Evaluating sustainability in the Flemisch dwelling construction sector

Reducing the ecological impact of housing is receiving increasing attention by researchers, policy-makers and industry. As a result of the EPBD 2010/31/EU (EPBD, 2010), the focus in Europe is primarily on reducing energy consumption. To generate a more complete picture of the environmental burdens and avoid problem-shifting, it is appropriate to work within a life cycle perspective. Different techniques like Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) exist and are often used to evaluate independent case studies, but until now it has never been used to as evaluation tool on a bigger scale. This study describes the start-up and methodology of a project to evaluate the sustainability of the Flemish housing industry. The main goal is to evaluate the common building practice and methods of contractors and building promoters and link this to a financial feasibility analysis. Both ecological and financial aspects will be examined, using techniques of LCA and Life Cycle Costing (LCC). Of course this will not be an endpoint, but the results will be used to develop improvement strategies. The results of this project can be a basis for policy-making.

Jaar van publicatie:2012