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2026 Vol.17, Issue 2 Preview Page

General Article

Analysis of score attainment in the materials and resources category of Korea’s green building certification (G-SEED): A Study on non-residential buildings
Taehyoung Kim1*
,
Kyungjoo Cho1
,
Yosun Yoon2
,
Sungmo Seo1
,
Daehee Jang3
,
Seungjun Roh4
1Senior Researcher, Department of Building Research, Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology, Goyang, South Korea
2Research Specialist, Department of Building Research, Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology, Goyang, South Korea
3Senior Research Fellow, Department of Building Research, Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology, Goyang, South Korea
4Associate Professor, School of Architecture, Kumoh National Institute of Technology, Gumi, South Korea
*Corresponding Author
30 June 2026. pp. 253-269
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Abstract

The building sector is increasingly required to address environmental impacts beyond operational energy use, particularly those associated with building materials and resource consumption. In response to this shift, the Materials and Resources (MR) category of Korea’s Green Standard for Energy and Environment Design (G-SEED) has gained growing importance. However, empirical studies analyzing long-term certification data across the entire MR category remain limited. This study quantitatively investigates trends in score acquisition for MR certification items in 5,884 newly constructed non-residential buildings that received preliminary G-SEED certification between 2017 and 2024. The analysis examines differences by building type and certification grade, as well as the distribution patterns of individual MR credits. The results show that higher certification grades consistently correspond to higher MR scores across all building types, indicating that the MR category plays a meaningful role in overall grade differentiation. However, substantial differences in discrimination power were identified among individual credits. The credit related to the application ratio of green building materials demonstrated strong influence on certification grades but exhibited high zero-score rates, suggesting excessive difficulty for lower-grade projects. In contrast, credits associated with Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), recycled materials, low-carbon materials, and low-hazard materials showed stable and widespread adoption but limited grade discrimination. The only mandatory MR credit, concerning recyclable resource storage facilities, displayed strong score polarization, indicating limitations in its current evaluation method. Variations among building types were also observed, with more balanced credit performance in educational and hospitality buildings than in office and commercial facilities. These findings suggest the need to recalibrate credit difficulty, improve score discrimination, and refine evaluation granularity, particularly for mandatory items. This study provides empirical evidence on how material-related criteria function within a national green building certification system over time and offers data-driven insights to support the future improvement of G-SEED toward a more performance-oriented and policy-aligned materials assessment framework.

Keywords
green standard for energy and environmental design (g-seed)
material and resource
non-residential buildings
green building certification
embodied carbon and resource efficiency
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Information
  • Publisher :Sustainable Building Research Center (ERC) Innovative Durable Building and Infrastructure Research Center
  • Publisher(Ko) :건설구조물 내구성혁신 연구센터
  • Journal Title :International Journal of Sustainable Building Technology and Urban Development
  • Volume : 17
  • No :2
  • Pages :253-269
  • Received Date : 2026-02-20
  • Accepted Date : 2026-04-15
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.22712/susb.20260015
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