Energy and Buildings 37 (2005) 1147–1157

www.elsevier.com/locate/enbuild

Benchmarks for sustainable construction

A contribution to develop a standard
M. Zimmermann a,*, H.-J. Althaus b, A. Haas c
a
Centre for Energy and Sustainability in Buildings (ZEN), Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials
Testing and Research (Empa), Ueberlandstrasse 129, CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
b
Technology and Society Laboratory (TSL), Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (Empa),
Ueberlandstrasse 129, CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
c
Laboratory for Energy Systems/Building Equipment, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (Empa),
Ueberlandstrasse 129, CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland

Abstract

Sustainability has been enshrined as a goal of society to ensure that the satisfaction of present needs does not compromise the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs. It is thus a social objective, achievable only where all areas of society co-operate in fulfilling the
associated demands. Ecological sustainability is, in turn, a basic prerequisite for sustainable economic and social development. The first step
in formulating an effective response to this challenge, focused solely on the environmental issues, entails a quantification of the contribution
required from the various areas of human activity for the achievement of sustainable development. Without binding sub-targets for the
different sectors, it will be all but impossible to move systematically towards a sustainable society. These benchmarks for sustainable
construction therefore set out to define the requirements to be met by buildings and structures in contributing to the achievement of a
sustainable society. The permissible impact of buildings, in terms of energy demand and pollutant loads, during construction, maintenance and
operation is determined. The analysis focuses on identifying the permissible levels of loads based on the specific energy consumption per m2
and year for heating, hot water, electricity and construction. A conscious attempt is made to combine existing methods with the general
political consensus by taking account of:

- the ecological scarcity method [G. Brand, A. Scheidegger, O. Schwank, A. Braunschweig, Bewertung in Ökobilanzen mit der Methode der
ökologischen Knappheit (Life cycle analysis using ecological scarcity method), Environmental Publication no. 297, Swiss Agency for the
Environment, Forests and Landscape (SAEFL), 1997] used to define critical pollutant loads;
- the limitation of greenhouse gas emissions specified by the intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC) [Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change, Climate Change 2001, IPCC Third Assessment Report, www.grida.no/climate/ipcc_tar/];
- the demands of the 2000 W society [Leichter leben – Ein Verständnis für unsere Ressourcen als Schlüssel zu einer nachhaltigen
Entwicklung – die 2000-Watt-Gesellschaft (Easier living – understanding our resources as the key to sustainable development – the
2000 Watt society), novatlanis, sia, energieschweiz, January 2005] for the conservation of energy resources.

The study shows that buildings designed to the Passive House standard just about comply with the requirements for sustainable
construction, provided electricity generation is based largely on renewable or low-CO2 resources (Swiss power supply mix). The targets are
substantially harder to meet where mainly fossil-fuel-generated electricity (European supply mix UCTE) is used.
# 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Sustainable housing; Environmental benchmarks; 2000-W society; Sustainable construction; Environmental impact

1. Preliminary considerations

The principle of sustainability is based on the premise

* Corresponding author. Fax: +41 44 823 4009. that society should use the available resources on a scale
E-mail address: mark.zimmermann@empa.ch (M. Zimmermann). consistent with the ability of future generations to meet

