RESTART THE TIMELINE

The concept of a building passport has been discussed for several years in various fora, including the European Commission “Construction 2020”’s Thematic Group 1 on “Stimulating investment in building renovation, infrastructure and innovation.” The Global Alliance for Building and Construction (Global ABC) is a separate organisation that was established during COP21 in Paris. In 2018, the two initiatives collaborated, in order to start work on more specific proposals for a building passport. A Task Force was set up for this purpose. Any passport would be voluntary and would provide a record of all activity during the building’s life time, e.g. scheduled maintenance of heating systems, renovation works, changes of ownership etc. The passport could be used for valuation purposes. The concept has been compared with a log book for a car.

Why FIEC is dealing with this issue/topic and their objective(s)
FIEC is a member of the Global ABC Building Passport Task Force. The federation wishes to contribute to the work that is taking place, with a view to ensuring that any such passport is practical, easy to use, linked to Building Information Modelling (BIM) and adds value for all parties in the construction ecosystem, including of course contractors.

Actions and key dates

29/06/2018 – Global ACB meeting to discuss building passport concept
05/02/2019 – Building Passport Task Force kick-off meeting.
https://www.globalabc.org/

In 2018 the European Commission adopted an ambitious Circular Economy Package, which included revised legislative proposals on waste to stimulate Europe's transition towards a circular economy aimed at boosting global competitiveness, fostering sustainable economic growth and generating new jobs. The revised legislative proposal on waste set clear targets for reduction of waste and established an ambitious and credible long-term path for waste management and recycling. To ensure effective implementation, the waste reduction targets in the new proposal were accompanied by concrete measures to address obstacles on the ground and the different situations across EU Member States. Further information on the package can be found here: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/target_review.htm

Why FIEC is dealing with this issue/topic and their objective(s)
FIEC is committed to the Circular Economy and proposed amendments to both the Waste Framework Directive proposal and the Landfill Directive proposal during the lengthy discussions that took place in the EU institutions, prior to the adoption of the package. Our current priority is to participate in the backfilling study, which was launched early in 2019.

Actions and key dates

18/01/2016 – FIEC position on the Circular Economy Action Plan and Waste
26/08/2016 – FIEC proposed amendments submitted to European Parliament ENVI Committee
04/02/2018 – FIEC nominations submitted for study on backfilling.
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-economy/

The Construction Products Regulation (CPR) regulates the placing on the EU market of construction products. Amongst other things, CE Marking is applied to products in the framework of harmonised standards and a Declaration of Performance is required to accompany the product.

Why FIEC is dealing with this issue/topic and their objective(s)
The CE Mark in the context of the CPR is widely misunderstood and contractors need more information than is provided in the accompanying Declaration of Performance. Over the years, FIEC has been lobbying for improvements to protect contractors from the legal uncertainty that exists and there have been discussions regarding a possible revision of the CPR. The form that this might take has been the subject of many meetings and several studies have been undertaken, including one in 2018 on EU rules for products used in the construction of buildings and infrastructure works. At the time of writing, no conclusions have been reached about the future of the CPR, so FIEC’s work on this matter continues.

Actions and key dates

19/04/2016 – FIEC joint position with Construction Products Europe on CPR and Standardisation
13/07/2017 – FIEC position on the revision of the CPR
22/01/2018 – Open consultation on EU rules for products used in the construction of buildings and infrastructure works.
05/04/2018 – FIEC response to above consultation
Sept 2018 - Supporting study for the Review of the CPR: Evaluation
Ongoing – Bi-annual meetings of Standing Committee on Construction.

The European Commission is preparing a document with the input of stakeholders, on the Principles of Design for Deconstruction. The work falls under the Construction 2020 initiative, Thematic Group 3 “Sustainable use of natural resources”. Design for Deconstruction is a concept whereby buildings are designed with the end of life already in mind. The aim is to maximise the opportunities for re-use and recycling of materials from disassembled buildings, by firstly choosing non-toxic and re-useable materials as far as possible and then installing them in ways that facilitate easy disassembly, such as avoiding the use of glues etc.

Why FIEC is dealing with this issue/topic and their objective(s)
FIEC supports the Circular Economy in construction. One of the obstacles to recycling and re-use is that materials are often toxic, or do not meet current safety standards, which have susperseded those that were in place at the time of construction. Another obstacle is that materials have been installed in ways that make it impossible to recover them at disassembly or demolition stage. The Principles of Design for Deconstruction will help to explain how buildings can be better designed and constructed for maximum recycling and re-use opportunities. FIEC supports this work and is involved in the small stakeholder group dedicated to the development of the principles.

Actions and key dates

11/10/2018 – Meeting of Thematic Group 3, Design for Deconstruction Working Group
14/03/2019 – Meeting of Thematic Group 3, Design for Deconstruction Working Group
October 2019 – Principles of Design for Deconstruction to be published.

The European Council for Construction Research, Development and Innovation (ECCREDI) was created in Brussels on 19 December 1995 with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding by representatives of European federations concerned with construction, in its widest sense. The aim of ECCREDI is to contribute to the competitiveness, quality, safety and environmental performance of the construction sector and to the overall sustainability of the built environment – all urban and transport infrastructures – by advocating for effective construction research, technological and process development and innovation. ECCREDI adds value as a European council that connects its members and establishes areas of common interest, for which joint action is more successful than isolated approaches from individual members.

