Green Building is a rapidly expanding sector that is opening up new economic frontiers and offering the opportunity to build a more sustainable development model. Both Italy and Canada have already taken important steps in this sector, but with some peculiar differences. While Canada has an extremely advanced institutional and social environment in terms of sustainability, in Italy the green building sector is expressed through know-how and great excellence. Will the opportunities for collaboration in Green Building play a part in the chessboard of relations between Italy and Canada?

By Tommaso Minuto,
in collaboration with Italian Chamber of Commerce in Canada - West

 

Green Building and Sustainable Development

In the economic, socio-political, and environmental debate of the last twenty years, many issues have gained in importance, but one above all has become central: climate change, and a result, the need to take appropriate measures to steer our development model in a more sustainable and “green" direction.

Therefore, the "institutionalization" of the concept of sustainable development can no longer be postponed in the legal systems of many countries and international entities. Numerous international initiatives have been undertaken along these lines, from the Kyoto Protocol of 1997 to the more recent Paris Agreement of 2015.

It is in this scenario that the phenomenon of Green Building should be framed.

Green Building is the technique of design, construction, and management of a building in a sustainable and energy efficient way, according to a certification recognized by an independent body.

This is not an abstract and futuristic field of study. Green Building is already a developed reality in many parts of the world, including Canada, in particular, in British Columbia. It is also an incredible economic opportunity for Italian companies.

Among the countries that have launched sustainability initiatives—whose framework is necessary to contextualize the development of Green Building—we will examine the policies of the European Union, Italy, and Canada and highlight their differences and points of contact.

The European Green New Deal

The European Green New Deal is a wide-ranging plan on sustainable development and pollution proposed by the European Commission and aimed at achieving the Union's climate neutrality by 2050.

Its goal is broken down into various initiatives and policy areas, including the following:

• Clean energy
  The EU's energy system is to be decarbonized to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and half of 1990 levels by 2030.
• Sustainable industry
  The EU intends to introduce a circular-economy policy at the industrial level, focusing on reducing waste by increasing the reuse and recycling of materials, as well as on decarbonizing and modernizing energy-intensive industries, such as steel and cement.
• Construction, building, and renovation
  This is the area of most interest and one on which the EU rightly places great importance. The construction sector uses many unsustainable methods and, too often, non-renewable resources. The plan therefore encourages and promotes all forms of "climate-proof" construction or, in other words, Green Building. The Commission wants to increase the rate of building renovations to reduce emissions and energy consumption in the built environment, while also focusing heavily on the enforcement of regulations concerning the energy performance of buildings.
• From producer to consumer
  The Commission intends to place much attention on food sustainability and support for agricultural and maritime producers. The EU aims to reduce the use of pesticides and to promote the spread of organic farming.
• Elimination of pollution
  The introduction of the "Zero Pollution Action Plan," which will be adopted by the Commission in 2021 and which will aim at zeroing out all forms of pollution, cleaning up our air, water, and soil by 2050^[1]. Particular attention will be paid to harmful materials and chemicals, microplastics, and pharmaceuticals.
• Sustainable mobility
  The plan will implement smart mobility, establishing emission standards for combustion vehicles, developing smart traffic management systems and applications, and encouraging the transition to electric or low-emission vehicles.
• Biodiversity
  A strategy regarding the protection of the European Union's biodiversity will be proposed in 2021. The restoration of biodiversity will take place through the implementation of organic farming, the encouragement of pollination, the restoration of the free flow of rivers, and the reduction of pesticides and reforestation. Regarding reforestation, the goal is to plant 3 billion trees by 2030.

 

The European Green Deal is, therefore, a very wide-ranging plan, which will necessarily be translated into more concrete policies, both at the European level and by individual member states.

What is relevant to our discussion is the importance placed by the Commission on the building sector, which is seen as one of the crucial points for a proper ecological transition in the near future.

This can only be an excellent signal for all those who intend to operate in this sector, who will therefore benefit from a favorable institutional context.

Sustainable Development in Italy: National Strategy for Sustainable Development

In Italy, sustainable development has been receiving institutional attention during the past few years. In particular, in 2017 the Ministry of Environment proposed a National Strategy for Sustainable Development that implements the 2030 Agenda developed by the EU at a national level. The Agenda derives from the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The strategy is divided into five macro areas that correspond to the “five Ps” of the 2030 Agenda:

• People
• Planet
• Prosperity
• Peace
• Partnership

It identifies the priorities for Italy via strategic choices and integrates the three dimensions of sustainability: environment, society, and economy.

