Europe

According to the data provided by the official website of the European Commission, the building sector is the single largest energy consumer in the EU: 40% of total EU energy consumption is used by the building sector, 36% of total EU greenhouse gas emissions come from buildings.

We spend a lot of our time indoors: at school, at work, at home. Often, the buildings we visit run on fossil fuel energy or are poorly insulated. Many are ill-suited to withstanding the effects of climate change such as floods and heatwaves.

To make our buildings more climate-friendly, we need to build better new structures, but also renovate those already standing, as most of them will still be in place for decades to come. This is why the European Commission has announced a Renovation Wave to improve the energy performance of buildings across the EU. The goal is to double renovation rates by 2030 and ensure these lead to better energy- and resource efficiency.

This means that by 2030, 35 million buildings could be renovated, creating up to 160,000 new green jobs in the construction sector!

The building sector is crucial for achieving the EU’s energy and environmental goals. At the same time, better and more energy efficient buildings will improve the quality of citizens’ life and alleviate energy poverty while bringing additional benefits, such as health and better indoor comfort levels, green jobs, to the economy and the society. To boost energy performance of buildings, the EU has established a legislative framework that includes the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive 2010/31/EU and the Energy Efficiency Directive 2012/27/EU.

Together, the directives promote policies that will help achieve a highly energy efficient and decarbonised building stock by 2050 create a stable environment for investment decisions enable consumers and businesses to make more informed choices to save energy and money Following the introduction of energy performance rules in national building codes, buildings consume only half as much today, compared to typical buildings from the 1980s. Directive amendments Both directives were amended in 2018 and 2019, as part of the Clean energy for all Europeans package.

The Directive amending the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (2018/844/EU) introduced new elements and sent a strong political signal on the EU’s commitment to modernise the buildings sector in light of technological improvements and to increase building renovations. In October 2020, the Commission presented its Renovation Wave Strategy, as part of the European Green Deal. It contains an action plan with concrete regulatory, financing and enabling measures to boost building renovation. Its objective is to at least double the annual energy renovation rate of buildings by 2030 and to foster deep renovation.

A revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive is one of its key initiatives. A revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive is one of its key initiatives. Proposal for a revision of the directive In December 2021, the Commission proposed a revision of the directive (COM(2021) 802 final). It upgrades the existing regulatory framework to reflect higher ambitions and more pressing needs in climate and social action, while providing EU countries with the flexibility needed to take into account the differences in the building stock across Europe.

It also sets out how Europe can achieve a zero-emission and fully decarbonised building stock by 2050. The proposed measures will increase the rate of renovation, particularly for the worst-performing buildings in each country. The revised directive will modernise the building stock, making it more resilient and accessible. It will also support better air quality, the digitalisation of energy systems for buildings and the roll-out of infrastructure for sustainable mobility.

Crucially, the revised directive facilitates more targeted financing to investments in the building sector, complementing other EU instruments supporting vulnerable consumers and fighting energy poverty. In order to make sure that buildings are fit for the enhanced climate ambition, as presented in the 2030 Climate Target Plan and reflected in the Delivering the European Green Deal Package in July 2021, the Commission’s new proposal aims to contribute to reaching the target of at least -60% emission reductions by 2030 in the building sector in comparison to 2015 and achieve climate neutrality by 2050.

It will work hand in hand with other initiatives of the European Green Deal package, in particular with the review of the proposed new emissions trading system for fuels used in buildings, the Energy Efficiency Directive, the Renewable Energy Directive, as well as the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation.

The main measures in the new proposal are:

• the gradual introduction of minimum energy performance standards to trigger renovation of the worst performing buildings

• a new standard for new buildings and a more ambitious vision for buildings to be zero-emission

• enhanced long-term renovation strategies, to be renamed national Building Renovation Plans

• increased reliability, quality and digitalisation of Energy Performance Certificates; with energy performance classes to be based on common criteria

• a definition of deep renovation and the introduction of building renovation passports

• modernisation of buildings and their systems, and better energy system integration (for heating, cooling, ventilation, charging of electric vehicles, renewable energy) The proposed revision of the directive is now being considered by the Council and the European Parliament. Measures to improve the building stock The amending directive (2018/844/EC) covers a broad range of policies and support measures that will help national EU governments boost energy performance of buildings and improve the existing building stock.

