Sustainable construction

Sustainability applied to building construction implies a major change in the approach to design and construction of buildings. Raising awareness regarding environmental and social impact is a reality in modern society and has been expressed in a set of laws and regulations that rule the building construction process.

European Directives and national laws have evolved to a model in which the use of natural resources must be optimized; the production of waste and energy consumption must be reduced; neighbourhoods must address social inclusion and improve the quality of life for citizens.

The law sets the minimum requirements that must be met for everyone and implements the foundations for sustainable cities. However, new and more restrictive standards have been defined to highlight those buildings with a major environmental impact LEED and BREEAM certification schemes are two of the most extended tools worldwide: they define the actions and commitments to reduce the environmental impact of the building over its lifespan..

The advantages related to these certifications do not only affect the environment. Indeed, there is a direct economic benefit linked to the reduction of generated waste and decrease in water and energy consumption that generates benefits over the building´s lifespan.

Certificación BREEAM

BREEAM® is certification scheme to assess the environmental impact of buildings (there are different types of certification requirements for new buildings, existing households, urban planning,…). It is an international methodology with more than 25 years of history and it is implemented in more than 77 countries adapting to the specific requirements of each one. The certification methodology is based on awarding points if the building comply with some specific requirements in 10 categories: 01 Management, 02 Health and well-being, 03 Energy, 04 Transport, 05 Water, 06 Materials, 07 Wastes, 08 Land use and Ecology, 09 Pollution and contamination y 10 Innovation.

Green Building

LEED® is a certification scheme that was developed according to a standard assessment methodology defined by U.S. Green Building Council to promote the development of buildings that are designed considering sustainability and high efficiency criteria. . LEED® methodology provides an assessment framework to assess the building sustainability evaluating the impact in different areas: 1.- sustainable location, 2.-efficiency in the water use, 3.-energy efficiency, renewable energy and emissions, 4.-materials and natural resources, 5.-indoor air quality, 6.- design innovation and 7.- regional priority.

Ingho FM count with skilled people to advice during the building certification process under any of the mentioned certification schemes.