubai emirate applies its own Green Building Regulations and Specifications. Policies and regulations are important tools to support the UAE’s vision for a Green Economy if it is to reach its sustainability objectives. Within Abu Dhabi, there exists a wide-ranging framework of policies, planning guidelines, codes, and regulations to ensure the effective implementation of the Plan 2030 vision. In 2006 the Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC) was created, with the primary goal of advancing green building principles for protecting the environment and ensuring sustainability in the United Arab Emirates.

One of the UAE’s greenest buildings is the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) Headquarters which received a LEED Platinum certification (Fig. 2.13). The primary goal of this project was to assist the Dubai Chamber in emphasizing its achievement in the field of green building and sustainability and to inspire others to follow suit. DEWA says it aims to make Dubai a smart, integrated, and connected city with high-tech energy and water infrastructure ahead of Expo (2020). Accordingly, Dewa recently launched the first electric vehicle charging station in Dubai at Dewa Headquarters and has recently registered the first “green charger” user for electric vehicles. This new initiative is in support of the Smart Dubai initiative launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to transform Dubai into the smartest city in the world.

Dubai’s Chamber has over 150,000 members and is a regional leader in Corporate Social Responsibility and takes great efforts to enhance the sustainability of its own operations while encouraging others to do the same. Reapplying LEED EBOM postrenovation, to the Platinum level, was imperative to be able to independently verify the results of its head office’s green retrofit and prove that existing buildings in the region can be upgraded to the highest green building standards.

United Kingdom: The Association for Environment Conscious Building (AECB) was founded in 1989 and incorporated in January 2005 to increase awareness within the construction industry of the necessity to respect the environment and to promote sustainable building in the United Kingdom. The AECB is now under the Energy Performance of Building Directive (EPBD), Europe has made a mandatory energy certification since January 04, 2009. A key part of this legislation is that the EPBD requires all EU countries to enhance their building regulations and to introduce energy certification schemes for buildings. All countries are also required to have inspections of boilers and air conditioners.

A mandatory certificate called the Building Energy Rating system (BER) and a certification Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) is needed by all buildings that measure more than 1000 square meters (approximately 10,765 sq. ft.) in all the European nations. Furthermore, when buying or selling a home, it is now law to have a certificate. Certificates are also required on construction of new homes and for rented homes the first time the property is let after October 01, 2008. The certificate records how energy efficient a property is as a building and provides A-G ratings. These are similar to the labels now provided with domestic appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines.

The UK Green Building Council (UK-GBC) also called for the introduction of a Code for Sustainable Buildings in March 2009 to cover all nondomestic buildings, both new and existing. Although the Code for Sustainable Buildings is owned by the government, it is developed, managed, and implemented by industry and covers refurbishment as well as new construction. Furthermore, from September 01, 2009, the Welsh Assembly Government planning policy put in place a national standard for sustainability for most new buildings proposed in Wales.

According to the BREEAM (BRE Environmental Assessment Method) website, the BREEAM assessment process was created in 1990 as a tool to measure the sustainability of new nondomestic buildings in the United Kingdom with the first two versions covering offices and homes. BREEAM is the leading and widely used environmental assessment method in the United Kingdom for buildings, setting the standard for best practice in sustainable design and a measure used to describe a building’s environmental performance. It has been updated regularly in line with UK building regulations and underwent a significant facelift on August 01, 2008, called BREEAM 2008. Credits are awarded in each of the areas shown below according to specific performance:

A set of environmental weightings then enables the credits to be added together to produce a single overall score. This allows a building to be rated on a scale of: Pass, Good, Very Good, Excellent or Outstanding; this is followed by a certificate being awarded to the development.

Some of the dramatic changes to BREEAM 2008 were in response to an evolving and changing construction industry and public agenda, and include:

On 1st of June, BRE launched its new standard for the overseas market—BREEAM International New Construction 2013—which is to be used to assess commercial and residential buildings worldwide. The standard combines two previous international standards, BREEAM Europe Commercial and BREEAM International Bespoke and is the first BREEAM scheme for the certification of residential buildings outside the United Kingdom.