Why FIEC is dealing with this issue/topic and their objective(s)
FIEC is a member of ECCREDI and currently holds the presidency. FIEC is able to achieve more by pooling its resources with ECCREDI members, than by acting alone. The priority for the current year is to ensure that Horizon Europe (the next research framework programme) contains adequate opportunities for contractors. Specifically, FIEC has co-signed a communication, which asks for a Co-programmed European Partnership for the Built Environment and Construction.

To find out more: https://www.eccredi.org/

Actions and key dates

03/05/2018 – ECCREDI meeting
14/11/2018 – ECCREDI hosts a parallel session during the annual ECTP conference
22/11/2018 – ECCREDI meeting
11/04/2019 – ECCREDI Communication on Horizon Europe

The European Construction, built environment and energy efficient building Technology Platform (ECTP) is a leading membership organisation promoting and influencing the future of the Built Environment. First founded in 2004 ECTP brings together the collective vision for a leading edge European Built Environment on behalf of its Members. ECTP has around 150 member organisations from across the construction sector and other sectors from the whole supply chain of the Built Environment

Its diverse membership across 26 countries, large enterprises, SMEs, universities, research organisations and professional associations allows it to take an integrated approach to tackling all relevant issues. It connects people and organisations from across the supply chain, helping them to work collectively to improve the position on many societal and industrial issues including energy, climate change, efficiency and infrastructure.

Why FIEC is dealing with this issue/topic and their objective(s)
FIEC is a member of ECTP. Its membership enables the federation to ensure that specific research programmes are appropriate for the construction industry. It is also a way of finding potential partners for projects, or for being invited to participate by other organisations, in appropriate research and other EU projects.

Actions and key dates

27/06/2018 – ECTP event European Parliament. FIEC TEC President José-Michaël Chenu a speaker.
13/11/2018 – FIEC President Kjetil Tonning a keynote speaker at the annual ECTP conference
14/11/2018 – ECCREDI hosts a parallel session during the annual ECTP conference.
http://www.ectp.org/about-us/

Directive (EU) 2018/844 of 30 May 2018 amending Directive 2010/31/EU on the energy performance of buildings and Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency. The EPBD is the EU's main legislative instrument promoting the improvement of the energy performance of buildings within the EU.

Why FIEC is dealing with this issue/topic and their objective(s)
Buildings are responsible for approximately 40% of energy consumption and 36% of CO2 emissions in the EU. Currently, about 35% of the EU's buildings are over 50 years old and almost 75% of the building stock is energy inefficient, while only 0.4-1.2% of the building stock is renovated each year. Therefore, more renovation of existing buildings has the potential to lead to significant energy savings. Investments in energy efficiency can stimulate the construction industry. SMEs would particularly benefit from a boosted renovation market, as they contribute more than 70% of the value added in the EU building sector. Now that the amended Directive has been adopted, FIEC’s main objective is to follow the development of the Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI) and lobby accordingly. FIEC has joined recent stakeholder meetings and has participated in a task group, which looked at the value proposition of the SRI.

Actions and key dates

15/03/2017 – FIEC position on EPBD revision
30/05/2018 – Directive (EU) amending Directive 2010/31/EU on the energy performance of buildings and Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency
16/10/2018 – SRI discussed with European Commission during TEC-3 meeting
18/12/2018 – Feasibility study launched on optional building renovation passport
26/03/2019 – Stakeholder group and topical workshop on value proposition of SRI.


https://ec.europa.eu/info/news/new-energy-performance-buildings-directive-comes-force-9-july-2018-2018-jun-19_en
https://smartreadinessindicator.eu/

The European Committee for Standardisation is an association that brings together the National Standardisation Bodies of 34 European countries. CEN is one of three European Standardisation Organisations (together with CENELEC and ETSI) that have been officially recognised by the European Union and by the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) as being responsible for developing and defining voluntary standards at European level. CEN provides a platform for the development of European Standards and other technical documents in relation to various kinds of products, materials, services and processes. For construction, although standards remain voluntary, they effectively become mandatory in reality under the CPR (see separate document).

Why FIEC is dealing with this issue/topic and their objective(s)
Contractors are significantly affected by standardisation. They need to be represented in the process of developing standards and often cannot give time to the activity, which is both time consuming and costly, because meetings are held all over Europe. As well as representing contractors when they cannot do it themselves, FIEC and its member federations influence standardisation at EU and national level in a number of ways. These include FIEC’s role as a CEN Partner Organisation with observer status on the CEN Technical Board and on CEN Technical Committees and Working Groups. FIEC also participates in the CEN Construction Sector Network Core Group. Its member federations participate in the national mirror committees and also by lobbying the National Standards Organisations in their own countries.

Actions and key dates

13/06/2016 – Launch of Joint Initiative on Standardisation (JIES)
01/10/2018 – Bilateral meeting FIEC TEC President José-Michaël Chenu and CEN Secretary General Elena Santiago Cid Expected 2019 – Closing report of JIES.