LEnSE
is supported by the European Commission within the Sixth Framework Program
Workpackages
Work Package 1 "Identification of issues & scope definition"
The objective of this WP is to define the scope for the sustainability assessment of existing, new or renovated building in view of future labelling, in analogy with the Energy Performance Directive. Different European and international initiatives are underway that are related to the sustainability assessment of buildings and many tools for assessing the performance of a building already exist. These initiatives cover a wide range of issues with regard to sustainable construction, but do not deal with sustainability as an integrated concept. The work package will address the scope of the issues to be taken up in the sustainability assessment of buildings. It should be sufficiently wide to be meaningful and sufficiently limited to be practical and realistic. Consultation with stakeholders will steer and validate the findings.
The work package consists of two subtasks:
- Subtask 1.1 - Identification of issues
A first step in the identification of issues consists of a review of existing methodologies. Based upon this investigation of the state of the art, the issues to be taken up into the assessment methodology will be listed. It should be noted that for many of the issues, unlike for the energy performance calculation of buildings, a generally accepted evaluation method is not available. Hence, it will be important to take into account the ease of evaluation when identifying issues for the sustainability assessment. Attention will also be paid to the national and local differences in Europe, and a possible participatory process.
- Subtask 1.2 - Setting the scope
The second task will be to clearly define the scope of the methodology that will be developed. A compromise between precision, simplicity of assessment and interpretation will certainly have to be found; therefore consultation activities are essential in this work.
The methodology aims at promoting good practice, which involves different actors and decisions: architectural design, engineering, construction, user behaviour and facility management. One objective is to select issues and indicators which efficiently influence the concerned stakeholders.
The scope will influence the complexity, and therefore the cost, of the assessment. A clear reference will be among others the comparison with the calculation methods in development for the EPD.