With the world shifting toward sustainability, developers and building owners in Thailand have placed importance on the concept of green buildings and have increasingly adopted green building standards, resulting in many internationally renowned certifications becoming more common in Thailand. For example, the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, WELL, and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen certification marks can be seen in commercial buildings, residential buildings, and government buildings. While these standards are not mandatory and are adopted voluntarily, every sector recognizes these certifications and is eager to get certified.

Thai’s Rating of Energy and Environmental Sustainability

Since 2012, Thailand has had its own green building certification called Thai’s Rating of Energy and Environmental Sustainability (TREES). This standard was developed by the Thai Green Building Institute (TGBI), an entity established by two professional associations of Thailand: the Engineering Institute of Thailand under Royal Patronage and the Association of Siamese Architects under Royal Patronage. The TGBI aims for TREES to be the standard that is most suitable for Thailand by designing the certification assessment based on Thai context. For example, while the standards developed based on other countries’ contexts may only allow for a few parking spaces, TREES allows for more spaces as the majority of people in Thailand rely on private cars as their main mode of transportation since public transportation is not yet fully developed here.

The TREES standard

The TREES standard may be granted to two types of buildings: (i) TREES-NC/CS (new construction and major renovation/core and shell building), and (ii) TREES-EB (existing building: operation and maintenance).

To achieve TREES certification, a project will have to meet all the prerequisites first, and then the TGBI will award points by considering the factors below. The prerequisites are subfactors of some of the following factors:

• Building management
• Site and landscape
• Water conservation
• Energy and atmosphere
• Materials and resources
• Indoor environmental quality
• Environmental protection
• Green innovation

The points that a project earns correspond to the level of TREES certification it will get. These levels are Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum.