Sustainability and Resilience Assessment Methods: A Literature Review to Support the Decarbonization Target for the Construction Sector

It is a well-known issue that the 2050 target of carbon emissions neutrality will be reached only with the co-operation of all the interested sectors, and the construction sector could be one of the main contributors to this change. With the built environment globally responsible for about 40% of annual global energy-related CO2 emissions, the construction sector offers an important opportunity to drive transformative change and presents the most challenging mitigation potential among all industrial sectors, which also brings opportunities for adopting sustainability practices and increasing resilience. This paper presents a systematic literature review of those two pivotal concepts to reach the decarbonization goal: sustainability and resilience. Starting from an extensive literature review (2536 scientific documents) based on the PRISMA statement, the definitions and assessment methodologies of those concepts for the construction sector have been studied. The methodological approach followed for their analysis has been conducted on a first selection of 42 documents, further reduced to 12 by using clear inclusion criteria to identify the integrated assessment procedures. The main goal of this study is to clarify the correlation between sustainability and resilience concepts for constructions and their integrated assessment, in line with the latest regulations and market needs. The results show that, currently, sustainability and resilience are mainly evaluated in a distinct way to obtain building energy performance certificates, as well as to quantify the building market value and its complementary contribution to the ‘energy efficiency first’ principle and energy-saving targets towards the emergent issue of climate change. Few works focus on the integrated assessment of both concepts considering the construction industries’ point of view about materials and/or systems for buildings. The novelty of this study is the critical review of the current sustainability and resilience integrated assessment methods used for the construction value chain, declined for four main target groups. Researchers, policymakers, industries, and professionals could gain dedicated insights and practical suggestions to put in practice the elements of circular economy, ecological innovation, and cleaner production, which are essential in order to drive the decarbonization of the built environment

LA RIQUALIFICAZIONE ENERGETICA DELL’INVOLUCRO EDILIZIO ATTRAVERSO UN SISTEMA ISOLANTE COMPOSITO. MESSA IN OPERA E MISURA DELLE PRESTAZIONI THE BUILDING ENVELOPE RENOVATION TROUGHT COMPOSITE INSULATION SYSTEM. INSTALLATION AND MEASUREMENT OF PERFORMANCE

More than 60% of the existing building stock in Lombardy Region has been built before the 70’s and it is among the main responsible causes of final energy absorption and corresponding CO2 emissions. In this view, the residential buildings represent the main relevant part with a mean overall performance index of 201.8 kWh/m2a. The promotion of renovation measures for such buildings, also through innovative solutions, is becoming increasingly important for both containing the greenhouse gas emissions and supporting the growth of the construction sector. To this topic, the work presents the energy renovation of a social housing building in the Province of Milan through the application of innovative prefabricated façade panels that integrate both thermal insulation and exterior finishing. In detail, the paper describes, on one hand, the relevant design strategies following the preliminary analysis and, on the other hand, the process of installation; besides, the final performance of the retrofitted envelope is documented by the results of the monitoring campaign

A review on Building Renovation Passport: potentialities and barriers on current initiatives

Lack of information and transparency increases risk and undermines investor confidence. Therefore, a systematized and optimized capture and processing of information also supports investment decision making and creates opportunities for innovation and uptake of energy efficiency and sustainability measures, processes and designs. Building passports could play a valuable role in boosting the availability of information to a wide range of market participants. Better information flows are a necessary part of improving the quality assurance system for buildings and the construction industry market overall. The aim of the paper is firstly to set a Building Renovation Passport (BRP) definition, to explore the potential role of a voluntary scheme across EU as a key tool to help overcome this information imbalance by providing all market stakeholders, including financing institutions, providers of mortgage credit, investors and insurers with access to key building related documentation and information to properly assess the many factors impacting the overall quality of buildings. Within the presented study three initiatives currently developed across EU (Flanders, France and Germany), have been selected to be investigated in details providing an extensive overview of the process supporting the creation of a Building Renovation Passport and covering the main issues necessary for its development and implementation

Outer facade retrofitting trough precast insulation panels: method and planning tool applied to an Italian residential building

Much of the required reduction in energy consumption needs to be achieved through the renovation of existing buildings. To this topic, the work presents all the research steps from the design process, through the experimental characterization in laboratory to the final on-site construction with respective monitoring campaign for the envelope retrofitting of an Italian residential building. The developed system, result of a European founded project EASEE is a prefabricated composite panel that integrate both thermal insulation and exterior finishing