EU countries must for example establish strong long-term renovation strategies, aiming at decarbonising the national building stocks by 2050, with indicative milestones for 2030, 2040 and 2050. The strategies should contribute to achieving the national energy and climate plans (NECPs) energy efficiency targets. The directive also requires that EU countries set cost-optimal minimum energy performance requirements for new buildings, for existing buildings undergoing major renovation, and for the replacement or retrofit of building elements like heating and cooling systems, roofs and walls.

As of 2021, all new buildings must be nearly zero-energy buildings (NZEB) and since 2019, all new public buildings should be NZEB. When a building is sold or rented, energy performance certificates must be issued and inspection schemes for heating and air conditioning systems must be established.

The directive supports electro-mobility by introducing minimum requirements for car parks over a certain size and other minimum infrastructure for smaller buildings. There is also an optional European scheme for rating the smart readiness of buildings and smart technologies are promoted. The directive introduced requirements on the installation of building automation and control systems, and on devices that regulate temperature at room level. It addresses health and well-being of building users, for instance through the consideration of air quality and ventilation.

EU countries must also draw up lists of national financial measures to improve the energy efficiency of buildings In addition to these requirements, under the Energy Efficiency Directive , EU countries must make energy efficient renovations to at least 3% of the total floor area of buildings owned and occupied by central governments. National governments are therefore recommended to only purchase buildings that are highly energy efficient. The Commission published 2 recommendations in 2019, including guidelines for EU countries related to these rules.

Romania

Romania was among the first countries to sign the Kyoto Protocol in 2001 and to ratify the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

In 2012, Romania’s National Strategy on Climate Change 2013-2020 was adopted. In 2016 by HG no. 739/2016 the National Strategy on climate change and economic growth based on low carbon emissions for the period 2016 – 2020 and the National Action Plan for the implementation of the National Strategy on climate change and economic growth based on low carbon emissions for the period 2016 – were approved 2020. Romania has committed itself at the international and national level to increase, through education, the degree of awareness of the population regarding climate change and environmental issues. Thus, according to the Doha Program, Romania should develop a national Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) engagement strategy, integrate climate change into the school curriculum, implement the 6 elements of ACE (education, training/professional training, awareness, participation public, public access to information, international cooperation), to support the participation of all stakeholders in the implementation and to report every two years the results of this strategy.

Increasing the level of education and awareness regarding climate change is one of the objectives targeted by the National Strategy for the Sustainable Development of Romania 2030 and was also foreseen in the National Strategy on Climate Change and Economic Growth based on Low Carbon Emissions for the period 2016-2020 (CRESC ) and in its Action Plan 2016 – 2018 (to be updated). Last but not least, “facilitating ecological education to promote environmental protection measures and address changes in Romania’s national strategy regarding climate change and economic growth based on low carbon emissions, climate in schools and outside them” 19 is assumed by the current Government in the Government Program. In addition, the National Education Act was amended to include environmental competences among the key competences in the Act. Romania has relatively recent legislation in the field of green buildings.

Law 372/2005, the main normative act in the field of energy efficiency for buildings, entered into force on January 1, 2007. It must be amended, so as to include the novelties brought by Directive no. 2010/31/EU regarding the energy performance of buildings (the so-called EPBD recast). The new version of Law 372/2005 dates from 2020.

The purpose of this law is to promote measures to increase the energy performance of buildings, taking into account the external climatic conditions and location, the requirements for optimal indoor comfort, from the point of view of costs and energy performance requirements, as well as to improve the appearance town planning of the localities. The current version of Law 372/2005 regulates the following areas:

• The general framework of the methodology for calculating the energy performance of buildings

• Application of minimum requirements regarding the energy performance of new buildings

• The application of minimum requirements regarding the energy performance of existing buildings, which are in the process of renovation

• Energy certification of buildings • Inspection and evaluation of boilers and heating/cooling systems.

