Overview
SIST-TP CEN/TR 18290-1:2026 – Sustainable Construction with Concrete – Part 1: Practical Guidance, developed by CEN/TC 104, provides actionable measures to advance sustainability, decarbonisation, and resource efficiency in the concrete sector. The standard targets professionals such as investors, designers, contractors, and building supervisors, helping align construction projects with environmental goals using current practices and technologies. Its recommendations support sector-wide climate change mitigation, material optimization, and sustainable resource consumption for both new and retrofit concrete construction.
Key Topics
- Decarbonisation Strategies: The report emphasizes immediate actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through optimized material usage, building design, and efficient construction processes in the concrete industry.
- Resource Efficiency: Practical measures detail minimizing primary resource use by optimizing component dimensions, integrating recycled aggregates, and designing for future adaptability and material reuse.
- Holistic Sustainable Planning: Emphasizes a multi-criteria decision process covering environmental, economic, and social factors-balancing comfort, durability, and flexibility in construction.
- Life Cycle Assessment: Encourages the use of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and platforms like ÖKOBAUDAT to inform and quantify the environmental impacts of concrete throughout the building’s life cycle.
- Material Selection and Optimization: Guidance on choosing low-carbon cements, integrating industrial by-products, and balancing technical performance with environmental benefit.
- Design for Flexibility & Future Use: Advocates planning for adaptability, convertibility, and deconstruction-achieved via modular structural systems, flexible load-bearing designs, and the use of detachable connections for easier recycling or component reuse.
- Thermal, Acoustic, and Fire Performance: Outlines how concrete’s inherent properties support sustainability goals for occupant comfort, energy efficiency, fire safety, and noise reduction.
- Durability and Maintenance: Highlights measures prolonging service life, reducing maintenance needs, and lowering environmental impacts over time.
Applications
Sustainable construction with concrete as outlined in SIST-TP CEN/TR 18290-1:2026 applies throughout the building life cycle, benefitting various stakeholders and use cases:
- Building Design and Planning: Architects and engineers use the guidance to integrate sustainability from the conceptual phase, ensuring resource-efficient layouts, floor plans, and materials specification.
- Construction and Prefabrication: Contractors implement measures for reducing waste, optimizing production processes, and utilizing recycled or locally-sourced aggregates.
- Building Retrofit and Extension: Enables sustainable refurbishment through flexible design approaches, modular components, and strategies that favor structural preservation over demolition.
- Life Cycle Sustainability Certification: Supports organizations pursuing building sustainability certifications by providing up-to-date references, performance metrics, and guidance on quantifying sustainability through EPDs and LCAs.
- Policy and Urban Development: Facilitates national and municipal governments in implementing sustainable building standards aligned with European environmental and economic goals.
Related Standards
Organizations and professionals working with SIST-TP CEN/TR 18290-1:2026 should also be aware of the following standards that complement its scope:
- EN 15804: Sustainability of construction works – EPD core rules for building products.
- EN 16757: Product Category Rules for concrete and concrete products.
- EN 15978: Sustainability assessment of buildings – Calculation method.
- EN 197-x Series: Specifications for cements, including low-carbon varieties.
- EN 206: Specification, performance, production, and conformity of concrete.
- EN 15941: Data quality for environmental performance assessment of buildings.
- ÖKOBAUDAT and OpenDAP: Platforms for life cycle assessment data and EPDs.
- DIN 1045-2: Application document for concrete in Germany.
For project teams, aligning practices with SIST-TP CEN/TR 18290-1:2026 ensures that sustainable construction goals are met using readily available technologies and current best practices in the concrete sector, supporting optimized resource use, lower carbon emissions, and holistic project sustainability.