Abstract
(Englisch)
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PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED
Due to the many global and local problems with respect to the urban and built environment all stakeholders in the construction industry are increasingly confronted with questions about the environmental friendliness of their construction products and processes and buildings. At the moment there is no clear and generally accepted guidance for the construction of sustainable buildings. In a number of European countries brochures are published with recommendations for sustainable or ecological construction. The scientific and technological basis for those recommendations is, however, in many cases not clear and strong, consequently resulting in many endless discussions. The PRESCO-network has therefore as a main objective to define a European Code of Practice for Sustainable Building, and contributes this way to the EU policy as adopted in the Communication 'Sustainable Urban Development in the European Union : A Framework for Action' of 1998 (COM(97)197). The Code should contain widely accepted and scientifically supported guidance for the construction of sustainable buildings for residential, commercial and industrial use. Not only environmentally friendly construction technologies, but also social inclusion of elderly and disabled are considered through the study of adaptable housing and building. Furthermore, the network covers all phases of the life cycle of a building, going from inception and feasibility study through design and construction to use and refurbishment, and finally to decommissioning, dismantling and disposal. The Code should enable all construction industry stakeholders to incorporate in the short-to-medium term the sustainability idea in their projects. Since in the long run, environmental design tools based upon the life cycle assessment methodology will be used in the design process of buildings and constructions in order to get more sustainable buildings, the network aims also to play a key role in this evolution. The network offers tool developers opportunities to compare, to benchmark and to improve their systems, which in most cases have been developed for national use.
SCIENTIFIC OBJECTIVES AND APPROACH
In order to address the problems and objectives identified above the PRESCO-network brings together all parties involved in (sustainable) construction and building. By co-ordinating the activities related to sustainable building of 29 partners from 16 countries covering the complete range of stakeholders, the network seeks to facilitate the exchange of experience and the transfer of knowledge. Three main tasks in particular have been identified. First of all, the network activities are oriented towards the definition of a European Code of Practice for Sustainable Building. In order to produce a widely accepted consensus document, a draft code of practice is being developed based upon a compilation and integration of already existing national or international recommendations. After discussions within the network and with local networks, the draft code will be submitted to a European-wide public inquiry oriented towards professionals representing all stakeholders in the construction industry (it is the objective to reach 2500 professional contacts). Finally, an updated version will be presented and discussed at a workshop, organised by PRESCO together with the CRISP network. After amendments, the final European Code of Practice should be published and should contain approximately 200 to 250 practical recommendations, for which environmental advantages and drawbacks, technical limitations and a cost indication will be described. It is the purpose to allow also for recommendations only valid for parts of Europe (f.i. due to geographical and climate conditions). A second activity of the PRESCO-network is oriented towards the inter-comparison and benchmarking of LCA-based, environmental assessment and design tools. European tool developers are being given the opportunity to exchange information and to transfer knowledge and data. In order to realise this, virtual or existing reference buildings, whether considered as green or not, is to be selected around Europe. The different tool developers will execute environmental performance assessments of the reference buildings. Results are to be compared and discussed in order to define a common baseline offering a harmonised approach for assessment and design methodologies. The effect of the application of the Code of Practice on the final result of the different assessment tools will be verified in order to have a performance test of the assessment tools. This last step will enable at the same time a first review of the Code of Practice. Finally PRESCO is concerned with the information transfer amongst network members and to the outside world. Information and communication channels to be developed by the network, are the regular meetings, a PRESCO-newsletter, a PRESCO-website, the European PRESCO-CRISP workshop, a PRESCO International Conference and the publication of the Code. The Code will be published as a loose leaflet handbook and will be made available on CD-ROM.
EXPECTED IMPACTS
The main outcome of the project is the European Code of Practice for Sustainable Building. The network also facilitates the exchange of experiences and the transfer of knowledge to enable the inter-comparison and benchmarking of LCA-based assessment and design tools together with the definition of a common baseline for assessment methodologies for buildings. The aim is to reach all professionals of the construction industry who could play a key role in sustainable building, i.e. local and national authorities, housing companies, project developers, designers, etc. However, the general public should also be informed and sensitised through the publication and wide distribution of brochures and articles. The impact of the PRESCO network goes therefore far beyond the individual network members. All stakeholders in the construction industry will be offered in the short term, a tool enabling them to take scientifically supported decisions with regard to the sustainability of their construction projects. All network members, and more particularly the authorities, housing companies and the industrial companies present, are in the position to do the necessary to apply the Code and to promote the tool amongst their partners and/or competitors. By offering benchmarking opportunities to LCA based environmental design and assessment tool developers, the network contributes in the long term to more sustainable construction by increasing the quality of the different tools available.
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