Environmental footprint (water, CO2, transport, energy, …) of the construction activities

The environmental footprint of construction activities is the effect that those activities have on the environment, for example, the number of natural resources that they use and the number of harmful gases that they produce.

It is a measure that attempts to consider multiple impacts of an activity rather than focus on a single one, it is part of a set of interrelated initiatives to establish a strong and coherent product policy framework to achieve sustainable products, services, and business models and to transform consumption patterns so that no waste is produced in the first place.

In this regard, the European Commission proposed the Product Environmental Footprint and Organisation Environmental Footprint methods as a common way of measuring environmental performance.

The approach was tested between 2013-2018 together with more than 280 volunteering companies and organisations. And after that, various reports exposing the result of the pilot phase were elaborated and shared for anyone interested.

Having completed that pilot phase and based on its results, the European Commission launched a series of consultations in 2018 to explore how to use the Product and Organisation Environmental Footprint methods in European policies.

Finally, with the 2020 Circular Economy Action Plan, the European Commission proposed that companies should substantiate their environmental claims using Product and Organisation Environmental Footprint methods.

However, this tool is still being developed by the European Institutions, and further stakeholder consultations will be held in preparation for this initiative.

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