0378-7788/$ – see front matter # 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2005.06.017
1148 M. Zimmermann et al. / Energy and Buildings 37 (2005) 1147–1157
their own needs. The achievement of sustainable develop-
ment thus necessitates a concerted effort in all areas of
society to meet the appropriate criteria. Yet, if – as in Ref. [1]
– sustainability is defined as a state in which a stable social
order underpinned by a suitable economic framework can
prevail in the long term without overtaxing the earth’s
overall ecological capacity, provision needs to be made for
quantifying the contribution required from the various areas
of human activity to achieve such a sustainable society.
Sustainability depends on the establishment of a consensus
regarding the contribution to be made by each sector, e.g.
buildings. In this case, for instance, the permissible building-
specific environmental loads compatible with overall
sustainability targets need to be specified. Without binding
sub-targets for the different sectors, it will be almost
impossible to move systematically towards a sustainable
society. This standard for sustainable construction therefore
endeavours to define the requirements that have to be met by
buildings in Switzerland if these are to make an appropriate
contribution to the achievement of a sustainable society.
Particular priority is attached to determining the permissible
pollutant loads resulting from the construction, maintenance
and operation of a building.
1.1. Ecological capacity of the environment
Scientists have not yet conclusively determined the
absolute capacity of our ecosystem in acting as a sink for
pollutants. Switzerland has nonetheless enacted various
laws and ordinances to specify binding thresholds for a
range of environmentally relevant materials. These thresh-
olds represent a political compromise between potential
environmental damage, risks, possible prevention and the
associated costs. Critical flows derived from the thresholds
are used in life cycle analysis as a basis for the ‘‘ecological
scarcity’’ assessment method [2]. For the purposes of this
study, ecological sustainability is defined as that state in
which none of the flows exceeds the relevant critical flow
derived from the thresholds. In this respect, it is not the
consumption of material resources per se, but much
rather the resulting pollutant emissions that are currently
regarded as an obstacle to sustainable development.
Energy resources represent a key exception due to our
heavy economic and social dependence on a secure energy
supply. The concept of the 2000 W society developed by
the ETH Domain focuses on the requirements for a
sustainable energy supply. The vision foresees a global per
capita energy use of 2000 W (17,500 kWh/a primary
energy), a figure slightly above the present worldwide
average. This quota is designed to ensure that all societies
are provided with adequate energy resources to develop
and achieve an appropriate level of prosperity. The
ultimate goal is to promote economic and social
sustainability.
Yet, if global warming is to be stabilized and natural
resources conserved, only around 500 W can be generated
Fig. 1. Basic consumption sectors as shown in the energy statistics. The
figure for buildings considers all building types, also the construction and
operation of industrial and commercial buildings.
by fossil fuels, the balance of 1500 W being met by
renewable energy sources. This will allow compliance with
the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC [3])
target of approximately 10 Gt CO2 emissions (3 Gt carbon)
p.a. (long-term temperature rise of 2 K). Given an assumed
global population of 10 bn, this approximates to 1 tonne
CO2 emissions per capita.
1.2. Requirements for solution procedure
- The procedure adopted to define the benchmarks shall
allow specification of thresholds for specific consumption
sectors (Fig. 1), e.g. housing. These sectors together shall
cover all human activities with an environmental impact.
- The thresholds presented in the study shall be calculated
on the basis of data provided by regular surveys. This will
facilitate future updating.
- The procedure adopted in the standard shall allow
consistent threshold specification so as to ensure that
all sectors together do not exceed the permissible
load.
2. Solution procedure
Four steps are needed to determine thresholds for the
maximum acceptable environmental load per building unit
(m2 floor area and year) in line with Switzerland’s
sustainability targets (Fig. 2):
- The first step is to establish the maximum acceptable total
environmental load consistent with sustainable develop-
ment. The relevant pollutant data for Switzerland have
been compiled in ‘‘Bewertung in Ökobilanzen mit der
Methode der ökologischen Knappheit’’ (Life cycle
analysis using ecological scarcity method) [2].
- Second, the proportion of the total permissible load, as
defined in Step 1, allocable to the construction sector is
determined. No standard or generally recognized proce-
dure exists here. This standard puts forward a proposal.
- The third step involves definition of the functional unit to
which the assessment relates. This may, in the case of
housing, be 1 m3 building volume, 1 m2 heated floor area
 M. Zimmermann et al. / Energy and Buildings 37 (2005) 1147–1157
Fig. 2. Procedure to determine sustainability of a building. Steps 1–3 serve to define threshold. Step 4 involves determination of effective values for building.
or a dwelling unit to be more closely specified. In this
study 1 m2 heated floor area was used as functional unit to
allow a link to the existing energy related building
regulations.
- Finally the calculation, for a particular facility, of the
effective environmental load per functional unit and its
comparison with the predetermined thresholds must be
feasible.
3. Possible loads for specific consumption sectors
The following section examines several options for
breaking down the total permissible load in order to
determine thresholds for specific consumption sectors.
While a simple extrapolation of the previous distribution,
i.e. the uniform downscaling of loads across all sectors to a
