As part of its ongoing exchanges with construction stakeholders in Brussels, EBC has been invited by partners to talk about the green transition in construction, energy efficiency, circularity and European policies at the event “Fostering experiences from EU innovation projects to accelerate a sustainable built environment” held as the concluding conference of the Horizon Europe project Drive 0.
This European project started in October 2019 as one of the first of the sort to foster circular renovation. The Drive 0 Symposium took place at the European Committee of the Regions in Brussels on 15 November, with the participation of several critical stakeholders of the construction and energy sectors, including EBC.
EBC Policy Officer, Spyros Mathioudakis intervened in the panel discussion “From practice to policy to ignite transformation”, along with key policymakers and stakeholders including Philippe Moseley, Policy Officer at the European Commission (DG GROW), Sebastien Delpont, Director at EnergieSprong France, Ruth Schagemann, President of the Architects’ Council of Europe (ACE), Emmanuelle Causse, Secretary General of the International Union of Property Owners (UIPI) and Julien Dijol, Head of Policy and Deputy Secretary-General of Housing Europe.
Elaborating on the construction SMEs’ commitment to a more circular and sustainable built environment through energy efficient renovation, Mr. Mathioudakis noted that SMEs are a crucial actor in making the Renovation Wave and the new EPBD ambitions a reality, putting the care and expertise necessary to renovate each individual building according to its needs. While industrialisation of certain elements might be of use in certain cases, a “copy-paste” approach and a one-size fits all attitude when it comes to our built environment are easy traps. Regarding circularity, SMEs are willing to valorise best practices, further integrate secondary materials and contribute to an improved material footprint. They nonetheless need clear cut rules and facilities that correspond to the specific needs and particularities of the sector, including in terms of collection, proximity, and insurability.
