The study of the main certifications, seals and qualifications applied in Brazil and in the world reveals the advantages of these certificates for buildings that seek to encourage the practice of sustainability in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Over the next two decades there has been an impasse between developed countries and those who advocated environmental preservation, since the former believed in capitalist economic development only by changing raw materials. Finally, in the 1980s the term sustainable development was created, whose definition consisted in the defense of a development able to meet current needs without harming the possibility of future generations to meet their own needs. Due to this growing concern with the environment, the construction sector needed to adapt to new requirements, changing methods and creating means to control and supervise sustainable practices, through environmental certificates such as LEED, AQUA-HQE, Selo Casa Azul and Qualification Qualiverde.