Green building in Israel

Green building in Israel refers to the practice and regulation of green building in Israel.

Overview

Israel has had its own voluntary Green Building Standard,for buildings with reduced environmental impact, IS-5281 since 2005. The standard is based on a point rating system, awarding up to 5 stars based on the number of points achieved (55 – 100) in 8 categories: Energy

1. Site
2. water
3. Materials
4. Health & Wellbeing
5. Waste
6. Transportation
7. Construction Management
8. Innovation

While the 2005 version covered only new residential and office buildings,a significantly revised and updated new version was approved in 2011, following pressure from professionals and market players. The new standard written with the help of BRE, the British office that wrote BREEAM, the UK Green Building tool,covers new buildings and buildings under significant renovation, for 7 uses:

1. Residential buildings
2. Office buildings
3. Educational buildings
4. Healthcare buildings
5. Retail buildings
6. Public buildings
7. Hospitality buildings

The current version is scheduled to be revised by August 2014, and will be under a constant bi-annual revision, to keep it updated and current.

A number of Israeli municipalities are currently using the standard as a mandatory part of their building licensing process. Together with complementary standards 5282 [classification of buildings according to energy use] and 1738 for sustainable products provides a system for evaluating the environmental sustainability of buildings.

United States Green Building Council LEED rating system has been implemented on some building in Israel including the Intel Development Center in Haifa.