BUILDING GREEN THE IRISH GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL IS WORKING TO TRANSFORM THE IRISH BUILT ENVIRONMENT THROUGH LEADERSHIP, RESEARCH, EDUCATION AND POLICY INPUT, AND IS LOOKING FOR SURVEYORS TO GET INVOLVED.
G
reen building councils
construction into the circular economy.
are independent, non-
The IGBC has rolled out extensive training
profit organisations made up
and upskilling in sustainability, provided
of businesses and organisations working in
networking opportunities, and implemented and
property and construction. The Irish Green
encouraged the use of a range of tools, including
Building Council (IGBC) was launched in 2011 to accelerate the transformation of the built environment, related industry and supply chains
the Environmental Products Declarations (EPD) n providing leadership for sustainability and quality in the built environment;
to ones that are sustainable, through leadership,
n developing credible metrics for measuring
research, education, and policy input to national
progress towards the end goal of sustainability;
and local Government.
platform, Home Performance Index (HPI), and various accreditation programmes such as LEED,
BREEAM
and
WELL.
Current
programmes include:
n providing resources to companies transitioning
The IGBC is Ireland’s leading authority on green
their activities towards more sustainable
n upskilling for energy efficiency;
building best practices, with a network of over
practices; and,
n one-stop shop renovation;
180 green building organisations spanning the
n being central to the alignment of the policies of
entire built environment industry. The World
organisations seeking to achieve sustainability
n green finance green homes; n green public procurement;
Green Building Council (of which the IGBC is
in the built environment.
n supporting local authorities’ renovations; n building renovation passport;
a member) has a mission to transform the
n embodied carbon and life cycle assessments
building and construction sector across three
Over ten years, the IGBC has made enormous
strategic areas – climate action, health and well-
contributions to the transformation to a
being, and resources and circularity. The IGBC
sustainable built environment by inputting into
n learning hub; and,
supports these by:
national policy, promoting greener homes
n net zero commitment.
(LCAs);
through smarter finance and home performance
FEATURE Krystyna Rawicz Managing Director, KRA
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SURVEYORS JOURNAL Volume 11, Issue 1, Spring 2021
certification, developing guidance and tools for
The SCSI is collaborating with the IGBC on
green procurement, and bringing buildings and
some of these initiatives.