The 2024 Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) recast introduces more stringent provisions for EPCs and establishes a framework for renovation passports as an additional voluntary tool to provide a clear roadmap for staged deep renovations. In accordance with Article 12 of the EPBD, Member States are required to put in place a renovation passport scheme by 29 May 2026 based on the common framework set out in Annex VIII of the EPBD.

The iBRoad2EPC project has developed a flexible, adaptable and modular model renovation passport that provides a set of solutions that can be immediately applied to the transposition and/or implementation of a number of EU policy instruments.

The present report includes a detailed analysis of how iBRoad2EPC can support and facilitate the implementation of each article of the EPBD and its requirements for the renovation passports as set in Annex VIII, as well as the Renovation Wave strategy, the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) and the Renewable Energy Directive (RED). The analysis then informs concrete actions to maximise the uptake of iBRoad2EPC to achieve the EU’s decarbonisation goals.

The iBRoad2EPC EU roadmap thus provides guidance to policymakers on how to optimally prepare the ground for national roll out and maximise the use of iBRoad2EPC to accelerate deep renovation in the EU. It thereby provides recommendations for improving the implementation of related Directives or amending the regulatory framework to promote deep renovation, and how to best use iBRoad2EPC for this purpose.

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This study assessed the prioritisation for the introduction of possible future European EoW criteria for a list of ten pre-selected construction and demolition waste and by-product (CDW) streams. There was a general positive acceptance and willingness among stakeholders to introduce EU-wide EoW criteria. The results showed the highest potential for possible future EU-wide EoW criteria for the waste and by-product streams of aggregates, concrete, fired clay bricks and gypsum, followed by average potential for asphalt, inert insulation, plastic foam insulation, rigid plastics and wood, and a clear outlier for the stream of building products for reuse. It is advisable to address the highest scoring waste streams first in order to achieve a higher impact. From all the stakeholder interactions during this study, it was clear that the majority of stakeholders would be in favour of future European EoW criteria for the CDW streams investigated. The advantages of possible future EU-wide EoW criteria (clear material status, less administration, environmental benefits and improved market) outweighed the disadvantages (market disruption where local EoW criteria already exist and environmental risks). The demand for the reuse of CDW and the acceptance of a possible future EU-wide EoW was widely supported by all stakeholder groups. The existence of standards for CDW and the existence of some national and regional CDWrelated EoW criteria also showed the urgency and need for EU-wide EoW criteria in the future. Some stakeholders emphasised the need for future European EoW criteria for CDW to recognise existing national and regional criteria in order to minimise or reduce bureaucratic burden. In addition, based on stakeholder input, the introduction of EU-wide EoW criteria for all CDW streams is expected to increase market potential and sales. An important observation was that for inert waste streams there is potential for grouping, e.g. aggregates, asphalt, fired clay bricks and concrete, in future European EoW criteria. This has also been applied in national legislation in several EU Member States. It is recommended to further assess whether grouped future EU-wide EoW criteria would have a higher impact than ungrouped criteria. In general, the input provided a positive picture of the potential environmental and economic impacts associated with the introduction of EU-wide EoW criteria for CDW, together with a positive market attitude. The results of the environmental and human health impact regarding an increase in recycling for gypsum, fired clay bricks. In addition, it should be noted that construction and demolition is by far the largest single waste and by-product stream in the EU and therefore there would be a large potential for positive environmental impacts if recycling rates were improved. The results of this study provided a solid background for the European Commission to plan possible further steps towards EU-wide End-of-Waste criteria for CDW.

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The Pilot Version of the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard (The Standard) was launched in September 2024.  The Standard and associated documents can be downloaded here.

The Standard Pilot Version contains the technical details on how a building should meet the Standard, including what limits and targets it needs to meet, the technical evidence needed to demonstrate this and how it should be reported. In the future, projects will be able to verify that a project conforms to the Standard.
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We encourage organisations to target and adopt the Pilot version of the Standard on your buildings and assets.  
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In due course we will be seeking buildings that can be used to pilot test the Standard, to better understand its implementation. Find out more and register your interest via this link.

The new Finnish Construction Act includes obligations concerning sustainable construction that stress carbon reduction and longevity of buildings. The latter contains a new essential technical requirement concerning the lifecycle performance of a building. The lifecycle performance comprises durability, adaptability and reusability. Thus they also have impacts on the use value and economic value of buildings.

