Environmental assessment of residential buildings with an emphasis on water conservation

The construction, operation and demolition of buildings represent one of the most damaging human activities in the global environment nowadays and water use and conservation is one of the most representative environmental loads to be considered. Brazil, unlike some other countries, has not yet implemented its own body building environmental assessment. The development of an environmental assessment system requires the identification of the most important topics to be considered in each theme for each country or region, due to local environmental agenda. This article presents a summary of the main topics concerning water conservation considered in some international environmental building assessment systems and presents a proposal of topics to take into account in a Brazilian assessment system. Practical application: The civil construction industry is not only one of the biggest sectors in the economy but is also one of the greatest polluters. Along with standardisation, it is also necessary to establish measures to attract significantly higher levels in different topics related to sustainable construction. New mechanisms that allow users to recognise the difference between buildings with different sustainable performance levels need to be developed. This article will be used as a base for the development of a Brazilian system of assessment and rating for building environmental performance and sustainability in terms of water use and conservation.