Sustainability Certification Systems Research Articles

Comparing generational preferences for individual components of sustainability schemes in the Californian wine market

ABSTRACT Millennials are the largest demographic segment in the USA and have gained market share of high-frequency wine drinkers while Baby Boomers and Gen-X generations share has fallen. This demographic evolution focuses attention on understanding Millennial wine drinkers’ preferences. At the same time the wine industry has seen significant establishment of sustainable certification systems as preferences for sustainability have developed and been recognized as an avenue for product diversification. This paper reports on a discrete choice experiment with the objective of comparing generational preferences for individual components of sustainability schemes active in the Californian Sauvignon Blanc market. We find significant attribute preference differences over age cohorts. Millennial consumers are willing to pay significantly more for sustainability attributes than both Gen-X and Baby Boomers. While Baby Boomers place more emphasis on country-of-origin attributes than either Gen-X or Millennials.

Why do logging companies adopt or reject forest certification in the Congo basin? Insights from Cameroon

This study aims to understand, through the example of Cameroon, why industrial logging companies adopt or avoid sustainable certification or labelling systems of their forest operations in the Congo Basin region. From a methodological standpoint, the research is based on a sample of three empirical case studies of logging companies operating in Cameroon: an 'anti-certification' company (the model, due to the majority trend of non-certified logging companies in this region), a company in the process of certification (the intermediate case), and a certified company (the marginal case, due to the scarcity of certified companies in the study area). While focusing on these three cases, we chose to avoid reifying the dominant case of anti-certification companies. Hence the choice of highlighting this majority trend by carrying out a comparative study with an intermediate and a marginal case. The analysis of these three case studies reveals that the high cost of long term certification, the risks of patronage and cronyism in Patron-Client (customer-provider/boss) relationships that feature sustainable labelling processes are the main reasons for the low level of commitment of logging companies to forest certification in Cameroon. At the end of the research, we recommend that other complementary and more specific research should focus on the flaws in patron-client relationships that characterize forest certification processes on the one hand, and on the necessary conditions to avoid patronage and cronyisms risks or excesses in these relations on the other hand, especially in a poor governance context like Cameroon. Similarly, we encourage that new research be carried out to better understand whether and how transaction and opportunity costs influence the decisions of industrial logging companies in favour of or against forest certification.

Estimating wine consumer preferences for sustainability attributes: A discrete choice experiment of Californian Sauvignon blanc purchasers

In an increasingly saturated global market, winegrowers and wineries have an opportunity for product differentiation born out of environmental and social pressures coupled with growing consumer preferences. The wine industry has seen significant establishment of sustainable certification systems as wine consumers preferences for sustainability have developed. However, there is a risk that the prominent use of symbol and icon type labels may obscure individual sustainability attributes and weaken signalling to consumers searching for specific credentials. Consumers may respond to individual components of sustainability programs differently to others and the use of simplistic symbols and logos makes it difficult for consumers to identify which elements are contained within a scheme.This paper reports on the application of a discrete choice experiment to identify and measure Californian Sauvignon blanc consumer preferences for individual components of sustainability schemes active in-market. A specific objective is to assess the relative importance of sustainability attributes in consumers wine choice against those widely recognised to be influences on choice, namely country-of-origin, price, and quality.Results demonstrate that the presence of sustainability attributes can influence Sauvignon blanc choice and that consumers have a significant positive willingness-to-pay for several of these attributes. Consistent with current understanding we find that price is a core attribute, and that willingness-to-pay varies considerably over where a wine is made and the critic score a wine receives. What this study adds to this narrative is that the role of sustainability in wine consumer choices is significantly determined by specific environmental and social outcomes. Growers and wineries implementing sustainability programs or considering market strategies incorporating sustainability may benefit from increasing attention on attributes more valued by consumers such as management of pests and diseases, and water resources, and less on attributes less valued such as energy or biodiversity management.

SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY RATING SYSTEMS AND CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS

The term sustainability has multidisciplinary use and meaning. Sustainability is typically described by many sources as development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainable construction projects are those that ensure the consideration of economic, environmental and social impacts that are created by their activities. It includes all the construction related tasks and the company's management. This research focuses mainly on the criteria of social and environmental sustainability. Social sustainability, whose criteria is based on the classification of company's stakeholders and the project's, and environmental sustainability, also called physical dimensions of sustainability, whose criteria are those related to resources and the environment. This paper aims to recognize the most known sustainability certification systems, how they classify their criteria and rate their metrics. After the research, we can conclude that the certification systems incorporate more metrics for criteria of environmental sustainability than for social sustainability.

Technical Evaluation of LEED-v4.1-(BD+C: NC) for Rating and Certification of Sustainable New Construction Outside the USA

Worldwide, all the current sustainable rating and certification systems are targeting fair and applicable rating criteria and conditions to best matching the circumstances and sustainable needs of every nation for their environmental conditions, equity needs, and economic concerns. This paper is made to evaluate and measure the compliance of LEED-v4.1-(BD+C: NC) sustainable rating and certification system [1] with the sustainability concerns of the new construction (NC) market outside the USA through considering Egypt as an example and conducting a detailed comparative analysis between the LEED-v4.1-(BD+C: NC) sustainable rating and certification system [1] and the authors' proposed sustainable rating and certification system for new construction in Egypt (Bonna (2018) [2]), to highlight most of the missing sustainability rating credits/issues which are necessary for Egypt and not found within the LEED-v4.1-(BD+C: NC) rating system [1]. Zuo and Zhao [3] emphasized that the green buildings in different countries are designed and built according to local climatic conditions and to suit the requirements of the locals and therefore, the assessment criteria for these green buildings are different.

The Impact of Engineering Quality on Rating of Sustainable New Construction: A Major Influence

This paper is made to describe the major impact and influence of the engineering quality achieved in new construction (NC) on their sustainable rating outcomes by performing a complete overview of the intent of engineering quality within the main categories and their related mandatory & scoring credits of the proposed sustainable rating & certification system for new construction in Egypt presented by the accredited Ph.D. research (Bonna (2018) [1]) made by the above authors for the purpose of promoting the sustainable building practices and embracing the potential of green buildings in Egypt. The total quality assessment (TQA) systems evaluate ecological, economic and social aspects with criteria organized into categories including resource consumption, harmful impacts on humans & environment, comfort, longevity, safety & security, design/planning quality, construction quality, quality of amenities & site, and economics (Hastings and Wall (2007) [2]). The proposed system's main categories and their related credits which have technical scope related to engineering quality, as described below, are based on the TQA main parameters which can help in better sustainable quality deliverables of new construction projects including the environmental quality, social quality, and economical quality.

The GPRS-V2-2017-NB National Rating System of Sustainable New Buildings and Major Renovation: A Technical Evaluation

Worldwide, all the current sustainable rating systems are targeting fair and applicable rating criteria and conditions to best matching the circumstances and sustainable needs of every nation for their environmental conditions, equity needs, and economic concerns. This paper is made to evaluate and measure the compliance of GPRS-V2-2017-NB (GPRS (2017) [1]), which is the Egyptian national rating system for sustainable new buildings and major renovation, with the sustainability concerns of the new construction (NC) market in Egypt through conducting a comparative analysis between this system and the authors' proposed sustainable rating & certification system for new construction in Egypt (Bonna, Hazem, R. (2018) [2]) to highlight most of the missing sustainability rating credits/issues which are necessary for Egypt and not found within the GPRS-V2-2017-NB rating system. Fowler and Rauch [3] performed a comparative analysis of five international green building rating systems to check their compliance criteria to rate green projects inside USA, where the authors concluded that BREEAM was inapplicable to all the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) project types, CASBEE employment in GSA building classification is not possible, and LEED was the only rating system that is applicable to all GSA project types.

