Certification and assessment system
In the construction industry, a great many choices must be made concerning products, building systems, and construction processes, all with different impacts on the three sustainability aspects: economy, environment, and social.
Developers and property owners can, and often do impose strict requirements that can complement the governing framework.
These can involve, for instance:
- environmental impact
- more stringent lifetime requirements
- fire safety
- noise
In order to address these requirements, various certification systems for buildings have been developed.
Certification systems for buildings
Certifications provide a quality review of the specific requirements completed. The systems are developed and updated relatively frequently, and the number of certified buildings and infrastructure projects is growing dramatically.
The most common certification systems are:
Miljöbyggnad, GreenBuilding, BREEAM, LEED and CEEQUAL are administered in Sweden by Sweden Green Building Council.
Miljömärkning Sverige AB is responsible for the Nordic Swan Ecolabel.
Concrete buildings are able to achieve the highest ratings in the certification systems. Betongföreningen (the Swedish Concrete Association) has developed guides containing descriptions of the properties of concrete linked to the requirements of the certification systems. The guides are available on Betongföreningen’s website.
Riksbyggen's Brf Viva project in Gothenburg has been named Environmental Building of the Year at the Sweden Green Building Awards 2019. Brf Viva stands as Sweden’s most sustainable and innovative housing project.
Assessment system for building products
There are also assessment systems for building products. They all set requirements for chemical content and are based on EU chemicals legislation (REACH and CLP). Many of the systems also set requirements for other sustainability aspects.
The most common systems are:
- BASTA with a focus limited to chemical content
- Byggvarubedömningen takes into account chemical content but also the production, transport and use stages, as well as emissions, energy consumption and recycling
- SundaHus was originally designed for property owners and its focus is on products used in property management.
Thomas Betong’s products are registered in Basta which means that they fulfil the criteria for non-toxicity, which is a basic requirement for sustainable construction.
We also undertake active work to reduce the environmental impact of our products. Information about the impact of our products is available in the Building Product Declarations. The products are assessed as Recommended in Byggvarubedömningen.