Lightweight extensive green roof for building renovation: Summer performance analysis and application in a living laboratory

Extensive green roofs are considered an effective energy conservation measure for increasing buildings’ energy efficiency and reducing the heat wave effect in dense build environments. In this context the present work has a two-fold objective: the first is to test and analyse a commercial extensive lightweight green roof sample through an experimental monitoring campaign carried out in a hot climate during the summer time; the second is to provide a practical case study application showing the architectural integration of the extensive green roof technology for existing buildings. The experimental monitoring campaign has been set for analyzing the temperature levels of an extensive green roof compared with a traditional horizontal roof finished with cement tile. The temperature levels have been analysed through a set of sensors positioned at different levels to characterise the green roof response to the climatic forces during summer. The results show that the air temperature in proximity to the green surface (15 cm above the greenery) is warmer than the undisturbed ambient air temperature during the day and lower during the night by 2–2.5 °C. The soil substrate and the vegetative layer contribute to increase ambient air humidity levels. As expected, the evapotranspiration of the green layer increases during a typical sunny day resulting in more water content in the air above the vegetative level of about 4–8 %. The surface temperature of the ground below the vegetation layer and the temperature of the ground layer (8 cm deep) shows beneficial attenuation and time shift properties with respectively 12–15 °C and 3–4 h. Compared to the traditional cement tiles the green roof shows lower intralayer temperature with differences ranging from 6 to 8 °C. Moreover, the renovation case study represents a practical example of green roof technology integration in a real environment. The study has high replicability, and it is meant to be an interesting example for researchers and professionals to boost the green roof technology application for higher-quality built environments. Keywords: Extensive green roof; Hygrothermal performance; Monitoring; Multi-layer dry construction; Mitigation Strategies; Building renovatio

Open Innovation for the Construction Sector: Concept Overview and Test Bed Development to Boost Energy-Efficient Solutions

Open innovation has recently emerged as an important concept in both academic research and industrial practice, and it is now also becoming increasingly important in the public policy field due to the innovation challenges in different domains, such as climate change, sustainability, and growth to name a few, but only in some value chains (i.e., automotive, manufacturing, aerospace). According to a report by McKinsey and Co., the construction industry lags behind others in adopting innovations; in fact, less than 1% of the construction industry’s revenue goes back into technology research and development. This work focuses on the current debate on the underdeveloped application of the open innovation (OI) approach to the construction sector. Namely, the foundational question is whether the OI model can be the answer to boosting innovation for the decarbonization of buildings. The research goal is to go a step further by analyzing its internal effectiveness, focusing on introducing and defining the Open Innovation Test Bed (OITB) concept. The study provides a systematic and bibliometric literature review of OI starting from a critical analysis of the concept definition and the evolution of the paradigm from the initial application to the first declination for the construction sector. All the steps analyzed allowed us to make an overall and comprehensive review of the OI concept, which is usually applied to other sectors, considering the ecosystem as the most effective declination of the OI paradigm for OITB development for building envelope solutions, thus providing answers to the two objectives identified in the introduction. Finally, the limitations of prior OI studies and the challenges for the OITB new construction paradigm are discussed, and we make recommendations for future opportunities and approach development to tackle and boost energy-efficient envelope solutions for the construction industries

The digital building logbook as a gateway linked to existing national data sources: The cases of Spain and Italy

The Digital Building Logbook (DBL) was first introduced together with the Renovation Wave initiative, promoted by the European Commission and then defined in the proposal for a recast of the energy performance of buildings Directive, in December 2021, as a repository of relevant data on a building that aims to alleviate the current lack of information of the European building stock. Several data sources on buildings already exist at different levels in Europe, and their interlinkage is crucial for a proper data population of the future Building Logbook. However, these data sources are scattered and heterogeneous, thus, they need to be evaluated to determine their suitability for the DBL. This paper analyses the sources that currently exist in Spain and Italy, focusing respectively on Aragon and Lombardy region, and addressing their interoperability possibilities and the indicators collected. The results show that the available data are not fully aligned with the relevant indicators from the existing proposals for a European DBL, and that few data sources are currently suitable for the DBL, since most of them are not interoperable. Considering the features and limitations of the data sources, a dataflow general scheme based on the definition of the DBL is defined for each case study, and guidelines are presented on data collection and interoperability in order to make its implementation feasible at the European scale

