Brazil is country with 5th-highest number of certified “green buildings”

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The concern with sustainable practices that preserve the ecosystem and consciously use natural resources is becoming, with each passing day, a more tangible reality in the Brazilian construction sector – and the numbers can prove it.

Data from 2020 released by the USGBC (United States Green Building), creator of the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) system for rating “green buildings”, show that Brazil is in 5th position among 180 countries in the world sustainability ranking. Currently, there are over 1,500 sustainable buildings in the country – 641 registered and 50 million m² still in pursuit of the GBC Brasil Condomínio® Certification.

The certificate was developed by the Green Building Council Brasil with the purpose of providing the required tools to design, build, and operate high performance residential condominiums with sustainable practices. It is divided into the Green, Silver, Gold, and Platinum categories, and assesses buildings’ environmental impact, both in their construction and in their use. Among the criteria analyzed are the efficient use of water and energy, internal environmental quality, and waste disposal, for instance.

According to Raul Penteado, president of Green Building Council Brasil, the total sales value of buildings registered or certified by GBC Casa&Condomínio totaled R$4 billion (US$794 million) in 2020. “These ventures combine economic development with an average reduction of 25% in energy, 40% to 60% in water, divert over 80% of waste from landfills, and positively impact people’s health and well-being,” he says.

The future of sustainable constructions is very promising and not at all distant from the current reality. So believes João Vitor Gallo, partner of Petinelli Consultoria e Engenharia, a company specialized in Green Building and the first in the world with the LEED Zero seal from USGBC. “We are in an era where natural resources are increasingly scarce and the demand for energy only grows, contributing to the increase in cost to the end user. In this scenario, building better, spending fewer resources, saving users’ money, and providing a healthier space is a one-way path,” he explains.

For Gallo, environmental certificates for buildings are becoming an increasingly stronger market standard: “Just like the seals we find on electrical and electronic equipment, the certification of sustainable buildings is becoming, more and more, a mandatory requirement for buyers,” he adds.

According to the executive, Curitiba is a city that has long stood out in the sustainability issue in Brazil – and the local market has adopted the certification as a reference standard. “This leading position is evidenced by its pioneering work in several areas, such as selective garbage collection and the implementation of green areas that collect rainwater drainage from the city. When we analyze the constructed area of new buildings, compared to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the capital of Paraná has, proportionally, more certified square meters than the other large cities in Brazil,” he says.

GT Building, a real estate developer from Paraná, is a good example of a company in the city that has adopted international sustainability concepts in most of its projects. “GT works with extreme concern about energy efficiency, rational use of water, safety and health of its workers, electric car charging points, noise control, use of materials from certified suppliers, in addition to feasibility studies and care for the neighborhood,” says João Thomé, the company’s director.

Among the sustainable systems in the enterprises are a vertical forest, built with recyclable materials, solar panels that supply up to 20% of common area consumption, garage ventilation system controlled by CO2 reading, use of rainwater, efficient irrigation system with humidity sensor and use of certified materials according to ISO 14024 (Green Seal).