The construction sector is undergoing deep changes that are affecting its foundations, and the role that buildings play in achieving energy efficiency goals and targets set by the EU. With this in mind, BUILD UP as the European portal for energy efficiency and renewable energy in buildings, recently brought together several main players in the sector in a panel discussion to tackle some of the most pressing points related to these issues, both at a European and national level, not least to those that will be directly impacted by the recast of the European Performance Buildings Directive (EPBD).

The discussion, joined by Luca Angelino, Project Adviser at European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA),  was opened by Roberto Lollini,  Research Group Leader of "Energy Efficient Buildings" at Eurac Research, and moderated by Cristina Calderón, Head of Green Deal at NTT Data –both partners behind BUILD UP-. The panel itself was composed of the following BUILD UP stakeholders: 

• Jozefien Vanbecelaere, Head of EU Affairs at the European Heat Pump Association  (EHPA), who brought the perspective of the heat pump industry including, current trends and effective solutions implemented. 
• Fernando Sigchos Jiménez, Secretary General at European Builders Confederation (EBC), who brought the perspective of the construction industry, particularly focused on how upskilling/reskilling workforce can help deliver on EU energy efficiency goals.
• Gusts Kossovics  Head of Policy at European Building Automation and Controls Association (eu.bac), who brought the perspective and current trends of the home-automation industry in relation to energy efficiency in buildings.
• Andrei Vladimir Litiu,  Building Performance Adviser at Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Associations REHVA and Executive Director at EPB Center, who brought the perspective of the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning sector towards improving energy efficiency in buildings, highlighting latest trends and solutions.   

The foundation for the discussion was laid by Roberto Lollini, who pointed out first and foremost the main areas of the EPBD including renovation, decarbonisation, financing, and modernisation and system integration. In addition to the above, he also highlighted the importance of Repower EU and how it is helping to further push the goals of Fit. As for the long-awaited new EPBD recast, Lollini recalled that it will include key topics as GHG emissions, Renovation Passports, Decarbonisation –including the life cycle of materials-, SRI, IEQ... all of them, adressed in the Topics of the Month proposed by BUILD UP.

How to reach energy-efficient buildings: the skills shortage

Digging into the discussion, and in particular how the EPBD recast was going to affect the organisations, one topic stood out in the conversation above the rest: skills. “Construction has struggled for decades to have skilled people, and now we need people that understand about circularity, sustainability…’, expressed Sigchos Jiménez, the representative from EBC, the association of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in EU, before adding that we need to show people that ‘they are contributing to fight against climate change’.

In the European Year of Skills, Luca Angelino highlighted that the European Commission is currently funding projects on the national level working to bridge the skills gap, with 15 ongoing. He also informed about other funding opportunities at the national level, such as the LIFE-CET, which is still open for national projects.  

‘There is a huge skills shortage’, explained Jozefien Vanbecelaere. With 20 million heat pumps around Europe (around 15% of European buildings are heated or cooled with heat pumps), EHPA has become the sector's voice. ‘We lack skills at local and national level, it’s about reskilling, upskilling or creating new skills for the people’, she explained.  

But how can the skills intelligence be enhanced? ‘The skills framework is getting more complex’, said Sigchos Jiménez. ‘We need to bring an approach to make people understand what is behind the action’, he affirmed. Sigchos Jiménez also stressed the importance of acting at national level: ‘The education and training remain at national level, so we can decide whatever in Brussels at the EU level, but the decisions are mainly taken in each country’, which makes the implementations quite heterogeneous, in his opinion.  

All the participants agreed on the importance of upskilling the current workforce and attracting more profiles to the construction market.   

European and national perspectives: the role of BUILD UP

The national perspective was also one of the recurring comments in the discussion. ‘Our members say, ‘Nice in Brussels but come and see what is happening in our country’’, exemplified the representative of REHVA, Andrei Vladimir Litiu, who highlighted the importance of looking more into transposition and implementation at national levels. In his opinion, following the EU legislation can be overwhelming and might discourage national users.    

On his side, Gusts Kossovics, representing eu.bac and talking about building automation, also highlighted the importance of being transposed at national level, and presented the targets for non-residential and multifamily residential buildings that will be reflected in the new EPBD. At that point, they all agreed on the role that BUILD UP could bring, as a sharing knowledge platform, to facilitate guidance and useful information. As a portal that brings together information from both the EU and the different member states, it can be a very useful tool for users. ‘The EC is going to prepare guidelines for the member states’ to support the implementation of selected articles in the new Energy Efficiency Directive, confirmed Luca Angelino, from CINEA, and BUILD UP could bridge the gap by spreading that information and disseminating it through the different stakeholders. 

‘BUILD UP can also be a good channel to present successful stories of actual applications of certain solutions’, added Roberto Lollini, from Eurac Research. The community that lies behind the BUILD UP platform brings national perspectives and actions that are taken at the local level. 

The panel discussion was followed by 15 BUILD UP ambassadors, who brought national and local examples that enriched the debate.

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Panel discussion organised by BUILD UP in Brussels.