INTRODUCTION TO SUSTAINABILE CONSTRUCTION OF BUILDINGS. To meet the European Union's (EU) climate change targets for 2030 and 2050, the buildings sector remains one of the most polluting sectors with the highest potential to reduce environmental impacts. This has led to a steady tightening of requirements for buildings, not only in terms of energy efficiency, but also in terms of other sustainability indicators. These changes require understanding and new competences from professionals. The aim of this course is to provide a foundation of knowledge related to the sustainability of buildings.  The course provides a brief overview of the current situation in the building sector, introduces the legal and policy environment for sustainable buildings, introduces the concept of a sustainable building, the criteria and methodologies for assessment and the principles and means of improving the sustainability of buildings.

Topics covered in the course: 

• EU climate change targets and links to buildings. National requirements and measures.
• Overview of the building sector.
• Sustainable building definition and energy efficiency in the context of sustainability.
• Building energy balance, primary and final energy, energy efficiency.
• Calculating the primary energy and CO2 emissions of a building for different scenarios.
• Methodologies and criteria for assessing the sustainability of a building.
• Sustainability of a building throughout its life cycle, principles of life cycle analysis.
•  Analysis of real building examples.
• Principles of the sustainable building design.
• Construction of the sustainable building (circularity, digitisation).
• Sustainable operation of the building (comfort and energy, systems‘ management).
• Presentations and discussion.

Who is this course for? The course is aimed at those working in the public sector or in companies involved in all phases of the building lifecycle - design, construction (including real estate development and financing), maintenance (building renovation, systems management, etc.), and who need a basic understanding of assessing and improving the sustainability of buildings.