Environmental assessment is an essential tool for the protection of the environment, facilitating the incorporation of sustainability criteria in decision-making.
Evaluation is one of the most valuable tools for integrating sustainability criteria (economic, social and environmental) from the earliest stages of strategic decision-making in a project. A process that is integrated into the different phases of design, development, and review of a plan, program, or project as an additional factor to increase its quality, excellence, and effectiveness. In this article, we will see what it consists of, the regulations around this concept, and what is important, therefore, to keep in mind.
What is an environmental assessment?
The Environmental Assessment is an administrative procedure through which we can analyse the possible significant effects on the environment of all plans, programmes and projects that may have a negative impact on it. This includes both the Strategic Environmental Assessment, which is carried out for plans and programmes, and the Environmental Impact Assessment, which is carried out for projects. This type of evaluation only applies to urban projects, excluding building projects.
The national implementing legislation is Law 21/2013 of 9 December 2013 on environmental assessment. This law "establishes the bases that must govern environmental assessment", guaranteeing "a high level of environmental protection, with the aim of promoting sustainable development". Its ultimate objective is to assess the direct and indirect effects of a plan, programme or project on the following factors:
- The human being, the fauna, and the flora.
- The soil, the water, the air, the climate, and the landscape.
- Material goods and cultural heritage.
- The interactions between the aforementioned factors.
The LEED certification
LEED is the world's most widely used certification system for sustainable buildings. It is developed and validated by the US Green Building Council (USGBC). It aims to reduce the overall environmental impact of the building, or in other words, to reduce the environmental impact of the building by considering its entire life cycle.
The LEED certification establishes seven categories: sustainable plots, water savings, energy efficiency, choice of construction materials, indoor air quality, location and access to public transport, and innovation in the design process. These chapters include mandatory prerequisites and voluntary credits. The justification for compliance with these parameters grants a series of points, and depending on the number of points the project achieves —on a 100-point scale— the certification grade is awarded: certified (LEED Certificate), silver (Silver), gold (Gold) or platinum (Platinum).
Environmental assessment in LEED certification
The objective or purpose of the environmental assessment in the scope of LEED certification is to follow the mandates set out in the "GLOBAL DELIVERY STANDARD FOR ENVIRONMENTAL DUE DILIGENCE & RISK MANAGEMENT". Standard that ensures a consistent assessment of environmental risks prior to the start of any type of project.
The Sustainable Sites category comprises two prerequisites: Pollution Prevention in Construction Activities, which establishes as a requirement the creation and implementation of a CES Plan (Erosion and Sedimentation Control Plan), and Environmental Assessment of the Plot, to determine if there is environmental pollution on the plot and, if so, to recover it.
Plot assessment
This PS credit (1 point) applies to new construction, core and envelope, education, retail space, data processing centres, warehouses and distribution (logistics) centres, hotels and healthcare. The purpose is, as stated in LEED v4 for Building Design and Construction, "to assess site conditions prior to design to evaluate sustainable options and report on site design decisions".
In order to justify the credit, the study or valuation of the plot must include the following information:
- Topography and geology
Description of the surrounding topography, specific geology, geotechnical study, areas of potential slope risk, water table level, mines and quarries, seismicity.
- Hydrology
Inferred direction of water flow, flood risk, surface water resources and associated water accumulation sites, TR-55 and 95th percentile, existing water infrastructures.
- Climate
Overview, exposure and solar incidence, heat island effect, prevailing winds, precipitation, rainfall and humidity, annual temperature ranges.
- Vegetation
Primitive vegetation, types of primary vegetation, green areas, significant vegetation or trees, endangered species and biological corridors, invasive plants.
- Soils
Delineation of soils, high-quality irrigated lands, healthy soils, previous developments, disturbed soils according to the United States Department of Agriculture (equivalent local standards can be used for projects located outside the USA).
- Human use
Visual corridors, existing transportation infrastructures, properties and land uses, preexistences and reuse.
- Effects on human health
Nearby populations, opportunities for physical activity, proximity to areas of higher pollution, radon gas.
The "assessment must demonstrate the relationships between the characteristics of the plot and the elements mentioned above and how these characteristics influenced the design of the project," detailed in the LEED v4 guide, which also mentions the need to provide reasons if any of these elements are not taken into account.
Thus, the environmental assessment of projects ensures the prevention of potential environmental impacts, while also establishing mechanisms for correction or compensation. The assessment reviews all environmental site information to identify potential sources of environmental liability and assess their significance in terms of risks to project occupants and the wider environment.
