Pieter Staelens has been working as a policy officer at DG GROW since he joined the European Commission in 2021. Within the Construction Unit, he is mainly involved in projects regarding digitalisation. Pieter studied commercial engineering at KU Leuven and worked as a consultant at various companies between 2008 and 2019 where he specialised in real estate developments, financial calculations, economic analysis, and market analysis of various real estate functions such as residential, offices, and logistics. From 2019 to 2021 he also worked as a real estate appraiser, where he mainly calculated the value of urban development land.

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BUILD UP (BUP): How important is the digitalisation of the construction industry to achieve the sustainability and renovation goals of the European Building stock?

PIETER STAELENS (PS): The implementation of digital technologies in the construction industry is an important instrument to make the construction ecosystem and the entire built environment greener and more sustainable. A technology such as BIM is essential for life cycle carbon assessment of new construction and renovation projects, in buildings as well as infrastructure. It also contributes strongly to a more efficient use of materials and can also have a positive effect for many years by contributing to resource-efficient maintenance during the operational phase of the building or structure.

The digitalisation of product-related data also plays an important role in this respect, adding to transparency about embedded carbon and re-usability at the product level, and indirectly also at the level of buildings or building projects. Both elements also contribute to the circularity of construction, as a lack of knowledge about the usability of materials is still a major barrier.

BUP: What is the status of the implementation of digital technologies (e.g. Building Information Modelling, digital twins, Digital Building Logbooks) in EU Member States? Are there clear differences between countries?

PS: The work package on BIM in the ongoing study entitled Digitalisation of the Built Environment examines this question. The preliminary results show that digitalisation in most Member States is a lot more advanced compared to even just 5 years ago, with a higher adoption of BIM in general. Interestingly, many Member States are adopting at least partial BIM mandates for public procurement over the coming years. Examples are Spain, Estonia, Latvia, Italy, Slovenia and Ireland. Mandates or partial mandates for BIM in public procurement exist already in Member States such as Denmark and France. Moreover, several Member States are taking major steps towards the implementation of Digital Building Logbooks, which was much less common five years ago.

There are certainly still major differences between Member States, but these are not necessarily clearly defined geographically. Interestingly, many Member States with previously low adoption of digital technologies are now clearly aware of the need for digitalisation, and in many cases are drawing up roadmaps and training schemes to foster the implementation of digital technologies. There are no longer any Member States that are lagging behind in terms of awareness.

'Digitalisation in most Member States is a lot more advanced compared to even just five years ago, with a higher adoption of BIM in general'

BUP: What kind of EU policies are in place to encourage the adoption of digital technologies in construction?

PS: The Commission's policy for digitalisation in construction has long been a policy of support, rather than a policy of obligation. Commission proposals of a mandatory nature will rather focus on providing correct and transparent data at the product level. The Commission is also working on clear frameworks for the digital world, intending to make better use of available data. It is important to protect the provider of the data, whether this is a private person or a company. Good examples of this are the Data Act and the Commission's proposal for an Artificial Intelligence Act. The Commission is also working on harmonising data formats, with the suggestion for an EU Data Format for Digital Building Logbooks as a recent example.

The implementation of digital technologies in construction by the private or public sector in the Member States should take place at a pace that is appropriate to the situation in each of the Member States. Many Commission projects aim to support this process. For example, there are a number of research projects within Horizon Europe aimed at applications or implementation of Digital Building Logbooks and Digital Building Permits. The Technical Support Instrument is a strong tool that member states can use for their digital transformation, for example for the adoption of BIM in public procurement. Various useful deliverables are created in study projects, such as maturity scans, manuals aimed at SMEs, and best practices. Recently, a toolkit was created to support local authorities in the first steps towards Digital Building Permits. Training courses were recently organised aimed at the adoption of digital technologies by SMEs, and training courses are currently being organised for municipalities that want to start with Digital Building Permits. Financial support measures from the EU, such as the Recovery and Resilience Facility, often focus on digitalisation. Several Member States have used funds from the RRF to digitalise the construction ecosystem on the public side or to provide training schemes to improve digital skills. Moreover, the EU-funded Digital Innovation Hubs are doing relevant work, often with very strong links to the construction ecosystem. Finally, the European Commission co-founded the EU BIM Task Group and is a member of this organisation that strives for the accelerated introduction of BIM-related policies in the EU, with a strong emphasis on the use of Open BIM and on interoperability between BIM and other digital systems from the built environment.

BUP: What is the aim of the High-Level Construction Forum? What are the main achievements and strategic views for the future of the construction industry?

PS: The High-Level Construction Forum is a platform through which DG GROW keeps stakeholders (experts, Member States, companies, etc.) informed about developments at the EU level, especially those related to the Transition Pathway for construction (published March 2023). The Transition Pathway provides a vision about the future of the European construction ecosystem which was elaborated in co-operation with stakeholders and in which digitalisation of construction is an important pillar. Webinars and sessions are organised via the HLCF forum to have further discussions with stakeholders, follow up on action points, analyse policy and set further priorities for the future.

A next session specifically on digitalisation will be organised on March 21, and a plenary session is planned for April 24. Interested parties can subscribe to the newsletter and receive all information to register for the sessions.

'The High-Level Construction Forum is a platform through which DG GROW keeps stakeholders (experts, Member States, companies, etc.) informed about developments at the EU level'

BUP: Can you share best practices about the integration of digital technologies in building projects from some EU Member States?

PS: Most Member States are making rapid progress towards the adoption of digital technologies in construction. A specific case is certainly Spain, where there is a strong sense of urgency regarding the importance of digitalisation for the efficiency of the public sector and for the green transformation of construction and the built environment. There are many eye-catching projects, such as the renovation of the Bernabeu stadium, which was carried out using very advanced BIM technology, and the finishing of the Sagrada Familia Basilica in Barcelona. In addition, the country now also has a progressive adoption calendar for mandatory BIM requirements in large public procurement, which will run from 2024 to 2030. Increasing efforts are also being made to introduce Digital Building Logbooks, such as in the Basque Country region. Spain has evolved in a relatively short period of time into a forerunner in the field of digitalisation of construction, and the country is being followed by a number of other member states where evolution is happening very quickly.