sustainable level, would doubtless be the simplest allocation
method, this would fail to allow for future trends, e.g. the
growing importance of IT and transport or fundamental new
technologies. It seems essential that the selected allocation
method should allow for the requirements and potential of
future developments. Three methodological approaches
were investigated:
3.1. Threshold specification using quotas extrapolated
from prior breakdown
This approach starts from the previous situation and
shares out the sacrifices, i.e. required cuts in environmental
loads, proportionally among the different sectors. This
method fails to make allowance for any progress achieved to
date or for any future shifts in particular sectors and simply
infers the future situation from the past. Definition of when
the ‘‘future’’ begins/began is also required, 1990 being the
standard cut-off point adopted for this purpose.
1149
3.1.1. Background data
A detailed survey into the environmental impact of
interesting technologies, products and services would be
needed, along with the possibility of allocating the loads to
the various sectors. The simplest option would be to derive
the required data from the associated energy flows, as
detailed in the energy statistics.
3.1.2. Sectors
The breakdown by sectors depends on the level of
classification detail implemented in databases. The energy
statistics contain data for households (i.e. housing).
Appropriate procedures are needed to provide data for
other commercial/industrial-sector buildings.
3.1.3. Dynamic adjustment
The dynamic adjustment of sustainability targets is
impossible. Regular updating of sustainability goals would
be counterproductive in that it would punish the ‘‘model’’
sectors while rewarding the ‘‘problem children’’.
3.1.4. Regulating effect
In the long run – and the achievement of a sustainable
society is a long-term objective – the extrapolation of the
previous distribution without dynamic adjustment is
undesirable as this would fail to take account of new or
shifting needs in society.
3.2. Threshold specification using quotas based on
projected trends by sector
This approach is based on the assumption that the
potential to cut energy use and environmental loads varies
between different technologies. The permissible environ-
mental loads would be apportioned according the predicted
significance and needs of the various sectors.
1150 M. Zimmermann et al. / Energy and Buildings 37 (2005) 1147–1157
Fig. 3. Expenditures as shown in the household surveys conducted by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office. The figure for habitation and energy is representing
the share for residential buildings (Survey 2002).
3.2.1. Background data
The prerequisite here would be regular across-the-board
forecasts of trends in technology and demand, together with
the derived environmental impacts of the different sectors.
There is currently no institution that conducts surveys of this
scope.
3.2.2. Sectors
The simultaneous monitoring of technologies and
demand would tend to blur boundaries. The monitoring
of technologies alone, under the assumption of constant
demand, would unduly simplify the breakdown.
3.2.3. Dynamic adjustment
Dynamic adjustment is feasible, provided forecasts are
regularly updated.
3.2.4. Regulating effect
The regulating effect only operates where the forecasts
address technological potential. Projections must not simply
specify the anticipated demand, as this would create little
incentive for change.
3.3. Threshold specification based on share of consumer
spending per sector
This approach starts from the notion that people – with
their basic and luxury needs – are both the cause of and sole
justification for all environmental impacts. The breakdown
of household spending among the various (consumption)
sectors reflects the consumers’ implicit evaluation of their
needs. This ‘‘assessment’’ is applied to the distribution of
permissible loads. The quota of permissible environmental
loads assigned to the individual sectors is therefore equal to
their respective share of average consumer spending. That
portion of the permissible environmental impact not
occurring during product use or service provision is passed
on, through payment, to the manufacturers or disposal
agents. The business community is thus provided with a
‘‘load budget’’ to cover all environmental loads caused by its
activities, the necessary infrastructure, e.g. buildings, along
with the loads from all upstream processes.
3.3.1. Background data
Given the regular household surveys conducted by the
Swiss Federal Statistical Office, up-to-date information is
permanently available for residential buildings (Fig. 3).
Hardly any data exist from which thresholds for
commercial facilities can be derived. The cost structure
data regularly published by associations for particular
business sectors may be used to supplement the official
statistics.
3.3.2. Sectors
The ‘‘consumption’’ for residential buildings is well
charted by statistics. The production of goods and services is
the overriding perspective for commercial facilities. The
available business statistics, however, are primarily geared
to sectors from which no data on specific building categories
can be derived.
3.3.3. Dynamic adjustment
Dynamic adjustment is relatively straightforward in the
case of residential buildings given the regular availability of
data from surveys. Commercial facilities are subject to the
above qualifications regarding data provision.
3.3.4. Regulating effect
Though it clearly expresses the social significance of
consumption, consumer spending is not directly linked to the
imposed environmental loads. There is a danger of
allocating environmental quotas to sectors where no
environmental impact occurs or vice versa. No significant
regulating effect can be achieved in the absence of suitable
instruments for trading with load quotas.
3.4. Overall assessment
None of the models represents a convincing regulating
tool for the achievement of sustainable development
 M. Zimmermann et al. / Energy and Buildings 37 (2005) 1147–1157
Table 1
Evaluation of allocation models for permissible environmental loads (++:
very good, +: good, O: average,
: poor and

