Frequently asked questions - Environmental performance calculation

The Environmental Performance of Buildings (EPB - MPG in Dutch) calculates the environmental impact of the materials used in a building. The 2012 Building Decree makes this calculation mandatory for B&U:

• new residential buildings
• residential buildings
• offices with a surface area of 100 m2 or more

Each environmental performance calculation must comply with the 'Bepalingsmethode Milieuprestatie gebouwen en GWW-werken'. This allows the environmental performance of an entire building to be determined based on the performance of the products and elements that make up the building.

It enables clients and architects to make sustainable choices based on a national calculation method and database.

The determination of the environmental performance of a structure can be performed with calculation tools that have been validated by the Stichtng NMD.

The EPB is used to calculate the environmental performance of structures. The environmental performance is an important measure of the sustainability of a structure.

Calculating environmental performance is mandatory in the building and civil engineering sector under the Building Decree. In the civil engineering sector, we see more and more clients including environmental performance as an award criterion in tenders.

The Environmental Performance Assessment Method for Construction Works is based on NEN-EN 15804 Sustainability of Structures – Environmental Declarations – Basic Rules for the Construction Products Product Group. The Assessment Method models NEN-EN 15804 to the Dutch context and to Dutch construction methods.

The Environmental Performance Calculation Guide, July 2020 version contains several interpretations and design issues for calculating the energy performance of buildings. The guide largely follows the context of the threshold for environmental performance as stated in the Building Decree, which came into force on 1 January 2018.

After drawing up an LCA and EPD these data can be added to the NMD, after verification. The environmental data in the NMD are used by several private companies that have developed calculation tools to make an Environmental Cost Calculation (ECI) or Environmental Performance of Buildings calculation. ECI and Environmental Performance of Buildings values can therefore only be made transparent using the calculation tools.

The methodology, which has been used since the 1990s, is based on a European methodology for calculating the environmental performance of construction products and structures. Although this methodology is voluntary, the Netherlands does largely follow it. This makes data exchange easier for the largely internationally operating building products industry. And it ensures that the Netherlands is already prepared for the mandatory European introduction of this methodology, which we expect in the coming years. This methodology gives a very good insight into the environmental impact of 19 indicators over the entire life cycle. This therefore provides a lot of information and opportunities for the entire construction chain to continuously reduce environmental impact on all fronts.

Within the boundary of the methodology, we do look at how we can support involved parties as much as possible.

The verification of ECI requirements goes along with system-oriented contract management and thus the verification and validation of requirements in a project. This means that soon after award, the contractor shares in a plan how they will demonstrate the requirements and then tracks in progress reports the results of that process. The substantiation of ECI requirements can e.g. take the form of LCAs, purchase receipts or As Built drawings.

This is the responsibility of the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations. At the moment, a study is being commissioned by the Ministry to update the demarcation list of mandatory elements in the environmental performance calculation for the Building Decree. As soon as it is ready, the NMD will refer to it.

The list of environmental impact categories from the Assessment Method indicates the environmental impact of the product being studied. This list is agreed at European level in the EN 15804+A2 standard. The Assessment Method will be amended in the event of changes to this standard as a result of advancing scientific insight.

A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) results in an environmental profile. Until end 2020, this profile comprised 11 environmental impact categories in accordance with EN 15804, but as EN15804 was amended in 2019 and its methodology was synchronised with the LCA methodology from the PEF (Product Environmental Footprint), from 1 January 2021 and in line with EN15804+A2, the profile comprises 19 environmental impact categories. These are more than is required in Europe. Stichting NMD will issues a document explaining the differences in the near future.

The Environmental Performance of Buildings is mandatory for every environmental permit application. The Environmental Performance of Buildings indicates the environmental impact of the materials used in a building. This concerns new office buildings (larger than 100 m²) and new-build homes.

As of 1 January 2018, a limit value of 1.0 applies to the Environmental Performance of Buildings. The environmental performance for new homes (not for offices) was tightened from 1.0 to 0.8 on 1 July 2021. The aim is to gradually set tighter requirements until these are halved by 2030.
You can find the most accurate information about the decisions taken and the tightening of requirements on Netherlands Enterprise Agency website.

The system demarcation for environmental performance extends to the plot boundary: in the Building Decree, external energy supply installations as well as sewerage connections form part of environmental performance. As illustration, please see the 2012 Building Decree Information Sheet relating to sewerage and municipal water management tasks (NL). The illustrations in the Information Sheet clarify how far the provisions extend within the plot boundary and must therefore be included in the building’s environmental performance calculation.

The tiny house concept is not defined in the building regulations. If the tiny house is a building, that building will have to meet the requirements of the 2012 Building Decree (Article 1b of the Housing Act). A building or component intended for housing is considered to have a residential function, and must comply with the requirements set for this in the Decree. This also applies to regulations in the context of environment. According to article 1.3 of the 2012 Building Decree, it is possible to deviate from the 2012 Building Decree regulations on the basis of equivalence. An applicant for an environmental permit will have to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the competent authority (the municipality) that a solution offers equivalence as referred to in Article 1.3. 

Installations for external energy supply (such as the connections for gas, electricity and/or heat as well as energy infrastructure and central systems for generation/conversion) must be included in the environmental performance calculation. Such systems will need to be mentioned in the energy performance calculation and an equivalent in terms of material use will need to be included in the environmental performance calculation. The National Environment Database includes so-called default values for this, which are determined by entering the calculated building-related energy consumption in the calculation.

In cooperation with LBP Sight, W/E adviseurs conducted the ‘Materialisation reference buildings (NL)’ study for Stichting National Environmental Database, in which fully materialised reference buildings were recorded. This set of reference buildings was developed to conduct valid impact and monitoring studies, with a view to possible changes in the EPB. This set is public so that calculations can be verified and reproduced. > More about Environmental performance

Building applications should be subject to an integral and cohesive assessment. That is why the Building Decree calculations need to be consistent. The square metres of PV panels used in the BENG calculation (energy performance) should also be included in the Environmental Performance of Buildings calculation (environmental performance). This means that the calculations based on which the environmental permit is granted always use the same square metres of PV panels. The Building and Housing Inspectorate monitors this.
As soon as the Quality Assurance Act for Construction (Wkb) comes into force, the quality assurance agency will supervise this. Together with the competent authority file, the competent authority receives the quality assurance agency’s declaration that the project complies with the Building Decree (after 1 January 2022 the Building Environment Decree (BBL)) and the BENG and Environmental Performance of Buildings  calculations.
More solar panels may be installed on the roof than indicated in the environmental permit for the building, provided the conditions set out in the Environmental Law Decree for the permit-free installation of PV panels are met for that surplus.

The basis of the Programme for Accelerating Sustainability in the Built Environment (PVGO) lies in climate policy, i.e. focusing on the measures needed to reduce CO2 emissions in such a way that the agreements in the Climate Accord and international forums (Paris) are met.

The core of the PVGO are therefore the measures that the central government wants to implement together with stakeholders to reduce energy use and thus CO2 emissions in buildings. Because the built environment is very diverse, the programme is structured along the five lines of action mentioned above. This ensures sufficient attention to specific topics and target groups.

In existing buildings, direct CO2 emissions from heating, for example, are much higher than CO2 emissions from material use for renovation. In new buildings in particular, CO2 emissions from material use do become increasingly important as energy consumption for new buildings decreases. Efforts by the government to reduce CO2 emissions and other environmental impacts in new construction are therefore rapidly growing in importance. This is already being taken up in the programme line focusing on innovative and sustainable construction. The Minister will also send a letter on this topic to the Lower House after the summer.