The Site Aspects; A Main Rating Category for Sustainable New Construction in Egypt

This paper is made to describe the Site Aspects category which is one of the main categories of the proposed sustainable rating & certification system for new construction in Egypt presented by the accredited Ph.D. research made by the above author and coauthors for the purpose of promoting the sustainable building practices and embracing the potential of green buildings in Egypt. Some of the current international sustainable rating systems segregate the site elements into two categories; the first category is concerned with selection of site location, and the second category is concerned with sustainable sites design matters for the site development proposed works, while both categories are combined together in one uniform category called the Site Aspects in the accredited Ph.D. research to avoid the overlap and similarity of scope of some credits/issues and to offer a complete sustainable framework of all site requirements. The Site Aspects category, as described below, is having an assembly of mandatory and scoring credits based on the sustainability three bottom lines; environmental, social, and economical aspects which can help in a better selection of project site location and can participate in more appropriate sustainable designs for the project's site development.

The Quality Living; A Main Rating Category for Sustainable New Construction in Egypt

This paper is made to describe the Quality Living category which is one of the main categories of the proposed sustainable rating & certification system for new construction in Egypt presented by the accredited Ph.D. research made for the purpose of promoting the sustainable building practices and embracing the potential of green buildings in Egypt. The terms Quality Living, Indoor Environmental Quality, and Health & Wellbeing, as some of these terms are stated in different international sustainable rating systems, are all focusing to encourage the promotion of occupants’ productivity, comfort, and well-being by prioritizing the social and environmental sustainable parameters within the building design to offer a better quality of life rather than keeping the economical concern as the only prevailing priority for new construction in Egypt. The Quality Living category, as described below, is having an assembly of mandatory and scoring credits based on the sustainability three bottom lines; environmental, social, and economical aspects which can promote the quality living issues in new construction including the health comfort, air comfort, thermal comfort, visual comfort, nuisance management, and safety management issues.

SUSTAINABLE MULTIFAMILY KITCHEN DESIGN: A STUDENT ELICITATION APPROACH

This case study focuses on the sustainable design of a demonstration kitchen space within a multifamily residence through a student lens. A project-based learning opportunity for undergraduate students in a senior-level kitchen and bath design studio was created to redesign a multifamily starter kitchen space into a multifamily sustainable kitchen space within the Center for Real Life Kitchen Design at Virginia Tech. Upon completion of this student project, a content analysis was employed to uncover sustainability themes within these student projects. As students are making the environment and sustainability priorities in their shopping choices, uncovering student themes regarding multifamily sustainability kitchen design criteria can uncover trends important to this millennial generation (The Nielsen Company, 2015; Timm, 2014). Furthermore, as demand for sustainability increases, comparing student themes to multifamily industry sustainability certification systems may unearth potential gaps in the industry which need to be addressed. Although there are several sustainability certification agencies that apply to multifamily in general, there is no one specific source for sustainability guidelines for kitchens, much less in multifamily units. This lack of guidelines and the inconsistency between existing certification programs make it confusing for consumers, developers, designers, and students to value and weigh elements of a sustainable kitchen project, especially with respect to multifamily housing.By examining kitchens using current sustainability certification programs as well as this case study, recommendations can be put forth to shape guidelines for sustainable multifamily kitchens that are both clearly understood and sensitive to the environment. Ultimately, this could lead to sustainable kitchen design features becoming more commonplace in the multifamily resident home.

How does sustainability certification affect the design process? Mapping final design projects at an architectural office

ABSTRACTThe context of the study is the very strict regulation of energy consumption for operating buildings in Denmark. It is difficult to meet the requirements by system optimisation in the final design phase, so recent research has focused on ways of meeting the target by adapting the whole design process and informing the industry of them. This has led to optimised design processes such as Integrated Energy Design, in which many decisions related to energy consumption and indoor climate are made in the early design stages. The current tendency is to use an expanded notion of sustainability, derived from the sustainability certification system itself, and to apply it even in the early design process. This perspective emphasises all phases of the life cycle of a building. The goal of the present study was to map how a Danish architectural office approached sustainability in the projects they undertook in the course of a year. All the projects concerned were intended to conform to the German Sustainability Certification System DGNB. We developed a mapping tool to document these case projects and found that different sets of certification criteria were used in each project. This demonstrates the complexity of using them as design parameters in practice, but also that it was successfully achieved.

