Top 5 Green Building Certifications

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Green building rating or green certification are systems used to assess and recognize buildings that meet the green requirements and standards. These tools follow standard approaches applied to the planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance, renovation, and demolition phases of the green building.

The World Green Building Council or the WorldGBC network has several Green Building Councils that develop and administer many of the world’s rating tools. Each rating tool under WorldGBC is different, and the best tool is selected based on the type of project and the green design objectives.

This article discusses the top 5 green building rating tools administered by the Green Building Council of the WorldGBC network.

1. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)

• Country of origin: USA 
• Managing organization: U.S. Green Building Council
• Year: 1998
• Applications: New construction, existing buildings & operations, maintenance, schools, commercial interiors, healthcare, homes, and neighborhood development.

LEED is one of the largest and most widely used green certification systems worldwide. LEED certification is provided for focusing on the following criteria:

1. Sustainability of site
2. Efficiency of water use
3. Energy and atmosphere
4. Indoor environmental quality
5. Innovation in design
6. Regional priority credits

2. Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM)

• Country of origin: United Kingdom
• Managing organization: BRE Global
• Year: 1990
• Applications: New construction, interiors, existing commercial buildings, and urban areas, renovation

BREEAM was the first certification and the world’s leading sustainability assessment method for master planning projects, infrastructure, and buildings. It focuses on the performance of the building in:

1. Energy
2. Innovation
3. Health and wellness
4. Materials 
5. Waste
6. Management
7. Pollution

3. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen (DGNB)

• Country of origin: Germany
• Managing organization: German Sustainability Council
• Year: 2007
• Applications: New construction, existing buildings, urban areas, commercial interiors, and renovations.

DGNB certification is based on holistic sustainability, where the three central sustainability areas of ecology, economy, and socio-cultural issues are evaluated with equal weightage. 

4. Green Star

• Country of origin: Australia
• Managing organization: Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA)
• Year: 2003
• Applications: New buildings (single-family homes excepted), interiors, renovations, existing buildings, and urban areas. 

GBCA develops and delivers Green Star certification by operating a quality management system complying with the requirements of ISO 9001:2015.

5. WELL

• Country of origin: USA
• Managing organization: International WELL Building Institute (IWBI)
• Year: 2014
• Applications: New construction, interiors, renovations, existing buildings, and urban areas. 

The WELL green building standard is a performance-based system that measures, certifies, and monitors the well-being and health of the users of a building. It focuses completely on the social dimension of sustainability. In addition, it explores the connection between the buildings and the occupants who spend more than 90% of their time in order to study the impacts on their health and wellness.

A green rating system for building helps create environmentally responsible projects and utilizes resources efficiently throughout the project lifecycle. In addition to the above mechanisms, many other green rating systems are administered by the Green Building Councils. There are also green rating systems that are not administered by a WGBC network like Living Building Challenge (LBC), Green Globes, etc. 

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