Rating Systems from around the World

I have just posted details of four rating systems around the world. I have taken a quick look at the LEED, BREEAM, CASBEE, GREEN STAR websites here I have posted a summary of them and what they offer. India is currently looking to implement LEED, Canada has adopted LEED with amendment, UK has used their own long established system of BREEAM.

If you are using these systems I would be interested to know how helpful the tools you used where for early design analysis and if you have any lessons learned.

CASBEE Rating System (Japan)

Overview - Assessment Method - Tools - DownloadCASBEE
Promoting sustainability is a major social challenge.As the building industry consumes large amounts of material resources and energy, specific technological and political means should be developed in order to promote sustainable buildings.To be nationally authorized in Japan, a cooperative academic, industrial and governmental project has been to establish a new system called the Comprehensive Assessment System for Building Environmental Efficiency (CASBEE).

Construction consumes and discards resources and energy in enormous quantities, is one field where we must act urgently to develop and promote techniques and policies able to assist the drive towards sustainability.

CASBEE was developed according to the following policies:
· be structured to award high assessments to superior buildings, thereby enhancing incentives to designers and others.
· be as simple as possible.
· be applicable to buildings in a wide range of applications.
· take into consideration issues and problems peculiar to Japan and Asia.
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GREEN STAR Rating System (Australia)

About - Tools - Categories - Calculation GREEN STAR
The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) has developed a national environmental rating tool for buildings called the ‘Green Star’ rating system. The tool rates a building in relation to its management, the health and wellbeing of its occupants, accessibility to public transport, water use, energy consumption, the embodied energy of its materials, land use and pollution.
Green Star aims to assist the building industry in its transition to sustainable development.

The Green Star environmental rating system for buildings was created for the property industry in order to:
· establish a common language
· set a standard of measurement for green buildings
· promote integrated, whole-building design
· recognise environmental leadership
· identify building life-cycle impacts
· raise awareness of green building benefits.

There is a suite of Green Star rating tools for commercial offices at all phases of development - design, construction, and operations. Projects are evaluated against eight environmental impact categories, plus innovation. Within each category, points are awarded for initiatives that demonstrate that a project has met the overall objectives of Green Star and the specific criteria of the relevant rating tool credits. Points are then weighted and an overall score is calculated, determining the project's Green Star rating. Green Star rating tools use Stars to rate performance:

· 4 Star Green Star Certified Rating signifies 'Best Practice'
· 5 Star Green Star Certified Rating signifies 'Australian Excellence'
· 6 Star Green Star Certified Rating signifies 'World Leadership'
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BREEAM Rating System (UK)

About - Features - Tools - Certification - How does it workBREEAM
The BRE assessment methods and tools are all designed to help construction professionals understand and mitigate the environmental impacts of the developments they design and build.

The BREEAM assessment versions look at the same broad range of environmental impacts:
· management
· health and wellbeing
· energy
· transport
· water
· material and waste
· landuse and ecology
· pollution

Credits are awarded in each of the above areas according to performance. A set of environmental weightings then enables the credits to be added together to produce a single overall score. BREEAM assesses buildings against a set criteria and provides an overall score which will fall within a band providing either a Pass, Good, Very Good or Excellent rating.
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LEED Rating System (US)

About - Features- Accreditation - Resources - JoinU.S. Green Building Council
Non-profit organization dedicated to sustainable building design and construction. Developers of the LEED building rating system. The council is a community of more than 10,000 organizations from every sector of the building industry united by a common purpose: to transform the building marketplace to sustainability.

LEED-certified buildings:
· are leading the transformation of the built environment
· are built as designed and perform as expected.
· have lower operating costs and increased asset value
· are healthy and comfortable for their occupants
· reduce waste sent to landfills· conserve energy and water
· reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions
· qualify for tax rebates, zoning allowances, and other incentives in hundreds of cities
· demonstrate an owner's commitment to environmental stewardship and social responsibility

To earn certification, a building project must meet certain prerequisites and performance benchmarks ("credits") within each category. Projects are awarded Certified, Silver, Gold, or platinum certification depending on the number of credits they achieve. USGBC will fully rebate certification fees for any project awarded LEED platinum certification.