The 'Environmental Code': it consolidates Italian environmental law in six parts — principles, assessments (SEA, EIA, IPPC), water and air protection, waste and remediation, environmental damage. For those who design and build it is decisive: assessments can condition the building title and every excavation or demolition meets the waste regime.
It applies to plans and programmes (SEA), projects and works (EIA), the operation of installations (IPPC/AUA), the management of waste and excavated soil, the remediation of contaminated sites, water discharges and air emissions. Several detailed regimes supplement the Code: excavated soil and rock under D.P.R. 120/2017, and end-of-waste status for inert construction and demolition materials under Ministerial Decree 127/2024. Regional powers also supplement its application.
It is the framework that consolidates Italian environmental law. Its principles — precaution, prevention, correction at source and 'the polluter pays' — run through six parts. For the building world it intersects at every scale: plans (SEA), projects (EIA), the building site (excavated soil, waste) and the existing building (remediation).
| Part | Subject |
|---|---|
| Part I | principles and aims |
| Part II | SEA, EIA and the IPPC permit (assessments and authorisations) |
| Part III | soil defence and water protection |
| Part IV | waste and remediation of contaminated sites |
| Part V | air protection and atmospheric emissions |
| Part VI | environmental damage |
The SEA (VAS) concerns plans and programmes (such as planning instruments); the EIA (VIA) concerns projects and works; the IPPC permit (AIA) concerns the operation of industrial installations. Confusing them is the most common mistake, and it changes who assesses, when and with what effects.
| Instrument | Applies to |
|---|---|
| VAS (SEA) | plans and programmes (e.g. planning instruments) |
| VIA (EIA) | projects and works |
| Screening | 'minor' projects: decides whether an EIA is needed |
| AIA (IPPC) | operation of large industrial installations |
| AUA | single permit for SMEs not subject to AIA |
Waste management follows a binding hierarchy: first reduce production, then re-use, recycle, recover and — only last — dispose. The producer is responsible for the correct routing to destination. For construction and demolition waste the recovery targets are high: selective demolition and the Minimum Environmental Criteria push towards the re-use of inert materials.
Excavated soil and rocks are the most delicate point on site. They can be managed as a by-product — hence not as waste — only if all the legal conditions are met: certain re-use, no treatment beyond normal industrial practice, compliance with environmental requirements and a declaration, under D.P.R. 120/2017 and art. 184-bis of the Code. If even one condition is missing, they are waste, with all the regime that follows.
If contamination emerges during excavation, immediate duties arise: prevention measures, notice to the authorities (Municipality, Region/Province, ARPA) and the start of the remediation procedure — investigation, risk analysis, design. The principle is 'the polluter pays', but the non-responsible owner still has safety duties and the area may be burdened with a real charge. In practice, the discovery halts the affected part of the site until the situation is handled.
Beyond assessments and waste, the Code governs water protection (Part III: discharges require a discharge authorisation), air protection (Part V: atmospheric emissions require authorisation) and environmental damage (Part VI: whoever causes damage must restore, under the 'polluter pays' principle).
The environmental code is the level where architecture meets the ecological limit: not an accessory formality, but the framework that decides whether and how a project may exist — from the plan to the site to removal. For an architecture that wishes to call itself sustainable, it is the ground on which credibility is measured, not minimum compliance.
The EIA (VIA) concerns projects; the SEA (VAS) concerns plans and programmes. Screening (the verification of subjection) decides whether a 'minor' project requires a full EIA.
For the projects subject to it, yes: the title is not issued and works do not start without a positive outcome. The PAUR coordinates the EIA and the titles in a single measure.
It depends: it is a by-product (not waste) only if all the conditions of D.P.R. 120/2017 and art. 184-bis are met (certain re-use, no treatment beyond normal practice, environmental requirements, declaration); otherwise it is waste.
Immediately adopt prevention measures, notify the authorities (Municipality, Region/Province, ARPA) and start the remediation procedure (investigations, risk analysis, design). The affected part of the site stops.
The cost of prevention and restoration falls on whoever caused the contamination; the non-responsible owner does not pay for another's remediation but has safety duties, and the area may be burdened with a real charge.
Yes, and it is encouraged: the hierarchy rewards recycling and recovery, selective demolition and the Minimum Environmental Criteria push the re-use of inert materials; in some cases aggregates reach end-of-waste status.