First LEED certified building awarded to SmartCity Malta

SmartCity Malta’s first energy-efficient building SCM01 has been awarded LEED Silver by the US Green Building Council (USGBC).

The commemorative plaque was presented to SmartCity Malta CEO Fareed Abdulrahman by Minister for Resources and Rural Affairs George Pullicino in the presence of MEPA CEO Ian Stafrace.

Pullicino said that SmartCity Malta should exhibit good practices to the public so that the public can understand the benefits of energy efficient measures and their positive impact on the environment and cost-cutting on day to day running costs. 

“The Government is promoting alternative energy and energy efficient measures through the schemes funded by ERDF and national funds for the purchase of solar water heaters and Photovoltaic Systems amongst others.  Twelve thousand families have already benefitted from these grants,” Pullicino said.

Pullicino added that calculations in the National Energy Efficiency Action Plan for Malta indicate that the interim target for energy end use efficiency of 3% for 2010 has been achieved, and marginally exceeded. “Mainly, results have been achieved from the industrial sector – including early actions in the water sector – and the domestic sector, due to schemes to replace appliances, change lighting systems and install solar water heaters.”

President, CEO & Founding Chair of the USBGC Rick Fedrizzi said that buildings were the prime example of how human systems integrate with natural systems.

“The SmartCity Malta project efficiently uses our natural resources and makes an immediate, positive impact on our planet, which will tremendously benefit future generations to come,” Fedrizzi said.

Abdulrahman said that increasing efficiency and reducing energy use were fundamental to the building’s design. “The SmartCity Malta development was purposely designed to incorporate sustainable and ‘green' building principles. We are committed to leading by example and all of these initiatives have made the SCM01 building a showcase of SmartCity Malta’s green vision and commitment towards the environment. We have set a standard that we hope other Maltese companies will follow.”

SCM01 is the first building in Malta and SmartCity Malta to be awarded LEED Silver certification by the USGBC, while SCM02 and SCM03 have been pre-certified to a silver rating.

SmartCity Malta’s SCM01 incorporated facilities for the improved usage of resources such as energy, lighting, water and material use as well as integrating a variety of other sustainable strategies.

LEED certification of SCM01 was based on a number of green design and construction features that positively impact the project, the workers and the broader community.

The implementation of the sustainable features has helped in accomplishing many savings such as reducing the annual irrigation water consumption by 52.3% and energy consumption by 17.6%.

Moreover 10.02% of the total building material and products used have been extracted, harvested and manufactured within 500 miles of project site and 13.97% of that material is comprised exclusively of pre- and post-consumer recycled content.

Through the adoption of these sustainable measures a LEED certified building saves money, reduces greenhouse gas emissions and contributes to a healthier environment for residents, workers and the community at large.

LEED – Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – is a rating system devised by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) to evaluate the environmental performance of a building and encourage market transformation towards sustainable design. The system is credit-based, allowing projects to earn points for environmentally friendly actions taken during construction and use of a building. LEED was launched in an effort to develop a consensus-based, market-driven rating system to accelerate the development and implementation of green building practices.      

The LEED green building certification program is a voluntary, consensus-based national rating system for buildings designed, constructed and operated for improved environmental and human health performance. LEED addresses all building types and emphasizes state-of-the-art strategies in five areas: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials and resources selection, and indoor environmental quality.