BROWNFIELD STILL TOO COMPLEX: GSE ITALY ENGAGES INSTITUTIONS

Urban expansion, new buildings and infrastructure developments place Italy among the leading countries in Europe for land consumption. Yet building on brownfield sites, namely redeveloping previously urbanised and abandoned land for new construction, would be one of the most effective solutions to this trend. However, the bureaucratic and economic complexity and uncertainty associated with brownfield projects often lead companies to consider development on undeveloped land as a more viable option.

Promoting dialogue and fostering discussion to address and overcome regulatory and bureaucratic complexities was the objective of the conference “Regenerating to Build: The Future of Construction Starts with Brownfield”, organised yesterday in Milan by GSE Italia, the Italian subsidiary of one of the world’s leading players in sustainable industrial construction. The event aimed to raise institutional awareness of brownfield development as a solution to land consumption in the construction sector, highlight the real challenges faced by companies adopting this model, and stress the need to consolidate the various existing regulations into a single legislative framework.

The conference was inspired by ISPRA data on land consumption. In 2023, Italy lost 72.5 km² of land, an increase of 7.16% compared to 2022, confirming a continuous upward trend that has persisted since 2006. Every year, this trend prevents the country from generating ecosystem services worth approximately €9.13 billion. Compared with other European Union countries, Italy ranks fifth among Member States in terms of land consumption growth rate, with a pace almost twice the EU average. ISPRA also highlighted that 21.42 km² of the land consumed in 2023 was located in hydrogeological risk areas.

The European Union has set targets for monitoring and reducing land consumption by 2050, and brownfield development is among the most effective tools available to Member States to achieve these objectives. Its potential impact on reducing land consumption in Italy is evident and, for this reason, it should be actively promoted by institutions while ensuring that companies are able to choose it for their facilities. However, the analysis of the Italian situation reveals a different reality.

“Long and, above all, unpredictable timelines for obtaining permits to build on brownfield sites put investments at risk,” said Valentino Chiarparin, Country Manager of GSE Italia. “These sites inherently carry risks linked to the possible presence of contaminants, whose classification is often neither immediate nor straightforward. Combined with the limited number of treatment facilities available, this creates a substantial economic, environmental and time-related impact. There is also another significant issue that limits the adoption of this virtuous model: despite the objective challenges involved, there are currently no fiscal or procedural incentives for companies that choose to build on regenerated land, which receives no preferential treatment compared to greenfield sites.”

“The current situation forces us to balance the need to support Italy’s economic development, which today requires the construction of approximately 1.5 million square metres per year, with the bureaucratic difficulties that make it extremely challenging to identify suitable brownfield sites for these developments,” stated Antonio Guarascio, Managing Director Confluence Europe – GSE. “Our goal today is to engage institutions in finding solutions together. It is unacceptable that building on a brownfield site, thereby supporting the country’s growth without further land consumption, should cost significantly more and require twice as much time.”

France has already addressed this issue through its ZAN (Zero Artificialisation Nette) decree. “The legislation seeks first and foremost to provide a clear definition of artificialisation and land consumption, with the ambitious objective of halving land use by 2035 and eliminating net land consumption entirely by 2050,” explained Rosemarie Serrato, Partner and Attorney at Advant Nctm Law Firm.

A response from Italian institutions came from Hon. Erica Mazzetti, Member of Parliament for Forza Italia and Head of the Public Works Department, who participated in the conference and highlighted the Government’s intention to move from regulatory fragmentation towards a principle-based framework through a new Consolidated Construction Code: “Building through regeneration means achieving a genuine urban, social, economic and energy transition. To accomplish this, several key elements must be considered: regulatory certainty, public and private funding, and placing the project at the centre, starting from the idea that the urban dimension is fundamentally about people. I am fully aware that greater flexibility is required within our regulatory tools, establishing principles and a limited number of rules capable of ensuring harmonious and transparent development, from individual buildings to entire neighbourhoods, integrated with infrastructure and mobility networks, while taking into account technological progress, beginning with digitalisation.”