Lessons from Europe on the decarbonisation path of Australia's housing sector
Brisbane calling
online, 12 October 2023 | Published in Future of the EU & Housing
Convened every two years by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI), the National Housing Conference examines the latest evidence, significant policy reforms and the shining examples of best practice in delivering social and affordable housing options to Australians.
In mid-October, Housing Europe's Secretary-General tuned online not just to provide the wider context of the state of housing in Europe, but also to share more on the sector's experience in providing circular homes.
Sorcha Edwards particularly stressed that "many projects around Europe are demonstrating deep-energy retrofits with modular solutions proving the technical potential to mainstream circularity in the public, social, cooperative housing sector." She further added that to scale these solutions up, there is a need to reduce cost of circular building materials, elements or components; provide more fiscal or monetary compensation to re-use old materials or elements, or reduce waste; offer quality assurance and/or standards to certify circular products and services.
Taking these steps would be worth as the circular approaches can improve living conditions and comfort, while reducing use of resources and lowering the impact renovation has on the environment.