Green Building Rating Systems and Their Impact on Sustainability Practices and Green Innovation : A Comparative Study in a Swedish Context

Sammanfattning

The construction sector plays a significant role in global greenhouse gas emissions and resource consumption, which has increased the demand for sustainable construction practices and environmental certification systems. Green building rating systems have become important tools for promoting sustainability, improving environmental performance, and supporting innovation within the construction industry. However, there are ongoing discussions regarding whether these certification systems create genuine sustainability improvements or primarily function as administrative and compliance-based tools. The purpose of this study is to examine how green building rating systems influence sustainability and innovation within the Swedish construction sector. The study focuses on three major certification systems used in Sweden: The Nordic Swan Ecolabel, Miljöbyggnad, and BREEAM SE. The research also investigates how these systems contribute to national and EU sustainability goals and explores the challenges and limitations associated with their implementation. The study applies a qualitative comparative research design that combines semi-structured interviews and document analysis. Interviews were conducted with key stakeholders within the construction industry. In addition, official manuals and guidelines from the certification systems were analyzed and applied to a reference building. The empirical material was analyzed through thematic analysis, grounded theory principles, and the constant comparison method. The findings indicate that green building rating systems contribute to sustainability improvements by promoting energy efficiency, environmentally adapted materials, and structured sustainability work. The systems also encourage innovation, although the innovation is primarily incremental and often driven by external requirements and regulatory pressure. At the same time, the study identifies challenges related to administrative complexity, standardization, documentation requirements, and the gap between intended sustainability outcomes and practical implementation. The results further show that certification systems can strengthen organizational legitimacy and support sustainability governance, while also creating tensions between innovation, compliance, and cost-efficiency