Martin Behrens (FNR) – BioBased Construction and Sustainability Certification in Germany, an Overview

The construction sector is one of the most significant contributors to global CO₂ emissions, accounting for approximately 37% of energy- and processing-related carbon dioxide emissions worldwide (UNEP, 2022). As the industry seeks to reduce its environmental impact, bio-based materials are emerging as a promising solution for more sustainable construction sector. Certification plays a critical role in this transformation, providing a robust framework for validating the sustainability, performance, and environmental credentials of these innovative bio-based materials.
This informative event organised by the EU-research project 3-CO and BioReCer, was held on 25 February 2025, at 13:00 CEST. Itexplored the broad landscape of bio-based materials and their diverse applications. The webinar will cover crucial aspects of sustainable construction, including:

• The importance of certification for bio-based products,
• Sustainable building design, conception, and planning,
• Material recommendations,
• Building passports as tools for capturing and communicating building data, material composition, and environmental performance,
• Circularity indicators and their role in assessing a building’s sustainability, including the new ISO 59040 standard for Product Circularity Data Sheets, which emphasises circular concepts such as design for disassembly.
• Different assessment methods for sustainability of buildings and for constructions, including the Quality Seal for Sustainable Buildings (QNG), e.g., CO₂-footprint for buildings.

This is the presentation held by Martin Behrens from the FNR on funded projects in the field of bio-based materials and different certification schemes for bio-based materials available within Germany.