Level(s) newsletter March 2024

Don’t miss our upcoming webinar showing how Level(s) can help industry professionals to navigate sustainable finance rule changes affecting construction and real estate.  

The session explores changes relating to the EU Taxonomy – a classification system setting the conditions that key construction and real estate activities will have to respect in order to qualify as environmentally sustainable.

Why attend?

• Learn about the purpose and objectives of the EU Taxonomy in relation to sustainable construction and real estate activities.
• Find out how the Level(s) sustainability performance indicators help you to report on sustainable construction and real estate activities covered by the Taxonomy.
• Discover how the Climate Delegated Act (2021) and Environmental Delegated Act (2023) influence reporting requirements. 
• Understand how Level(s) helps you stay a step ahead of evolving EU regulations. 

Who should attend?

• Construction and real estate professionals seeking to align with EU sustainability regulations.
• Companies and individuals involved in building sector sustainability, from design to demolition.
• Financial market participants, advisors, and stakeholders interested in sustainable investment.
• National ministries and civil society members focused on sustainable development and environmental policy.

Date and time 

18 March 2024 from 15:00 to 16:45 CET 

Register your place!  

Thank you to those who joined us for the Level(s) online conference on 13 December 2023!

The conference, entitled ‘Discover Level(s) | Learn how this EU common language can help you assess the environmental performance of buildings’, was attended by 273 online participants, who learned how Level(s) can help with assessing the environmental performance of buildings.

The conference explored several aspects, including:

• How Level(s) works and how it can be applied at each stage of a building’s lifecycle to assess and monitor sustainability performance
• How Level(s) helps to align construction practices with EU policies 
• How the eLearning programme prepares you to start using Level(s) in your working environment
• How the calculation and assessment tool (CAT) makes it easier to complete your sustainability performance assessments

After presenting Level(s) within the landscape of EU sustainable building policy, the conference included a walk-through of the key Level(s) tools.
 
If you missed the conference, you can catch up on the recording at a time that suits you: Watch the recording

Make sure you are subscribed to the Level(s) Newsletter to be on the list for news about future Level(s) events.

In October, BUILD UP hosted a webinar on a local authorities’ policy toolkit to promote circular construction skills. If you did not catch the webinar at the time, the recording is available for you to watch back at your convenience.

Co-organised by BUS-GoCircular and ICLEI Europe, the webinar explained the key insights from the BUS-GoCircular project. This project focuses on developing and implementing a circular construction skills qualification framework.

The insights from the webinar may be of interest to local authorities looking to:

• find out how the policy toolkit makes it simpler and easier to begin promoting circular construction skills;
• discover a wealth of resources including training materials, circular construction guides, and the ‘Fundamental Training Pack for SMEs’;
• visualise a successful project in action, the LIFE Waste 2 Build project in Toulouse Metropolis, which showcased real actions to upskill diverse audiences in the field of circular construction;
• learn about the barriers to circular construction skills and how public procurement can be a game-changer in this sector.

Watch the webinar 

The pan-European NEBA Alliance consortium has announced the launch of the New European Bauhaus Academy (NEB Academy), a significant development in our shared journey towards a more sustainable built environment.

The NEB Academy, first announced by President von der Leyen in Finland in November 2022, aims to push new skills and education across all levels of the construction sector, focusing on the NEB values of sustainability, aesthetics, and inclusiveness.

Level(s), as the EU's common language for improving the sustainability performance of buildings, is a simple entry point for applying circular economy principles in our built environment. Its framework is an extensively tested system for measuring and supporting improvements – from building design to end of life, for various building types. 

Therefore, Level(s) is perfectly positioned to compliment the NEB Academy’s values, which promote building sustainability, aesthetics and inclusiveness by ensuring accurate and consistent reporting of sustainability across the construction sector.

President von der Leyen has welcomed the NEB Academy, stating: 

‘It will be a solid support for Europe's construction industry, addressing labour shortages and promoting knowledge sharing including on sustainable bio-based solutions, like the circular use of wood and other innovative materials.’

Over the next two years, the NEBA Alliance will develop an international alliance of educational actors and training providers, connecting five local and regional hubs across Europe. These hubs will offer tailored and high-quality co-created training services, curricula, and programmes on sustainable construction solutions via a digital platform.

