The first Nordic LEED Green Rater qualification for the Raksystems Group
Raksystems GBP’s leading expert Noora Virta is the first person in the Nordic countries to receive the LEED Green Rater qualification. The qualification enables the classification of 3-storey and smaller residential properties according to the LEED certification system.
LEED Green Rater included in on-site visits
A LEED certificate does not normally require an on-site third-party audit, but residential properties are an exception. At least one site visit by LEED Green Rater is required for residential building certification.
U.S. The Green Building Council® (USGBC®) awards LEED Green Rater qualifications to experts in the field to verify the environmental performance of residential properties under the LEED certification scheme. An expert familiar with and experienced in environmental certification systems for residential buildings can obtain the LEED Green Rater qualification through separate training and final assessment.
Verification of the environmental friendliness of residential buildings
More and more LEED projects are being registered and the demand for certifications is growing, which also means a growing demand for LEED Green Raters for certification projects. The expert is involved in the project since the beginning, for example in setting a classification target.
During the project, the LEED Green Rater is responsible for ensuring that the property is designed and built according to the strict criteria of the LEED rating system and verifies this through documentation and an on-site site visit. The expert is also responsible for compiling the certification application, which is sent to the GBCI for evaluation.
“Demand for environmental ratings for residential properties is growing rapidly with all rating systems. The use of the LEED Green Rater in the project now also allows for LEED ratings for smaller residential properties, whereas in the past LEEDs have only been utilized in larger properties. During the corona period, on-site visits can also be performed remotely. Now auditing properties even further away can now be done without traveling. As a result, we have received demand from farther Europe as well, ”says Virta.
LEED certification
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the world’s leading environmental rating system for real estate. It provides a tool and criteria for a comprehensive assessment of a building’s environmental and energy performance. LEED is a third-party certificate developed and maintained by the US Green Building Council® (USGBC®). It confirms that the site has been designed and built in accordance with the principles of sustainable development.
The LEED environmental rating has four rating levels: Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Achieving the levels depends on both the fulfilment of the mandatory criteria requirements and other criteria based on the total number of points to be achieved.
There are about 240 LEED-certified sites in Finland, of which 80% have been done by Raksystems GBP. Raksystems GBP has consulted a total of 35 LEED certifications achieved in Finland, the Baltic countries and the United States in 2020.
