**3. Methodology: certification program categories under analysis and actions carried out to obtain certification**

The purpose of the certification program created by Mexico City's Environment Secretariat in 2008 was to promote and encourage the reduction of pollutant emissions and the efficient use of natural resources based on sustainability and environmental efficiency criteria for the design and operation of buildings in Mexico City. Economic incentives are given to those who build sustainably and obtain the certification, which is valid for three years [20].

Sustainable buildings derive from the human right to have a healthy environment and the need to provide sustainable spaces for society. This right should be adequately guaranteed in the Mexican Constitution, but this is not the case; therefore, the configuration of this right must be sought in the specific laws that address it [1].

One of the pillars of such configuration is the Sustainable Buildings Certification Program (PCES), which seeks to promote these actions in order to improve habitability as a right to a healthy environment. However, a sustainable approach is not enough due to the small number of certified properties. Regrettably, sustainable buildings are still uncensused, but the program is a benchmark to join efforts in meeting the sustainability criteria established by the Environment Secretariat [21].

In this context, the analysis of this certification seeks to contribute to our knowledge about the design of criteria used to certify sustainable buildings in Mexico City. Our purpose is to examine the importance given to actions aimed at modifying user patterns to achieve sustainability in contrast with the emphasis on actions focused on the design or technological qualities of the facility. Therefore, this approach compares the two different types of factors that guide the construction of sustainable buildings. The elements of the program to be analyzed will be: 1) features of sustainable properties; and 2) criteria closely associated with organizational factors that potentially result in sustainable practices by building users (**Table 2**).

**55**

<sup>1</sup> **Notes**

impact and other impacts".

*Organizational Analysis of Sustainable Building Certifications in Mexico City*

Linking the operationalization of variables based on sustainability criteria is important to enable new alternatives for urban regeneration models that allow for the association of ecological architecture with actions favoring sustainable responsibility carried out by users. Therefore, the organizational process is the driver of change, it originates the specific measures to be carried out by local agents in order

Three levels of certification are possible depending on a numeric score: compliance, between 21 and 50 points; efficiency, between 51 and 80 points, and excellence, between 81 and 100 points. The constitution of a building corresponds to its physical and technological attributes, but the present chapter includes a section on organizational factors, which are used to reveal organizational capacities and social

each of them

8

5

10

conditioning

to improve the constitution of sustainable buildings in the city's boroughs.

The program is organized in five categories that group 47 criteria;1

Energy Enclosure efficiency 20 Environmental

Bioclimatic design 25 Energy (renewable) 20 Solar heaters 10 Efficient lighting 4 Engines 2 Light control systems 2

High-efficiency equipment

and reuse in the facility

Installation of wastewater treatment and reuse plants

Use of wastewater treated by the municipal network

Rainwater infiltration 5

Water Rainwater collection

the criteria represents a total of 221.5 points (**Table 2**).

has a maximum possible score to avoid all actions being concentrated in only one area. The total possible score is 120 points, distributed as follows: Energy: 40 points; Water: 25 points; Solid waste: 10 points; Quality of life and social responsibility: 25 points, Environmental impact and other impacts: 20 points. However, the score of

In the present study, we classified each criteria depending on whether it was met based on the design of the facility or on the internal organization of users. This classification was used to determine the transcendence of actions aimed at modifying

**Category Features of the facility Points Organizational factors Points**

10

*Subtotal 93 8*

*Subtotal 26 20*

5 Use of efficient drinking water technologies/ savings-related elements

8 Campaigns on the efficient use of water and water culture

8 Leak repair 5

SEDEMA [5] states that the number of criteria is 46, but when reviewing each category, we found inconsistencies in the total number of criteria in the categories of "Energy", "Water", and "Environmental

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.95120*

participation toward sustainability.

the users' behavior patterns.