The NEB Academy is now ready to launch its EU-wide training network, backed by a powerhouse of 14 European partners, so keep an eye out for further news on its launch.

Learn more about the NEB Academy

If you are interested in finding out more about this topic, you can also read our factsheet on Level(s) and the new European Bauhaus.

The European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform, a joint initiative of the European Commission and the European Economic and Social Committee, brings together stakeholders in Europe’s circular economy field.

The Platform recently hosted a webinar presenting an investor’s perspective on preparing circular construction and infrastructure projects, which is now available to rewatch online and may be of interest to members of the Level(s) community. 

In particular, the webinar may provide insights for those involved in investment, including investors, financial professionals, sustainability and CSR officers, policy makers, urban planners, city officials, and academics in the field of circular construction and infrastructure.

It featured various discussions of relevance to Level(s)’ focus on assessing and reporting on the sustainability performance of buildings, including presentations on building lifecycle costing, calculating the positive impact of circularity within construction projects, and exposing misinformation around the cost of reusing building materials.

In addition, the webinar provided information on financial opportunities for investors, such as how the introduction of the Corporate Sustainability Responsibility Directive (CSRD) reporting presents a new challenge for investors to align their investments with the new sustainability standards.

Watch the webinar recording here

The EU Science Hub, the Joint Research Centre (JRC), has recently published a significant report on construction and demolition waste (CDW).

The report confirms that the circular economy is crucial for reaching climate neutrality by 2050. Significantly, it references and promotes the use of Level(s) to integrate Life Cycle Assessment in public procurement and the EU sustainable finance framework.

This report reviews and analyses data on CDW generation, composition and management at EU27 level and performing an environmental and techno-economic assessment of the most important management technologies. This includes lifecycle assessment and lifecycle costing to provide data on the preparation for reuse and recycling objectives for individual material fractions.

Here are some key insights from the report:

• CDW accounts for almost 40 % of all waste generated in the EU, highlighting the urgent need for effective waste management strategies.
• The new JRC study estimates the potential for recycling and preparing for re-use of CDW to be roughly 83 %.
• Realising this potential would lead to an additional 33-52 Mt CO2e savings annually, equivalent to at least the combined annual emissions of Estonia, Latvia, and Luxembourg. 

The findings of this report reaffirm the critical role of the circular economy in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and moving towards a more sustainable future.

 Read the full report here

You can learn more about the background to the report in the Level(s) Interview below.

Firstly, could you tell us a bit about the background to this report and your role in producing it?

The excellent JRC report on construction and demolition waste (CDW) has been produced in the context of a review clause in the Waste Framework Directive that requires the Commission to consider the feasibility of setting ‘preparing for re-use’ and recycling targets for CDW. It therefore provides the Commission with important background information and insights into the current practices and technologies in the CDW area, and the techno-economic and environmental impacts of CDW management. This recent report follows an earlier JRC study on the issue.

I am coordinating DG Environment’s work on CDW, and I am therefore closely following the research done by the JRC. I therefore provided comments to previous versions of the report and remained in close contact with the authors throughout the project.

The report confirms the crucial role of circularity in reaching climate neutrality. Why is the circular economy so important to this?

The key reason for the enormous potential of circularity to mitigate climate change is that construction products require lots of resources, including energy, to be extracted and produced. Re-used products and recycled construction materials in principle have much lower resource requirements and therefore a lower environmental footprint.

Circularity by definition requires a lifecycle approach. This is why it is crucial to already think about the end-of-life during the design stage of any project related to the built environment. This will then reduce waste and carbon emissions in the first place and enable better collection, sorting and recycling of CDW thereby again reducing carbon emissions.

In this context, can you explain why our approach to Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) is key to achieving EU climate ambitions?

Indeed, CDW represents almost 40 % of all waste generated in the EU. The report demonstrates that circularity in the built environment is indispensable to reach climate neutrality. It estimates that if we were to prepare for re-use and recycle CDW in line with available practices/technology, we could save an additional 33-52 Mt of greenhouse gas emissions every year. For example, this is more than the annual emissions from Estonia, Latvia and Luxembourg combined!