: very poor)
Data Sectors Adjustment Effect
a. Extrapolated loads + O


household spending data.
b. Projections
Technology

+ +
Demand O O +


c. Spending-based
Household + ++ +

Business
O +

(Table 1). While a fair apportionment of permissible loads
(i.e. one reflecting the given potential) should, as far as
possible, be sought, this should also create incentives to
meet the targets. In terms of effect, an allocation system
derived from reliable forecasts is likely to produce the best
results. Yet, the data and models necessary to achieve a
consensus solution are lacking.
Load extrapolation currently represents the fairest
allocation model as it is based on the actual present
situation. Its drawback lies in its inability to allow for future
changes. While the spending-based system exhibits good
adaptability to relative future shifts, it cannot – when used in
isolation – be directly correlated to the assessment of
environmental loads.
4. Proposed allocation method for permissible loads
A useful allocation model may be created by combining
two of the systems described above:
- apportionment of permissible loads based on situation to
date (uniform downscaling);
- adjustment of permissible loads based on shifts in
spending.
Account is taken of present-day realities through the inte-
gration of current environmental loads in the model. Regular
adjustment in line with changes in spending provides for a
long-term view of growth and consumption/investment b-
ehaviour. Such a model, however, fails to allow for the
achievements to date and future optimisation potential. The
model assumes that all sectors exhibit equal scope for im-
provement. Technological development is seen as an ince-
ntive and not as a reason for redistributing the permissible
loads.
4.1. Background data
Three distinct data sources are required:
- data on previous loads for sectors and processes/
technologies;
- data on household spending, to allow for shifts;
- data on functional units for considered sectors.
1151
4.2. Sectors
The breakdown by sector depends on the classification
detail permitted by the determined environmental load and
4.3. Dynamic adjustment
Dynamic adjustment is achieved by making allowance
for actual spending. This approach may be problematic in
the extreme long term should major social and technological
change occur. In the short-to-medium term, however, it
offers an appropriate means of factoring in growth and shifts
in consumer behaviour.
4.4. Regulating effect
The specification of a starting point implies the adoption
of specific base data, e.g. for 1990, for use in load allocation.
Any technological advances and optimisations achieved
before this date effectively amount to a handicap in that they
reduce the claim to future loads. However, this downside has
to be accepted. As any progress made in meeting the
permissible environmental loads is fully taken into
consideration and not cancelled out by subsequent re-
specification of the thresholds, the method is very effective
in regulating developments.
5. Determination of permissible environmental loads
5.1. Definition
Buildings shall be classed as (ecologically) sustainable
where the environmental loads resulting from their
construction, operation and demolition/dismantling and
their energy demand do not exceed their allotted share of
the permissible environmental loads. The permissible
environmental loads are defined as the critical pollutant
flows determined by the ecological scarcity method [2] and
the permissible greenhouse gas emissions specified by the
IPCC [3]. Permissible energy use is specified as the
primary energy demand target defined for the 2000 W
society [4].
The total permissible environmental load is broken
down into permissible quotas for each sector using the
ratio of loads by sector to total loads in 1990 and an
adjustment factor reflecting post-1990 changes in the
sector’s social significance (Fig. 4). The permissible load
