Parliamentary letter on EPBD: introducing new instrument ‘wlc-gwp’

New European agreements provide an impulse for the sustainability of buildings

New European agreements have been established in the revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). These aim to provide an additional impulse to improve energy efficiency and sustainability in buildings, in order to achieve the ultimate goal: an energy-efficient and emissions-free building stock by 2050.

Outgoing Minister for Housing and Spatial Planning Mona Keijzer explains in her letter to the Dutch House of Representatives (dated 14 July 2025) how these agreements will be implemented in Dutch policy. Member states have until the end of May 2026 to transpose the revised EPBD into national legislation.

New instrument: wlc-gwp

One of the new components is the whole life cycle – global warming potential (wlc-gwp), a new instrument for calculating greenhouse gas emissions over the full life cycle of a building. It provides insight into the greenhouse gas footprint across the entire life cycle of the applied materials, technical installations, and the building-related energy use (module B6), assessed over a period of 50 years.

Mandatory roadmap and limit values

By 1 January 2027 at the latest, each member state must have a so-called roadmap in place. This roadmap outlines how lifecycle emissions from new buildings will evolve from the 2030 level toward climate neutrality by 2050. It includes the limit values that will be introduced in 2030 and the target values foreseen for the period up to 2050.
As of 2028, wlc-gwp calculations will be mandatory when applying for a permit for buildings with a usable floor area of more than 1,000 m². The results must be shown on the energy label.
From 2030 onwards, all new buildings subject to energy labelling must also comply with the limit values applicable at that time.

Stichting NMD develops method

Stichting NMD is developing, on behalf of the Ministry of the Interior, the calculation method for assessing the wlc-gwp of a building. This will result in a new method by the end of 2025, which will exist alongside the Assessment Method for Environmental Performance of Construction Works. Stichting NMD is also updating the environmental declarations for energy carriers in line with the wlc-gwp approach.

There are a number of differences between the two assessment methods:

The wlc-gwp calculation focuses solely on greenhouse gas emissions, while the environmental performance calculation (MPG) is a more comprehensive instrument that includes all 19 environmental impact indicators.
The wlc-gwp calculation includes building-related energy use in the assessment of greenhouse gas emissions. This is currently already possible as an optional addition to the environmental performance calculation, based on Chapter 4 of the Assessment Method for Environmental Performance of Construction Works, using special category 3a environmental profiles for energy carriers.
The wlc-gwp calculation assumes a fixed building lifetime of 50 years and uses the usable floor area. In the MPG calculation, the assumed building lifetime is 75 years (for residential buildings), and the gross floor area (GFA) is used.

The wlc-gwp calculation is based on the existing MPG framework, using product data from the Dutch Environmental Database, with the addition of energy use data from the energy performance framework. Stichting NMD supports the importance of strong alignment between the two methods, as underlined by the minister. This will ensure that the methods complement and reinforce each other in the future, thereby stimulating the further sustainability of the construction sector.

Read the parliamentary letter here: Implementation of the EPBD (NL)