New tender out on GHG limit values and reporting of the decarbonisation of the Nordic building stock

Interested in setting carbon footprint limit values for buildings and monitoring the decarbonisation of Nordic building stock?

As the Nordic countries are among the first in the world to set normative limits for the carbon footprint of buildings, a Nordic harmonisation is key to further integration in the Nordic construction sector. Therefore, this tender analyses the Nordic countries’ methods and regulations for setting normative limit values for buildings, and it aims to develop a joint Nordic process for setting and updating country-specific limit values when needed. In addition, the tender sets out to develop a process for monitoring and reporting about the decarbonisation of the Nordic building stock. The tender covers task 4 of WP1 (Nordic Harmonisation of Life Cycle Assessment). Read more about the work package here.

The tender includes the following subtasks:

Task 4.1: Setting and assessing limit values

Setting limit values may benefit from a joint Nordic experience but also differ based on national climate goals and LCA policies. Task 4.1 therefore includes the following subtasks: 

1. Analysis of the different regulatory needs for setting and controlling limit values and identification of synergies and differences. 
2. Analysis of variables that impact limit values. 
3. Based on these analyses, proposing a set of recommendations for ensuring an optimal compatibility of the process of setting limit values.

Furthermore, impact assessments for different limit value scenarios will be made based on the previous tasks. These impact assessments will include environmental, socio-economic, technological, architectonic and cultural aspects. The impacts will also consider what type of changes are expected regarding imported and exported goods and services.

Task 4.2: Process for monitoring the decarbonisation of the building stock

As climate declarations or data from buildings will start to accumulate, use of the data can be compared to national climate goals. In addition, task 4.2 includes the reporting of the climate performance of the Nordic building stock and Nordic solutions. Besides the authorities, the reporting will be aimed at various stakeholders, including citizens, young generations, investors and political decision-makers. The following subtasks will be included: 

1. Analysis of different policies and methods for setting decarbonisation goals for the building and real estate sector in relation to Nordic and European climate goals, as well as, related ongoing policy initiatives. 
2. Proposal for utilisation of statistics in different Nordic countries. This task will include state-of-the-art survey of the relevant statistics and data that are required for the follow-up in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Based on the survey, the consultant must propose how the current existing or planned statistics would be processed and complemented to provide sufficient data for the monitoring task. 
3. Proposal for the future scenarios that would be applied to the modelling of the climate performance of the building stock. In minimum, changes in the carbon intensity of energy mix, changes in the emissions of the manufacturing and waste management of replaced building products, changes in the weather, as well as, changes in transport modes and building site activities must be included. 
4. Reflections on European development. Throughout the task, the development of the European “Whole Life Carbon Roadmap” as well as relevant policies (e.g. revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive) must be followed. The aim is to ensure that the proposed Nordic solutions do not unintentionally differ from other European solutions.
5. A proposed process for following the decarbonisation of the building stock in Nordic countries. The proposal must include reference to national processes of handling data from climate declarations and propose joint and national processes. The proposal must be presented in a report written in English, with summaries in Danish, Estonian, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish.

Task 4.3: Nordic report on the decarbonisation of the building stock

Based on tasks 4.1 and 4.2, the first report on the decarbonisation of the building stock will be compiled and launched. The launch must take place at a relevant Nordic or European event. Task 4.3 shall include the following subtasks: 

1. A proposal for the most relevant and appropriate ways of reporting the climate performance in the Nordic countries. The reporting can differ based on stakeholder groups (e.g. authorities, industry, politicians, citizens, etc.) and have several layers of accuracy, depending on the needs of the different stakeholder groups. 
2. First report of the decarbonisation of the Nordic building stock. The report must be made available in Danish, English, Estonian, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish.
3. Launch of the report. The launch will be prepared in collaboration with Nordic authorities. The required materials must include press releases, summaries and presentation materials in Danish, English, Estonian, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish. The actual costs related to the launch (e.g. venue, catering, moderator, streaming, etc.) is not included in the task.

Specifics:

• The work will begin before summer 2023 and be finalised by summer 2024, unless otherwise jointly agreed.
• The total compensation for task 4 is 4.100.000 NOK (VAT 0%), divided into annual budgets.

For more information on the tender project and application, follow this link

The larger context: Nordic Harmonisation of LCA's tasks in the Nordic Sustainable Construction programme

This tender is only one out of the four tasks that the project for Nordic harmonisation of building LCA works with. The tasks of the project are arranged according to their timely relevance for policymaking as well as for building the required competence and capacity in the sector.
The specific objectives deal with timely relevant questions that all have Nordic importance. These include:

1. The strategic options for Nordic LCA harmonisation, in relation to European Commission´s key initiatives, such as Level(s), revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, Construction Products Regulation, New European Bauhaus and taxonomy for sustainable finance (task 1);
2. Questions related to the processes of developing and maintaining generic data and scenarios (task 2);
3. The potential of digital tools and Building Information Models in building LCA (task 3), and

Setting carbon footprint limit values for buildings and follow-up of the decarbonisation of the Nordic buildings stock (task 4).