Going Green: Advancing Sustainability Standards in Ireland’s Construction Sector
Wednesday, 12 March 2025
It will come as little surprise to those with experience of the Irish construction sector that environmental and sustainability factors and regulations play an increasing part in our built environment.
In recent years, the evolving nature of construction standards coupled with unprecedented increases in fuel and materials costs, and improved environmental awareness have combined to emphasise the relevance of environmental and sustainability measures. Whether it is the incorporation of conservation of fuel and energy standards into the Building Regulations or the requirement for Building Energy Rating (BER) Certificates for new commercial buildings from July 2008, environmental and sustainability standards now play a considerable and growing role in our built environment.
This article examines the green construction and procurement standards, including those established by the Irish Government as part of its sustainability plan, with a particular focus on the types of materials recommended for constructing sustainable buildings. This article also covers the two desirable international sustainability certifications that those with interests in commercial property increasingly aspire to, BREEAM and LEED.
Green Procurement Standards
Green Public Procurement (“GPP”) is the national process by which public and semi-public bodies seek to source goods, services, utilities and works with a reduced environmental impact across their lifespan in comparison to alternative products and/or solutions.1
The Government of Ireland, acting in line with EU practice, has approved the GPP and Action Plan, Buying Greener: Green Public Procurement Strategy and Action Plan 2024-2027, which requires all public bodies to apply environmental criteria in their tenders. In particular, for the Construction industry the focus is upon design, energy, refurbishment, materials, ecology and site utilities and specifications. This programme is of considerable importance, particularly where the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) in its 2024 report on the uptake of Green Public Procurement in government department contracts found that only 34% of government contracts in 2022 included ‘green’ criteria.
In order to improve update, the revised GPP strategy is encouraging public and semi-public bodies to take a broader view of environmental sustainability issues by considering the total economic cost and reducing their overall greenhouse gas emissions in the process. In order for public and semi-public bodies to adequately implement GPP, a more circular view should be taken and this is to include a social dimension in all procurement contracts by authorities.
The national GPP initiative is additionally supported by the (EPA) through its provision of guidance and criteria for priority sectors and its development of practical case studies (including those for Bus Éireann, An Post and the EPA itself) to demonstrate the implementation of GPP. The EPA additionally assists the public sector through developing GPP monitoring and reporting guidance for use by the government departments that are obligated to report on GPP in their annual reports.
The Green Public Procurement Strategy and Action Plan 2024-2027 focuses on the following:
- The Green Tenders - An Action Plan on Public Procurement
- This document was published in 2012. This set out 64 actions with focus on eight sectors, which included, construction, energy and transport. This document set out overarching key actions in which GPP can be integrated in Irish public procurement policies. Specifically, actions given for the Irish construction sector, such as using one single contract and replacing separate contracts for construction.
- Circular 20/2019, promoting the use of Environmental and Social Considerations in Public Procurement, which will be updated by a new government circular reflecting key actions listed in this GPP Strategy and Action Plan for the public sector.
- A Climate Action Plan (“CAP”) for Ireland 2023 and 20242 require that:
- The public sector emission reduction target is to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 51% in 2030. In that regard, each public sector body has a responsibility to endeavour to reach that target.
- CAP 2024 outlines that the public sector shall reduce the quantities of carbon embodied in construction materials, to refrain from installing heating systems using fossil fuels after 2023 in new buildings and any major retrofitting works, and monitor and report progress within reporting arrangements in place for the Climate Action Framework.
- CAP 2024 sets a target of reducing embodied carbon in construction materials by at least 30% and enhancing energy efficiency to reduce fossil fuel demand by 10% by 2030.
- All new dwellings designed and constructed in Ireland are to achieve Nearly-Zero Energy Building (“NZEB”) standards this year and Zero-Emission Building (“ZEB”) by 2030.
- All new buildings designed and constructed to NZEB standard and using renewable energy sources to a very significant extent.
- The GPP Guidance and Criteria for the public sector, which was approved by the EPA in 2014 and last revised in July 2024. This guidance is to be assessed annually to determine the need for updates in consideration of new national policy, legislation and EU GPP guidance.
Materials in Construction
The GPP Strategy and Action Plan 2024-2027 and CAP 2024 require that:
- Decrease embodied carbon in construction materials produced and used in Ireland by at least 30% by 2030 through product substitution.
- Construction projects reduce concrete use in design and construction. The use of timber frame and cross-laminated timber have become increasingly popular. Timber framed buildings are increasingly common in Ireland making up approximately 25% of the Irish market.3
- From 2023, public bodies shall specify low carbon construction methods and low carbon cement material as far as practicable for directly procured or supported construction projects. In accordance with the CAP 2024, cement products can reduce the carbon intensity if you use fillers and alternative binders without compromising its integrity.
- From 2025, the industry should promote swapping to lower embodied carbon materials wherever possible. The Government is committed to install 280,000 heat pumps in new dwellings and 400,000 in existing dwellings by 2030. All buildings will need to switch to heat pumps or district heating by 2050.