The report mentions the use of Level(s) to integrate Life Cycle Assessment into public procurement and EU sustainable finance. How do you see the role of Level(s) in this context?

Level(s) is key, also in the context of (green) public procurement and the EU Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance. In fact, the substantial contribution criteria for ‘Construction and real estate activities’ refer to Level(s) also in the context of preparing for re-use and recycling of CDW. There is therefore a clear link between the findings of the report, the EU Taxonomy and Level(s), whereby Level(s) is the reporting and verification tool used to demonstrate alignment with the EU Taxonomy criteria which in turn are in line with the findings of the JRC report.

Would you have any recommendations for Level(s) users, particularly in terms of how they make use of Indicator 2.2., ‘CDW and materials’?

Indicator 2.2. is not only useful for demonstrating Taxonomy-alignment but can be used as an information tool to analyse the degree of circularity. For instance, it can be used to identify how much CDW is generated, how much of it is prepared for re-use, and how much is recycled. This provides an important indication of how circular a building and a specific intervention is, and for which material-specific fractions improvements are needed and possible. Level(s) is instrumental in having this done in a standardised format to be able to compare one building with another on equal terms and avoid comparing apples with oranges.

If you are looking to use Level(s) in one of your sustainable building projects, we recommend taking our Level(s) eLearning course.

This comprehensive training course provides a detailed overview of the Level(s) framework and gives you the tools and knowledge to start applying it in your work environment!

The eLearning course takes you through the six Level(s) macro-objectives, from macro-objective 1, greenhouse gas emissions along a building’s life cycle, through to macro-objective 6, optimised life cycle cost and value. If you already use Level(s), you can also use the Level(s) Calculation and Assessment Tool (CAT) to help you complete your sustainability performance assessments.

Sound familiar? The eLearning Course and CAT were featured prominently in the recent ‘Discover Level(s)’ online conference on ‘Learn how this EU common language can help you assess the environmental performance of buildings’, as mentioned further up this newsletter.

You can access both the eLearning course and the CAT on our website.

We are always here to support you on the Level(s) helpdesk. 

If you have any questions about Level(s) or need advice on how to assess and report the sustainability of your building projects, you can contact us anytime.

The helpdesk is managed by Ecorys Europe, a contractor working on behalf of the European Commission. The team is available to respond to enquiries in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, or Polish.

We aim to respond to enquiries within 15 working days. However, due to an increased volume of enquiries, response times may take longer than this. Rest assured we're committed to responding to queries as quickly as possible.
 
Visit the Level(s) helpdesk

We are excited to announce that the Level(s) LinkedIn group has passed 3 000 members and continues to grow at an exceptional rate! Join now and be part of the future of sustainable building reporting.

The Level(s) LinkedIn Group is the ideal place to share your experiences of Level(s) with the sustainable building community. You will also be among the first to learn about Level(s) materials, events and publications. 

Since the group launched in March 2021, it has attracted members from across the construction sector. A warm welcome to all the members who have recently joined, and a big thank you to those who have been with us from the very beginning. Your dedication and contributions have laid the foundation for the vibrant space of today.

Thank you for being part of our 3 000-strong family!

If you are not yet a member of the LinkedIn Group, make sure you join today to be a part of this growing and active community.

Join the Level(s) LinkedIn Group

As a reader of the Level(s) Newsletter, your feedback is really valuable to us.

We are currently running a survey, which we kindly ask you to take a moment out of your day to complete. The survey is accessible via EUSurvey and should take no more than 5-10 minutes to complete: 

Complete the survey

Your view will help us make future issues of this newsletter as useful and interesting as possible for Level(s) users and stakeholders.

We are also gathering feedback on the Level(s) website, so if you can spare a few more minutes, please do share your views in our Level(s) website survey.

This issue’s quiz is all about the role of Europe’s building stock in the clean energy transition.

To test your knowledge, take the quiz!

The figures in this quiz have been taken from ‘Clean energy transition to REPower the EU’, a synergy info pack by CORDIS.

The synergy brochure highlights how 33 EU-funded projects are working to advance Europe’s clean energy transition. 

The brochure may provide interesting reading for Level(s) stakeholders, particularly as its first chapter focuses on renovating Europe’s building stock.

Read the brochure here