The last years have witnessed a rapid development of green buildings on a global scale, as a response to the various challenges posed by climate change and environmental issues. Such development is gaining popularity thanks to the application of environmental certification protocols. One of the most commonly used is the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification system, which is a rating system that rates green buildings. However, the structure and objectives of environmental certification do not explicitly take into account the economic dimension, which is fundamental in decision-making. Accordingly, this paper presents a methodology to assess the economic impact that LEED certification has along the lifecycle of a building, combining the structure of LEED with Life Cycle Cost (LCC) analysis. The main purpose of this dissertation is to verify whether the LEED certification protocol brings an economic advantage to the companies that adopt it or whether the choices that have been or will be taken are the most economically advantageous. A practical application has then been carried out at Rho Fiera's service center. The analysis shows that indeed LEED's application produced considerable economic benefits, although the results of the LEED economic assessment may considerably vary depending on the starting situation and on the credits that are necessary to the task.
Gli ultimi anni sono stati caratterizzati da una rapida diffusione degli edifici “green” su scala globale, come risposta alle varie sfide poste dai cambiamenti climatici e dalle questioni ambientali. Tale diffusione sta guadagnando popolarità grazie alla sempre più comune applicazione di protocolli di certificazione energetico-ambientale. Uno dei più utilizzati è il sistema di certificazione Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), il quale ha come fine la certificazione della sostenibilità ambientale degli edifici. Tuttavia, la struttura e gli obiettivi della certificazione ambientale non prendono esplicitamente in considerazione la dimensione economica, la quale ricopre un ruolo fondamentale nel processo decisionale. In quest’ottica, l’elaborato presenta una metodologia atta a valutare l'impatto economico che la certificazione LEED determina lungo l’intero ciclo di vita di un edificio, combinando la struttura di LEED con un’analisi di tipo Life Cycle Cost (LCC). Lo scopo principale di questa tesi è verificare se il protocollo di certificazione LEED apporta un vantaggio economico a chi lo adotta o se le scelte che sono state, o saranno prese, sono quelle economicamente più vantaggiose. Un'applicazione pratica è stata poi eseguita presso il Centro Servizi di Rho Fiera. L'analisi mostra che l'applicazione della LEED ha prodotto notevoli benefici economici, sebbene i risultati della valutazione economica di LEED possano variare considerevolmente a seconda della situazione di partenza e dei crediti che si intende ottenere.
Life cycle costing of environmental certification of existing buildings : a comprehensive approach to life cycle thinking
ISELLA, GABRIELE;POZZOLI, FEDERICO
2016/2017
Abstract
The last years have witnessed a rapid development of green buildings on a global scale, as a response to the various challenges posed by climate change and environmental issues. Such development is gaining popularity thanks to the application of environmental certification protocols. One of the most commonly used is the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification system, which is a rating system that rates green buildings. However, the structure and objectives of environmental certification do not explicitly take into account the economic dimension, which is fundamental in decision-making. Accordingly, this paper presents a methodology to assess the economic impact that LEED certification has along the lifecycle of a building, combining the structure of LEED with Life Cycle Cost (LCC) analysis. The main purpose of this dissertation is to verify whether the LEED certification protocol brings an economic advantage to the companies that adopt it or whether the choices that have been or will be taken are the most economically advantageous. A practical application has then been carried out at Rho Fiera's service center. The analysis shows that indeed LEED's application produced considerable economic benefits, although the results of the LEED economic assessment may considerably vary depending on the starting situation and on the credits that are necessary to the task.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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2017_12_Isella_Pozzoli.pdf
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/138564