The basic condition for the management of lifecycle performance is that in construction projects precise and verifiable requirements can be set for lifecycle performance. This in turn requires that the lifecycle performance and indicators for them have been defined. The Ministry of the Environment started an expert process in 2022 that aims to further specify the concepts related to lifecycle performance and present a summary and development proposals for the evaluation, planning and guidelines concerning lifecycle performance.

This report presents some of the content produced in the expert process and proposes that, after having been further specified, lifecycle performance should be more systematically incorporated into the procurements and guidance of construction. The report lays the foundation for a systematic approach to lifecycle planning and gives recommendations for further development opportunities related to the topic.

Download the report here

Since 2015, the Healthy Homes Barometer has been tracking the state of European Union (EU) homes and shining a light on workplaces and educational institutions. The 2024 edition has been renamed as the Healthy Buildings Barometer (HBB) to reflect the fact it now extends to all major building types, giving us significant insights into all our buildings and their users’ health. The 2024 edition also includes a comprehensive framework for healthy buildings based on scientific research and illustrated through 12 case studies from across the EU. Policymakers at national and EU levels, as well as building sector stakeholders, can use this Healthy Buildings Barometer and its framework as a guide to achieving healthy and sustainable buildings across Europe.

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Following the “build back better” principle, BPIE presents in this report six investment criteria to guide a sustainable reconstruction of Ukraine's heavily damaged built environment. The report calls on multilateral donors and the Ukrainian government to allocate funding to projects that meet ambitious energy efficiency, renewable energy, climate adaptation, and circularity criteria.

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The fall 2023 issue of Passive House Accelerator explores how the benefits of Passive House construction can turn buildings into islands of tranquility.

Case studies in this issue include an affordable apartment building in the Bronx, a warehouse in the Hudson Valley, a prefabricated classroom on a Spanish beach, and the world's first Passive House certified hospital in Germany.

This issue examines how the benefits of Passive House construction—particularly improved indoor air quality and protection from external noise pollution—can positively affect occupant health in addition to decarbonizing the built environment. This issue also highlights how the principles of Passive House design and construction can be applied to any building typology and in any climate.

Please read the full magazine here.

How does the large-scale application of biobased construction materials impact our forests? Are we not shifting the burden to another planetary boundary if we focus on the reduction of carbon emissions?

This report from Metabolic is a first step in a longer-term exploration to create clarity on these important issues.

This report delves into the current environmental impact of the construction sector in the EU27+UK; the potential scenarios to reduce the impact of the sector by applying timber alternatives to carbon-intensive materials; the implications that this increased demand for timber has on European forests, and what systemic barriers need to be taken into consideration during the planning and development processes.

Please read the full report here.

The factsheet introduces the Implementation of the EU Taxonomy in the built environment and the link between NZEB and the EU Taxonomy The EU Taxonomy for the construction, acquisition and ownership of buildings requires the disclosure of a building’s primary energy demand (PED) as per the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) of 2010.

It was suggested that the European Commission and Member States should agree on a more harmonized definition of a major and deep renovation. The EU Commission should add embodied carbon assessments for the construction of a building, the demolition and rebuilding of a building, and the renovation/retrofitting of a building to allow comparability. Member States should provide further incentives for investors to choose energy renovation over construction.

Check the full factsheet here.

When it comes to sustainability and circularity, wood as a natural raw material has several advantages over other building materials. As a bio-based resource, it has considerable benefits concerning greenhouse gas emissions, carbon-storing, thermal insulation as well as human health and well-being compared to other construction materials. New types of wood products, being the result of extensive research, enable the extensive use of wood in tall buildings. At the same time, innovative wood products provide less manufacturing waste, low carbon-emission alternatives and store massive quantities of carbon while new technologies speed construction processes, promote energy efficiency and minimize waste.

This study examines the benefits of wood as a construction material and discusses practices applied in the wood construction sector from the perspective of circularity, sustainability and climate change mitigation. It analyses how circularity concepts can be applied in the construction industry using different construction methods and at different stages of value chains. The study describes how different construction techniques and practices contribute to the renewal and sustainability of construction value chains. The analysis is supported by examples of good practice in UNECE member States.

Please read the full report here.