of a particular sector (e.g. housing) may be determined as
follows:
Ltot crit
Lhousing crit ¼ Lhousing 1990 Iexpenditures
Ltot 1990
where Lhousing crit is the critical load for housing, Lhousing 1990
the load for housing in 1990, Ltot crit the critical overall load
1152 M. Zimmermann et al. / Energy and Buildings 37 (2005) 1147–1157
Fig. 4. Present compliance with pollutant thresholds based on ecological scarcity assessment method [2] (total loads, basis: 1997). Half of the recorded
environmental loads currently exceed the critical value (100%) and have to be cut.
(current data for 1997 [2]), Ltot 1990 the overall load in 1990
and Iexpenditures is the index expressing share of sectoral
spending in relation to 1990 share.
5.2. Calculation
The permissible loads are determined in three steps:
- determination of load breakdown in base year (1990);
- uniform downscaling of loads in compliance with critical
flows;
- adjustment of permissible loads to reflect shifts in
economic significance.
5.2.1. Load breakdown in 1990
The load breakdown is based on the Swiss Total Energy
Statistics, which, particularly for the household (housing)
sector, present a reasonably faithful picture. These figures
cannot be directly applied for other (commercial/indus-
trial) facility types as they fail to distinguish between
buildings and processes. They must therefore be supple-
mented by estimates based on construction-sector data and
life cycle analyses. To this end, estimates were prepared
for the individual building classes including commercial/
industrial buildings. The calculation comprised the
following steps:
- Calculation of the operating energy for heating/hot water
and domestic power for the various building categories
based on their energy reference floor area (ERFA) [5] and
representative energy indices.
- Estimation of aggregate energy demand for construction
and refurbishment for the individual building categories.
This was based on a detailed model calculation for a multi-
family home (i.e. apartment block) performed with the
OGIP [6] programme, with appropriate adjustment for the
different building categories.
- Reconciliation of final building-specific energy values
with Swiss Total Energy Statistics [7].
- Conversion of final energy demand into primary energy
using conversion factors from ecoinvent v1.1 [8] (oil/gas:
1.31, UCTE electricity 3.57, construction processes 1.85).
- Determination of environmental loads. The ecoinvent v1.1
[8] inventories for individual energy carriers were applied
for direct energy use, while an outline ecoinvent analysis
of the environmental impact of a specimen building
(multi-family home) was used for the construction
processes.
Table 2 shows the calculated energy demand values used
as a basis for the uniform downscaling of loads in line with
the critical flows. Fig. 5 illustrates the environmental loads
imposed by residential buildings.
5.2.2. Calculation of critical flows
Primary energy demand is used as the benchmark for
checking compliance with the critical flows. Other values are
less appropriate due to the lack of either suitable target
values or present consumption details (Table 3). The
permissible primary energy use is weighted in line with a
sector’s growth of significance since 1990 using the change
of the share of household spending by sector. As the
proportion spent on housing and energy has risen slightly (by
2%) since 1990 [9], the permissible primary energy use for
residential buildings may be increased by 2% (assuming that
2005 value approximates to 2002 value, no more recent
figures being available). An equivalent rise may also be
applied to other building categories, for which no separate
statistics exist.
5.2.3. Calculation of target energy indices
The target energy indices are calculated on the basis of
the previous energy demand per building category and the
existing energy reference floor area.
 M. Zimmermann et al. / Energy and Buildings 37 (2005) 1147–1157 1153

