Ensuring Sustainability in Brownfield Revitalisation as PDF

Insight into CO2 reduction
In the Netherlands, municipalities and provinces have made agreements with
the state with respect to eligibility for the BANS Climate Covenant subsidy
scheme. These agreements are translated into reduction objectives for the
emission of greenhouse gases (mainly CO2). GPR® makes it simple to monitor
the objectives by explicitly displaying the CO2 emissions that can be
attributed to the project. If the CO2 emissions threaten to exceed the
objectives allocated to the project, then the designer can attempt to
improve this by making changes in the Energy and Materials modules.
The Overview Window shows the CO2 reduction
in the bottom left-hand corner [Figure 5]. The
relative data is shown. The reduction in CO2
gives an impression of how well or badly the
building scores with respect to a reference
building. If the annual CO2 emission per m 2
building is the same as that of the reference
building, then the reduction is 0%. If the
percentage reduction is greater than 0% then
the design has a good score. If the percentage
Figure 5: Insight into the CO2 reduction (relative)
is negative, optimisation is probably required.
Because the total is also subdivided into Energy and Materials, it can be
immediately seen where the improvement is likely to be found.
For office and educational buildings only one reference type has been included.
There are eight possible reference types for housing, each of which has a
different reference value for the CO2 emissions. By selecting the reference in
the Overview Window [Figure 5], the project score is automatically compared to
the correct reference.
In addition to the relative scores, the absolute
scores in kg CO2 per m 2 per year can also be
found in the Energy and Materials modules
[Figures 6 and 7]. These data can be useful if
there are objectives formulated in terms of
absolute CO2 emissions.
Conclusion
Figure 6: The bottom right-hand corner giving an indication of the CO2
emissions for the Energy module
Figure 7: The bottom right-hand corner giving an indication of the CO2
emissions for the Materials module
The sustainable building tool (GPR) is a specific tool to measure the
sustainable development performance of new buildings. Targets for different
levels of sustainable development achievement (water, energy, material-use,
waste, health, and living quality) are set and agreed between a municipality
and a developer at the outset. As a new building is being designed, data can
be fed into the GPR tool to determine whether or not the building is meeting
the required standard. The tool can also suggest new technologies or
materials to improve sustainable development performance. Once the building
has been designed and has met its obligations using the tool, it can be given
a consumer star rating for performance, similar to that awarded for
washing machines. During the construction phase, checks and tests are
undertaken to determine whether or not the building continues to meet its
goals. Information from these checks help to update the tool and verify
performance. Finally, once the building has been completed it can boast of its
sustainable development performance criteria, adding value to its market
rate and helping a municipality achieve its sustainable development targets.
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