Rating systems for green buildings certification: features, applicability, practice

Following the Kyoto Protocol issues, real estate in Italy is changing towards a sustainable approach that can be defined as the design, the construction and operation of a built environment based on ecological principles and resource efficiency. In order to achieve this goal the project teams need to join a new expertise, able to simulate energy performance of buildings, evaluate indoor environmental conditions, and apply the requirements of green buildings rating systems during design and construction phases as well. In fact, in order to shift from conventional practices to high performance green buildings, a powerful role was, and it is still carried out by sustainable building rating systems such as SBC, LEED and BREEAM. Nowadays in Italy the ITACA protocol now used by Sustainable Building Council Italy (SBC) is widespread. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) was launched by USGBC (United States Building Council) and BREEAM (British Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method) is the oldest rating system, developed by BRE(British Research Establishment). These systems are now widely used to provide objective evaluation of building projects spurred by both actions by local authorities and public and private investors. The aim of this paper is to compare the contents, the main features and the expertise involved in the design and certification process.