According to the BRE Group, BREEAM International New Construction 2013:

We now have the latest changes in BREEAM 2016 which blend stricter environmental requirements with a simplified certification process. The latest BREEAM scheme officially became available on 21 March and as of March 28, 2016 completely replaces the earlier version from 2013, which is no longer valid. The update includes certification criteria for new building types such as hotels, schools, and universities, and addresses some of the challenges faced by residential buildings, as more and more properties of this type are turning to sustainable building practices.

In the updated 2016 BREEAM, management credits were also reorganized to allow a better alignment to the construction process; the core & shell certification module for new buildings likewise was redesigned and simplified, to supplement the BREEAM fit-out certification scheme issued in 2015. Energy represents a major touch point for the modernized scheme, as the reference standard for energy efficiency was updated and local energy performance standards are now applicable. It should be noted that BREEAM is considered to be the preferred scheme for a number of the national GBCs across Europe, including the Netherlands, Norway, and others.

ESOS has recently been introduced to facilitate the United Kingdom meeting its requirements under the EU Energy Efficiency Directive and is expected to affect more than 9000 of the largest companies in the United Kingdom. The scheme mandates that these companies undertake obligatory assessments looking at energy use and energy efficiency opportunities at least once in every 4 years. ESOS compliant energy audits are employed to assess total energy consumption (using verifiable energy data) over a consecutive 12-month period known as the reference period. What many miss in the detail, is that the reference period must overlap with the qualification date and end before December 05, 2015.

United States: There are numerous sustainable design organizations and programs in place within the United States. The most widely used rating system is the USGBC which promotes sustainability in how buildings are designed, built, and operated and is best known for the development of the LEED rating system and Greenbuild, a green building conference well known for its promotion of the green building industry and environmental issues.

Today, LEED is adopted in more than 150 countries and territories worldwide and has 76 chapters and 197,000 LEED professionals strong. It also has 12,870 member organizations from all sectors of the building industry; it works to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable, and healthy places to live and work. The USGBC through its GBCI offers industry professionals an opportunity to receive accreditation as green building professionals. In June 2009, LEED had a complete overhaul of its rating system and introduced a new version (LEED v3), with a two-tier system. This was followed by its latest version, LEED v4.

The NAHB is a trade association representing home builders, remodelers, and suppliers to the industry; it has formed a voluntary residential green building program called NAHBGreen (www.nahbgreen.org). This program incorporates an online scoring tool, national certification, industry education, and training for local verifiers. The online scoring tool is free to both builders and home owners. The NAHB announced in August 2009 that the number of home builders, remodelers, and other members of the real estate and construction industry who hold the Certified Green Professional (CGP) educational designation now tops 4000. According to NAHB, its New American Home 2016 is “America’s premier show home! For 2016, the 33rd home in the TNAH series, the 5050 sq. ft. home incorporates the latest green and sustainable building materials, products, energy efficiencies, and construction methods to reduce its impact on the environment and provide the highest quality of life for the occupants. The 2016 New American Home offers a real-world demonstration of the latest concepts in architecture design, construction techniques, new products, and lifestyle trends in the marketplace today!” (Fig. 2.14).

The GBI is a nonprofit network of building industry leaders working to mainstream building approaches that are environmentally progressive but is also practical and affordable for builders to implement. The GBI has introduced a web-based rating tool called Green Globes, which is a green management tool that includes an assessment protocol and a rating system and guide for integrating environmentally friendly design into both new and existing commercial buildings. As previously discussed in this chapter, many states have now formally recognized the GBI’s Green Globes environmental assessment and rating system in legislation. These include: New Jersey, Arkansas, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Kentucky, Illinois, and Wisconsin.

ENERGY STAR is a program established by the U.S. EPA and U.S. Department of Energy that focuses on creating energy-efficient homes and buildings designed to protect the environment while at the same time saving money for home owners and businesses. The system also rates commercial buildings for energy efficiency and provides ENERGY STAR qualifications for new homes that must meet a series of energy efficiency guidelines established by the EPA. ENERGY STAR has recently released its Most Efficient 2016 Criteria which is a new program element to identify and advance highly efficient products in the marketplace. This program is designed to identify the most efficient products among those that qualify for the ENERGY STAR in particular product categories.