1. Sustainable buildings
Directorate General for Environment
European Commission

2. Figures and numbers
Construction and use of buildings in the EU amounts for:
1/2 of all our extracted materials
1/2 of all our energy consumption
1/3 of all our water consumption
1/3 of all our waste

3. Sustainable buildings
Communication "Resource Efficiency Opportunities in the Building Sector"
Adoption in July 2014
To promote a more efficient use of resources consumed by new and renovated commercial, residential and public buildings
To reduce the overall environmental impacts throughout the life-cycle of buildings

4. Two objectives
Influence decision-making (by different actors) along the life-cycle of a building by providing relevant and comparable information regarding environmental performance, through the development of a framework with core indicators
Increase the use of recycled materials in the construction of buildings, by fostering a better functioning market for recycled and demolition waste (CDW)

5. Framework - bottlenecks
Lack of reliable, comparable and affordable data, methods and tools on which the operators in the supply chain can analyse and benchmark the environmental performance of different solutions
Absence of guidance on how to incorporate environmental considerations in purchasing decisions makes it difficult for consumers to trust the market and make informed choices

6. 1) Framework – general benefits
Common terminology
Build-up of reliable and comparable data
Increasing awareness of benefits
Effective transfer of good practices
Reduced cost to effectively assess performance
Provide public authorities with relevant data to support policy initiatives
Expand into more countries and markets

7. 1) Framework – specific benefits
Architects, designers, manufacturers of construction products, builders, developers and investors - benefit from competitive advantages
Manufacturers of construction products - cost savings as they only have to provide product information needed for building assessment in one way
Architects and builders - supported via greater information on both product and building level
Developers - more easily be able to compare performance of projects
Investors, property owners and insurers - able to improve the allocation of capital and to integrate environmental risk into their decisions

8. indicator areas to investigate
Framework –
indicator areas to investigate
Total energy use
Material use
Durability of construction products
Design for deconstruction
Management of construction as well as demolition waste (CDW)
Recycled content in construction materials
Recyclability and reusability of construction materials and products
Water used by buildings
The use intensity of (mostly public) buildings
Indoor comfort

9. 1) Framework - features
Flexible – to be integrated in existing assessment schemes or used on its own
Comprehensible – inclusion of guidance on its implementation and use of indicators
Useful – to provide relevant comparable data, also converting technical indicators into financial info
Free – to be used in decision-making by different actors and in policy-setting at various levels

10. 1) Framework – future steps
Collaborative process – cooperate with stakeholders and Member States
Two year timeline for first set of indicators, and a roadmap for following stages
Build on existing work – technical standards, certification schemes, research projects, developments at international level

11. 2) Market for CDW - bottlenecks (I)
Cost externalization – environmental damage costs do not necessarily show up in landfill fees or in cost of primary materials
Split incentives – costs of dismantling, separation and processing waste is born at the demolition phase while the potential benefits from using recycled material accrue at the production phase

12. 2) Market for CDW - bottlenecks (II)
Market uncertainty – demolition companies face uncertainty regarding demand and construction production manufacturers face uncertainty regarding supply
Markets do not develop economies of scale - the amount of recycled materials does not correspond to the potential demand from construction products companies
Lagging technology – technologies enabling recycled materials that meet all the technical, safety and environmental requirements for construction products are sometimes still lacking
Hard to verify performance – certification attesting that recycled materials meet all requirements sometimes lacking

13. 2) Market for CDW - benefits
Environmental benefits – reduction of natural resource depletion; less landfilling and backfilling of waste; lower rate of emissions
Economic benefits – lower prices for recycled materials; savings in terms of energy
Employment opportunities – job growth in deconstruction, sorting and recycling of construction materials

14. 2) Market for CDW – future steps (I)
Promote best practice and collaborate with Member States to divert CDW from landfilling and to integrate external environmental cost in price of virgin material
Explore measures to ensure that recycled materials meet necessary quality requirements
Explore how benchmarks for content of recycled material via e.g. GPP and environmental management schemes can stimulate demand

15. 2) Market for CDW – future steps (II)
Study specific waste streams of CDW to identify opportunities for the valorisation of CDW
Develop tools and guidelines for assessment of buildings prior to demolition and renovation to ensure optimal use of CDW
Support R&D and demonstration projects in areas such as
recycling and production of construction materials from CDW;
design for deconstruction, recyclability audits, separation techniques;
incentivising producers to use recycled material;
collaborative schemes between demolition and construction product sectors aiming at sharing costs and benefits