Efforts to make buildings environmentally sustainable often focus on the technical side, such as energy efficiency. But there is more to sustainability than just energy efficiency.

From thatched roofing in cold regions to reflective walls in hotter climates, for centuries buildings have been constructed with materials that maximize comfort within a given environment.

“The building sector is responsible for more than 30% of global energy demand and round about 20% of greenhouse gas emissions”, says Peter Graham from the Global Buildings Performance Network in Paris.

In Europe, households are responsible for 32% of greenhouse gas emissions and 42% of energy. Cement production alone contributes to 5% of manmade CO 2 emissions .

Making a city or district energy smart is, first and foremost, an exercise in good planning . However, such green planning tools are still in their infancy. The trouble is that every city is different, every district unique.

Cities have started to join forces to become more energy efficient . This trends stems from the findings of the first climate assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), published in 1990, which was quite alarming.

Making buildings more energy efficient is part of the European strategy to combat climate change . One of the aims of the EU-funded project Direction —due to be completed by 2016—is to demonstrate that  very low energy buildings can actually be implemented in practice .

To tackle climate change, new buildings are required to consume as little energy as possible . That’s because, in Europe, buildings are responsible for about 40% of our energy consumption.

Those who live in low-energy buildings are not experts. But energy professionals have been aware of the importance of meeting their needs, right from conception stage.

A well-accepted measure for climate protection involves reducing greenhouse gas emissions . And buildings have the greatest energy saving potential, according to the official EU Energy Efficiency Plan 2011 .

The construction of a building does not only start with its design by architects and engineers.

Ulrich Filippi Oberegger is a senior researcher in the energy management in buildings group of the Institute for Renewable Energy of EURAC Research . He tells youris.

The building sector has traditionally been fragmented. Many different actors are involved at different stages, from the design to the performance monitoring stage.

EnginSoft , is an Italian consultancy specialised in computer-aided-engineering. It has experience of contributing to the development of low energy buildings, under the EU-funded DIRECTION research project.

Urban mining is increasingly being taken seriously by industry because it gives access to materials—such as expensive metals used in electronics—that are buried in waste tips and landfills.

The NuOffice in Munich is an office building and one of the showcases of the EU-funded project DIRECTION . The first building phase was completed in 2012, the second and third will be completed in 2014 and 2015.

Much effort has been put into its planning and construction to reach this high-level of sustainability, which makes it the most sustainable newly erected office building worldwide , according to LEEDS standards.

To make a building sustainable, taking into account its climatic conditions is key. No better examples than the three showcase buildings under the EU funded  DIRECTION project.

Coastal areas offer great challenges when balancing the need to protect natural habitats, with the requirement of human and economic activities . Dikes, for example, may not constitute the solutions of the future.

Carlos Bárcena, head of R&D Projects at the Spanish construction Company  DRAGADOS .