Certification of sustainability saves building operators tens of percent in costs

The issue of sustainable development is one of the key societal topics of our time and resonates strongly in the field of development, where the demand for environmentally friendly buildings is rising. Potential buyers can determine whether a given building meets acceptable parameters primarily based on the certifications provided. In the Czech Republic, three certifications are primarily used for large projects such as offices or administrative buildings – BREEAM, LEED, and WELL. However, certifications also have an economic dimension. They place a strong emphasis on energy efficiency and operational cost-effectiveness.

The Prague building Parkview holds LEED and WELL certifications

The significance of certification is growing with the increasing interest of customers in the impact of their business on the environment and the energy and other expenses associated with business operations. In the Czech Republic, the most widely used certifications are BREEAM and LEED. Increasingly, WELL certification is also becoming more common. Meeting the certification conditions generally means that the building has been designed with a view towards higher energy efficiency, lower operational costs, and the highest possible comfort for the users of the space.

BREEAM and LEED Certifications

The BREEAM (Building Research Establishment's Environmental Assessment Method) system was established in 1990 and is thus the oldest assessment system in the world. BREEAM works with a multi-criteria evaluation, resulting in a percentage rating. Due to the calculation methodology, the final score can reach up to 110%. Meeting all the basic requirements represents 100%, and 10% is allocated to 10 credits, each weighing 1%, which are labeled as Innovation in BINC and Exemplary in BIU. In both cases, these are elements of the building considered priority for the future, such as a very advanced energy consumption management system.

The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification program uses a system of mandatory and optional credits for evaluating buildings. Meeting the optional credits is scored in points, and based on their number, the building is classified into 4 categories – Certified (all mandatory credits and 40-49 points), Silver (all mandatory credits and 50-59 points), Gold (all mandatory credits and 60-79 points), and Platinum (all mandatory credits and 80+ points).

According to LEED rating, Parkview is the second most sustainable office building in the world completed in 2020

WELL Certification System

The international WELL certification system specifically targets the healthy indoor environment of buildings, which emerged from the fact that a healthy indoor environment significantly reduces employee costs while simultaneously increasing their productivity. WELL essentially complements the LEED and BREEAM certification systems focused on the sustainable development of buildings with a more detailed evaluation of the impact of buildings and environments on human health and comfort, which it places first.

“Certification systems assess not only the building environment but also the materials used and their impact, for example, on illumination, air quality, or thermal comfort. Our acoustic panels offer an advantage to investors due to their parameters, as they provide important credits when meeting certification criteria. In the case of BREEAM certification, up to 23 credits across 4 monitored categories. This represents more than 20% of the total of 110 achievable credits,” explains Iveta Králová, Key Segments Manager at Ecophon. For nearly forty years, the company has been developing and selling acoustic systems for noise absorption.

LEED can save more than 40% of energy and water

Construction and development companies logically have rich experience with sustainability certifications. One of them is Skanska, which has been implementing LEED and WELL certification systems into its office projects for several years. “I would humorously compare sustainability certification to a cookbook – it guides the construction company through a process that ends with an environmentally friendly and economical house. Our baseline construction standards are already quite strict regarding efficiency and user comfort, but LEED and WELL push us further in these aspects,” reveals Eva Nykodymová, Environmental Manager of Skanska Commercial Development Europe.

How do sustainability certifications specifically reflect in the operating costs of buildings?