#### *Organizational Analysis of Sustainable Building Certifications in Mexico City DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.95120*

Linking the operationalization of variables based on sustainability criteria is important to enable new alternatives for urban regeneration models that allow for the association of ecological architecture with actions favoring sustainable responsibility carried out by users. Therefore, the organizational process is the driver of change, it originates the specific measures to be carried out by local agents in order to improve the constitution of sustainable buildings in the city's boroughs.

Three levels of certification are possible depending on a numeric score: compliance, between 21 and 50 points; efficiency, between 51 and 80 points, and excellence, between 81 and 100 points. The constitution of a building corresponds to its physical and technological attributes, but the present chapter includes a section on organizational factors, which are used to reveal organizational capacities and social participation toward sustainability.

The program is organized in five categories that group 47 criteria;1 each of them has a maximum possible score to avoid all actions being concentrated in only one area. The total possible score is 120 points, distributed as follows: Energy: 40 points; Water: 25 points; Solid waste: 10 points; Quality of life and social responsibility: 25 points, Environmental impact and other impacts: 20 points. However, the score of the criteria represents a total of 221.5 points (**Table 2**).

In the present study, we classified each criteria depending on whether it was met based on the design of the facility or on the internal organization of users. This classification was used to determine the transcendence of actions aimed at modifying the users' behavior patterns.


#### <sup>1</sup> **Notes**

*Design of Cities and Buildings - Sustainability and Resilience in the Built Environment*

members to respond to unforeseen events [15, 17].

contribute to sustainable practices [19].

**actions carried out to obtain certification**

certification, which is valid for three years [20].

environment and improve the coexistence of active agents in their environment. It is also a practical structure that contributes to enhance organizational skills among employees. It is based on integrative learning among work teams [15, 16]. The second is adaptability, which refers to the capacity and resources of members of the organization to cope with unscheduled events. It is explained by the ability of its

The mission states a strategic intention whose objectives are guided by the intention

Taking organizational life into account reveals the environment in which organizational life takes place as shown by its administrative units as it strives to increase the efficiency of its construction efforts and optimize its resources. A regulation instrument is required to monitor the users' sustainable habits. Constant monitoring and commitment is required to guarantee a timely response to the organization's internal and external issues, hence the importance of specifying the actions that

**3. Methodology: certification program categories under analysis and** 

The purpose of the certification program created by Mexico City's Environment Secretariat in 2008 was to promote and encourage the reduction of pollutant emissions and the efficient use of natural resources based on sustainability and environmental efficiency criteria for the design and operation of buildings in Mexico City. Economic incentives are given to those who build sustainably and obtain the

Sustainable buildings derive from the human right to have a healthy environment and the need to provide sustainable spaces for society. This right should be adequately guaranteed in the Mexican Constitution, but this is not the case; therefore, the configuration of this right must be sought in the specific laws that address it [1].

One of the pillars of such configuration is the Sustainable Buildings Certification Program (PCES), which seeks to promote these actions in order to improve habitability as a right to a healthy environment. However, a sustainable approach is not enough due to the small number of certified properties. Regrettably, sustainable buildings are still uncensused, but the program is a benchmark to join efforts in meeting the sustainability criteria established by the Environment Secretariat [21]. In this context, the analysis of this certification seeks to contribute to our knowledge about the design of criteria used to certify sustainable buildings in Mexico City. Our purpose is to examine the importance given to actions aimed at modifying user patterns to achieve sustainability in contrast with the emphasis on actions focused on the design or technological qualities of the facility. Therefore, this approach compares the two different types of factors that guide the construction of sustainable buildings. The elements of the program to be analyzed will be: 1) features of sustainable properties; and 2) criteria closely associated with organizational factors that potentially result in sustainable practices by building users

of shaping a future. To a certain extent, the mission articulates the vision, provides unity to the organization, and represents what is expected to be achieved in a given period [15, 18]. Finally, a climate of organizational confidence is necessary to achieve consistency. This consistency is measured by the degree to which the members of an organization have the necessary conditions for their professional development, which is consequently articulated with the relevant ethical considerations. As a result, human interactions reconcile core values that contribute to the establishment of common objectives, which have an integrating function within the organization [15].

**54**

(**Table 2**).

SEDEMA [5] states that the number of criteria is 46, but when reviewing each category, we found inconsistencies in the total number of criteria in the categories of "Energy", "Water", and "Environmental impact and other impacts".


**Table 2.**

*Classification facility features or organizational factors of the evaluation criteria used by Mexico City's Sustainable Buildings Certification Program.*

Thus, the first part of this analysis focused on the criteria associated with the organization and user behavior patterns, including their assigned scores. The second focused on the actions carried out by building owners to obtain certifications,

**57**

*Organizational Analysis of Sustainable Building Certifications in Mexico City*

and it was based on a review of implementation resolutions [22] provided to the

able and unfavorable trends concerning the internal organization of users.

**4. Design of Mexico City's sustainable buildings certification program** 

The program has a number of inconsistencies in terms of total scores and required scores for certification; therefore, obtaining certification is relatively easy: only 21 points, or 17.5% of the total score, are needed for the compliance level. The category of energy alone could be enough grounds for a certification. As a consequence, the holistic nature of the assessment is lost. As has been indicated, beyond organizational actions or user behavior patterns, we focus on the importance of the

When these criteria were classified based on the two analysis categories created for the present study, only 16 out of 47 were found to be associated with the users' organization and behavior patterns. These criteria represent 34% of the total number of criteria, and they represent only 24.2% of the total points. This differ-

The most represented category is "Solid waste": 60% of the score can be obtained due to actions associated with organizational and user behavior issues. Concerning the "Energy" category, only 7.9% of the points are obtained via user actions, whereas the rest, or 92.1%, is obtained by designing and incorporating technology into the facility. In fact, in all categories except for Solid Waste, most of the points can be obtained by including technological solutions in the design of the facility (**Table 3**). An analysis of the certification program reveals a clear preference for the use of technology in the design of a facility as the main mechanism to attain sustainability, disregarding a fundamental aspect of sustainable development, that is, sustainabil-

It is important to highlight the implications of such a program: the population can wrongly perceive a facility as a sustainable architectural environment only because it includes efficient technological components, and the need to modify their patterns of consumption or use of resources ecologically is never internalized. Sustainability can be hardly achieved if the population fails to take on the responsi-

A comprehensive environmental system becomes more relevant when the intention is to involve a facility's users in the improvement of the quality of their habitants. Sustainability criteria highlight the importance of aligning environmental management with current regulations to achieve substantial changes in the

Regrettably, the scope of the analyzed certification has been very limited. Despite the large number of buildings in Mexico City, only 43 of them were certified in seven years. This outcome shows that the program has ample room for improvement to design mechanisms encouraging the development of sustainable facilities. The certification classifies each facility depending on their performance status: excellence or efficiency. Half of the evaluated buildings achieved a level of excellence, which is closely associated with the total score that can be possibly obtained for the certification. The excess of points, described above, reveals one of the deficiencies in the evaluation design, which

The present study describes such evaluation, including the actions carried out by the owners as a result of the initial inspection, which is accompanied by recommendations that must be met in order to obtain the certificate. The analyzed actions were carried out over a seven-year period (2011–2018), and we could identify favor-

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.95120*

building owners by facility evaluators.

criteria associated with the features of the facility.

ity as a result of the transformation of behavior patterns.

ence varies depending on the category.

bility of using resources rationally.

habitability of buildings.

**and its results**

#### *Organizational Analysis of Sustainable Building Certifications in Mexico City DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.95120*

and it was based on a review of implementation resolutions [22] provided to the building owners by facility evaluators.

The present study describes such evaluation, including the actions carried out by the owners as a result of the initial inspection, which is accompanied by recommendations that must be met in order to obtain the certificate. The analyzed actions were carried out over a seven-year period (2011–2018), and we could identify favorable and unfavorable trends concerning the internal organization of users.