The governance of the strategy is quite complex. It involves various institutional actors (among others, ministries, the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, the Regions, and ISPRA, the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research). The monitoring of its progress is carried out by the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) in collaboration with the Italian Government. 

The strategy is perhaps even broader in scope than the European Green Deal, as it includes rather heterogeneous objectives, from those more closely linked to climate to those of more relevant to social objectives, such as the reduction of inequalities.

Sustainable building is mentioned—but not with the same emphasis as in the European Green Deal—perhaps because the Italian strategy was put into place before the EU action plan.

Italy has decided to address the issue of sustainability from several perspectives and has launched the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC), a document in which national targets for energy efficiency, renewable sources, and emissions reduction are set for 2030 (the same time horizon as SNSvS, the Italian “National Sustainable Development Strategy”)

This plan, however, has been strongly criticized by Greenpeace and WWF, as it specifies energy targets that have already been exceeded at the European level (reduction of emissions to 40%, which is already required by current legislation, rather than the European GD target of 50%, as well as confirmation of the phasing out of the use of coal by 2025, including through the construction of gas-fired power plants, which was also previously established)^[2].

In terms of sustainability, another important aspect concerns purchases made by government agencies, which, if sustainable, are defined as Green Public Procurement (GPP).

Some GPP programs already exist in Italy, the most important of which is managed by Consip S.P.A., the purchasing company of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Other important programs those of the Lombardy Region, managed by ARCA (Azienda Regionale Centrale Acquisti S.p.A.) and of the Emilia-Romagna region, IntercentER.

The Italian State has tried to encourage the spread of environmentally efficient materials through the introduction of Minimum Environmental Criteria (CAM), environmental criteria that the Public Administration must respect when choosing a product or process^[3]. In the case of construction, these criteria have been identified in the choice of building materials and construction processes and have become a requirement for companies participating in public tenders.

In conclusion, the Italian institutional framework in the area of sustainability is rather fragmented, lacks vision and future direction, and is very opaque, especially in terms of accountability and reporting. On these points, there is a big difference between Italy and Canada.

Canada's Sustainable Development Strategy: the Federal Sustainable Development Act and subsequent developments

Canada is among the countries with the longest tradition of awareness regarding sustainable development and climate-change issues.

This focus on sustainable development has been embodied in the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS), created through the Federal Sustainable Development Act of 2008, which is renewed and updated every three years. The current three-year period is 2019-2022. 

The strategy describes the federal government's sustainable development priorities, sets goals, and identifies concrete actions to achieve them.

Of particular note is the fact that the strategy, now in its fourth renewal, is being amended not only through the initiative of policymakers, but also and above all, through close contact with civilian society, through the collection of proposals and feedback that are integrated into the draft strategy before each renewal.

The FSDS is a wide-ranging strategy that overlaps in its intentions with the Italian SNSvS (The National Strategy for Sustainable Development) and lists 13 objectives in its latest version, from the ecological transition of the federal government, to support to cleantech and renewable energy, to safety and health in local communities.

Particular attention is paid to the environment, which is mentioned in 4 of the 13 objectives (cleanliness of lakes, protection of forests, protection of wild animals, and protection of coasts and oceans), in part in consideration of the vastness of Canada's natural heritage and its importance as a resource for the country (consider as an example the timber industry).

In addition to the FSDS, Canada has launched the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change, an action plan to create a sustainable, low-emission economy that is more resilient to climate change.

The Framework has different objectives than the FSDS; it also focuses on the built environment, targets energy efficiency in existing infrastructure, and raises emissions building standards for new projects.

The Canadian institutional set-up, therefore, appears more organic than the Italian one. It has a series of initiatives that are deeply binding both for policy makers and economic actors and which are more pervasive overall than the Italian measures, which sound more like a declaration of intention rather than real plans for action.

The importance of Green Building for a sustainable future

From the perspective of sustainable economic development, it is inevitable to think about the impact that human development has had on the natural environment up to now and whether or not the current development model is to be maintained in the near future.

Climate change and greenhouse gas emissions are just some of the signs that our development model must necessarily be renewed in all its aspects, including development in its most concrete sense: industry and construction.

