3FOOD

Third Industrial Revolution Consulting Group
2010/31/EU, new residential buildings must fulfil the nearly-zero-energy building standard from
2017 on. In 2014, the “Sustainability certification of residential buildings in Luxembourg” 114
guideline was published under the name LENOZ to evaluate not only energy efficiency, but also
ecological, economic, and social aspects of buildings. In total, 145 criteria are evaluated in six
categories. The sustainability assessment of buildings is being tested in the ongoing pilot phase.
These existing certificates assess the energy efficiency and the sustainability of buildings, which
are important quality of life aspects of buildings in the TIR economy. A third aspect – the
smartness of buildings – is growing in importance but not yet covered. Therefore, it is essential
to develop a set of key performance indicators to assess the smartness of a building. This
should include the level of connectivity to the IoT, the use of smart home technologies, the
level of intelligence of the energy management system, and the provision of data hub services
to other buildings. Based on all three performance indicators, a comprehensive certificate
should be developed that includes energy efficiency, sustainability, circularity, and smartness.
This would constitute a TIR Building Certificate.
3.3 RDI: Introduce circularity with the development of a “material bank for buildings”
Between 25% and 30% of the waste generated in the EU is caused by construction and
demolition of buildings. This waste consists of materials like concrete, bricks, gypsum, wood,
glass, metals, plastics, etc., many of which can be recycled. Since the European Union aims to
be a society of recycling with a high level of resource efficiency, the Waste Framework Directive
(2008/98/EC) regulates that Member States have to ensure that a minimum of 70% (by weight)
of non-hazardous construction and demolition waste are prepared for reuse, recycling or
material recovery. 115
In December 2015, the European Commission adopted an ambitious Circular Economy Package
to stimulate Europe's transition towards a circular economy and boost global competitiveness,
foster sustainable economic growth and generate new jobs. The EU Action Plan for the Circular
Economy promotes actions on production, consumption, waste management, and the
marketing of secondary raw materials. The overall aim is to close the loop of product lifecycles
through greater recycling and reuse, and bring benefits to both the environment and the
economy. 116
These EU initiatives underline the importance of the circular economy, which is an integral part
of the TIR roadmap. The efficiency improvements in the TIR economy can only be achieved if
114 Ministère du Logement: LENOZ – Luxemburger Nachhaltigkeits-Zertifizierung für Wohngebäude, October 2014,
http://www.ml.public.lu/fr/lenoz/index.html
115 See: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/construction_demolition.htm
116 See: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-economy/index_en.htm
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