Methodologies for supporting sustainability in energy and buildings. The contribution of Project Economic Evaluation

The European regulatory framework for building energy performance and international energy policies imply a multidisciplinary approach to sustainability involving disciplines such as Building Physics, Materials Science, Environmental Technology, Real Estate Appraisal and Project Economic Evaluation. The aim of the paper is to take advantage of the contribution of the last, highlighting economic-evaluative approaches involved in regulations and policies supporting sustainability in energy and buildings. Special attention is given to Directive 2010/31/EU (EPBD recast) and following Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) n.244/2012, which require Member States to set minimum energy performance requirements on the cost-optimal level. Furthermore, focus is placed on ISO 14040:2006, ISO 15686:2008 and ISO 21500:2012, respectively on Life Cycle Assessment, Life Cycle Costing and Project Management. Sustainable Design principles and Life Cycle Thinking approach are assumed. Focus is given to environmental and economic sustainability in terms of global performance, assuming energy performance as a proxy for building quality. The study aims to support decision making processes, public authorities in planning activities and in territorial governance, designers, real estate investors, even in the case of complex projects at different territorial scales