DNSH (Do No Significant Harm)

Major capital construction projects, or even so-called small investments and major repairs at the BUT, should be planned and implemented in accordance with the principle of "Do Not Significant Harm" (DNSH) under the EU Regulation on the Recovery and Resilience Facility (2020/0104(COD)).

This principle should be applied to the entire life cycle of buildings, i.e. not only their planning, design and actual construction, but also their subsequent operation, repair and maintenance. At the same time, however, the rule of reasonableness should apply, i.e. to apply and apply the principle in a reasonable manner and in such a way that the potential benefits are commensurate with the inputs, financial, time and human resources required.

The following environmental objectives and possible themes are pursued:

Climate change mitigation

These are mainly potential revitalizations of areas with old building loads, individual buildings or groups of buildings with a focus on:

• Energy efficient renovation and reconstruction of existing buildings, including historic ones, to reduce energy consumption, e.g. through window replacement, façade insulation, roof reconstruction or loft insulation.
• Efficient and adapted new buildings in the nZEB (Near Zero Energy Building) standard to reduce energy consumption and to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and other harmful air pollutants.
• Retrofitting of existing lighting, heating and cooling systems, supported by efficient ventilation.
• Optimising the operation of individual building systems through integration into the BMS of the BUT or upgrading the existing system.

Adapting to climate change

Adaptation to climate change through:

• Planning construction with consideration of the higher risk of heat waves. For new buildings, consider green roofs that do not increase the ambient temperature. In addition, functional energy-efficient cooling and ventilation systems that prefer effective shading and night-time cooling over excessive indoor cooling.
• Implementation of green areas and tree planting to support the ecological context of the campuses or individual buildings owned by the BUT.
• Retention of rainwater for use e.g. for irrigation of greenery.

Sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources

Sustainable water management through:

• Optimising the design of the scale of STI pipelines and terminals in line with current standards to ensure water conservation.
• Retention of rainwater for use e.g. for irrigation of green spaces.

Circular economy

Promoting the circular economy and waste prevention and reducing waste of primary raw materials through:

• Proper sorting and thorough recovery of the different types of waste from demolished buildings or parts of buildings, paved areas, etc. for recycling and reuse.
• Enabling the use of recycled products and elements for new construction.

Pollution prevention and control

• Any construction activity will not contain or use hazardous substances, chemicals or substances of very high concern under REACH (EU Regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals).
• If asbestos is found to be present, proper removal, disposal and storage will be ensured.

Protecting and restoring biodiversity and ecosystems

Promote stormwater management in the city's intracity and provide drought protection and biodiversity support through:

• Stormwater retention with use e.g. for irrigation of green spaces.
• Implementation of green areas and tree planting to support the ecological context of campuses or individual buildings owned by the BUT.

nZEB - nearly Zero Energy Building

Large investment construction projects of the BUT will be implemented according to the nZEB (Nearly Zero Energy Building) standard, which follows from the requirements of Directive 2010/31/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on the energy performance of buildings.

The principle of the standard requires to combine and properly balance: (1) an economical architectural and construction concept of the building, (2) efficient technologies and, where appropriate, to use available (3) renewable resources. If the components are not in balance with each other and one of the elements is neglected, the other two must be strengthened.

Effective building design must then address and take into account the following in relation to the nZEB requirements:

• site selection and orientation of the building in relation to cardinal points,
• optimising the mass and shape of the building,
• the choice of the building envelope - façade, infills, roof,
• the choice of cooling and ventilation systems for the building using heat recovery,
• the choice of the heat source and its distribution in the building,
• the choice and extent of MaR and BMS deployment,
• elimination of thermal bridges.