Sustainability goals have never been more clearly defined. The EU’s climate targets are set. CSRD reporting is in operation. Year by year, the EPBD tightens requirements for building automation. The EU Taxonomy links green finance to verified performance criteria.
Yet for many organisations managing buildings, the gap between policy wording and implementation on site remains wide. What does having an ‘energy-efficient building’ actually mean? How do you specify it in a tender? How do you demonstrate it to an auditor, tenant or investor?
EN ISO 52120-1 is an internationally recognised standard that categorises building automation and control systems (BACS) into efficiency classes — A, B and C — each with a precise list of required functions for heating, cooling, ventilation, lighting, shading and more.
This classification system turns ambition into a specification: instead of aiming for a ‘sustainable building’, an owner can state in the project brief: ‘We require Class A building automation in accordance with EN ISO 52120-1.’ Every engineer, HVAC contractor and systems integrator on the project then has a specific checklist.
There is no ambiguity about what is expected, and there is a clear basis for verification after the building has been commissioned. Three regulatory drivers make EN ISO 52120-1 particularly relevant.
