3 well-known sustainability labels for buildings
To measure how energy efficient or sustainable a building is, there are various sustainability labels and measurement methods such as BREEAM, Greencalc+ and LEED.
Why a sustainability label?
What is the advantage of a measurement method or a label? By measuring and registering the impact of measures in a fixed way, it is easy to gain insight into what contributes to the sustainability of real estate or the operational aspect of the use of a building. The important argument is that buildings that waste less energy or resources ensure that we can enjoy our beautiful world for longer. But there are also economic reasons: more sustainable buildings have lower operating costs and a higher market value.
BREEAM
BREEAM stands for ‘Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method’. It is a systematic method of measuring the impact of a building on its environment. This can be done at different scale levels and in different phases: for one building, area development, and for new or existing buildings (BREEAM In-Use). The higher the BREEAM score, the better the building takes care of its environment.
The impact is determined on the following topics:
-management
-health and wellbeing
-energy
-water
-transportation
-materials
-waste
-landscape and ecology
-pollution
Innovations and technological developments in the energy transition are now moving fast. But which technological developments can now be applied to a retail building? Not all BREEAM credits require major technological interventions. For the following credits, there are actually very simple and feasible topics that are included: in this overview a number of BREEAM credits that have been used at the stores in the Style Outlets to obtain BREEAM accreditation there.
MAN 1 Performance Assurance: Ensuring that an installation is made that closely matches the customer’s wishes
MAN 4 User manual: making sure that the user uses the building and the installation correctly
HEA 4 High Frequency Lighting:
- applying energy-efficient lighting
- making a light calculation and power calculation
- switching by means of motion detection, clock switching
HEA 9 Volatile Organic Compounds
- limit the use of chipboard or MDF or comply with EN standards for emissions (board materials still emit harmful gases for a time after production)
- limiting bonding (circular application)
- limit synthetic floor coverings or comply with NEN/EN standards –
- limit floor adhesives and sealants or comply with NEN/EN standards
WHAT 1 focuses on measures to reduce water consumption
ENE 1 establishes the specs for the lowest possible CO2 emissions as a result of building-related primary energy consumption
- -hot water pipes as short as possible to limit heat losses -energy-efficient lighting with motion control or intelligent control
- – switching ventilation with a clock switch so that it is only on during opening hours
ENE 2 is about the submetering of the individual building parts to control energy consumption –
These are examples of fairly simple adjustments to the technical installations that can be included in a package of measures to obtain a BREEAM certificate . For this project at the Style Outlets Amsterdam we have collaborated with KVMC for the BREEAM certification.
Greencalc+ and Material selector
The Dutch Green Building Council (DGBC) manages the BREEAM-NL method, but also the GreenCalc+ method and has developed various tools for it. For example, the Scan to quickly gain insight into the sustainable performance of your building, but also the Guide to find products that contribute to a sustainable performance and the LCA Materials Tool to make an Environmental Performance calculation.
SORROW
LEED stands for Leadership in Energy Efficient Development and offers a framework for the sustainable design, development, development and use of buildings. It was developed by the US Green Building Council but is applied worldwide (more than 180 countries), managed by the World Green Building Council.
The categories on which LEED is directed are:
- sustainable construction sites
- operational innovation and regional priority
- indoor environmental quality
- efficient water use
- energy use and climate
- material and material origin
The Nike stores at the Style Outlets and in the Mall of the Netherlands, among others, have been tested for LEED certification.
Between Earth Day on April 22 and World Ocean Day on June 9, NewArmstrong will delve into how we can make a difference in #sustainability in our field with 5 themes. This is part of the second theme: sustainability labels.