Table 2
Energy statistics for 1990 [5], with separate posting of buildings (including industry and commercial buildings), used as basis for study (ERFA: energy related
floor area)
Million m2 Energy index TJ real % TJ real %
ERFA MJ/(m2 a) final primary
1990 energy TJ zenergy TJ
I. Housing: multi-family homes 239.0 508 Heating, hot water 121330 158913
120 Power, including on-peak 28674 83332
73 Construction materials, production 17443 32340
Total MFH 167447 21 274586 22
II. Housing: single-family homes 114.6 562 Heating, hot water 64383 121698
96 Power, including on-peak 11002 31973
100 Construction materials, production 11460 21247
Total SFH 86845 11 174917 14
III. Office/administration buildings 38.5 306 Heating, hot water 11782 15432
96 Power, ventilation, air-conditioning 3699 10750
78 Construction materials, production 3005 5572
Total office buildings 18486 2 31754 3
Total buildings 539.4 488 Heating, hot water 263340 34 382285 30
108 Power, ventilation, air-conditioning 58469 8 169923 13
79 Construction materials, production 42839 5 79424 6
Total buildings 364648 47 631632 50
Industrial processes Excluding construction sector, 80760 10 149405 12
building operation
Commercial, service, agricultural sectors Excluding construction sector, 80050 10 148093 12
building operation
Transport 253470 33 332046 26
Total 778928 100 1261176 100

Fig. 5. Relative environmental loads resulting from construction and operation of residential buildings (multi-family home, 1990). The value 1.0 is equivalent to
the critical pollutant loads determined by the ecological scarcity method [2]. The electricity demand is assumed to be met by the European power supply mix
(UCTE).
1154 M. Zimmermann et al. / Energy and Buildings 37 (2005) 1147–1157

Table 3
Percentage allocation of primary energy based on 1990 consumption
1990 (TJ) 2000 W society (TJ) %
Total primary energy demand 1299905 471214 100
Primary energy demand for buildings 670361 247362 52
Primary energy demand for multi-family homes 293579 108330 23
The permissible primary energy demand envisaged by the 2000 W society [4] allows for a rise in population (2005 estimate: 7,471,050).

- 1990 energy reference floor area: 539.43 million m2;
- 2005 energy reference floor area: 644.45 million m2
(projection [5]);
- Change 1990–2005: +19.47%.
As the 2005 energy reference floor area applies in
determining the target energy indices, the 2% relative
increase in household spending must be set alongside a
nearly 20% increase in the floor area served. In calculating
construction-sector energy indices (final energy), separate
conversion is required for the three categories heating/
ventilation/hot water, power and construction/refurbish-
ment. A uniform downscaling of the values for heating/
ventilation/hot water, power and construction/refurbish-
ment in line with the targets of the 2000 W society [4]
would, however, be unrealistic given the varying savings
potential held by the three categories. The following
assumptions were therefore adopted for the housing
sector:
- construction/refurbishment:
15%;
- power: Swiss Standard SIA 308/1 threshold
50%;
- heating/ventilation/hot water: total minus share for power
and construction/refurbishment.
This allocation of saving potentials is very rough and should
be investigated in more detail in a separate study. As the
calculations show (Table 4), a standard of construction c-
onsistent with the 2000 W society [11] is just about feasible
in Switzerland (Swiss power supply mix), at least in the
housing sector, given mainly solar hot-water production in
conjunction with a 50% cut in power compared to the SIA
380/1 thresholds [10]. Heating, hot water and ventilation
energy indices of 80–110 MJ/(m2 a) are realistically achiev-
able with the Passive House and Minergie-P standards. The
15% reduction in the primary energy content of construction
materials should also be possible given appropriate design
and product selection. The electricity demand, however,
remains critical, particularly where the European power s-
upply mix (UCTE) is used. This is true for the housing

