International Industrial Ecology Day 2021

Level(s) EU framework provides a common methodology for assessing the sustainability of buildings based on six macro-objectives. It contributes to achieving EU and Member States policy goals in energy, material use and waste, water, and indoor air quality in a life cycle perspective.
Intending to bring buildings into the Circular Economy, Level(s) comprises a set of indicators, scenario tools, a data collection tool, checklists and rating systems that allow professionals and project actors to measure buildings’ performance.
However, Level(s) diversity of indicators and different calculation methods for each objective bring complexity and difficulty to the assessment process. The application of BIM can simplify Level(s) implementation by systematizing the approach and accelerating access to data. This involves defining adequate Product Data Templates and a database structure for BIM objects, which can enable designers to do holistic and dynamic assessments from early design stages to a complete Life Cycle Assessment, and rapidly visualize different scenarios, using core sustainability indicators. The time and effort of Level(s) assessment would be reduced, and a graphic user interface would provide the decision-making support on the design of sustainable buildings.