The construction industry is still one of the symbolic sectors of economic development, but the basic construction techniques are at this point little suited to meet the requirements of environmental sustainability (materials, production processes, and energy supply) necessary for the protection of the environment and our future. In fact, it is estimated that about 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions are the built environment^[4], where we have a margin for reducing energy consumption by 50%^[5].

Even if we limit ourselves to this simple analysis, it is clear that Green Building is a necessary opportunity. It is not a matter of stopping construction, but of updating the available technology.

The increased attention to environmental issues in recent decades is therefore leading to radical changes in the way we understand the development of construction—urban or otherwise.

Green Building is a new paradigm that examines and revolutionizes the building system as a whole. It emphasizes the impact and the relationship between the built environment and the natural environment. It is a new way of understanding the design of homes, neighborhoods, and cities.

The economic advantages resulting from a sustainable form of construction are obvious. They range from greater preservation of the real estate value, arising from the construction quality and the fact that these technologies will be increasingly necessary and widespread in the future, to a reduction of energy consumption, both during and after construction, for not only is the building itself green, but also the entire construction chain and the production process.

All this also represents a great opportunity for universities, companies, and research institutes to invest in research and development work, given the growing market attention to these topics.

Green Building Councils

Study groups and communities such as the Green Building Council (GBC) were born out of the above-mentioned themes. These associations aim to act as a driving force for the development and dissemination of Green Building, a new way of understanding construction. They are implementing a real revolution in the industry.

The GBCs are confederated in the World Green Building Council and carry out important activities to raise awareness, research, and dissemination of news in the field of sustainable construction.

Certifying excellence: LEED

To bring about a revolution in the construction industry, the Green Building Councils, in particular in the U.S., have developed a system of certification and classification of the energy efficiency and ecological footprint for buildings called LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).

The LEED system provides a series of classifications of increasing importance (and with increasingly stringent requirements to be met). It offers 4 levels of qualification: Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. The qualification is assigned according to a number of criteria and parameters that can be divided into five macro areas:

• Site Sustainability
• Water Management
• Energy and Atmosphere
• Materials and Resources
• Indoor Environmental Quality

LEED-certified buildings use key resources more efficiently than conventional buildings, which are simply built according to the usual building codes.

In addition, the stringent requirements for LEED certification often give rise to an increase in costs during construction and design. This is due to an unavoidable change in mentality on the part of designers, clients, and builders that is necessary even to design, let alone construct, a sustainable building.

At first glance, this might seem to discourage rather than to encourage the use of Green Building techniques. In reality, these additional upfront costs are more than offset by lower future operating costs.

Some studies have suggested that an extra initial investment of 2% of the total will result in savings of more than ten times the initial investment, spread over the productive life of the building (50 to 100 years)^[6].

Therefore, LEED certification is certainly an important tool, if we want to give uniformity to Green Building standards throughout the world, a factor that can only encourage and increase the spread of such standards.

Green Building in Italy

The case of Italy is of absolute international relevance in the context of Green Building.

In a scenario where the demand for green building doubles every 3 years^[7], Italy ranks fourth in Europe for a specific competence, namely the production of prefabricated wooden buildings. Such production has reached a value of 696 million euros and a market share of 7.2%^[8].

With the spread of LEED and BREEAM certifications, the demand for building technologies and materials is changing radically and is showing the signs of a real boom.

In fact, there are many active companies in the green building market. Not only innovative start-ups, but also established companies such as Italcementi are entering this market with products such as TX Active^[9], a cement that absorbs air pollution.

Italian excellence in sustainable building materials and technologies is recognized worldwide with more than 10000 producers of building materials and ranges from interior finishes to facade components, from furniture to technologies for construction services.

Significantly, most LEED-certified projects in Italy have achieved the highest levels of certification achievable.^[10]

GBC Italy

The Green Building Council Italy is active throughout the country. It is currently pursuing a number of projects and initiatives to promote Green Building in Italy in all its aspects. For example, the Council has organized numerous webinars and conferences, such as those on the interaction between the Green Building and financial sectors, and has issued a number of publications and working papers. The aim of the Council is to be a reference point for all operators in the sector, as well as a driving force for the future development of Green Building in Italy.

