Refurbishment certification schemes: aspects of productivity and sustainability

Paper in proceeding, 2014

Sustainability rating tools can be analysed in a productivity perspective. Government regulations, including taxes and fees that make firms internalize negative environmental externalities, reduce the gap between sustainability and productivity. Productivity measurement methods for new construction are difficult to apply to refurbishment projects, and there is no consensus on measuring the sustainability of refurbishment processes. The purpose here is to investigate how sustainability concepts in building certification schemes for refurbishment are related to productivity, using BREEAM Refurbishment Domestic Buildings and LEED for New Construction and Major Renovations as examples. A set of criteria for analysis is developed here. While this BREEAM scheme has its focus specifically on refurbishment, the LEED version has less that is specific to refurbishment processes. These schemes mainly focus on post-refurbishment assessment. Long-term productivity is related to economic sustainability, and recent refurbishment versions of certification schemes in Germany and Japan recognize more than environmental sustainability.