HRVATSKI SAVJET ZA ZELENU GRADNJU

Their core work

The Croatia Green Building Council is a national industry association promoting sustainable construction practices in Croatia and the broader Adriatic region. They work on building renovation strategies, energy performance standards, and circular construction — helping translate EU building decarbonisation policy into actionable national and regional roadmaps. Their practical contribution lies in mobilizing local building sector actors (developers, municipalities, architects) around green building standards and connecting Croatian construction expertise to European research consortia.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their early H2020 work (2015-2019) concentrated on building renovation policy — creating multi-stakeholder networks and supporting public authorities in developing national decarbonisation strategies through the BUILD UPON series. From 2021 onward, their focus shifted decisively toward circular construction (precast concrete reuse, deconstruction, value chain integration) and smart building technologies (BIM, building-integrated photovoltaics). This evolution mirrors the broader EU construction sector's move from energy efficiency compliance toward circularity and digitalization.

Moving from policy advocacy toward hands-on circular economy implementation in the construction sector, making them increasingly relevant for projects requiring material reuse demonstration and BIM-driven building assessment.

How they like to work

Always a participant, never a coordinator — they join large consortia (100 unique partners across 4 projects) rather than leading them. This is typical for national Green Building Councils, which serve as country-level implementation nodes in pan-European networks. Working with them means gaining access to Croatian construction sector actors and policy channels without the overhead of managing a large consortium.

Extensive European network with 100 unique consortium partners across 25 countries, reflecting their membership in the World Green Building Council network and participation in large-scale CSA and IA projects. Their reach spans most EU member states with no narrow geographic bias.

What sets them apart

As Croatia's Green Building Council, they occupy a unique position: a national industry body with direct access to Croatian construction companies, municipalities, and policymakers, embedded within a Europe-wide GBC network. For consortium builders, they offer an established channel into the Southeast European construction market — a region underrepresented in many EU project consortia. Their progression from policy work into circular construction and BIM gives them both the policy connections and the technical grounding needed for implementation-focused projects.

Highlights from their portfolio

• ReCreate
  Their largest project (EUR 303,430) and a clear strategic pivot into circular construction — concrete reuse, deconstruction logistics, and circular business models.
• BUILD UPON2
  Continuation of a flagship GBC network initiative focused on public sector capacity building for building stock decarbonisation across Europe.