Environmental Certifications
An environmental certificate adds value to a property and strengthens the owner’s reputation as a responsible operator. Choosing Granlund as your certification partner ensures a smooth process, backed by strong expertise in sustainability, energy and building services.
Environmental certifications require broad expertise
Applying for an environmental certification is a demanding process requiring strong expertise in sustainability, energy and building services. Certifications assess multiple dimensions of a property, including energy and water use, waste management and recycling, carbon footprint and emissions – and in some cases, occupant wellbeing.
Granlund has extensive experience coordinating environmental certification processes both for large construction projects as well as existing buildings. All relevant parties are brought together and kept aligned, ensuring efficient information flow and shared commitment to the targets. A certification can be pursued as part of a construction project, in which case the process should be started as early as possible – ideally at the project planning stage.
Certifications for existing buildings must be renewed regularly
nvironmental certifications are also available for existing properties, covering not only the physical characteristics of the building but also maintenance, operational performance and development.
Certifications for existing buildings must be renewed every few years to ensure ongoing compliance with certification requirements. The guiding principle is to drive and support continuous improvement – including recommending measures that could raise the certification level further.
Helping you find the right certification
LEED and BREEAM are internationally recognised and widely used environmental rating systems. Finland also has its own domestic RTS environmental certification, developed for Finnish conditions, and the Nordic Swan Ecolabel.
Granlund helps identify the most suitable certification for each property, taking into account the property’s specific characteristics and the needs of the owner and occupants. The comparison covers the requirements of different certification systems, as well as the measures and costs involved in achieving a strong certification level.
Environmental certifications are most commonly sought for office and commercial properties, but increasingly also for residential buildings. Other typical targets include shopping centres and logistics facilities. Certification is also becoming more common in public construction, such as educational buildings.
BREEAM certification
BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) is the most widely used environmental rating system for construction in Finland and Europe. Certification can be sought for a construction project or as an in-use certification for an existing building.
A key advantage of BREEAM is that its criteria can be applied nationally, allowing country-specific best practices to be taken into account.
LEED certification
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a global environmental rating system for buildings, based on the American ASHRAE standard.
The key advantage of LEED is its consistent criteria and comparability across the world. LEED certification can be pursued for either the construction phase or the operational phase of a property.
In the LEED process, the project team compiles the required documentation and submits it for review by the USGBC (U.S. Green Building Council). The certification application is reviewed and awarded by GBCI (Green Building Certification Inc.), an affiliate of the USGBC. Our specialists manage the certification process from start to completion.
RTS environmental rating system
The RTS environmental rating system is designed for construction project clients and existing properties. Developed for Finnish conditions, it is based on legislation, European standards and shared national practices covering construction quality, indoor conditions and energy efficiency.
The RTS criteria apply to new builds, refurbishment projects, fit-out works and alterations, as well as existing properties.
Nordic Swan Ecolabel
The Nordic Swan Ecolabel is an environmental certification with consistent criteria across all Nordic countries. Its purpose is to ensure that the entire lifecycle of a building is environmentally sustainable, as well as the safe and healhty use of a building.
Key criteria include energy efficiency and material choices. The Nordic Swan Ecolabel application process must be initiated at the design stage.
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