Level(s) Newsletter

Regions, Cities and Level(s): Powering the green transition in Europe’s buildings?

Our session at the European Week of Regions and Cities (12 October 2022) explored how the Level(s) framework can help cities to contribute to the EU’s climate and circularity objectives. This recorded webinar will help you:

• Understand how Level(s) can provide a simple entry point for applying circular economy principles in the built environment.
• Hear examples of how regional initiatives use Level(s) to deliver on local goals for the green transition.
• See how Level(s) is impacting building policy in cities and regions.

Watch the video!

Assessing whole life carbon with Level(s), 3 November 2022

This recorded webinar will help you:

• Understand how the Level(s) indicator for assessing whole life carbon can be used at each stage of a building’s life cycle.
• Learn about the importance of Level (s) in the context of recent EU policy developments related to whole life carbon.
• Hear examples from built environment professionals who talk about the importance of Level (s) for the whole life carbon assessment of buildings.

Watch the video!

If you’re as passionate as we are about the potential of using Level(s) to make Europe’s buildings more sustainable, then you can help. We’ve produced two new toolkits for communicators. They contain sample news items and social media posts, which you can adapt and share with people in your organisation, network and followers. The following toolkits are now available to download and use:

• A toolkit to promote the benefits of the Level(s) eLearning programme and Calculator tool to help buildings professionals get started with Level(s).

• A toolkit to highlight how building professionals, public procurers and policymakers can use Level(s) to help steer the transformation of the building sector and contribute to the New European Bauhaus’ vision for sustainable living spaces.

Thank you for helping to spread the word about Level(s).

Download the toolkits.

The group is the perfect place to share experiences of Level(s) with the sustainable building community. You’ll also be among the first to learn about Level(s) tools, e-learning materials, events and publications. Since the group launched, in March 2021, it has grown to more than 2 000 members from all over Europe. Join the LinkedIn group.

City representatives, particularly those involved in built-environment policy, planning or procurement, can play a huge role in making Europe’s buildings more sustainable. We have produced a new factsheet explaining how Level(s) can help with this. It includes interviews with city representatives, useful links and tips for getting started. The publication is available in English, French, German, Spanish, Polish and Italian. Read the factsheet.

Have you seen our other Level(s) publications? The Level(s) website contains publications on how to get started with the eLearning Programme and calculator tool; on applying specific Level(s) indicators; and on the advantages of Level(s) for different groups of buildings professionals. Explore the Level(s) publications library.

Don’t miss the opportunity to join our webinar on getting started with the new Level(s) eLearning programme and Calculation and Assessment Tool. The webinar takes place on Thursday 1 December 2022, from 10:00 to 11.45 CET.

This is your opportunity to:

• See how the eLearning course can get you ready to start using Level(s) in your working environment.
• Learn how the Calculation and Assessment Tool will simplify the process of completing your sustainability performance assessments using Level(s).
• Get answers to your questions during the interactive sessions.

NOTE: This webinar is repeated and follows the same agenda as the session held on 3 June this year. This webinar is a great opportunity for those who have missed the first session, although all participants are welcome to join.

Register your place.

We’re excited to share the release of the Life Level(s) Layman’s Report.

The publication showcases the outcomes and impacts of the Life Level(s) project over the last two years in promoting Level(s) to buildings sector professionals and policymakers.

Inside you will learn how the project has been:

• Working with green building certification schemes to help them align their methodologies with Level(s).
• Guiding public procurers on integrating Level(s) indicators into procurement criteria.
• Fostering the availability of quality data on the environmental impacts of building materials.
• Delivering Level(s) training to public authorities and buildings professionals.
• Mapping the market impacts of Level(s).

The report also includes testimonials from the eight Green Buildings Councils steering the project. Here are a few highlights:

‘In the Netherlands, the Level(s) framework has spiked the discussion about the importance of uniform data across Europe.’ Laetitia Nossek, Dutch Green Building Council

‘The LIFE level(s) project is now part of my life: it made it possible for me to join into a network of pioneers on sustainable buildings across Europe.’ Borja Izaola, Spanish Green Building Council

‘The response to our Whole Life Carbon course was phenomenal, with full classes continuing to join us almost every month to learn about LCA and the carbon profile of a building over its entire lifetime.’ Stephen Barrett, Irish Green Building Council

Read the Life Level(s) Layman’s report.

If you would like the chance for your Level(s) journey to be featured in upcoming Level(s) webinars/events, publications and social media promotion then we want to hear from you. Please complete our short survey before 16 December 2022 to tell us about your experiences with Level(s). Thank you for taking the time!

Complete the survey.

This edition’s interview is taken from our latest publication: ‘Level(s), What’s in it for Cities?’ Download your copy to read further conversations with city representatives on the advantages of Level(s) in urban working environments.

At CNCA, you work with 21 leading cities aiming to become carbon neutral by 2050 or sooner. How do you think Level(s) can help guide Europe’s cities towards these targets?

‘Our mission is to support cities to lock in long-term change. We have an opportunity to dial down global warming by the way we handle construction in the decades to come. Level(s) presents a unique opportunity to raise awareness and mainstream what the foundations of sustainable buildings look like, and how to reduce the carbon footprint of the buildings we build, renovate, refurbish and deconstruct.’

What is your experience in coordinating ambitious targets across cities across the globe? How do you think Level(s) can help?

‘Reducing embodied carbon in the built environment is difficult, as it concerns different areas of control and influence. The greatest challenge is educating a complex web of cross-sector stakeholders on emissions generated by greenhouse gases. Level(s), with its core indicators and simplified Life Cycle Assessment methodology, is an important step to educate and guide on the importance of, and solutions to, reducing emissions.’

In practical terms, how do you think cities can use Level(s) to incorporate lifecycle thinking and meet their carbon-neutrality targets?

‘Level(s) is a valuable resource to foster creation of data and knowledge for the local marketplace, and to support cities to build in a sustainable and circular way. It helps evolve the concept of sustainability in buildings to a more holistic one, where cities look not only at occupancy, but at the entire lifecycle. Level(s) can also facilitate data collection and be used to set relevant benchmarks. As indicated by one city representative: “Level(s) is the ground for what is happening in Sweden. It is the inspiration.” We need to see this inspiration everywhere in Europe.’

In this issue, we will test your knowledge of using Level(s) to assess and monitor whole life carbon on your building projects. Don’t worry if you missed our recent webinar on this topic. You can prepare for the questions by reading our factsheet on putting whole life carbon into practice with Level(s).

Now that you’ve refreshed your knowledge… Take the quiz!