AN OBJECTIVE, MESURABLE METHOD

Itaca Certification

Having integrated the concept of sustainability into our planning and design approach, we are proud of our qualification as ‘ITACA Protocol Expert’.

But what is the ITACA Protocol, and what does its implementation entail?

The ITACA protocol assesses the level of environmental quality of a building by evaluating its performance, not only in terms of energy consumption and efficiency, but also by considering broader and more complex factors such as the impact the construction has on the environment and on a person’s health throughout his or her lifetime. From design to the disposal of demolition waste, going through a useful existence.
The aim is to promote the creation of increasingly innovative, zero-energy buildings with reduced water consumption, using materials whose production requires low energy consumption while ensuring, at the same time, high levels of comfort.
It is a technical tool for assessing the degree of environmental energy sustainability of buildings, a guide that, through its methodological approach, contributes to sustainable design by suggesting in which directions to steer design choices and building a coordinated system of virtuous solutions aimed at saving natural resources and enhancing habitational quality.
It was approved on January 15, 2004, at the Conferenza delle Regioni e delle Province Autonome (Conference of Regions and Autonomous Provinces) and it is used by ACCREDIA as a technical tool for the national inspection system in construction, as well as by UNI as a technical tool in the reference Praxis for environmental sustainability in construction.

One of the main goals it was created for is the development of a points-based assessment system for buildings, fundamental for establishing objective, measurable targets in public initiatives for the promotion of sustainability in construction. It was later adopted by several Regions and municipal administrations in various initiatives aimed at promoting and encouraging sustainable building through regional laws, construction regulations, tenders, urban plans, etc.

The Protocol ensures an objective assessment by using indicators and verification methods compliant with the relevant technical regulations and national laws.

The approval of the Regolamento Tecnico RT-33, which enables the Protocol of Agreement signed between ITACA and ACCREDIA (Ente Italiano di Accreditamento – Italian Accreditation Body) promoted by the Conferenza delle Regioni e delle Province autonome,
marked the establishment of the national system for accreditation and certification, on a voluntary basis, in support of the national and regional policies for the development of environmental sustainability in construction. This system guarantees independence, impartiality, and competence in assessing the certification’s conformity to the relevant regulations, while also ensuring transparency and technical reliability. The RT-33 Regulation on ‘Requirements for the accreditation of type A, B, and C Inspection Bodies according to the UNI CEI EN ISO/IEC 17020 regulation, in conformity with the ITACA Protocol’, has established regulations for the inspection system in construction covering the design, building, and operation stages, in compliance with the ‘ITACA Protocol’.
With the inspection certificate, the client demonstrates a project’s conformity or building with the ‘ITACA Protocol’.

For the operations required for certification, the accredited Bodies refer to the Registro Nazionale Protocollo ITACA (RNPI), an IT platform promoted by ACCREDIA, ITACA, and UNI, enabling monitoring of the processes, verification of project conformity, and construction of buildings, with a particular focus on:
  • the submission of data related to inspection activities
  • the verification and validation of inspection reports
  • the issuance of the final certificates and the establishment of the national database.
The body managing the Registro Nazionale (National Register) is the Comitato Promotore del Protocollo Itaca (Promoting Committee for the ITACA Protocol).
Each Region has its own regulations for the assessment of Residential and non-Residential buildings, developed according to the Synthetic and/or Complete scheme of the ITACA Protocol.
In all Italian Regions, the ITACA protocol is applied through self-evaluation.

The structure, criteria, and final score of the ITACA protocol

There are various ITACA protocols, which differ from each other based on the uses of the buildings: residential, office, commercial, and industrial. They apply to both new buildings and the renovation of existing ones. Each of these protocols includes different areas of evaluation:

  • Quality of the site
  • Resource consumption
  • Environmental impact
  • Indoor environmental quality
  • Quality of the service

Each area of evaluation includes different categories, which are further divided into criteria. Every criterion is associated with a score, contributing to the final evaluation of the building’s environmental performance.

To measure the level of sustainability of a building, the evaluation parameters, related indicators, and their weighting must first be identified. For this reason, each criterion is accompanied by a sheet defining different factors, such as:

  • The need (the intended environmental quality target)
  • The performance indicator (the parameter used to assess the building’s performance level in relation to the criterion of evaluation; it can be quantitative or qualitative, with the latter described through scenarios)
  • Criterion weight (the degree of importance assigned to the criterion in relation within the evaluation tool as a whole)

At the end of the complex process of assessing and weighting the criteria, each criterion is assigned a value ranging from -1 (indicating performance below current standards and practice) to +5 (indicating significantly high performance, at an experimental level, in relation to the best current practices).

There are three levels of certification. The ‘basic’ level certification is aimed at professionals with expertise in design and energy-environmental consultancy within the construction sector, as well as in managing the related certification processes. Applications for the ‘advanced’ level are limited to candidates holding an ‘Itaca Inspector’ or Senior CasaClima expert qualification. Finally, professionals with transversal experiences and skills related to both methods can obtain the ‘Master’ level certification.
To become an ‘ITACA Protocol Expert’ in reference to the national ITACA Protocol (PdR UNI 13:2019), it is necessary to attend a specific course approved by the ITACA Promoting Committee, which, upon passing a final examination, grants the required certification. Experts are then listed in a national register.
The ITACA protocol also offers preferential financing options (promoted by various private financial institutions) for companies seeking to promote sustainable development in construction, as well as for users who wish to benefit from the advantages of buildings made in line with sustainability criteria.

Aim of the ITACA Protocol

The ITACA Protocol has several applications and scopes related to its use, and can be:

  • a tool to support design for professionals;
  • an oversight and guidance tool for public administration;
  • a support for consumer choices;
  • a means of investment enhancing for financial operators.