Application of green Building assessment tools on greenhouse structures: A case study in southern Italy

Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria, Department of Agriculture, 89122 Reggio Calabria, Italy

^* Corresponding author: dorra.kouka@unirc.it

Abstract

With the global population growing and food demand increasing, agricultural and food-related buildings, such as greenhouses, are expanding exponentially. These structures are vital for food production, but they also consume a lot of energy, use resources, and have significant operational impacts. This means they need to be assessed thoroughly to ensure they are sustainable. The aim of this study is to assess a commercial greenhouse by means of SBTool (Sustainable Building Tool) to evaluate its environmental, social, and economic performance. The findings reveal that, while traditional Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methods are useful for evaluating production and operational impacts, they fail to address critical social and economic dimensions. The results showed limited consideration to workers' well-being and the indoor environmental quality (IEQ), with few criteria such as lighting levels and quality were assumed to be adequate. Furthermore, despite logistical efficiencies in freight and delivery services, other indicators such as green spaces for workers and pedestrian pathways outside the structure were lacking. This research underscores the importance of assessing the sustainability of agricultural and food-related buildings, emphasizing the need to integrate such structures into the scope of building assessment tools with the integration of new indicators tailored to them.