The LCBI label is a public-interest programme to help develop sustainable buildings across Europe
Originally launched in 2022, the Low Carbon Building Initiative (LCBI) aims to develop a low-carbon certification for real estate projects in Europe and decarbonise the sector.
The LCBI label was established in 2024 for new construction, and now the label has been extended to renovation projects.
Demand has been high for a renovation extension
Investors, developers, and designers have been eager to have reliable, verified, and comparable carbon data to renovate existing buildings and improve their carbon standards.
The standard comes as both new construction and renovation of existing buildings tend to be increasingly utilised in the same projects. The LCBI label is operated by the French BBCA Association in cooperation with real estate partners across Europe, and the label has already been deployed in Italy, German, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, and the UK.
The renovation label will initially only apply to office buildings, collective housing, and hotels, with potential expansions coming in the future.
Stanislas Pottier, BBCA & LCBI president, said: “It has become absolutely crucial to take into account the complexity of new building projects. The line between renovation and new construction is never as clear as it might seem. It is a major step ahead for both LCBI and BBCA, to update to new market constraints, to tackle renovation at the European level. Carbon is everywhere and we are to keep on lowering its presence in every part of the game.”
The methodological framework is based on the following criteria:
- Comprehensive life-cycle analysis, covering transformation, demolition, construction, and operation phases.
- Alignment of accounting methods between new and renovated buildings.
- Compatibility with European and national regulations.
- A quantified carbon footprint result expressed in kg CO₂ eq/m², valid for any location in Europe.
- A “no-renovation” reference scenario to assess avoided emissions.
- Integration within sustainable finance frameworks, including compliance with the EU taxonomy and alignment with ESRS and other climate reporting practices.
- The framework will deal with embodied carbon, operational carbon and carbon storage on a whole Life Cycle basis
- Carbon emission thresholds that must not be exceeded to earn the label, rewarding buildings with exemplary low-carbon performance.
- The label will first be awarded to real estate assets located in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and the United Kingdom.
The methodology is expected to be published by the end of this year, aligned with revisions to the BBCA New Construction and BBCA Renovation methods in France.
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