Sustainability in the building sector

🏛️ Sustainability in the building sector has become a central reference point for planning, evaluation, and funding processes. With increasing political demands to systematically consider the ecological, economic, and social dimensions of sustainability, questions about suitable evaluation tools are becoming increasingly important. Certification systems under the umbrella of the Quality Seal for Sustainable Buildings (QNG) offer an established framework for this, particularly in the context of public funding.

Certification systems in the building sector focus on different aspects of the three pillars of sustainability
– Ecological criteria such as greenhouse gas emissions or primary energy requirements are usually well structured
– Economic aspects, such as life cycle costs, are sometimes incorporated inconsistently
– The social dimension has been less systematically recorded to date
In addition, many building sustainability assessment processes only begin in the late stages of a project, even though key decisions regarding sustainability are made much earlier, during the initial planning phase.

📌 These questions are the focus of the project “Evaluation and further development of sustainability assessment in structural support programs of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.” In cooperation with the ÖIR (Austrian Institute for Spatial Planning), which evaluates existing procedures, we at IREES are further developing these by integrating higher requirements for buildings and their sustainability into the application review process without significant additional effort for applicants.

🔍Further information can be found at: Nachhaltigkeitsprüfung in Strukturförderprogrammen des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen – IREES GmbH

IREES-RESEARCH FOR FUTURE 🌍🍃