4.7 Study: Taxonomie Konkret (Practical application of the EU Taxonomy criteria)
The EU Taxonomy is a standard classification system used to establish whether an economic activity qualifies as environmentally sustainable. Under the auspices of Wie Neu+, a study was commissioned to provide a detailed analysis of how the Taxonomy criteria can be applied in practice in building refurbishment projects, based on the example of a property in the Grätzl 20+2 programme area.
The results were presented and discussed in workshops with stakeholders, then developed in depth and documented in a report. The project thus makes an essential contribution to ensuring that the EU Taxonomy can be applied to the property and construction sector.
Practical application of the EU Taxonomy criteria – definitions
An economic activity is only deemed to be aligned with the EU Taxonomy if it
- makes a substantial contribution to one or more of the environmental objectives
- does no significant harm (DNSH principle) with regard to any of the core environmental objectives
- meets certain minimum social safeguards (in terms of human and labour rights)
- complies with the technical screening criteria (TSC)
The criteria for the minimum social safeguards (MSS) have not yet been defined in detail, and the "EU Social Taxonomy" has not yet been published to date.
EU context
Virtually all companies are affected by the EU Taxonomy in one way or another, whether directly due to legal reporting obligations or indirectly via banks and financing conditions. The EU Taxonomy is thus a key regulatory framework for the property and construction sector.
Although the EU Commission has published FAQs, a large number of questions still remain open.
The EU Taxonomy criteria are refined and supplemented on an ongoing basis, so companies must continuously adapt their strategies and internal processes accordingly. This requires flexibility, resources, and continuous monitoring of regulatory developments.
Various consultancies and established systems such as klimaaktiv (climate protection initiative of the Austrian Federal Government) https://www.klimaaktiv.at/ and ÖGNI (Austrian Sustainable Building Council) https://www.ogni.at/ (both in German) have developed additional tools to help companies in the construction & property sector integrate the criteria into their existing certification and planning processes. These tools reduce the additional workload and also facilitate workable solutions.
Practical application of the EU Taxonomy criteria – requirements differ depending on the economic activity
The climate risk and vulnerability analysis is always aligned to the particular economic activity being assessed and the respective building use. This can mean that the relevant climate risks for a particular property can differ depending on the building's use.
Takeaways & challenges
- To be able to apply the criteria efficiently, companies need to adapt their internal processes (e.g. for data management, project development or portfolio management purposes). At the same time there is a need for additional staff training, so that the requirements can be factored into the day-to-day work processes.
- Initial experience shows that banks are already taking account of the Taxonomy criteria in their lending operations. In many cases, projects that meet the Taxonomy criteria not only benefit from better interest rates, but also from more favourable lending conditions (e.g. longer repayment periods, lower own funds requirements). This can give them a significant competitive advantage.
- One considerable challenge lies in reconciling the requirements of the EU Taxonomy with those of national and/or local funding programmes and building rating systems. Differing criteria or documentation formats increase the workload and can sometimes result in processes being duplicated. Harmonisation would create transparency and clarity and reduce the amount of bureaucratic hurdles.
- In Vienna, the Building Code, the new eligibility conditions (SanDekVO 2024), programmes like Phasing Out Gas and WieNeu+ and the Smart City Strategy provide numerous points of reference. The topics of climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation and circularity are also closely linked to the EU Taxonomy criteria and will thus be a key factor in future urban development projects.
This project was supported with funding from the "Grätzlförderung" scheme.
Project partners
- Dipl.-Ing. Walter Hüttler, WH consulting engineers