Certifications systems as independent and rigorous tools for assessing urban sustainability

ABSTRACTUrban sustainability certification (USC) systems are witnessing a wide dissemination and some are used as globally relevant tools. In addition, USCs are being marketed as independent tools capable of assessing sustainability not only comprehensively but also using rigorous measures. The comprehensiveness and rigour of their assessment rest on a combination of simple criteria (directly prescribing indicators with quantitative/qualitative measures) and nested ones (hosting other references for sustainable planning (RsSP)) prescribed within each USC. However, such scope seems over-ambitious due to the complexity of urban sustainability and its contextual sensitivity. Accordingly, this study aims to delve in USCs and examine their rigour and independence. The study begins by analyzing the concepts of street connectivity and compactness in LEED-ND (the most rigorous USC) because both are prominent concepts and have a number of earmarked criteria with simple structure. Then, criteria with nested structure and their RsSP found in four USCs are collected and analyzed in terms of frequencies, weights, and geographic domains. This analysis aims to uncover how dependent USCs are on other RsSP and how compatible are the geographic domains of both. The results refute the rigour of LEED-ND's assessment in terms of compactness and connectivity because the prescribed measures are insufficient to assess the different variables of both concepts. Moreover, USCs are highly dependent on local RsSP (only relevant to USC's country of origin), which disagrees with their characterization as independent or international tools.

Effect Relationships on Sustainable Development of Palm Oil Production for Independent Smallholder Farmers toward Sustainable Certification System

Palm oil is currently the most widely used vegetable oil in the world and its usage is also expected to double by 2020. However, there are some social and environmental impacts of palm oil plantation. Some complications resulted from the plantation may go as far as mass objections to the production of palm oil. On the contrary, demand for palm oil is still vast and constantly rising. In Indonesia, independent small farmers are the most important stakeholders since they are 43% of the whole Indonesian palm oil producers and have become the biggest spotlight of Indonesian palm oil development, including challenges and problems in which they will have to face to substantially increase their role in the global market as well as maintaining sustainability. Challenges today need to be engaged with innovation and inventions in a more productive and effective way. Enhancing independent small farmers will not only enlarge their contribution to sustainability practices, but also ensuring the sustainable products supplied to the market. Thus, supporting sustainable palm oil production is the way forward. Based on this current issue, this research identifies key point relationships (direct and indirect) on sustainable development factors which are based on Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil Certification System (ISPO), these identified key points will be the primary target to be improved and government support in fostering the sustainability of palm oil industry will be profoundly necessary.

Analysing sustainability certification systems in the German housing sector from a theory of social institutions

Sustainable residential buildings and a sustainable housing development (‘sustainable housing’) are key factors in the sustainability strategy of the German government. Certification systems have been developed to assess sustainable housing and to better inform stakeholders and hence improve sustainability in the housing sector. Currently, however, a variety of different certification systems exists to assess sustainable housing using different sets of indicators. The supply of different certification systems to measure the same (‘sustainability’) raises questions of validity of the assessment instruments. Also, different stakeholders hold different interests with regard to sustainability certification systems, which leads to investigate the legitimacy of certification systems. In this study, we applied the theory of social institutions to investigate legitimacy of sustainability certification in the housing sector. To find out about the validity of sustainability measurement, this article presents a survey where real estate stakeholders were asked to evaluate indicators applied by different sustainability certification systems. Results showed high heterogeneity of tastes towards indicators of sustainable housing. Results also identified potential ‘areas of conflicts’ where stakeholders differed most widely in the evaluation of indicators.

Sustainable transportation according to certification systems: A viability analysis based on neighborhood size and context relevance

Urban sustainability certification (USC) systems comprehensively assess and benchmark the sustainability of neighborhoods, communities, etc. However, it is important to understand what USCs mean by neighborhoods and communities in terms of definition and their certified developments' size. This study focuses on sustainable transportation and its measures in USCs in order to discern: how relevant are these measures to the varied local conditions, especially in developing countries? And whether they can generate palpable benefits vis-à-vis the certified developments' site areas. Taking descriptive analysis methods, this study focuses on four prominent USCs, namely, LEED for Neighborhood Development, BREEAM Communities, CASBEE for Urban Development, and The Pearl Community Rating System. The four USCs prescribed multiple measures for sustainable transportation, particularly in favor of active transportation and public transportation. However, the relatively small size of their citified developments and the varying transportation conditions among different contexts attenuate the viability and relevance of the advocated measures for both modes. In order to yield more benefits, USCs should underscore the integrative nature of neighborhoods and communities, and transportation within their prescribed criteria and measures. Moreover, sustainable transportation as a theme should be tailored to the local conditions rather than being adopted or adapted from global USCs.

