BiodiverCity® Certification

Promoting biodiversity in real estate: the BiodiverCity® Certification is a new tool to assess and promote the value of biodiversity in real estate projects.

Best practices for increasing biodiversity during the planning, design and construction phases of the built environment in Italy and around the globe are promoted by Biodivercity Certification.

To enhance the diversity of life as a source of health for both nature and people.

“If we take nature as our guide, we will never go astray.”

The more we live connected to nature, the more our awareness of nature increases.

Integrating biodiversity into built-up areas is a major challenge for the environment and well-being. It meets the increasing demand for natural surroundings in urban areas.

BiodiverCity® promotes best practices for increasing urban biodiversity during the planning, design, maintenance, occupancy and enhancement of the built environment.

The goal is significant:

• Create places and living environments that embrace life and benefit everyone, from a financial, cultural, and practical perspective.
• Contribute to the creation and construction of biodiverse and resilient living environments.

BiodiverCity® Certification is a benchmark to ensure that all these aspects are taken into account at all stages of a housing project.

Diversity of environments/ecosystems, aquatic environments, terraces, garden, green roofs, and indoor atrium.

Diversity of bird species, insects, plants, etc.

Natural diversity that gives people spaces in which to live, spaces in which to walk, to work, to relax, and to tend to their gardens.

BiodiverCity® Certification encompasses all urban development projects in cities, suburban areas, or areas that are untouched by nature. It is a relevant standard for real estate projects that aim for excellence in green building, ecology or image, especially if they include greenery and gardens on site or nearby.

With biodiversity in mind, building projects are assessed and their performance highlighted with the BiodiverCity® label. Based on an innovative approach that combines natural life, human well-being and construction, it aims to promote the design and construction of a new type of buildings that give nature an important place in the city. The BiodiverCity® label brings added value. It complements international certifications (BREEAM®, LEED® and HQE™) address the issue of biodiversity without requiring a thorough evaluation.

The four performance dimensions

To assess the biodiversity performance of urban projects, BiodiverCity® uses a multi-criteria approach. A real estate venture’s many facets have led to the identification of several key success factors. BiodiverCity® Certification organizes this analysis into 4 underlying themes, which are divided into 27 analytical steps and 63 goals that must be met through specific actions.

Theme 1: Commitment

The developer must commit to working with the ecologist on a strategy for preserving biodiversity that fits the construction project.

Theme 2: Means implemented

Focuses on managing an ecological project that is both biodiverse and sustainable according to an ecological architecture that encourages the coexistence of all living things within it.

Theme 3: Assessment of ecological benefits

Embrace biodiversity to maximize the ecological potential of the project in relation to its urban, suburban and rural surroundings.

Theme 4: User benefits

Evaluate improvements in the well-being of users of the new building resulting from eco-friendly construction practices.

The Biodiversity Eco-label.

Similar to an energy label, the label, in essence, evaluates and displays the ecological performance of the built environment along the four main themes of BiodiverCity®.