Enabling environments for a sustainable and circular construction sector

The construction sector plays a central role in delivering on the EU’s climate, environmental, economic and social objectives. Accelerating its transition towards more sustainability and circularity is key to strengthen the competitiveness of the European construction industry and enhance global leadership. However, the uptake and deployment of innovation in the traditional[[Traditional construction involves carrying out all phases of a building’s development directly at the project site.]] and offsite[[Offsite construction involves pre-fabricating components in a controlled factory environment, which are then transported on-site.]] construction sector is hampered by regulatory, institutional, fiscal, financial and societal barriers such as inadequate fiscal incentives, fragmented value chains, limited access to finance, insufficient standardisation, skills gaps, or low societal acceptance. In addition, access to real-life testing and demonstration environments remains insufficient, further constraining the validation and market uptake of innovative solutions.

Accelerating the transition towards more sustainability and circularity in the construction sector thus requires supportive enabling environments that provide companies with spaces to test and validate their NEB-aligned innovative construction solutions in real-life conditions as well as appropriate regulatory, institutional, fiscal, financial and societal conditions where they can be deployed and scaled up.

This topic should therefore support the development and demonstration of enabling environments which can take the form of:

• Physical innovation spaces, such as living labs or testbeds, where solutions can be tested and validated in real-life conditions;
• Frameworks providing supportive regulatory, institutional, fiscal, and financial conditions, such as regulatory sandboxes or innovations deals, to generate evidence on how existing conditions can be adapted to enable the deployment and scale-up of NEB-aligned construction solutions;
• Or a combination of both.

Actions funded under this topic should contribute to bridging research, innovation and the deployment of solutions, enabling the transformation of the construction sector. By doing so, they will be an integral part of the NEB Academy, the NEB’s core infrastructure for capacity building and skills development, knowledge and research, and innovation and business development in the built environment.

This topic contributes to and aligns with the Communication on the New European Bauhaus and the accompanying proposal for Council Recommendation, the Clean Industrial Deal, the Strategy for a Competitive and Sustainable EU Bioeconomy, the European Strategy for Housing Construction, the Affordable Housing Plan, the Innovation Act[[Not yet published]]) and the Circular Economy agenda and future Act.

Proposals are expected to address all of the following:

• Develop and demonstrate at least one enabling environment(s), supporting at least two different companies – including at least one start-up – in developing a NEB-aligned construction solution(s).
• The enabling environment(s) will:
  • Facilitate the interaction and actively involve relevant actors across the construction value-chain including industries, companies, researchers, designers, public authorities, investors, and civil society to ensure alignment;
  • Develop a place-based approach taking into account local ecosystems, governance structures, regulatory frameworks and specific opportunities and risks.
• Ensure the NEB-aligned innovative construction solution is co-designed with end-users and answers societal needs.
• Contribute to the NEB Academy by proposing and applying structural feedback loops, ensuring, among others, that the results of the project inform the identification of potential skills policy as well as policy and regulatory learning.

Proposals are expected to follow a participatory and transdisciplinary approach through the integration of different actors and disciplines in the development of the enabling environment.

Proposals are expected to allocate at least 0.8% of their budget for engaging with the NEB Academy and the Horizon Europe-funded 'New European Bauhaus hub for results and impact' to share their intermediate and final results, findings and learning, as well as to contribute to impact assessment.