New generation Energy Performance Certificate: Development and application in an Italian case study as an EU proof of concept

The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive recast, voted in March 2024, aims to boost the amelioration of the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) with the introduction of new indicators in a dedicated template (Annex V), as a key tool towards the decarbonization of the building sector, in line with the Green Deal’s climate neutrality goals. In this context, the H2020 Energy Performance Certificate Recast project develops a new generation of EPC focused on existing residential buildings. The paper presents the state of progress of the Energy Performance Certificate Recast methodology, comparing it with the standard national procedure in different EU partner countries. The novelty of the work is the testing methodology of a new generation of this tool, which aims to overcome the barriers identified in the current EPC procedure across Europe and to validate the reliability and user-friendliness of this new approach. The final goal of the work is to prove the applicability and potentialities of this innovative approach, providing a clear and punctual presentation of each step of the assessment and the testing methodology of the new generation of Energy Performance Certificate, coupled with its application in an Italian case study as a Proof of Concept

Towards harmonising energy performance certificate indicators in Europe

Achieving the European Union's ambitious goal of transforming buildings into carbon-neutral assets is crucial for combating climate change and improving energy efficiency. The harmonization of Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) plays a vital role in this effort. It can provide a standardized measure of building energy performance, which is crucial for benchmarking and improving energy efficiency across Member States. In the context of the recast Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) of 2024, this study examines the progress made by EU Member States in standardizing EPCs. The research aims to evaluate the implementation of EPC indicators, focusing on data quality, calculation methods, and costs. The methodological procedure followed for the study led to the development of a dedicated Cross Comparative Matrix (CCM) to assess the implementation of EPC indicators across 27 EU Member States and their reading feature allowed the declination into three scenarios for different EPC data analysis: qualitative, quantitative and burden costs. The findings reveal significant disparities, particularly in areas such as thermal comfort and smart readiness, due to the lack of a common methodology and local regulatory differences. While key indicators like energy performance class and primary energy use are widely implemented, compliance with EU standards varies. The study concludes by recommending standardized methodologies and enhanced assessor training to improve EPC quality, harmonization, and effectiveness. This research contributes to policy discussions by offering a comprehensive framework for EPC evaluation and insights into improving data quality, reliability, and accessibility. The originality of this study lies in its cross-national analysis, highlighting the need for a unified EPC scheme to promote building sustainability across the EU

Stato dell'arte ed evoluzione dell'attestato di prestazione energetica degli edifici nel contesto europeo

Il settore edile assorbe a livello europeo circa il 40% del totale di energia finale e circa il 75% de-gli edifici è caratterizzato da una scarsa efficienza energetica. Considerato l’attuale tasso di riqua-lificazione degli edifici, pari a circa l’1.2% anno, sarebbe necessario un secolo per portare il parco immobiliare europeo a livelli previsti dalla normativa. L’attestato di certificazione energetica (EPC - Energy Performance Certificate) è attualmente uno tra i principali strumenti di mappatura del rendimento energetico degli edifici dei quali ne sintetizza caratteristiche ed efficienza energe-tica. Tuttavia, le recenti analisi condotte sull’impatto dell’EPC sul mercato edile a livello europeo hanno messo in evidenza una scarsa fiducia nello strumento, considerato dai più come un mero obbligo normativo con uno scarso impatto sulla qualità reale dell’ambiente costruito. L’attuale struttura del sistema certificativo nazionale non ha di fatto contribuito con sufficiente impeto a stimolare il mercato delle riqualificazioni energetiche mostrando diverse criticità tra le quali: la scarsa chiarezza degli indicatori contenuti, le ridotte informazioni a supporto degli interventi mi-gliorativi e l’assoluta mancanza di informazioni relative al comfort termico indoor che rappresen-ta uno dei principali driver del processo. In questo scenario, l’evoluzione dell’attuale strumento certificativo verso un sistema caratterizzato dalla presenza di indicatori condivisi a livello euro-peo, da un dettagliato set di azioni di miglioramento e da una visione a lungo termine dello stato dell’edificio è sicuramente un’azione necessaria. L’obiettivo del documento consiste nell’ inqua-drare e definire un nuovo strumento, evoluzione dell’attuale EPC, denominato passaporto per la riqualificazione energetica degli edifici proponendo una panoramica delle attuali iniziative euro-pee evidenziandone i principi, i potenziali impatti sul mercato ed i principali ostacoli