Environmental Supervision of Building Works and assistance with Green Building Certification processes
As one of the largest consumers of non-renewable natural resources, the construction sector has a significant impact on the environment over its lifecycle. More specifically, the sector is responsible for approximately 30-40% of global energy consumption and 38% of greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to global warming. In this sense, it is crucial to define environmental management measures and to ensure their implementation at all construction stages, taking into account any updates resulting from eventual changes to the project or the applicable legislation. These are the responsibilities we undertake in close cooperation with the entities involved.
Environmental Supervision is based on an Environmental Monitoring Plan agreed with the primary stakeholders, which includes and systemises all environmental management measures to be implemented. The updating of this plan is key to ensuring that any eventual project alterations, unforeseen circumstances or legislative changes can be considered in the environmental objectives and control measures specified, through their redefinition and/or identification of additional minimisation measures.
During Environmental Supervision of Building Works, our teams will be responsible for supervising compliance with the environmental management measures defined, including mitigation measures and monitoring of the environmental impact of building activities, taking the various construction stages and applicable legislation into account.
Ideally, monitoring should take place not only during construction, but also throughout the preceding stages, namely production of specifications, conduction of previous studies, and preliminary and final project design, such as to ensure optimal preparation for the construction stage.
Engexpor develops adequate Environmental Monitoring Plans for Building Works, including all relevant aspects (Waste Management, Hazardous Materials, Water Consumption, etc.), and ensures their subsequent implementation.
Finally, Engexpor provides technical assistance with the implementation of green building certification systems during the construction stage, fostering coordination and alignment between all entities involved, from the project owner to the design team, architects and the contractor, such as to ensure compliance with applicable requirements and guarantee that the intended certification levels are obtained.
When should Environmental Supervision of Building Works be implemented?
Whenever projects undergo an Environmental Impact Assessment and the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) requires the adoption of mitigation measures, such as protection of certain species, reduction of water consumption and adequate waste management, amongst others;
When an Environmental Management System is in place at the company, certified according to the ISO 14001 Standard or verified by the EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS);
At the request of the project owner or the contractor, in order to support the implementation of green building certification systems and/or compliance with the environmental legislation in effect.