Useful links relating to sustainable investment and building

Summary

Databases and portals

BUILD UP – EU internet platform for energy efficient buildings
An English-language internet portal of the European Commission, designed to support sharing of information about energy-saving technology in buildings. The content is updated and expanded by portal users – construction experts, public authorities and property owners.
www.buildup.eu

GREENGUARD
The GREENGUARD Environmental Institute – founded in 2001 in Georgia, USA – has developed a range of certification programmes used to test and certify low-emitting products worldwide.
www.greenguard.org

Greenbuildingproducts
The recently launched greenbuildingproducts.eu portal is geared to the needs of developers/owners who wish to have their building certified to DGNB or LEED standards. The information it provides shows which criteria must be fulfilled by individual building materials to achieve certification for each of the two systems. Access is free of charge.
www.greenbuildingproducts.eu

Bodies and associations

EuroACE – European Alliance for Companies for Energy Efficiency in Buildings
A European alliance comprising 22 leading companies involved in energy saving goods and services in the building sector. Working together with the EU institutions, their mission is to improve energy use in buildings. The member companies together employ 438,000 people and have a combined Europe-wide turnover of €70 billion.
www.euroace.org

EnOB – Research for energy-optimised construction
EnOB is a research project sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology that concentrates on new builds and existing buildings with minimal primary energy requirements and high levels of user comfort. Innovative technology and intelligent refurbishment concepts are among the areas covered.
www.enob.info/en

GRI – Global Reporting Initiative
The Global Reporting Initiative aims to develop guidelines for a sustainability reporting framework that can be applied worldwide. In support of this objective, it has produced guidelines for greater transparency and comparability. GRI operates worldwide with the active involvement of companies and human rights, environmental, labour and government organisations.
www.globalreporting.org

INFORSE – International Network for Sustainable Energy
A network of NGOs whose main goals are the widespread availability of sustainable energy and use of renewable energies. The organisation was founded in 1992 at the Global Forum in Rio de Janeiro and has over 75 members from 33 countries.
www.inforse.org

IRENA – International Renewable Energy Agency
The International Renewable Energy Agency was founded in 2009 in Bonn to promote the expansion of renewable energy production around the world, particularly in developing countries. Since its inception, 137 states have signed up to IRENA. Germany was one of the driving forces behind its establishment, alongside Spain and Denmark.
www.irena.org

IISBE – Initiative for a Sustainable Built Environment
Most rating and certification organisations in the field of sustainable building are members of one of the two major umbrella organisations – the World Green Building Council (WGBC) or the International Initiative for a Sustainable Built Environment (iiSBE). The iiSBE focuses on research and development. It runs regular conferences to promote the establishment of networks and the sharing
of experience about sustainable building.
www.iisbe.org

SBA – Sustainable Building Alliance
The SBA is a non-profit, independent international network of universities, research centres and sustainability organisations that is supported by UNESCO. It is working on a framework of cross-system metrics and indicators for sustainable buildings that give tenants and landlords a better means of assessing the sustainability of properties in different countries. SBA members include the Association pour la Haute Qualité Environnementale (HQE), the DGNB and the U.S. Green Building Council.
www.sballiance.org

WorldGBC – World Green Building Council
The WorldGBC supports the development of sustainable construction standards, technology, products and projects around the world. It is the leading non-political forum for sharing technology and design practices for sustainable building. The WorldGBC established the LEED certification scheme in 1998.
www.worldgbc.org

Guidelines and standards

Energy Star
Database and labelling scheme for energy-saving office appliances. The programme was originally introduced in the United States to create an incentive for manufacturers to make energy-efficient products. An important criterion is that appliances automatically switch to an energy-saving mode after a period of time. A certificate can be obtained by reporting test results to the EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). The test can be carried out internally by the manufacturer or at an independent laboratory.
www.eu-energystar.org

EmiCode
The Emicode system classifies the emission characteristics of flooring installation materials and is designed to prevent the use of products that pose a health risk.
Emicode EC 1 – very low emission
Emicode EC 2 – low emission
Emicode EC 3 – not low emission
Emicode ratings are awarded by manufacturers association GEV to member companies whose products have passed an independent test chamber experiment. The product must already have a GISCODE classification. In practice, the Emicode label is only applied to products that have been awarded the EC 1 “very low emission” rating.
www.emicode.de

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