Sustainable buildings, construction products and technologies: linking research and construction practice

In the last two decades and especially since the publication of the Brundtland Report in 1985 and the Rio Declaration in 1992(SchubertandLang2005; Klopffer2003;WECD1987), the issue of sustainability and sustainable development has increasingly received general recognition from the public as key topic. Legislators and other political decision-makers at all levels of government are now aware of the importance of promoting measures for environmental protection and social justice while still pursuing economic growth and economic stability. The environmental aspects of sustainability are treated by Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) (ISO 14040:2006 and ISO 14044:2006). Transferring the principles of sustainable development into the construction sector requires a change of paradigm. But, this transfer is challenged by the fact that there is no universally accepted definition of, and no unique solution for, sustainable buildings. The perception of what comprises a sustainable building is changing over time and depends on one’s location. It istimely to push this paradigm changefrom theory into practice, and this was actualized by organizing a conference to make a significant contribution to the development of sustainable building in Central Europe by targeting policymakers, investors, practitioners, users, researchers and students.