How Sustainable Are the Quality Control Procedures for Constructions in Europe?

Requirements on the sustainable quality (e.g. energy performance) of new and existing buildings are one of the pillars building regulatory systems of European countries are founded on. The influence of EU policy goals and contents of EU Directives in the energy regulations of the Member States is clearly noticeable. The European Union has set the ambitious goal that all newly built constructions must have a zero energy level by 2020. The total building stock must furthermore be energy neutral by 2050. The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and the Energy Efficiency Directive have given Member States the tools and direction to develop and strengthen their regulations. There are doubts if the current requirements are sufficient to realise these goals. There is common agreement that the goals only can be reached by more strict and supportive policy instruments. This does not necessarily mean that the technical requirements must be formulated in more severe terms. Probably the big-gest challenges could be found in the way the construction process is organized, the regulations are enforced and way the roles and responsibilities of constructors (builders and installers) are defined. On the basis of a comparative research project in seven European countries, this paper analyses to what extent the current frameworks for the quality control of constructions are adequately organised to meet the current and future sustainable demands.