Table 4
Energy indices for various building categories: 1990 Swiss mean, SIA 380/1 thresholds [10], 2000 W society targets given Swiss or UCTE power supply mix
based on [8]
Energy indices
1990 MJ/(m2 a) SIA 380/1 MJ/(m2 a) 2000 W MJ/(m2 a) CH power 2000 W MJ/(m2 a) UCTE power
I. Housing: MFH
Heating, hot water 508 357 81 66
Power, including on-peak 120 100 50 50
Materials, production 73 73 62 62
Total MFH 701 530 193 178
II. Housing: SFH
Heating, hot water 562 395 112 101
Power, including on-peak 96 80 40 40
Materials, production 100 100 85 85
Total SFH 758 575 237 226
III. Office/administration buildings
Heating, hot water 306 215 18 7
Power, ventilation, AC 96 80 40 40
Materials, production 78 78 66 66
Total office buildings 480 373 124 113
Total buildings
Heating, hot water 488 343 80 67
Power 108 90 45 45
Materials, production 79 79 68 68
Total buildings 676 513 193 180
 M. Zimmermann et al. / Energy and Buildings 37 (2005) 1147–1157
Fig. 6. Ecopoints relative environmental loads resulting from construction and operation of residential buildings applying the Minergie-P or Passive House
standard (multi-family homes). The electricity demand is assumed to be met by the European power supply mix (UCTE).
sector, and even more so for the other building categories,
where radical cuts in the energy demand for heating and
ventilation are sometimes needed. In many cases, however,
this reduction may be considerably offset through internal
gains from power consumption. The hot water demand can
also be largely ignored here. Further cuts in electricity d-
emand, e.g. in office buildings, are nonetheless essential.
5.2.4. Calculation of environmental loads
The key goal of the 2000 W society [4] is to secure a
sustainable energy supply. The focus is on a fair distribution
of the available energy resources and the mitigation of the
greenhouse effect due to CO2 emissions. The standard for
ecological construction aims to go one step further by
preventing the release of harmful quantities of pollutants
into the environment. The critical pollutants flows deter-
mined by the ecological scarcity method [2] serve as a
benchmark here.
Construction is deemed sustainable where the pollutant
emissions arising from the production and operation of
buildings and structures do not overburden these critical
flows. The same calculation method as for primary energy
demand is applied here, i.e. the available quota of critical
pollutant flows for construction and operation in each case
corresponds to the ratio of permissible primary energy to
total primary energy demand. Analysis of the environmental
impact of residential buildings that meet the targets of the
2000 W society [11] reveals that three of the 24 recorded
emissions – nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxides and chemical
oxygen demand to water – significantly exceed the critical
flow. The overall environmental impact only reaches around
1155
75% of the critical value, while the release of greenhouse
gases into the atmosphere marginally exceeds the critical level
by a factor of 1.3 (Fig. 6). Where energy use is cut to the
Minergie-P or Passive House standard, construction and
refurbishment clearly emerge as a major source of environ-
mental loads. Accordingly, progress will also depend on
improvements in this field. A similar picture emerges when all
building categories are considered together. This is due both to
the predominance of the housing sector (which accounts for
some 45% of the energy reference floor area) and to the fact
that all calculations are based on the same eco-inventory
dataset (ecoinvent v1.1, multi-storey building). Detailed
analysis of a specific construction project may well produce
different results.
6. Interpretation of results
As the results show, the achievement of sustainable
construction poses stiff challenges. Considerable efforts will
be required to meet the primary energy targets for the
2000 W society [4], the CO2 emission targets set by the
IPCC [3] and the pollutant emission targets determined by
the ecological scarcity method [2]. These demands are set to
increase in line with future population growth and, in
particular, an expanding building stock.
6.1. Primary energy
The limitation of per capita primary energy use to 2000 W
represents the toughest target for sustainable development
1156 M. Zimmermann et al. / Energy and Buildings 37 (2005) 1147–1157