Sustainability Certifications
Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (“BREEAM”)
BREEAM, is an international certification process, established in the UK, which focuses on sustainable construction, infrastructure and operation of buildings amongst other things.
BREEAM sets standards for the environmental performance of buildings through the whole building lifecycle, and it can be applied to new developments or refurbishment schemes.
It provides a sustainability assessment framework to evaluate the sustainability of all kind of buildings, especially for larger developments or for mixed-use developments.
Buildings projects must meet certain sustainability standards to comply with the assessment categories (such as, water, energy, resources, waste, pollution…) before being certificated.4
Benefits of the BREEAM Certification
- Increase in rental/sale Prices and Preserving/Increasing Property Value: BREEAM certification can increase rental rates for buildings by up to 25% and it has been reported that “green buildings” have a 30% increase in sales prices compared to buildings which are code-compliant only.
- Operating costs: BREEAM encourages the use of intelligent controls and smart metering which improves building maintenance and performance. This in turn reduces associated costs.
- Workplace productivity: Projects registered under BREEAM have been associated with better employee wellbeing which enhances overall productivity.
- Risk mitigation: Future-proofing vulnerable buildings in order to make them more resilient and therefore less susceptible to high insurance costs.
- Corporate Image and Compliance with CSR Requirements: As an internationally recognised and authoritative quality mark, BREEAM ensures that clients are provided with third-party assurance.5
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (“LEED”)
LEED is a certification programme developed by the non-profit organisation, the US Green Building Council (“USGBC”) which operates rating system for projects including: building design and construction; interior design and construction; building operations and maintenance; neighbourhood development; homes; and cities.6
Launched in 1998, LEED is predominately used in the United States but has recently been gaining traction internationally including in Ireland, where there are more than 100 certified projects according to the Irish Green Building Council.7
The latest LEED Version (version 5) is currently in consultation and is set to be launched this year. It is expected that this new Version will align more with national and EU sustainability goals. It will introduce a stronger focus on decarbonisation, resilience, social equity and health.8
LEED certification is achieved when a project earns sufficient points by adhering to some prerequisites and credits for tackling issues relating to carbon, energy, water, waste, transportation, materials, health and indoor environmental quality. The different levels of certification are set out on the USGBC website.9
A Summary of the Differences between BREEAM and LEED
| BREEAM | LEED |
| Adapted to British and European construction law. | Follows the ‘American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers’ (ASHRAE) standards. |
| Stronger in Europe and in the UK. | More popular in the US. |
| Uses licensed assessors who examine the evidence for certification. | Instead of using assessors to collect the evidence, applicants themselves must collect the data and submit it to the USGBC who will then examine and issue a certificate where appropriate. |
| Uses a weighted scoring system, where different sustainability issues carry different weights. | Uses a point-based system, where projects must achieve a minimum number of points for certification. |
| BREEAM certification is ranked from pass (<30%) to outstanding (≥ 85%). | Ranks its projects according to points with four different levels: Platinum (80+ points), Gold (60 to 79 points), Silver (50 to 59 points) and Certified (40 to 49 points). |
| The certificate is issued twice, once for the project development and then when it is completed. | The certificate is issued once - after the project is completed. |
| BREEAM as a system is more flexible with much simpler requirements. | Strict mandatory requirements are to be met for buildings to be classified green. |
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We hope you found this information to be of assistance and should you wish to know more, Byrne Wallace Shields LLP can advise upon environmental and sustainability standards in construction and procurement, please contact Martin Cooney of the Byrne Wallace Shields LLP Infrastructure, Construction and Energy Group, or your usual Byrne Wallace Shields LLP contact. Authors include Marc Cortina Casas, Lauren Diggins and Andrew McVea.
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1 European Commission: Directorate-General for Environment, Buying green! – A handbook on green public procurement, Publications Office, 2016, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2779/837689
2 A Climate Action Plan (CAP) has been published for 2024, however, The Green Public Procurement Strategy and Action Plan 2024-2027 focuses on CAP 2023. As of 05 February 2025 CAP 2025 is pending consideration by the Government.
3 Modern Methods of Construction, CIF 2021
4 BREEAM, A Guide to how BREEAM Works, https://breeam.com/about/how-breeam-works.
5 BREEAM, the Value of BREEAM, https://tools.breeam.com/filelibrary/Briefing%20Papers/BREEAM-Briefing-Paper----The-Value-of-BREEAM--November-2016----123864.pdf.
6 US Green Building Council, LEED Rating System, https://www.usgbc.org/leed.
7 Irish Green Building Council, LEED, https://www.igbc.ie/certification/leed.
8 CBRE, “LEED Version 5 – What Are The Five Things You Need to Know?” LEED Version 5 - What Are The Five Things You Need To Know? | CBRE Ireland.
9 USGBC, LEED Rating System, https://www.usgbc.org/leed.
