European Commission
A voluntary framework for enhancing building sustainability throughout their entire lifecycle in Europe.
Level(s) is a voluntary framework developed by the European Commission to improve the sustainability of buildings throughout their lifecycle. It provides a common language and standardized metrics for measuring and reporting on the environmental performance of buildings across the EU.
Key points about Level(s):
- Launched in October 2020 as part of the European Green Deal, Circular Economy Action Plan, and Renovation Wave Strategy[1][4]
- Aims to help architects, builders, developers, investors, and public authorities deliver more sustainable buildings and support Europe's transition to a circular economy[1][4]
- Based on 6 macro-objectives covering the main sustainability aspects over a building's lifecycle[2][5]:
- Greenhouse gas emissions
- Resource efficiency and circular material use
- Efficient water use
- Healthy and comfortable spaces
- Adaptation and resilience to climate change
- Optimized lifecycle cost and value
- Provides a set of indicators within each macro-objective to measure a building's performance and align it with key EU policies on energy, materials, waste, water, and climate resilience[2][3]
- Offers guidance and reporting templates at 3 levels, from initial design to detailed assessment and monitoring, synchronized with typical project workflows[5]
- Enables comparability of building performance data to support development of national benchmarks and metrics by member states[5]
- Informs upcoming EU legislative revisions, e.g. requiring lifecycle carbon assessments of new buildings under the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive[3]
- Supported by an e-learning program to make the framework accessible to building professionals and a Calculation and Assessment Tool for conducting assessments[3][6]
In summary, Level(s) provides an important tool and common framework to drive sustainability in the EU building sector, supporting policy goals while enabling better building design, delivery and performance tracking by industry.
Citations: [1] https://environment.ec.europa.eu/document/download/ce9edd9b-dc9d-419d-948a-22654378b812_hu [2] https://www.arup.com/projects/levels [3] https://www.buildingsandcities.org/insights/news/levels-sustainable-buildings.html [4] https://www.pubaffairsbruxelles.eu/eu-institution-news/green-deal-commission-launches-levels-the-european-framework-for-sustainable-buildings/ [5] https://www.igbc.ie/certification/levels-eu-sustainable-buildings-framework/ [6] https://worldgbc.org/article/european-commission-releases-first-eu-wide-tool-for-sustainable-building-performance-reporting/ [7] https://www.oneclicklca.com/fi/levels-framework-for-sustainable-buildings/ [8] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZfbNjkBTN0