Analysis of the current building standards and certification tools used in Europe

The construction sector is one of the industries generating the greatest environmental impact and therefore the branch must encourage sustainable development. Construction is a complex industry, which requires set of standards, regulations and tools to guarantee widely acceptable quality and sustainability of buildings. Harmonized European standards are very important to create a common technical language used by all actors in the construction industry. EUROCODE is one of the most used European Construction Standard, together with the EN Standards and ISO (International Organization for Standardization). ISO considers construction industry as one of the key sectors in many national economies, that's why in 2013 they summarized a brochure of standards dedicated to this industry comprising ISO/TC 59 – "Buildings and civil engineering works", including 109 standards. In particular, ISO considers sustainable construction through the ISO/TC 59/SC 17 – "Sustainability in buildings and civil engineering works", which deals with general principles, the framework of methods to assess environmental performance and the development of indicators for sustainability