
Sustainability,
Healthy Materials &
The Environment
A brief overview below details what these standards measure on and where they are focused:
WELL – a globally recognized standard that focuses on the product and its impact, with the aim of enhancing human health and wellbeing through building design and operations. Ten concepts are encompassed within this: Air, Water, Nourishment, Light, Movement, Thermal Comfort, Sound, Materials, Mind and Community.
LEED – Developed by the US, and used worldwide, this standard is a green building certification, which looks at the overall project, from façade through to furniture, and focuses on the product in the context of the building. Energy efficiency, water conservation and materials selection are some of the key areas majored on in this standard.
BREEAM – This is a UK-created standard and isn’t found so much as other standards, outside of the UK. It has many of the same focus areas as LEED, and the two are mutually recognized. BREEAM assesses the environmental performance of new buildings, emphasizing energy efficiency and occupant wellbeing.
LBC – The Living Building Challenge is a rigorous performance standard for buildings, promoting regenerative design across seven categories called ‘Petals’. These are Place, Water, Energy, Health & Happiness, Materials, Equity and Beauty.
SKA – An environmental assessment protocol tool for sustainable fitouts, SKA focuses on good practice measures in areas like energy, materials and waste for office spaces, looking at the contributions across the project. It looks at the entire life of the product or product part, taking into account how sustainably it can be disposed of at the end of life, as well as processes such as installation.