The built environment stands as a cornerstone of modern society, shaping the spaces where we live, work and interact. However, it also represents a significant source of carbon emissions, contributing to the pressing challenges of climate change. In the Nordic countries, the decarbonisation of the building stock has emerged as a critical pathway towards achieving national and international climate goals. Besides the essential carbon mitigation in existing buildings, the continuously added new buildings also provide a chance for decarbonisation and will be the focus of this report.
Limiting whole-life carbon emissions of buildings is a demand-side policy instrument for mitigating the carbon intensity of buildings across the value chain. While located at project level, indirect mitigation effects are desired to take place in the supply of construction products, energy and transport among others.
Today, countries apply different pathways and methods for building carbon declarations and limit values. A harmonised approach will remove barriers and unleash the potential for achieving greater and more cost-effective decarbonisation in the Nordic region. Common standards for carbon declarations will not only redirect financial investments towards green construction. It will also create a greater international marketplace for providers of construction services and innovation in low-carbon solutions, being key for achieving the EU climate-neutrality goal by 2050.
The primary purpose of this report is to exhibit the experiences and insights gathered from the Nordic countries in their journey towards decarbonisation, with the intention of serving as a blueprint for other nations. This report serves to highlight the opportunities and challenges related to harmonisation of approaches across borders. The collected information exhibits examples of how Nordic countries have specified Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methods, carbon declarations and limit values, and different approaches for monitoring decarbonisation of the building. These examples can serve as inspiration for other countries and regions when developing and defining how to conduct assessments of carbon emissions from buildings and the building stock.
We acknowledge that this is a moving target and that policies at national and international level can develop and change quickly. Thus, this report is based on the information gathered up until June 2024. Focus has solely been on the policy instrument of national whole-life carbon limits for new buildings. It is however critical to acknowledge that numerous instruments are necessary for cutting construction carbon emissions. These include strategies such as building less, utilising buildings better, increasing operational energy efficiency in the existing stock and decarbonising energy supply systems, among others.
The report mainly focuses on two key aspects. First, it provides key insights and experiences from the implementation process in the Nordic countries, which will be valuable when introducing limit values in other countries; and second, it recommends a harmonised Nordic approach to carbon limits. This includes a proposal for aligning LCA methods to create a unified framework for evaluating the environmental impact of buildings. Furthermore, the report proposes a harmonised process for monitoring the carbon intensity of the developing building stock, which is essential for adjusting carbon limits and measuring the effectiveness of decarbonisation efforts.
The work described here does not attempt to define specific carbon limit levels, since such values are dependent on regional conditions such as climate, geography and markets and, thus, must be defined locally. Instead, the report seeks to guide authorities and stakeholders toward a mutual understanding of the preconditions and regulatory steering effect associated with carbon limits. This guidance is informed by the collective experiences and practices developed within the Nordic region over the recent years, with the ultimate goal of supporting the transition to a built environment with less environmental impact through informed and collaborative actions. Both authorities and stakeholders in the construction industry support the harmonisation of Nordic LCA methods and legislation. By harmonising methods, the industry can offer services and solutions across borders, which again will result in better and more cost-effective buildings. Harmonisation also supports a more efficient knowledge sharing and problem-solving among authorities which contribute to faster development and smoother implementation of more robust methods and regulation.
It is a call to action for continued cooperation and commitment to a more sustainable future, where the decarbonisation of the building stock plays a pivotal role in preserving our planet for future generations.