Table 5
Threshold values per capita
Sector Threshold values (per capita) Percentage (%)
Total primary energy Primary energy fossil Primary energy renewable CO2-Eq
All sectors (total) 2000 W 500 W 1500 W 1000 kg/a 100
17500 kWh/a 4375 kWh/a 13125 kWh/a 520 kg/a 52
Building sector 1040 W 260 W 780 W
9100 kWh/a 2275 kWh/a 6825 kWh/a
Housing sector 745 W 186 W 559 W 370 kg/a 37
6475 kWh/a 1619 kWh/a 4856 kWh/a

(Table 5). Even the reduction of present demand to a level 6.3. Pollutant emissions
below 40% is a major challenge. Of the available 2000 W,
1050 W may be used for the construction, maintenance and Most pollutant emissions result from construction and
operation of the entire building stock, with 745 W for housing. refurbishment. Only two of the 24 recorded emissions,
The various energy demand values cannot be uniformly however, are problematic:
downscaled to a level below 40%. The low savings potential
held by construction and refurbishment needs to be offset by - sulphur dioxide: mainly due to fossil-fuel power genera-
disproportionately high cuts in operating energy consumption tion;
for heating and water consumption (Fig. 7). - fine particulates: mainly caused by the degradation of
mineral construction materials.
6.2. Greenhouse effect
The discharge of organic substances into water (COD) is
Compliance with the IPCC requirement of cutting
chiefly a local problem; the critical flows are not achieved
greenhouse gas emissions (from the present 6) to 1 tonne
nationwide.
CO2 equivalent [3] imposes no additional demands on the
buildings sector, where the Swiss power supply mix is
assumed—the reason being that the achievement of the
7. Outlook
2000 W society already entails drastic cuts in fossil fuel
consumption (housing: by a factor of 6.3). The low-CO2
This study for sustainable construction has analysed
power generation in Switzerland allows the IPCC targets to
various building categories and is described in detail in Ref.
be met, if not surpassed in some cases. A different picture
[11]. The calculations may be easily updated as soon as more
emerges where the European power mix (UCTE) is used in
accurate or recent data – ecological inventories in particular
place of the Swiss supply. Here, the CO2 target would not be
– are available for specific building classes. Likewise, the
fully met. This ultimately reflects the increasing need to use
standard may be readily extended to cover other consump-
renewable (wind, PV) or at least low-CO2 energy sources in
tion sectors, e.g. transport. Only when each area of society
generating European power.
knows its own specific targets and sets about meeting them, a
sustainable society can be achieved.

References

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Common Future, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1987.
[2] G. Brand, A. Scheidegger, O. Schwank, A. Braunschweig, Bewertung
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cycle analysis using ecological scarcity method), Environmental
Publication no. 297, Swiss Agency for the Environment, Forests
and Landscape (SAEFL), 1997.
[3] Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Climate Change 2001,
IPCC Third Assessment Report, www.grida.no/climate/ipcc_tar/.
[4] Leichter leben – Ein Verständnis für unsere Ressourcen als Schlüssel
Fig. 7. Threshold values for energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions zu einer nachhaltigen Entwicklung – die 2000-Watt-Gesellschaft
for residential and office buildings (calculation based on average m2 energy (Easier living – understanding our resources as the key to sustainable
related floor area per capita). Electricity demand figures are prominently at development – the 2000 Watt society), novatlanis, sia, energieschweiz,
the primary energy level. January 2005.
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