More sustainable construction industry in the EU

The EU has identified sustainable construction as a pivotal market with high economic and societal value. The Lead Market Initiative aims at identifying appropriate framework conditions to stimulate sustainable construction in the EU. As the building sector is heavily regulated, the EC has called on Ramboll Management Consulting to develop a practical and holistic approach for measuring the administrative burdens of EU legislation on the resources of selected construction enterprises.

Construction sector – heavy regulation

The construction sector is heavily regulated, especially regarding safety, health, welfare, energy and environmental issues. While essential requirements could originate from EU legislations, their enforcement remains the responsibility of national, regional and local authorities within the Member States, according to individual constitutional and administrative systems. These responsibilities are rather fragmented within various administrative agencies, and in addition, the construction sector is characterised by a complex supply chain with many players and competing interests.

According to Kasper Freund, Business Manager in Ramboll Management Consulting, it’s important to improve understanding of the administrative burdens generated by various types of EU legislation on construction enterprises and related professional services: “An improved knowledge of the concrete implications of legislative measures will contribute to a further streamlining and a more effective enforcement of existing legislation” explains Kasper Freund.

Methodology for measuring administrative burdens

During the project, Ramboll will develop new methods for measuring administrative burdens. The EC will receive a methodology for holistic measurement of administrative burdens as well as factual input in the form of 25 case studies about the administrative impact on selected construction businesses involved with sustainable construction. Instead of a silo approach where the burdens stemming from a specific piece of legislation are measured, this case-based and empirical method will look holistically and more detailed at the administrative processes facing a business in relation to sustainable construction. This provides a horizontal cross-legislative view of the burdens faced by companies and enables us to provide our client with detailed suggestions for simplifying the regulation.

“The project should help to promote sustainable construction as a growth market in Europe by reducing administrative burdens and barriers in the area. In the project, we aim to develop and test a more business-related alternative to the standard cost model, and thereby design a method to detect and measure the administrative burdens of construction companies” says Kasper Freund, Business Manager.

One point-of-entry

The project is a good example of how we join forces across the Ramboll Group, combining broad expertise to provide our clients with a unique mix of competences. In this project, we work closely with engineers from Ramboll’s Building and Design services, and our colleagues from Ramboll Management Consulting offices in Berlin and Brussels will participate in the project’s implementation throughout the entire EU27. This combination of methodological capacity and in-depth sector knowledge enables us to provide our clients with a strong, one point-of-entry solution.