Smart Readiness, A Tool for Green Building Certification Schemes Towards Carbon Neutrality in the Built Environment

This paper introduces a methodology to correlate the environmental certification schemes such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) and the initiative from the German National Council for Sustainable Buildings, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen (DGNB) with the Smart Readiness Indicator. The key performance indicators introduced by certification tools in line with Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI) provide a holistic approach in the evaluation of the built environment not only on the energy issue but also in water and waste management, transportation, construction materials, air quality and social parameters connected to users’ health and well-being. The objective is to identify the synergy between green building certifications and SRI methodology in order to create a holistic methodological framework for evaluating buildings to reach the energy efficiency and decarbonization targets of European policy, focusing on how the SRI assesses energy efficicency. By promoting the integration of automation and control technologies, the SRI facilitates the adoption of energy-efficient practices and reduces the carbon footprint of buildings. This aspect is particularly significant given the imperative to mitigate the impacts of climate change and ensure the sustainability of our built environment. The methodology suggests a decision making tool promoting smart building technologies and advancing energy efficiency objectives. By offering a comprehensive framework for evaluation and improvement it empowers stakeholders to make decisions and spearhead meaningful changes, in particular in the refurbishment of the building stock, thus paving the way for a more sustainable future. The methodology is implemented in a typical office building located in Greece, belonging to the Mediterranean climate zone of southern Europe (Cfa on the Koeppen climate scale) and the findings of the analysis ensure the support of SRI to the overall environmental evaluation of building certification schemes concluding to an overall 65% performance index.