The first green certifications in Romania took place in 2009, targeting the Euro Tower office building in Bucharest and the Nokia factory in Jucu (Cluj). In the following years, sustainable development measures began to be more frequently implemented in the office market, being initially considered a marketing tool to attract tenants and investors.

In the last 12 months (2022), 154 buildings in Romania were BREEAM or LEED certified, representing approximately one third of the number of certified buildings in the 14 years since the first green building certification appeared in Romania, according to data centralized by a service company of consulting and certification of green buildings.

The most certified buildings are retail buildings (59 shopping centers or grocery stores), followed by the logistics sector (48 production or storage buildings) and office buildings (36 certified buildings), according to the ADP analysis.

Bulgaria

In recent years, Bulgarian legislation has taken steps towards harmonizing the norms in the field of construction with the European directives for sustainability in the design, implementation and operation of buildings.

A number of technical standards categorize objects as “sustainable” and they relate to building materials, energy from renewable sources, heat exchange and ventilation in premises, fire safety, accessibility, etc. Although they are close, sustainable and “green” construction are not the same thing. Some of the parameters in the legislation overlap, but “green” construction is more oriented towards environmental protection. The use of natural materials in construction is as innovative as it is a return to the time when most people lived in the so-called breathable houses or houses made of wood. The number of newly constructed buildings in Bulgaria that receive green certificates is increasing every year. The homes of the future – “green” construction and close to nature – this is a new trend, which, if recognized by the market, has a promising future, according to experts.

The main document for the unification of European standards and the implementation of sustainable construction in Bulgaria is Directive 89/106/EEC and Regulation No. 305 of 2011, the provisions of which are mainly contained in the Regional Planning Act – the Law on Territorial Planning and in the Regional Planning Act – the Law for the technical requirements for the products. The by-laws for the implementation of a project in accordance with the rules of sustainable construction are also found in: the Law on Energy Efficiency and the Law on Energy from Renewable Sources, the Law on Environmental Protection, the Law on Health, the Law on Environmental Noise Protection environment etc.

The Bulgarian Green Building Council (BGBC) is a non-profit organization with a mission to transform the built environment by changing the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated. A member of the World Green Building Council, a world-wide network of organizations, working together to build awareness in the public sector, build capacity through professional education, engage business to measure sustainability in the supply chain and product manufacturing, and aid government in developing sustainable policies. BGBC Academy is a legal entity, established back in 2011, 100% owned by the Bulgarian green building council. The Academy brings together the expertise and specific know-how of the Council, implements them in its concrete activities and provides highly qualified professionals needed for the growing sustainable construction market and the European transition to a green economy. The BGBC Academy is a specialized structure of the Council, with expertise and focused efforts in the following areas:

• Developing and delivering training on the most relevant green building topics and European legislation in the sector.

• Professional training for accreditation of consultants, based on leading rating systems for sustainable construction assessment.

• Sustainable building certification and consultancy during the construction process.

• Public administration advisory and assistance in updating the energy efficiency regulations.

The categorical requirements for sustainable investments within the Green Deal define the new priorities of the BGBC Academy.

As a leading organization in the field of sustainable construction, the Academy will support the efforts of the state and business in the transition to a green economy by assisting the successful implementation of the Recovery and Sustainability Plan and achieving compliance with the requirements of the European Taxonomy Regulation.

Lithuania

Lithuania has the largest number of buildings assessed with the international BREEAM sustainability certificate in Baltic states. (SA, 2021). There are 65 buildings in Lithuania, many of which have the “BREEAM In Use” certificate, which means that the buildings have been renovated in accordance with sustainability requirements. In order to encourage the community of educational institutions to take an interest in environmental protection and develop sustainable development skills, the Sustainable School Program has been implemented since 2015. School, general, vocational training, non-formal education institutions and community members working and studying in this program participate in this program. Environmental education aimed at changing knowledge, attitudes and behavior (Lee et al., 2010) includes two parts: environmental learning and environmental teaching.

