Over the last two decades, the concept of sustainability in the Czech building sector has evolved substantially, reflecting both global trends and local priorities. While the early focus was strongly centered on energy efficiency and operational savings, today sustainability is understood in a much broader and more complex way. Issues such as circularity of materials, protection of drinking water resources, and social well-being have moved from the margins to the very core of assessment frameworks.
This paper traces these shifts through the development of SBToolCZ, the Czech adaptation of the iiSBE international framework. The Czech experience illustrates how a global methodology can be localized and continuously updated to reflect the changing perception of what sustainability means in practice. Over time, the scope of SBToolCZ has expanded from technical performance to a multidimensional evaluation tool integrated into national certification schemes and funding programs.
A key recent development is the inclusion of resilience criteria, addressing the capacity of buildings and communities to withstand and adapt to climate change and resource challenges. By analyzing twenty years of evolution, the paper identifies the societal, regulatory, and professional drivers that have redefined sustainability, highlighting how the tool has mirrored—and helped shape—this transformation in the Czech context.
The study underlines the importance of iiSBE’s flexible framework, which enables local partners not only to adapt international methodologies but also to capture shifting local priorities, ensuring that sustainability assessment remains relevant and future-oriented.