InnoRenew CoE, in collaboration with the University of Primorska, hosted the InnoRenew CoE International Conference 2021 (IRIC2021), “Healthy and Sustainable Renovation with Renewable Materials”, online 10-11 June 2021. During the conference, experts came together to discuss the use of renewable materials in renovation for a sustainable society.

IRIC2021 featured 38 presentations about the key role of renewable materials in achieving climate goals and renovating buildings. It is the perspective of most IRIC2021 speakers that renovation should be undertaken with materials and solutions that are as carbon-neutral as possible, while taking into account the positive impact on human health.

The keynote speaker was Dr Lisanne Havinga, an expert in circularity and an assistant professor of Building Performance and Principal Scientist System Integration at Technische Universiteit Eindhoven. In her speech, Dr Havinga pointed out the crucial role of renewable materials in sustainable renovation and energy transition as well as her comprehensive understanding of energy, materials and emission flows and associated environmental impacts.

“I believe we have to approach the key challenges of our time, global warming and biodiversity loss, by evaluating scenarios for sustainable renovation and energy transition in a way that takes into account all environmental impacts,” Dr Havinga said.

Innovation and adoption of renewable materials continues and accelerates, and the topics presented at IRIC2021 give confidence that the science is going in the right direction. Circularity in renovation is also relevant to the European Commission’s European Green Deal and New European Bauhaus initiatives, which encourage and promote sustainable development in Europe.

Dr Lisanne Havinga at IRIC2021. Image: Lea Primožič

According to Dr Michael Burnard, InnoRenew CoE deputy director, this year’s conference topic aligns well with the New European Bauhaus.

“Information shared at the conference is of great benefit to the New European Bauhaus community as topics like cultural heritage, new construction, renovation,  materials, health and related social and business issues were presented,” Dr Burnard said.