Learners get to know ecological processes, their fragility; human impact on nature is evaluated; the skills needed to understand the environment are acquired; gets acquainted with effective measures that help solve environmental issues and problems. The participation of young people in environmental activities promotes their greater attentiveness and initiative (Šorytė, 2021). Municipalities, implementing the state environmental protection policy in their territory:

-organizes the implementation of environmental protection laws, the Environmental Protection Department and the Government’s decisions on environmental protection issues, makes decisions on the use of state natural resources and environmental protection issues assigned to them by the Government, and controls their implementation;

-prepares, approves and implements municipal environmental protection and natural resource use programs, schemes and projects of other environmental protection measures;

-forms and disposes of the municipal nature protection fund, determines the amount of allocations for environmental protection, substantiates the necessity of funding from the state budget;

-distributes state natural resources belonging to them according to the established limits;

-in agreement with the Government of the Republic of Lithuania and the Department of Environmental Protection, may establish stricter than state environmental protection norms in their territory, establish protected territories of local significance and natural monuments;

-performs other actions provided for by law.

Legal entities must take responsibility for placing on the market of the Republic of Lithuania products made of aerobically degradable plastic and single-use plastic products prohibited from being placed on the market. It also assumes responsibility for placing unmarked single-use plastic products (hygiene packs (pads), tampons, tampon applicators, wet wipes, tobacco products with filters, filters sold for use together with tobacco products, beverage containers) on the market of the Republic of Lithuania. submission to the market of the Republic of Lithuania incurs a fine from six hundred to one thousand two hundred euros. Free distribution of light and/or very light plastic shopping bags, with the exception of very light plastic shopping bags, in which fresh meat, its products and fresh fish, their products are packed, at the points of sale of goods or products incurs a fine of one thousand to three thousand euros .

„Prior to operating an object of economic activity and carrying out economic activity, a natural or legal person must obtain a permit for integrated prevention and control of pollution, a pollution permit or other permit (hereinafter – permit) or register the facility.

During the performance of the economic activity specified in the permit, solid materials (by–products specified in the Waste Management Law, waste, raw materials and products) may enter the territory where the economic activity specified in the permit is carried out, only in such cases, quantities and methods as provided for in the conditions of the permit and (or) environmental protection norms and environmental protection standards.ׅ

The Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Environmental Protection stipulates the rules for limiting the amount of Volatile Organic Compounds formed by the use of organic solvents in the composition of certain paints, varnishes and vehicle refinishing products, coordinated with the Minister of Economy and Innovation, the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Justice.

The Law on Waste Management foresees responsibility for the violation of the procedure for ensuring the fulfillment of the obligations of companies using or disposing of waste. Also for illegal pollution of the sea area of the Republic of Lithuania from marine facilities located in this sea area and/or from stationary or mobile facilities located on land.

Failure to comply with the law entails a fine of one thousand to six thousand euros. Liability for the discharge of ballast water and sediment from ships in violation of the 2004 The requirements established in the International Convention on the Control and Management of Ship Ballast Water and Sediments and/or the legal acts of the Republic of Lithuania. Municipalities carry out the protection, maintenance and management of green areas and plantations, condition monitoring, creation of new green areas and breeding of green areas, inventory and accounting of green areas and green areas, regardless of the form of ownership of the land where they are located.

To monitor the state of the environment and its components, a unified environmental monitoring system is established in the Republic of Lithuania, which includes state and economic environmental monitoring. The Ministry of Environment organizes environmental monitoring and coordinates environmental monitoring carried out by economic entities, except for radiological environmental monitoring.

Türkiye

The Ministry of Environment and Urbanization determined the implementation principles of the Green Certificate Regulation for Buildings and Settlements published in 2017 with a communiqué. The Green Certificate Implementation Communiqué for Buildings and Settlements was published in the Official Gazette dated June 9, 2021.