SUSTAINABILITY CERTIFICATION SYSTEMS AS GUIDELINES FOR EARLY-PHASE URBAN DESIGN PROCESSES

The German Sustainable Building Council (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen or DGNB) has one of the most comprehensive sustainability certification systems for urban districts (UD). Their explicit aim is that the system should impact the very earliest design decisions. The Technical University of Denmark has tested the DGNB-UD system in two experimental design projects for similar locations to find out how it can be used in the early-phase design process. This paper describes these two independent design processes, compares them and discusses their general features. We found that DGNB-UD addresses a broad sustainable focus and can be used as a tool for setting sustainability goals from the very first design steps. The system tends to promote multifunctional compromise solutions that meet several criteria at the same time. Using the DGNB-UD certification system in the early design phases therefore does have some effect on the urban design in terms of a bias towards certain design traits.

A new approach to measure sustainability in German facility management

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to present the development of an action and assessment framework to make sustainability in German facility management (FM) transparent, measurable and assessable.Design/methodology/approach– The underlying research project’s approach to develop the new action and assessment framework consisted of a three-step methodology: to define and substantiate sustainability in FM, to operationalise and quantify sustainability in FM and to validate the developed system draft through an initial pilot study.Findings– The main result of the presented research project is a set of 24 criteria, organised into the separate areas of environmental, economic and sociocultural quality, as well as the quality of FM organisation and the sustainability of building/contract-specific facility services. The assessment methodology reflects the strategic approach of a plan–do–check–act loop to create a transparent and objective appraisal and a practical action framework.Research limitations/implications– The outcome of the study is initially only a measurement and assessment framework. To transform the finalised system draft and assessment tool into a certification system, further steps of development are necessary.Practical implications– The newly developed action and assessment framework is able to cure the blind spot that the relevant players (building owners, users and service providers) suffer from while developing, purchasing and comparing concepts for sustainable FM. The results and practical experiences of its initial pilot study show that this new framework can make the building operation phase and its processes transparent, measurable and assessable.Social implications– The guideline is also able to establish a crucial basis for the development of corporate sustainability strategies and sustainability reporting. This is an important step in closing the existing gap in numerous corporate social responsibility reports.Originality/value– Due to its assessment methodology and the calibration of its criteria, this new action and assessment framework both diversifies and completes the range of existing sustainability certification systems.

Life Cycle Engineering for Roads (LCE4ROADS), The New Sustainability Certification System for Roads from the LCE4ROADS FP7 Project

