Getting a building certified by a Green Building Certification Scheme (eg. LEED, BREEAM, etc) is a complex process. This makes tools for helping projects get certified an essential step in reaping the many benefits of building green, including energy savings, lower operating costs and improved worker wellbeing and efficiency.
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One such tool is a Green Building Scorecard. Products that aim to be included in a green building project can provide specifiers with a one-page checklist which can help to determine their sustainability on a number of levels. Scorecards provide evidence of a company’s commitment to environmental responsibility, regulatory compliance and quality assurance. But most importantly, these scorecards help to ascertain how that product contributes to Green Building Certification credits.
Scorecard checklists are made up of standardized items set out by the certification scheme (see the LEED scorecard checklist as an example). The items themselves depend on the certification scheme in question. For example, scorecards could log aspects to do with health and wellbeing (e.g. indoor air quality, acoustic performance) as well as material impacts and waste management. Each item on the checklist provides credits/points earned. They are very intuitive: the higher the score, the more sustainable the product is likely to be.
The most obvious reason is that using a scorecard will facilitate getting a building project being certified as green. But there are other good reasons for manufacturers to provide scorecards. Using this standardized and transparent method for evaluating the sustainability of a product helps specifiers to make informed decisions about the products and services they choose.
Specifiers also make a statement by using products that have green building scorecards. Their use demonstrates a strong commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility. They are also likely to attract more customers that are looking to be part of the green building movement.
To see our Green Certification Scorecards for LEED, BREEAM, WELL and DGNB Green Building Certifications, please use the link below.
Text: Douglas MacCutcheon, PhD. Global Concept Developer for Sustainability at Saint-Gobain Ecophon
The top image shows an interior from real estate company Castellum's regional office in Stockholm, Sweden. The building has been awarded both LEED and WELL Gold certification. Read more in the article below.
