Certified sustainable construction: respect for the environment and savings

Buildings are the most sector energy consuming in Europe – consume 40% of energy and generate 36% of greenhouse gas emissions – and it is therefore not surprising that they have ended up at the center of attention of theEuropean Union. Last spring the European Parliament approved a bill which provides that all new buildings must be zero-emissions starting from 2028, while existing ones must reach energy class E by 1 January 2030 and D by 2033. These are very ambitious goals that have raised quite a few controversies (especially in Italy where the real estate assets are particularly old) and which will require a lot of effort to be centred. In this far from easy challenge, certifications will play a fundamental role, the importance of which, not surprisingly, is growing exponentially in this sector too. One of the most followed standards is the leed (Leadership in energy and environmental design), which was developed by the US greens building council (Usgbc). Born in 1994, the system leed it has grown through contributions from architects, engineers, builders, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. The areas in which the leed there are seven: site sustainability: efficient water management, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, innovation in design and regional priorities. certified buildings leed use key resources more efficiently than conventional buildings; construction costs are higher, but the savings achieved over the life of the building more than compensate for the higher initial expense.

Lately Gbc Italy presented his first Impact reportscreated in collaboration with the European house – Ambrosettiwho went to photograph the sustainable building sector in Beautiful country. The most important data contained in the document is the one that estimates the annual savings that could be achieved by 2030 at 189 million euros if the criteria of certified sustainable building were followed.

Currently the stock of certified buildings Leed-GBC is able to generate annual savings of 170,031 tons of CO2 and of 1.3 billion liters of waterfor an economic value of 68 million euros. In addition to this, the construction and renovation of the certified buildings has allowed the saving of 324,880 tons of waste, avoiding a further 44 million euros of externalities.

“The ecological transition cannot fail to pass as well from efficiency of the building heritage: for this reason the dissemination of energy-environmental protocols Leed-GBC it is a path to be pursued and supported – he explains Emilian Brianteassociate partner and Business& team managerpolicy impact Of the European house – Ambrosetti – The holistic approach, which looks at the building as a whole and considers the entire sphere of environmental impacts, generates value for the entire community. In our work we have estimated that, thanks to the diffusion of certifications, in the next decade it will be possible to avoid almost 500,000 tons of CO2 per year and save the consumption of 3.6 billion liters of water”.

For Marco Mari, president of Gbc ItalyThe Beautiful country is among the top ten in the world for certified sustainable construction: “To be effective on the processes of mitigation and adaptation to climate change, we can no longer encourage partial logics for buildings and act on individual environmental or energy or social or cultural aspects or economic, but we must tackle them together in a holistic approach. Furthermore, by accepting this challenge we can enhance the many excellences of our nation, a new Made in Italy”, Mari concludes.