To contribute to the 2018 European Year of Cultural Heritage (EYCH), by connecting built heritage and environmental targets, the European Builders Confederation has held on 29 June its 2018 European conference titled “Energy efficiency of historical buildings: which role for SMEs and craftsmen?” in Paris.
Patrick Liébus, President of EBC, said: “To improve energy efficiency in Europe require efforts of all sectors, but especially of the construction sector, as buildings are responsible for approximately 40% of energy consumption and 36% of CO2 emissions in the EU. The recent adoption of the Energy Performance of Buildings and the Energy Efficiency Directives are a clear signal and all market segments of the construction industry, including historical houses and buildings, must contribute to reach EU targets.”
Valued for their cultural, architectural and historical significance in Europe, historical buildings also imply investments in methods to reduce energy consumption, better awareness of digital tools facilitating retrofitting works, and continuous updating of VET schemes and training programmes to preserve and develop the skills required for the renovation of some historical buildings. These needs were highlighted by the speakers’ presentations, in an event labelled as an official EYCH event.
“The construction sector needs a holistic approach to meet these challenges, in which the expertise of our construction SMEs and craftsmen has to play a pivotal role. Traditional construction methods need to be complemented with the latest developments in the field of digitalisation, circular economy, and energy retrofitting. Only by succeeding this match between tradition and innovation, between energy efficiency and historical buildings, it will be possible to achieve the European Union’s objectives not only in the environmental field, but also in the cultural, economic and social fields”, he continued.
Organised together with its French member CAPEB, in the framework of EBC 2018 Annual Congress, EBC conference has brought together experts, policy-makers and entrepreneurs from the construction sector from several European countries, to discuss challenging issues and best practices linking energy and heritage.
