Sustainable solutions are a topic in many projects, but the accompanying certification is not well known

Although sustainability is playing an important role in construction projects, the willingness to invest is lacking

Even more architects in European countries have experienced that sustainability is an important topic in the meetings they have with the principals of their projects. Be that as it may, sustainability is not getting the attention you would expect, especially when the demand for sustainable solutions is high but the Willingness to invest in sustainability is low. Over the years, sustainability has become more of a topic of debate, and sustainable solutions, like using sustainable materials, are considered more often, but principals’ willingness to invest in these seems to be lagging.

Certification can be influential, but certificates are not well known.

Certifications can be of great influence in clarifying the concept of sustainability. Principals are open to sustainable solutions and even demand them, but the fact that people are unfamiliar with the possible gains of those solutions leads to a low willingness to invest in them. Certification can help here. By proving that used materials have been produced sustainably or that solutions contribute to the sustainability of a building, certification can help principals trust in sustainable solutions. It can guarantee principals that every euro spent contributes to making their project more sustainable. Despite their added value, these certifications are relatively unknown. Only a small share of European architects can name sustainability certificates, and a vast majority do not know any spontaneously. The ambiguous understanding of sustainability causes significant action towards more sustainable construction to be lacking. The relative unfamiliarity with various sustainability certificates used in construction is but another example of that.

For more detailed information at the country level, we refer you to the European Architectural Barometer Q4 2020: Sustainability & Circularity.