Investigating the Application of LEED and BREEAM Certification Schemes for Buildings in Kazakhstan

Abstract

Kazakhstan is one of the leading economies of the Central Asian region. With the ambitious goal of being among the fifty most developed countries in the world, Kazakhstan is rigorously attempting to boost its infrastructure development. Among others, significant resources are invested in the construction of both residential and non-residential buildings. As a proponent of sustainable development, the government of Kazakhstan is seeking ways of reducing both energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. As a part of this agenda, Kazakhstan hosted EXPO2017 «Future Energy» exhibition which triggered the integration of sustainability principles into all areas of the economy including the construction sector. Among others, the construction industry started adopting widely recognized environmental assessment certification schemes such as the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) and the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM). Up to this day, more than 50 buildings, especially from rapidly expanding cities such as Nur-Sultan and Almaty, have obtained LEED and BREEAM certificates and were recognized as green buildings. This study investigates the nature of adopting these methods in the context of Kazakhstan with the aim of understanding the driving factors of such application, characteristics of the certified buildings, and the potentials of promoting the certification schemes at a wider scale.