Bern – The Swiss Federal Office for the Environment has launched a new label for sustainable building. Although it is based on existing labels, it also takes into account the cost effectiveness and use of the building.
Launched today in Bern, the Standard Nachhaltiges Bauen Schweiz or SNBS (in English: Standard for Sustainable Building Switzerland) is “the first comprehensive and certifiable standard” in Swiss construction, according to a post on the blog of the Federal Office for the Environment (FOE).
Unlike mainstream building labels in Switzerland, the SNBS label focuses more on the energy efficiency and health impact of the building. It is also a context-relevant label, in that residential developments should be steered towards “a sustainable, i.e. environmental, economic and socially responsible direction”. For this reason, both the use and cost effectiveness of a building are evaluated in its context when seeking the label.
Another difference to existing standards is in the methodology. Instead of using checklists of concrete details in which points are added up to reach an overall assessment, the SNBS specifies objectives and intended results for the construction. How these are met is left to the discretion of the developers, architects and planners. In this respect, the objectives are based on existing, recognised Swiss standards and guidelines, such as the building label Minergie, and are in line with the sustainability strategy of the Federal Council.
Among the buildings that certification of the SNBS was tested on is the new IOC headquarters in Lausanne. The FOE commissioned Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS) with certification. More information about the label can be found under www.nnbs.ch.
