Adaptation of the SBTool for Sustainability Assessment of High School Buildings in Portugal—SAHSBPT

Abstract

The European Union objectives in the Horizon 2020 program aim to reduce environmental impact through strategies such as the improvement of energy efficiency and the use of renewable technologies. With regard to the goal of sustainable development—which integrates environmental, social, and economic dimensions relating to the preservation of the planet and the integrity of consumers—several types of sustainability certification tools are currently used in the construction industry e.g., Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), and the Sustainable Building Tool (SBTool) There are international sustainability methodologies designed specifically for high schools and methodologies specific to the Portuguese reality, such as Natura Domus, LiderA (Liderar pelo Ambiente para a construção sustentável, Leading the Environment for Sustainable Construction) and SBtoolPT (Sustainable Building Tool, Portugal). Currently, with the concern in Portugal to requalify schools, it has become necessary to develop a specific methodology for school buildings according to the Portuguese reality. This work highlights the SBTool methodology that is employed in several countries and can be adapted to basic education institutions as the basis for the formulation of responsible citizens and the development of a country. The main aim of this study is to adapt an already existing assessment tool of sustainability (SBToolPT), maintaining some indicators while modifying and adding others, in order to develop a methodology specifically for conducting a Sustainability Assessment of High School Buildings in Portugal—SAHSBPT. In order to achieve this goal, other methodologies that already incorporate parameters relating to the school environment are analyzed, such as LEED BD + C Schools (LEED Building Design and Construction School), BREEAM Education 2008, and the SBTool for K–12 schools.

Verification of the Adequacy of the Portuguese Sustainability Assessment Tool of High School Buildings, SAHSBPT, to the Francisco de Holanda High School, Guimarães

“…Life Cycle Environmental Impacts To find the life cycle (LC) environmental impact of the high school building, according to SAHSB PT methodology, it is necessary to identify the construction elements of the building and their measurements; identify the LC environmental impact value of each construction solution used and its maintenance operations. Then, multiply the value of each environmental impact by the amount of different elements and measurements of the building [15,16,18]. The calculation is demonstrated in ANNEX 1.…”

“…The SAHSB PT methodology, published in a previous article by the authors [15], has three dimensions, 11 categories and 23 indicators which are listed in the following sentences.…”

“…The reflectance resulting from the color and the type of material used in the façade was analyzed, as well as the percentage of green spaces on the ground [15,16,18]. The SAHSB PT methodology uses Solar Reflectance Index (SRI) [27] to evaluate this indicator.…”

ITACAFood: A Model to Certificate the Sustainability of Food Processing Facilities

“…Overall, around 80% of the CRs were given a score lower or equal to 3, of which 16% had a negative rating (−1). Approximately 18% of the CRs were assigned a rating of excellent (5) and only 2% of the CRs were given a score between 3 and 5.…”

“…Important research topics have led to the development of methods and tools for assessing the building sustainability levels such as: BREEAM, LEED, CASBEE, SBTools from which further specifically designed methods have been defined to meet local needs [5][6][7].…”