The Netherlands was pioneer in incorporating ecological concern to its aims and politics. By 1972 the Dutch government spread the message of responsible and ecologic production and consumption, wheras Spain was still far from considering sustainability as a main concern. The way that both countries have followed is worth studying and comparing. In this research, the status of the construction sector in Spain and the Netherlands will be analysed, by using indices. Both countries enjoy a similar HDI (Human Development Index), and differences, among others, in their constructive development, as the results show. Considering sustainability as a compound result of environmental, social and economical matters, diverse indices related to these aspects have been searched for in order to locate construction in its real context. This way, proper comparisons can be established, which will help to learn and improve, both in the general aims and in the process of construction. The aims will be analysed by comparing existing and possible situations. The processes will be analysed by indicating the areas whose indices should be established and studied in more depth, and detecting as well the weaknesses of knowledge that should be improved. As for the temporal development, the indices selected were those related to sustainability in the different stages of the life cycle of a building; from the pre-design until the demolition of it. Where necessary, trends have been defined by presenting temporary cycles. The indices have been obtained from several official organisations considering the availability of data about both countries as for concept, time and reliability. This is the case of institutes, universities, congresses and research centres. In some cases, the sources of the information are common to both countries: EU statistics. All conclusions establish forcefully, how (in a comparable framework, where differences are not essential) there is a space of improvement and learning that can be shared. It also identifies which ...