Environment

If the appropriate policy measures are taken, the European construction industry can contribute to the environmental efforts of the Green Deal and become the leading industry for sustainable resource management. Integrating circular economy principles across the sector will be vital to keep valuable resources in the system.

• The Circular Economy Action Plan seeks to establish full circularity in construction. It can help improve material efficiency in the sector by emphasizing the circularity credentials of specific materials and construction products of choice for both renovation and new build. The sustainable product framework initiative, a key piece of the Circular Economy Action Plan, has to consider a sustainable construction product design, that implies strong but lightweight and easy-to-use products, which are fit for outdoor and indoor purposes and are made from natural resources.
• Revising the Construction Products Regulation needs to set appropriate standards to ensure reduction of raw material inputs and thus a sustainable management of materials. This can lead to crucial energy savings over a building’s life cycle, while simultaneously safeguarding quality levels.
• We require a full life-cycle assessment of construction products instead of focusing only on embedded energy. The Level(s) framework needs to be incorporated into legislation to improve re-use and recycling in the sector.
• A reform of the current waste legislation framework and establishment of circularity targets in the EU Construction and Demolition Waste Management Protocol are required. Waste management within the construction industry needs a timely and adequate collection and recycling infrastructure for both closed and open loop recycling.

Carbon footprint

Reducing the carbon footprint of Europe’s building stock in order to achieve the overarching goals of the Green Deal requires a holistic approach with differentiated implementation to ensure maximum impact.

• The proposal for an EU Climate Law includes a net-zero emissions target by 2050. For the construction sector, this implies a move from the nearly zero to a net zero emissions target for Europe’s building stock. Buildings still account for the biggest share (40%) of total EU energy consumption and produce about 35% of all greenhouse gas emissions. Achieving this target can only be envisioned when complementarity of energy performance measures is promoted, and through a focus on net-zero energy districts and integration of on-site renewable energy units.
• The Renovation Wave Initiative will play an important role in delivering on the energy efficiency targets for buildings. The key objective for the European Commission is to at least double or even triple the renovation rate of buildings, which currently stands at around 1.3%. However, we cannot depend on renovation alone, considering this low annual renovation rate and the quality of Europe’s post-war building stock. We should also set incentives to renew buildings through a complementary investment plan for more long term building replacement. Demolition and new build can ensure a state-of-the-art energy performance which is not always possible when upgrading old building stock, as well as allow for building design to be tailored to the needs of inhabitants.