Within the scope of communiqué, the evaluation guides covering the qualifications of the green certificate expert, the green certificate evaluation specialist, the green certificate commission and the qualifications of evaluation organization , the education-related issues, the conditions for the evaluation of green buildings and green settlements, and the procedures and principles regarding the inspections were determined.Trainings have been provided and will continue to be provided to the officials identified in the communiqué. Even though the Green Certificate Regulation for buildings and settlements does not require green building certification, it has increased public recognition.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and BREEM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) are widely used in our country. If Yes-TR, which is a domestic national green certification system, reaches international recognition as planned in the future, it is expected that the rate of green buildings in building construction will increase very rapidly.

The cost of green buildings is on average between 2-8 percent higher than buildings that made with traditional deconstruction methods. The government, offers opportunities such as tax deductions and credits during certain periods in order to encourage the construction of green buildings. In addition, the green building pays off the cost difference in a short time with its energy saving features. With the prestige provided by green building certificates, it will be much easier to sell residences and workplaces.

Italy

In Italy, to date, there is no subject dedicated to teaching sustainability and good green practices. Science and biology teachers who are particularly sensitive to the topic include a course on sustainability in their subject. Remember, however, that since there are no teaching programmes, but only ministerial indications, what to teach and how to teach it is left entirely to the free will of the teacher who, if he or she wishes, could avoid covering this part completely. Which often happens, because often, with little time available and the school calendar pressing, a more ‘orthodox’ approach to teaching these subjects is preferred. Another subject into which environmental education can be incorporated is civic education. Reintroduced in 2020, after decades in which it was no longer practised, civic education now revolves around three main themes: Constitution, digital citizenship and, indeed, sustainable development.

However, civic education is a subject without a teacher: although there is a grade on the report card that corresponds to civic education, there is no teacher in charge of teaching it: civic education should be taught by all the teachers in the class council. Unfortunately, this sometimes means that no one teaches it. While sustainability has already taken off in university courses, there are still major difficulties at school. The first text to consider when talking about education for sustainability is, as mentioned above, the legislation regulating civic education. The guidelines for the teaching of civic education are issued under Article 3 of Law No. 92 of 20 August 2019 by the then Minister of Education, Lucia Azzolina.

In the aforementioned guidelines, where the transversal modalities of teaching and assessment are especially defined, a small space is reserved for sustainability education, which mentions: ‘The UN Agenda 2030 has set the 17 goals to be pursued by 2030 to safeguard coexistence and sustainable development. The goals not only concern the protection of the environment and natural resources, but also the construction of living environments, of cities, the choice of inclusive ways of living that respect people’s fundamental rights, first and foremost health, psychophysical wellbeing, food security, equality between individuals, decent work, quality education, and the protection of the material and immaterial assets of communities.

In this nucleus, which is in any case foreseen and protected in many articles of the Constitution, can be included issues concerning health education, environmental protection, respect for animals and common goods, and civil protection’.

This is all that the guidelines on civic education say about the teaching of environmental sustainability in Italian schools. In fact, the guidelines do not go into the details of what should be taught, limiting themselves to saying that:

“The thematic nuclei of teaching, i.e. those contents considered essential to achieve the aims indicated in the law, are already implicit in the epistemes of the disciplines. To give just a few examples, environmental education, eco-sustainable development and protection of the environmental heritage, identities.

To give just a few examples, environmental education, eco-sustainable development and the protection of environmental heritage, identities, territorial and agri-food production and excellence, and Agenda 2030 itself, to which Article 3 refers, find a natural interconnection with natural sciences and geography; education on legality and the fight against mafias is not only based on knowledge of the wording and values of the constitution, but also on awareness of the inalienable rights of man and citizen, their historical progress, and philosophical and literary debate.

It is therefore a matter of bringing out latent elements in the current educational systems and making them aware of their interconnection, while respecting and being consistent with the growth processes of children and young people in the various school grades’