EU sets out the standards for sustainability
- alexandramv
- Jan 7, 2016
- 2 min read
Sustainable Development stands for meeting the needs of present generations without jeopardizing the ability of future generations to do the same – in other words, a better quality of life for everyone, now and for generations to come. It offers a vision of progress that integrates immediate and longer-term objectives, local and global action, and regards social, economic and environmental issues as inseparable and interdependent components of human progress.
Sustainability cannot be brought about by policies only: it must be taken up by each member of this society as a principle, guiding the many day-to-day choices, as well as the big political and economic decisions that have to be taken. This requires profound changes in thinking, in economic and social structures and in consumption and production patterns.
In building...
The EU2020 strategy (from 2010) sets the course for the European economy for the following ten years and beyond by focusing on three main priorities: smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.
As a follow up of this, the Resource efficiency roadmap was adopted by the European Commission in September 2011. It concludes that existing policies on buildings, mainly linked to energy efficiency, need to be complemented with policies for resource efficiency, looking at a wider range of resource use and environmental impacts, across the life-cycle of buildings."
The construction sector plays an important role in the European economy. It generates almost 10 % of GDP and provides 20 million jobs, mainly in micro and small enterprises. Construction is also a major consumer of intermediate products (raw materials, chemicals, electrical and electronic equipment, etc.) and related services. Because of its economic importance, the performance of the construction sector can significantly influence the development of the overall economy.
The goal of re-using, recycling and/or recovering 70 % of construction and demolition waste by 2020 according to the Waste Framework Directive represents a valuable business opportunity for the construction value chain. Better and clearer definitions of waste, harmonised registration conditions for transporting waste and harmonised rules on the characteristics of construction products regarding material use, durability and environmental compatibility could be beneficial to industry.
Also, a sustainable construction sector plays a crucial role for reaching the EU's long term 80-95% greenhouse gas emission reduction objective. According to the Roadmap for moving to a competitive low carbon economy in 2050[3] the cost-efficient contribution of the buildings sector would be around 40 to 50% reduction in 2030 and around 90% in 2050.
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