Market research agency Buildsight has developed a monitor that measures the use of biobased products in the construction sector. The National Monitor Biobased Construction closely follows developments in residential construction, renovation projects and utility construction, and provides insight into the rise of sustainable materials.
“Our field workers have an extensive list of products that can occur on a construction site,” explains Michel van Eekert, director of Buildsight. “They mark per building component – think roof, facade or interior walls – which type of material has been used. The model then calculates the percentage of biobased and non-biobased materials in a building.”
Measurement methods tailored to the sector
The monitor applies specific measurement methods per construction segment. In residential construction, a home is considered biobased when at least 30% of the material weight consists of biobased products. The monitor shows both national and regional trends in the share of biobased new-build homes.
For renovation projects, the focus is solely on the insulation material, while for commercial buildings the monitor looks at the total material flow and the percentage of biobased materials in it.
Collecting data for sustainable ambitions
Buildsight obtained this contract through a tender from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO). “The registration of building materials at project locations proved decisive in choosing Buildsight. In addition, Buildsight offers the expertise to enrich the data to achieve the objectives of the National Approach to Biobased Construction,” according to the RVO.
The ambition is that by 2030, 30% of the materials used in construction will be biobased, as laid down in the National Approach to Biobased Construction (NABB).
Source: Buildsight
