The Effect of Standardization on the Future of Sustainable Refurbishment of Existing Buildings

There is a vast building stock of existing buildings and the exchange rate is low (up to 0.2% per year). Therefore, there is a very strong need to deal with the existing building stock in respect to circularity. The effect of (new) regulations and standards on this volume for refurbishment and recycling of building materials is therefore crucial to meet the targets of CO2 reduction by increasing aspects of circularity overall to support environmental sustainability. The influence of standards towards the harmonization of technical requirements for refurbishment of existing buildings is therefore essential for wider implementation and acceptance in the market. There is, however, a gap identified between existing relevant standardization efforts and research in the field of refurbishment in the context of circularity. The effect of newly released standards and regulation will be analysed and identified barriers are discussed such as the generation and dissemination process of these standards.