Please tell our readers about your organisation and your own role as it relates to sustainable buildings?

The JRC is the science and knowledge service of the European Commission, with the mission to support EU policymaking with independent evidence. Our team in Unit B.5 on circular economy and industrial leadership has had a very particular role in the development of Green Public Procurement (GPP) criteria for office buildings and of Level(s), a common European framework for sustainable buildings. We conduct technoeconomic research, engage with a diverse range of stakeholders and deliver results that can be directly used in policy implementation.

What can you tell our readers about progress underway as part of the Renovation Wave and how does Level(s) fit in to this?

The Renovation Wave is a cornerstone for delivering the European Green Deal and building renovation features heavily in national recovery and resilience plans.  Level(s) can be used to ensure that investments in building renovation respect a common framework that is truly holistic, while also being in line with EU objectives for sustainable building policies. Level(s) can account for possible trade-offs in renovation activities too. For example, renovation to decrease use phase carbon emissions often corresponds to an increase in embodied carbon.

Sustainable buildings feature prominently in the Commission’s New European Bauhaus (NEB) initiative. Why is this?

The NEB is about the sustainability and quality of the spaces we live in. We spend around 90 % of our time inside buildings and even when outside, our experiences are influenced by the buildings that surround us. So, it is only natural that Level(s), a framework for assessing building sustainability, will have an important influence on the NEB.  Ideally the NEB will take the Level(s) macro-objective structure as a starting point and build upon it, extending to neighbourhood level and the spaces between buildings.

What does the Level(s) common language framework mean for building assessment schemes and the built-environment sector?

Level(s) is an opportunity for green building assessment schemes to find common ground. It is also an opportunity for new assessment schemes, clients or building professionals to find inspiration and guidance, be it via very simple Level 1 concepts, very detailed Level 2 design calculations or Level 3 in-situ measurements. Level(s) sets out a common methodological approach for measuring 16 indicators across 6 underlying macro-objectives that cover environmental, social and economic considerations. While the methodology is set, users can define their own benchmarks.

What are you working on now and what comes next?

We are working closely with the EU Taxonomy team to bring elements of the Level(s) framework into the technical screening criteria for defining green investments building construction, renovation and demolition. For example, in the climate change mitigation criteria for new construction that were published in August 2021, there is already a reference to the life-cycle Global Warming Potential (GWP), as in indicator 1.2 of the LEVEL(s) framework. It is also important to mention that we are currently revising the EU GPP criteria for office buildings, with a view to expanding the scope to also include schools and social housing, and with the idea to base the new GPP criteria on Level(s) indicators. Special attention will be given to renovation.