Building construction & renovation
Key environmental impacts
The most significant environmental impacts related to building construction and renovation work are:
- The consumption of energy for heating, cooling, ventilation, hot water, and electricity, and resulting CO2 emissions
- The consumption of natural resources
- Emission of toxic substances during the production or disposal of building materials leading to air and water pollution
- Negative health impacts on building users due to building materials containing toxic substances
In addressing these issues a number of different aspects must be considered within the planning and tendering process. Most importantly a priority should be put on including high energy efficiency standards. Additionally the use of renewable energy sources (RES) within the building itself, and the use of sustainable building materials should also be carefully considered. Furthermore appropriate monitoring and user information once the project is completed is critical in achieving lasting energy efficiency.
Building construction & renovation works
Given the very different national regulatory frameworks and other conditions across the EU, it is not possible to set universal standards to be used in the procurement of building construction works in all circumstances. Instead a series of concrete guidelines have been developed providing alternative approaches which may be used. The public authority wishing to use these guidelines will need to determine which alternative is most appropriate for their situation. The guidelines principally apply to the energy performance of buildings and the use of sustainable building materials.
The Procura+ Guidelines for sustainable building construction & renovation work focus on:
- Energy consumption
- Use of renewable energy sources (RES )
- Use of sustainable building materials
- Monitoring and user aspects
- Experience of the architect
If you are reading this guidance for the first time it will be necessary to look at the detailed guidance document. The Product Sheet will be sufficient as an everyday reference document.
To download the Product sheet for building construction & renovation click here [pdf-file]
To download the detailed guidance for building construction & renovation click here [pdf-file]