GBC Historic Buildings

One of the peculiarities and strengths of our country is, undoubtedly, our vast heritage of historical buildings. Therefore, the attention of the Green Building Council towards a potential specific competence of our Green Building sector, the green renovation of historic and protected buildings, is not surprising. Indeed, it is much appreciated.

As the GBC itself explains on its website:

"GBC Historic Building was created to bring together the sustainability criteria for the LEED® standard and the vast wealth of knowledge in the world of restoration, in which Italy holds roles of excellence. GBC Historic Building is a protocol for voluntary certification of the level of sustainability in interventions of conservation, rehabilitation, recovery, and integration of historic buildings with different uses.”^[11]

Italy is to date the only country to have developed a specific certification for the green restoration of historic buildings.

Centers of excellence and hubs in Italy

Kerakoll Green Lab

Italy has a number of centers of excellence, not only industrial, for research and development in sustainable building technologies. One of these is the Kerakoll Green Lab^[12] in Sassuolo, a center of excellence created by Kerakoll, an international leader in the sustainable building materials market.

The Green Lab is the world's most advanced research center^[13] for the study and development of new green building materials. Kerakoll has also founded Green Campus, Europe's leading Green Building training and consultancy school^[14].

EDERA S.r.l.

The year 2021 has also seen the birth of EDERA S.r.l., a center for innovation in decarbonization and regeneration of the built environment^[15], presented to the public in a webinar on March 16. In particular, EDERA is focused on is off-site construction and aims to facilitate the creation and dissemination of new solutions for regeneration and decarbonization.

Government incentives

Institutionally, Italy has taken steps to encourage the sustainable conversion of existing buildings, especially through tax incentives.

These include the Ecobonus, the Home Bonus, and the 110% Superbonus. These tax incentives have been very successful. In particular, a very important novelty of the Superbonus tax credits has been well received: they can be transferred not only to building contractors, but also to credit institutions and financial intermediaries.

Critical points in the Italian ecosystem

In light of what has been examined so far, we can affirm that the situation in Italy is essentially characterized by two different realities:

• On the one hand, Italy has a very active industrial fabric that is sensitive to sustainability issues and a Green Building sector that is growing very strongly, as in the rest of the world. It also has several centers of absolute excellence in both research and production.
• On the other hand, institutions are trying to follow the evolution of the market and the needs of society, but are struggling to be able to guide to a real paradigm shift towards sustainability.

There are several factors underlying this scenario:

• First and foremost, a lack of political momentum with respect to these issues, which are constantly mentioned in political debate but are never concretely addressed with real analysis and action plans;
• A system of institutions, in which strategic planning is carried out, but without results that are concrete, let alone quickly actionable, and which are sometimes obsolete at the outset (as in the case of the PNIEC objectives, which had already been rendered obsolete by EU directives at the moment of their approval).
• The incentives provided by the State have always been limited to tax incentives for the realization of single localized interventions. As an alternative, it would be desirable to systemize tax incentives with measures of a different nature (funds for research and simplification of bureaucratic procedures involving companies). These incentives would benefit both the sustainable building sector and its maturation as well as many other sectors of the economy.

Italy has the opportunity to become an increasingly important player in this market. For this to happen, though, it is important that all the actors involved—especially institutional ones—work together towards this goal.

Green Building in Canada

Canada is one of the most advanced countries in the world in terms of sustainable building.

Since 2003, it has had its own Green Building Council, which is responsible for spreading Green Building in Canada and, in particular, for promoting the LEED certification system.

The market is highly developed and constantly growing. It doubles in size every three years, a common trend in the rest of the world.

What makes Canada unique are its ambitious sustainability policy goals, which have been imposed by the ruling class and have created the conditions for ever-increasing growth in this sector.

Already by 2017, about half of Canadian builders described 60% of their construction projects in Canada as green projects^[16], a decidedly high proportion, especially when compared to the rest of the world.

Green building also employs 200k more workers than the fossil fuel, mining, and forestry sectors combined, for a total of about 462k jobs^[17].

The synergy between government and the marketplace is evident when it comes to sustainability.

Sustainability in Canada, however, is not just a great business opportunity, but an ethical concept that is part of the culture of civil society.

According to the report Canada’s Green Building Engine, "doing the right thing" is what drives Canadian builders, even more than market demands or the reduced operating costs of green buildings.

