The construction and operation of buildings cause around 37% of all global CO2 emissions. Sustainable construction is, therefore, becoming increasingly important. In order to identify a building as sustainable, more and more investors and building owners are relying on external certification. In this process, a building is evaluated on the basis of various criteria. Geberit contributes to a higher sustainability rating for buildings with its sanitary expertise, but also with durable products, recyclable materials, and space- and resource-saving solutions.

Three examples of Geberit solutions in certified buildings

These three buildings from the Netherlands, Poland and Hungary were certified according to the international criteria of the BREEAM, LEED and WELL sustainability standards.

The Valley

The Valley challenges the usual notion of architecture

A tailor-made solution for efficient drainage with reduced water consumption was developed by the Dutch Geberit team for the building complex The Valley in Amsterdam (NL). Architecturally sensational, this building also impresses with its sustainability performance. It received the ‘BREEAM Excellent’ award from the British standard for sustainable building, BREEAM.

Varso Place

The Varso Tower is the tallest skyscraper in the European Union

Varso Place is also more than just another skyscraper in the Polish capital. The building complex with its 300-metre-high tower has given new life to a once rundown street. In addition, Varso Place received several certificates for its socially and ecologically sustainable construction. Geberit piping systems, in particular, are responsible for the water quality being awarded the WELL certificate.

MOL Campus

Visible from afar: MOL Campus, with its 143-metre tower and adjacent podium, is now the tallest building in Hungary

MOL Campus cannot be overlooked either. With a height of 143 metres, the 28-storey headquarters of the Hungarian oil and natural gas company MOL is considered the tallest office building in Hungary. For its sustainability performance, the building was awarded the ‘BREEAM Excellent’ rating of the BREEAM standard – and is registered for the highest award of the LEED standard, ‘LEED Platinum’.

A key criterion for the award was the heating and cooling system, which runs entirely on renewable energy. Greywater and rainwater are purified, stored and reused for flushing toilets and watering the green areas. The entire building is equipped with the Geberit Pluvia roof drainage system.

Sustainable buildings: The most important standards

Certification standards such as LEED, BREEAM or DGNB make the sustainability performance of buildings transparent.

In each case, the building is assessed on the basis of a detailed catalogue of criteria from a certification organisation. The composition and weighting of the criteria differ from label to label. Most of them work with a point system.

• The assessment or certification always refers to the building, not to individual products.
• In addition to environmental issues such as a building's electricity and heat requirements, emissions or resource use, life cycle costs, social aspects (e.g., accessibility), building management, mobility (public transport connections), and the surroundings (green spaces) are also relevant for certification.

Three standards have become established internationally: LEED, BREEAM and DGNB. Depending on the market, important local labels are added, for example, Minergie in Switzerland, WELL in Poland and Scandinavia, or NABERS and Green Star in Australia.

Image: Smooth on the outside, a rugged rocky gorge on the inside – The Valley in Amsterdam (NL)