There are many initiatives in the market capable to assess some aspects of sustainability for roads (mainly environmental). For instance, in America it should be noted the Greenroads, Envision and Invest certification systems. In Europe, it must be highlighted some sustainability assessment systems such as Ceequal in UK as well as rating and awards scheme for civil engineering or many tools to evaluate CO2 and Carbon Footprint, for example, the Dutch CO2 Performance Ladder.However, a complete evaluation of sustainability has not been implemented yet as a consequence of that some approaches do not cover all life cycle phases or all sustainability pillars. What is more, there is a lack of regulation in terms of a framework for sustainability assessment of civil constructions, for instance, CENTC 350 is still under development In addition, there are regional peculiarities which are not always considered in the evaluation systems and sometimes there are some stakeholders refusing the idea of road comparison. The EC by means of the Joint Research Centre (DG-JRC) is developing the Green Public Procurement Criteria (GPP) for design, construction and maintenance of roads, as useful method for the pre-selection criteria for contractors and for ensuring compliance of performance.This paper summarizes the new sustainability certification system for roads named “LCE4ROADS”, under development as part of the FP7 project: “Life Cycle Engineering approach to develop a novel EU-harmonized sustainability certification system for cost-effective, safer and greener road infrastructures”.LCE4ROADS will integrate by a Life Cycle Engineering (LCE) approach, all the aspects of sustainability (Environmental, Economic, Social, Technical) to asses roads projects and works (both new construction and rehabilitation/maintenance) with the final goal of creating a holistic and EU-harmonized methodology to increase the sustainability roads.The certification system developed is based on current EN and ISO standards for sustainability in construction (EN15804) and LCA and LCC (ISO 14040-44 and ISO15686) and considers previous developments from other research projects like MIRAVEC, EVITA, COST 354 among others.Key aspects at European level like the adaptation and resilience to Climate Change and the implementation of freight corridors (the so called TEN-T: Trans European Transport Network) will be considered in this new certification system.With the goal of refining the certification system and the parameters and key performance indicators to be considered, it should be mentioned that LCE4ROADS has been already presented to different key stakeholders such as:•National and Regional Road Authorities in six EU countries (France, The Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Sweden, Poland) and in Turkey (The Turkish Ministry of Transport (KGM) is partner of the FP7 Project).•The European Commission (DG Research, DG Environment, DG JRC, and DG Move-Transport)•Sectorial Platforms and Associations like the European Committee for Standardization (CEN), The European Road Federation (ERF), the Spanish Construction Technology Platform (mirror of the European ECTP) among others.The US Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is also interested in this topic and is working closely to the FP7 project team (the EC selected the project to collaborate with the most important transport research center in America).The feedback received for future implementation from the key stakeholders has been taken into consideration to modify the scope of the certification system, the phases covered and the certification moments.This system, together with a guide for application and a multi-criteria software tool to be developed could be really useful for future procurement and GPP processes in Europe.

Developing a BIM-Based Process-Driven Decision-Making Framework for Sustainable Building Envelope Design in the Tropics

There is a rising concern for sustainability in the built environment. Therefore, numerous sustainable building certification and rating systems are developed throughout the world. However, the current methods of measuring, predicting, and optimising the sustainable building design have relied on a number of disjointed analyses to meet the discrete requirements for various building systems. The recent development of Building Information Modelling (BIM) technology allows complicated building modelling to be digitally constructed with precise geometry and accurate information to support various building project stages. Thereby, this study aims to integrate decision-making (DM) for sustainable building envelope design with BIM functionalities by considering the tropical climatic contexts in Malaysia. Several regional sustainable building certification systems and related literature were reviewed to identify the importance of evaluation and DM criteria. The findings were then compared with various BIM tools in terms of their applications, functions and workflows, in order to formulate a process-driven BIM-based DM framework (DMF) for sustainable building design in Malaysia. The proposed DMF will address the difficulties of DM in the early design development process, and will also allow for specific trade-off analyses of sustainability and objective-based optimisation using BIM.

Third-Party Certification of Forest Management In Indonesia: Analysing Stakeholders' Recognition and Preferences

The existence of third-party forest and timber certification schemes in Indonesia has created benefits and challenges, mainly for forest industries. In the end, the interests and objectives of those industries will determine whether they decide to get certified and if so, what certification schemes they will use. This study analyses the stakeholder recognition of the competing forest legality and sustainability certification systems and describes the preferences for particular schemes based on stakeholder interests. Online questionnaires were distributed to relevant stakeholders, namely logging companies, wood processing industries, wood processing associations, auditors, academics, environmental organisations and government officials. The results indicate that there are different scheme preferences based on the stakeholder's interests. Sistem verifikasi legalitas kayu (SVLK) is the most frequently preferred scheme due to the simplicity of its requirements and the low cost of its certifying process, while the Forest stewardship council (FSC) is valued for its reputation and very high standards. Furthermore, lembaga ekolabel Indonesia (LEI) was least preferred because of its complexity and because it was unpopular with foreign end buyers, and the programme for the endorsement of forest certification (PEFC) was identified as being a complex scheme that was expensive and subject to high standards, and also appeared to have the least demand. Each scheme should be improved based on stakeholders' expectations, that their popularity with end buyers of timber products should be improved, and that this should be done in a way that allows logging and wood processing industries to choose freely the scheme that is most advantageous to them.