It is clear, however, that Green Building offers not only ethical or environmental benefits, but also economic advantages, which Canadian builders and investors primarily identify as the following:

• Lower operating costs.
• Higher quality buildings.
• Public demonstration of corporate social responsibility.
• Economies of scale: contractors with more than 60% of their work in green projects have lower additional costs than those with less than 60%.^[18]
• Higher ROI than non-green buildings
• Ability to charge higher rents than for non-green buildings
• Higher occupancy rates than non-green buildings

These latter benefits also stem from the fact that sustainability is increasingly influencing consumer choices.

According to the aforementioned report:

• Canada's real estate market has unique characteristics, including the fact that within it, energy conservation is the highest priority.
• Institutional clients support a large portion of the Canadian real estate market. In particular, financial institutions, such as pension funds and banks, play an important role as owners or tenants of green buildings and as investors in green building projects.

In terms of predictions for the state of the market in 2030, the report Canada’s Green Building Engine calculates that:

• Not counting special interventions dedicated to Green Building (including interventions in the post-COVID-19 recovery plan), Canada expects direct creation of 939,000 jobs and a contribution to GDP of $94 billion (CAD) from the Green Building market.
• With government interventions aimed at increasing the importance of the Green Building industry within the Canadian recovery (including those in the post-COVID plan), the country expects direct creation of 1.4 million Green Building jobs and a contribution to GDP of $150 billion (CAD).

Green Building in British Columbia

Within the Canadian landscape, British Columbia is a particularly virtuous Green Building environment, since it is one of the most progressive provinces nationally on sustainability issues and one of the most sustainable areas in the world.

In 2008, British Columbia was one of the first places worldwide to introduce a carbon tax and the first province in Canada to develop a climate action plan.^[19]

Not surprisingly, many in the industry identify lack of political support and government or utility-level incentives as among the principal barriers to Green Building development.^[20] This is because expectations are higher than elsewhere and perceptions of government action are influenced by a highly advanced social context.

According to the report Canada Green Building Trends: Benefits driving the New and Retrofit Market 2018, commissioned by the Canada Green Building Council, British Columbia is the third largest province for green building jobs.

To meet federal targets by the year 2030, the Pacific province will need to annually increase its workforce employed in Green Building by about 8%. This represents a great opportunity for Canadian companies, but especially for any foreign companies looking to enter this market in the coming years.

With the strong growth of the sector expected over the next decade—assuming a favorable provincial government policy—British Columbia could create up to 187,000 direct jobs (compared to 71,000 in 2018) and Green Building-related contributions to GDP of about $30 billion.^[21]

Vancouver, a green city

Vancouver has always been a city attentive to green issues and is consistently at the top of the rankings of the "greenest" cities on the planet. In this sense, the Greenest City Action Plan of 2015-2020 was particularly important, since it aimed to make Vancouver the greenest city in the world by 2020. ^[22]

This ten-year plan is composed of ten goals to be achieved in terms of sustainability. The second of these is entirely dedicated to Green Building. 

Specifically, the city has set out to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from all existing buildings by 20% from 2007 levels by 2020 and to require that all new buildings be carbon neutral during their construction from 2020 onwards.

Perhaps, the most ambitious goal of all is for all new and existing buildings to be powered by renewable energy by 2050, in addition to having new constructions with zero emissions by 2030.

Between 2018 and 2032, Vancouver is projected to have a sustainable building-related market of at least $3.3 billion, considering new constructions only.^[23]

Vancouver is, along with Toronto, the only city in Canada to have a separate building code from the federal code.^[24]

The ambitious nature of these objectives demonstrates the strong attention that the city of Vancouver and Canada focus on issues related to climate and to sustainability, which is translated into concrete and achievable actions.

In particular, in Canada, Green Building acts as a driver of development and attractiveness to international operators and investors, including Italians.

Centers of Excellence and Hubs

Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability - University of British Columbia.

The Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS) serves as both a hub for sustainability work on the University campus and a research facility for sustainable building. As an internationally recognized interdisciplinary center, CIRS embodies UBC's campus approach as a living laboratory for testing new ideas and sharing knowledge about sustainable building technologies and performance.^[25]

Jim Pattison Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Construction Management Technology - Okanagan College

This center for sustainable construction technologies and renewable energy conservation is described as a "living learning" facility. Designed to be as much a lesson in itself as a place to learn, the building demonstrates to students sustainable building products and innovations created in British Columbia.^[26]

This training facility for artisans and sustainable-building professionals is one of the largest buildings in Canada to achieve the performance requirements of the Living Building Challenge, the world's most rigorous sustainability standard. Net-zero energy requirements are met through on-site renewable energy production, rainwater harvesting and recycling, and on-site wastewater treatment, while material requirements are met largely by using locally harvested wood. Radiant heating incorporated into a concrete mix poured over the wood provides additional energy savings. Many of the building systems are made visible to enhance the educational experience for students and generate real-time performance data.

Why the Canadian Green Building market is an opportunity for Italian companies

Canada in general, and British Columbia and Vancouver in particular, represent an excellent opportunity for commercial expansion for Italian companies and, in general, an opportunity for growth for our country.

The institutional structure, the policy objectives, and a business environment with a head start in the field of sustainability are among the elements that contribute to the attractiveness of the Canadian reality.

In addition, the industry growth forecasts mentioned above, both at the federal and provincial levels, portend the scale of present and future opportunities.

Canada needs Green Building products, materials, and companies. Its steadily growing domestic demand is such that there is plenty of room for new businesses to enter.

In addition, there are other structural factors of the Canadian economy that favor businesses, such as a more advantageous tax system compared to Italy. For example, Canada ranks 23rd in the Ease of Doing Business Index developed by the World Bank. For comparison, Italy is in 58th place, below countries such as Kosovo and Romania.

Italy and Canada, two scenarios in comparison

Institutional aspects

From the above analysis, various differences between Italy and Canada emerge from the institutional point of view.

Canada's situation is more advanced and more favorable to companies, both in terms of its general orientation towards sustainability and the practical and legislative steps taken at all government levels, from federal entities to individual municipalities.

The Canadian approach is more pragmatic and less ideal. It is linked to concrete objectives rather than generic sustainability goals.

Another important point is the involvement of the population: the fact that the Canadian government seeks continuous feedback on its actions regarding the FSDS makes Canadians part of the process and makes the government accountable in the eyes of the citizens in a virtuous relationship.

Economic-industrial situation

With regard to the industrial situation

• on the one hand, the situation in Italy is heterogenous, with some large centers of productive excellence (such as companies dedicated to the production of prefabricated wood products) and research (such as the Kerakoll Green Lab), which, however, are struggling to build an integrated system with the public administration;
• on the other hand, Canada has a decidedly more advanced market, in which sustainable building plays an important role and can be said to be more the rule than the exception. 

In Canada there is a greater awareness of Green Building and its importance for the future, while in Italy, overall, Green Building is still a relatively young sector.

Future trends

In light of this analysis, what does the future hold for Green Building? Among the trends to be monitored, the following stand out:

• Buildings will become green not only from the perspective of the external environment (emissions), but also internally. The quality of life offered by those buildings will become increasingly important, with increasing emphasis on aspects such as indoor air quality.
• The rise of the circular economy will lead manufacturers of building materials to develop efficient products that are can be disassembled and reused, rather than replaced.
• Green buildings will soon become smart buildings as energy smart grids develop: technologies such as the Internet of Things will allow buildings to communicate with the power grid in order to optimize energy consumption in an intelligent and integrated manner.^[27]

Conclusions

Green Building is an area of industrial excellence in Italy, even in the face of a framework for the institutionalization of sustainability that is still lacking.

Italian companies are well structured to enter a fast-growing market such as that in Canada, which is supported by a very favorable institutional environment.

It is to be hoped that Green Building will be, increasingly, supported by policies in the future, not only for the enhancement of the skills and know-how already present, but also because the sector will prove to be more and more important internationally.

We welcome the fact that the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan places great emphasis, at the urging of the European Union, on issues of sustainability and ecological transition, of which Green Building will necessarily be a fundamental part.

It also goes without saying that sustainability has economic not only objectives, but also a human dimension with social, political, and environmental repercussions.

Above all, sustainability is a value in itself. If, on the one hand, the reduction of emissions and pollution boost new sectors of the economy, on the other, an ecological reconversion of our development model, in the broadest sense of the term, can only be a positive factor for the future development of our society, if it is managed with ability and vision.

 

[Cover Image: cagbc.or]

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