GBC Historic Building®: a new certification tool for orienting and assessing environmental sustainability and energy efficiency of historic buildings

Abstract

Environmental certification represents a key issue for improving energy efficiency, environmental quality, rational use of resources, and design innovation, allowing greater transparency on energy uses and environmental management in buildings. The paper presents the new rating system GBC Historic Building®, derived from the most diffused environmental sustainability assessment method worldwide (i.e. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) and developed by an interdisciplinary working group, in order to evaluate the sustainability level of restoration, refurbishment, and integration in pre-industrial buildings. The protocol is structured in the already existing categories within the LEED® rating system, to which a brand new one has been added, i.e. “Historic Value”, introduced to improve the knowledge on the historic building construction and a sustainable approach throughout the restoration process.