Assessment of Building Envelope Materials for Transitioning to a Circular Economy

Important European regulations provide new, stricter rules to achieve climate neutrality for buildings by 2050. Central to these are the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) and the updated Construction Products Regulation (CPR), which introduce mandatory sustainability criteria for construction products entering the European market, known as the Green Case framework. These updates underscore the urgent need for the construction sector to play a central role in the global decarbonization challenge, prioritizing issues such as health, occupant wellbeing, economic feasibility, technology neutrality, material durability, and a circular approach to building design and component selection. The primary objective of this research is to examine the characteristics of building envelope materials within an existing urban context, analyzing and comparing retrofit (deep renovation) strategies to improve energy performance in line with impending regulatory requirements targeting climate neutrality. To assess potential impacts, the study employs PAN 8 (Energy Performance Evaluation of opaque envelope Software) and One Click LCA tools to evaluate energy efficiency gains and reductions in total embodied carbon emissions for a selected case study. This work seeks to identify sustainable alternative materials capable of enhancing building performance and supporting a climate-neutral approach for envelope retrofits in Italy’s construction sector. By highlighting the pressing need for sustainable practices,the study aims to contribute to the transition toward a low-carbon, sustainable future in the built environment.