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European Commission
A voluntary framework for enhancing building sustainability throughout their entire lifecycle in Europe.
The Level(s) framework operates within the context of the European Green Deal, Circular Economy Action Plan, and Renovation Wave Strategy, promoting sustainability in the building sector. It supports EU policies on energy, materials, waste, water, and climate resilience, facilitating compliance with upcoming legislative revisions. By providing standardized metrics and indicators, Level(s) enables member states to develop national benchmarks, driving the transition towards a circular economy and enhancing building performance across 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