From
the point of view of environmental protection and sustainable
development the ideal building would be one that exerts minimal
impact on the environment. On the other hand, it is impossible to
completely eliminate the negative influence of the construction works
and building use on the environment. Therefore, the question arises:
How to measure this influence? Is there a methodology that would
allow us to define the environmental impact of a building? Can we
measure the intensity of this influence? The life cycle of a
residential building in our region is estimated at 100 years. It
gives us an impression of the scale of the influence and shows the
need for elaborating proper rules defining the acceptable level of
negative impact.
The guidelines for
building design should be elaborated in a way that would ensure that
the permissible level of environmental impact is not exceeded. To
this end, it is necessary to define the boundary values for specific
kinds of influence. A building object is technically less complex
than for example a power plant, for which there is an obligation to
prepare an environmental assessment. In the case of a power plant,
the technological process is stable and well defined, while in the
case of a building, the environmental impact depends on many factors
that are difficult to describe precisely, like for example climate,
building function, users’ behavior, etc.
In the 1990s,
numerous assessment methods were developed. The most widely known is
the British BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental
Assessment Method) from the year 1990. The British system has found
application in the environmental assessment of commercial buildings,
especially office buildings. In the United Kingdom, it is used for
20% of new office buildings, mainly because of the investors’ or
users’ requirements.
In Canada,
based on the British BREEAM, a similar system called BREEAM Canada
was created in 1992 and two years later, another one called BEEPAC.
In the United States, a different system called LEED appeared in
1998. LEED is presently being developed further by the US Green
Building Council, with a large financial support from the government
and private organizations in the building sector.
Many other
environmental assessment methods using Life Cycle Assessment have
been developed since then, ex. ECO QUANTUM (1998, Holland), ECO-PRO
(Germany), ESCALE (1998), EQUER (France), ECOEFFECT (1998, Sweden),
ECOPROFILE (1998, Norway) and ATHENA (Canada).
A group of
Polish experts, including the president of NAPE Aleksander Panek,
since 1997 has been taking active part in the works of an
international team of scientists implementing the rules of
sustainable development in the building sector (Sustainable Built
Environment) and elaborating the methodology of buildings’
environmental assessment (Green Building Challenge).