Brussels interested in Nordic green buildings standards
Under the Nordic Prime Ministers’ initiative “The Nordic Region – Leading in Green Growth” the Nordic Council of Ministers is developing a programme within green technical norms and standards in the building sector led by Nordic Innovation in Oslo.
Through this project the Nordic region aims to become the standard maker in the areas of sustainable renovation of buildings, indoor climate and voluntary classification standards, and future EU regulations and standards in environmental product declarations and sustainable construction.
The aim of the visit to Brussels by the management group of these three projects was to discuss how the work in the projects can best supplement and add value to the ongoing work at European level. In general, the European officials warmly welcomed the Nordic approach and looked upon the work of the projects as a solid foundation for the work to take place at European level.
The management group met with amongst others Pavel Misiga, Head of Unit in the Directorate General for Environment, as DG Environment is preparing a Communication on Sustainable Buildings and a framework for core indicators in building assessment. The Nordic group then had meetings with the Antti Peltomäki, Deputy Director General in DG Enterprise and Industry, and key staff within the sustainability and building sector. DG Enterprise is leading a High Level Forum on Sustainable construction, tackling similar issues to the three Nordic projects and welcomed input from and participation of the Nordic projects in the working groups under this initiative.
Finally the group met with DG Energy, as most of the European initiatives within sustainable construction and renovation has been focused on energy efficiency. Agreeing on the need for energy efficiency focus, the Nordic group underlined that social and economic factors must be taken into account when renovating buildings.
The Nordic group also held meetings with the European Committee for Standardisation and other key stakeholders.
Read more about the project on sustainable building or follow the Nordic green growth initiative at www.nordicway.org
The Nordic Council of Ministers has also launched the Nordic Built project, aimed at promoting sustainable building in cooperation with stakeholders across the board within the building industry, public authorities and relevant organizations.
