Regulatory Framework, Labels & Tools

Service Description

In the coming years, a wave of new sustainability regulations is heading toward our (unprepared!) construction sector. On top of that, many architects already struggle to see the forest for the trees amid all the labels, tools, and calculation methods. How do we currently determine what is sustainable—and what isn’t? And how will that change in the future? This session offers a clear overview of existing and upcoming regulations and explores the impact they will have on your role as a designer or construction professional. We’ll look at how material choices will increasingly be dictated by norms and thresholds, and take a closer look at the role of sustainability labels: what do they really measure, and how can you distinguish true environmental benefit from greenwashing? Finally, we’ll explore the tools that are already shaping material choices today, with special focus on GRO and TOTEM. You’ll learn how to work with them, what opportunities they offer, and also where caution is warranted. After this training: - You will understand which regulations already affect your material choices and how these will evolve in the future. - You will be familiar with the meaning and anticipated changes in EU legislation such as EPBD, CPR, EU Taxonomy, and CSRD. - You will have a clear idea of how the future M-score and its imposed limit values may influence your design process, with examples from other EU countries where such limits already exist. - You will have an overview of existing sustainability labels and certification systems such as BREEAM, DNGB, C2C, CO2 Performance Ladder, Dubokeur, and others, and understand to what extent they may (or may not) support you in reducing environmental impact. - You will have a solid understanding of the sustainability tools Level(s), GRO, and TOTEM, what they are designed for, and what added value they can offer. - Thanks to a series of practical examples, you’ll understand why results from tools like TOTEM need to be interpreted with nuance and caution. Why this training? If you are typically involved in larger-scale projects, this course offers a set of crucial insights that will help you anticipate the coming changes in the construction industry. You’ll gain a solid understanding of every major regulation and learn how to make sense of existing labels and tools. By consistently linking each topic back to practical implications, we equip you with clear takeaways you can apply in your own projects and discussions with partners. For whom? This course is suitable for designers and developers who want to gain a clear understanding of upcoming regulations on building materials, who are curious about the real value of sustainability labels, or construction professionals who have questions about the strengths and limitations of the TOTEM tool. No prior experience is required, though some familiarity with LCA or sustainability metrics will be helpful.