Level(s) Newsletter

The Act is part of an ambitious Sustainable Finance and EU Taxonomy package, covering many sectors. It supports the European Green Deal's goal to make the EU climate-neutral by 2050. Read the full press release on the Sustainable Finance and EU Taxonomy package.

EU Commissioner, Virginius Sinkevicius, and Deputy Director General of the European Commission Joint Research Centre, Bernard Magenhann, framed discussions by highlighting how the NEB and Level(s) address core challenges in the construction sector. Specifically, the NEB drives new dialogue on inclusive buildings and aesthetics, while Level(s) provides a common language for applying sustainability-focused performance assessment and circularity principles to the built-environment.

Practical examples of such principles in action included talks by Christophe Hutin, Commissioner of the French Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2021; Alexandra Mitsotaki, World Human Forum; Matti Kuittinen, Ministry of Environment of Finland; and Simon Davies, AIA Environment.

During the closing remarks, European Commission Director for Circular Economy and Green Growth Kestutis Sadauskas emphasised that the NEB and Level(s) support a recovery that puts people and planet first, following a full life cycle approach.

For those unable to attend, a complete recording is now available. Watch the video.

They may be useful if you would like to:

• understand the difference between Level(s) and sustainability certification systems,
• learn how to get started with Level(s), or
• find out what kind of support is/will be available to help you to use Level(s) successfully.

We will continue to create additional FAQ answers based on your questions. In the meantime, if you need advice on how to get started with Level(s) please email your question to the helpdesk.

During her presentation, Josefina Lindblom of the European Commission thanked the Green Building Councils (GBCs) for raising awareness among built-environment sector professionals about these benefits, explaining that Level(s) ‘will always need front runners such as the GBCs to push policy and the rest of the market’.

The session was hosted by the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) and the Croatia Green Building Council on 6 May. The webinar recording and event report are now available on the Croatia Green Building Council website.

Panellists Josefina Lindblom, Policy Officer for DG Environment, Kevin O'Grady, Associate Director at ARUP, Tina Paillet, FRICS, RICS Europe Board Chair, and Yvette Watson, Co-founder of PHI Factory, discussed the future of the built environment and how to better integrate sustainability into the industry.

Josefina Lindblom introduced Level(s) and outlined how the framework plans to help embed a whole-life carbon approach and circularity principles in the sector. ‘Level(s) is the language to get these things into policy,’ she explained. Yvette also spoke about Level(s), saying 'Level(s) is a transparent and harmonised reporting platform, which brings in the full life cycle'.

Further emphasising the need to move towards greater sustainability, Tina stated ‘public procurement should lead the way in including life cycle thinking and whole-life carbon. The private market will follow'.

Watch the video recording.

We recently published a factsheet to inspire you to put circular economy principles into practice with help from Level(s). It includes interviews with eight experts, including built-environment professionals and policymakers, to understand how they plan to use Level(s) indicators in a variety of settings.

Download Level(s): Putting Circularity into Practice.

Please tell our readers about your role and your professional interest in Level(s)

I am a professor and Head of the Institute of Sustainability in Civil Engineering (INaB) at RWTH Aachen University in Germany. I am also a founding member of a consultancy called Circular.srl in Italy. I was part of the first working group to develop Level(s) with the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, as INaB was involved in road-testing the framework. Today I promote Level(s) on my courses and among professionals.

How does Level(s) feature in your university teaching?

Most of my courses focus on life cycle assessments and sustainability assessments. For example, the Sustainability Assessment in Buildings lecture focuses on civil engineering in the building sector. Here we cover the Environmental Product Declaration according to the EN 15804 theory and practices in building certification schemes such as DGNB and we have a segment on Level(s). Next year we plan to go further by dedicating half of this lecture to Level(s) and by adding some practical exercises.

What’s your experience of using Level(s) so far?

My students are quite satisfied with the methodology and I hope they will be the professionals leading this topic in future. Level(s) is very important for driving construction professionals and construction in general towards better sustainability performance, and it can be useful for defining benchmarks for buildings in terms of environmental, comfort and life cycle costs. Of course, there is a need for data and training at a professional level. As adoption of Level(s) increases we will start to have practical examples that we can share, to show how Level(s) can be integrated into building projects with the help of databases and tools. This would be particularly valuable for experts and students focused on the building design phase.

Do you have plans to use Level(s) in future?

I would like to use Level(s) on a project to build a new church or for retrofitting a hotel in Italy, where I come from. I will keep you informed if one of the two projects is approved! I would be happy to organise events in Germany and Italy to further present the framework.

Why attend?

• Learn how Level(s) works
• See the benefits for built-environment professionals
• Access new tools and e-learning materials
• Get your questions answered

Who should attend?

• Professionals involved in the design, planning, financing, execution of building projects
• Representatives of associations, agencies and public authorities responsible for the built-environment (building/construction, real estate etc.)

When is it?

24 November 2021, 9:30-12:00 CET

(Note: the event time may change. It will be confirmed at the opening of registrations)

How do I register?

Save the date in your calendar and join our LinkedIn group to be notified as soon as online registration opens.