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Certified validation for sustainable built environment
The building and subsequent use of built assets is responsible for a high percentage of CO2 emissions and energy consumption in the world. Along with transport, construction is one of the sectors in the crosshairs of companies and governments when it comes to ensuring the future of the next generations.
“As a whole, buildings are responsible for 40% of the EU’s energy consumption and 36% of greenhouse gas emissions, generated mainly during their construction, use, renovation and demolition,” says the European Commission.
For this reason, the European Parliament has promoted several measures to ensure that both new construction and renovations are carried out in pursuit of high energy efficiency.
But sustainable building is not just a building with neutral emissions and high energy efficiency. For this reason, numerous construction companies choose to plan the work to obtain the BREEAM seal and certify that it meets the requirements of the activity to be carried out in its construction, respecting all aspects of its impact on the environment and the quality of life of its users.
The BREEAM seal: guarantee of construction quality
The BREEAM seal evaluates all aspects of a building that affect its performance, the health of users and care for the environment. Specifically, almost 50 characteristics of 10 categories are addressed: Energy, Water, Transport, Land Use, Innovation, Management, Pollution, Health and Well-being, Materials and Waste.
This implies that, from the planning of the project, the construction company must promote water saving, that natural light predominates, avoid the use of toxic paints or varnishes, that the thermal and acoustic insulation be adequate, that it be accessible to people with reduced mobility and its impact within the environment is studied and minimised.
BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology) is the most technically advanced method for assessing and certifying sustainability in buildings and is the world leader in the number of certified projects since its creation in 1990. This certificate improves functionality, flexibility and durability of buildings while transferring the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility to society and the market in an unequivocal and easily perceptible way.
Why is the BREEAM certification important?
Certifying your construction is a good idea, not only because it contributes to the preservation of the environment, but also because a sustainable building is also a better building: it is better planned, it makes better use of natural light, it integrates better into the environment and its inhabitants breathe better quality air.
Sustainable construction is not only a requirement, but must be taken as a unique opportunity to improve the competitiveness of our companies. Applying to the BREEAM seal ensures that the project is designed considering numerous aspects that improve the quality of the building.
To carry out efficient projects, you have to work efficiently. That is why most companies in the sector already use project management software; errors are avoided by having all the information accessible from anywhere and updated in real time.
The BIM methodology, and the programs dedicated to implementing it , allow exploring the impact of the work on the environment from its planning, and exploring new and ambitious solutions to the different intrinsic problems of the project.
Building sustainably is building better. It makes us meet more rigorous standards from planning that will have a very positive impact on the quality of our projects and the future of our companies.
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