Skip to main content
Join  our newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter

Together we can make a difference. Share your information with us and become a part of the solution.

14 February, 2024

Built By Nature Funds Research on Construction and Investment Costs of Biobased Materials in Residential Housing

AMSTERDAM February 14. To support the transition to biobased materials through improved availability of accurate financial analysis, Built by Nature is pleased to announce a €50,000 grant to real estate consultancy Alba Concepts towards research into residential biobased construction and investment costs in the Netherlands. The research will be conducted in cooperation with C-Creators, watkostdebouwvaneenhuurwoning and Bouwscoop.

The scope of the study will explore direct and indirect construction costs, along with investment costs, while providing a comparison between traditional and biobased construction methods across all cost categories.

The research will focus on residential projects, including social and private sector rentals and owner-occupied housing. The study will also compare actual CO2 emissions and carbon storage performance of biobased buildings with investment costs, integrating climate change mitigation potential into a comprehensive financial analysis. 

“An accurate understanding of the cost and value implications of building with biobased materials, when compared with the use of traditional materials, is absolutely critical for developers, investors and asset owners to drive a much-needed transformation of the sector,”

according to Built by Nature CEO Paul King.

“We’re also confident that many of the findings and insights derived from this project will be transferable and relevant across several European markets, not just the Netherlands.”   

 

Alba Concepts Founding Partner Jim Teunizen said:

“With this research, our goal is twofold -- we aim to stimulate the biobased transition by generating insights, and we aim to ensure that by identifying the negative and positive aspects of biobased construction materials on investments, it becomes easier to steer towards the financial feasibility of projects.”

 

The research phases include refining the definition of biobased buildings for the scope of this research; creation of an inventory of projects and gathering of cost data; and an analysis of data and compilation of insights, case studies and interviews with costing experts. The six-month project will culminate with broad dissemination of a final report including aggregated insights on biobased construction costs in the Dutch residential sector.