Sustainable, safe and long-lasting buildings

The greenest building is the one that lasts

True sustainability goes beyond cutting emissions. It means building and renovating with intention: reducing waste, protecting people, and preserving the long-term value of every structure we create. The future of European construction is circular and designed to endure. Meaningful reductions in Europe's climate footprint are not possible without transforming the built environment that already exists.

Renovation: where the biggest opportunity lies

Buildings are Europe's biggest energy consumer — making them central to the EU's climate ambitions. The most direct path to cutting emissions is reducing energy demand, and few measures deliver that as effectively as deep renovation, starting with a high-performing building envelope. Less heat lost means less energy used, lower costs, and a smaller carbon footprint across Europe's built environment.

This is exactly the direction the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) is designed to accelerate.

For non-residential buildings, minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) are intended to drive the phase-out of the lowest-performing building classes in the coming decade — ensuring that the worst buildings are upgraded first.
For residential buildings, national building renovation plans and trajectories set milestones that prioritise improvements in the worst-performing homes towards 2030 and 2035, creating a predictable pipeline of renovation activity across Member States.
From 2030, zero-emission building (ZEB) standards for existing buildingswill define what “deep renovation” really means, helping ensure upgrades deliver lasting performance.
From 2030, Member States will be required to calculate the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of all new buildings — integrating circularity into building assessments for the first time at EU scale.

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In the EU, embodied carbon accounts for

of the total CO₂ footprint of buildings

Europe’s residential sector is responsible for

of the EU’s material footprint

Buildings are the single largest energy consumer in Europe, accounting for

of primary energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions

Turning targets into delivery

The EPBD provides the framework — delivering on its promise requires the right materials, the right policies, and the right ambition.

Public funding is vital to the cause and are most effective when they are performance-based: tying the strongest incentives to deep renovations that deliver real and lasting energy and carbon savings. To truly realise our objectives, however, public funding will also need the mobilisation of private capital through blended finance and de-risking mechanisms, The EPBD provides the framework — but delivering on its climate promise depends on making the right choices and choosing the right renovations.

Build to last — how we renovate matters as much as how fast we renovate

The construction industry is the world’s biggest consumer of resources—yet more than 90 percent of materials are wasted, lost, or never made available for reuse. That’s why renovation choices matter: using durable, well-documented materials is one of the most effective ways to cut waste, protect people, and maintain performance for decades. It matters, too, whether products can be removed during renovation or demolition and recycled without losing performance—so value stays in circulation. This is the kind of lifecycle thinking the EPBD can accelerate, because for Europe to reduce emissions and resource demand, how we renovate matters as much as how fast we renovate.

The EPBD sets direction. Delivering on it requires the right policies, the right funding, and the right materials — chosen with the full lifecycle in mind. Deep, high-quality renovation is not just a climate imperative. It is an opportunity to build a safer, more efficient and more resilient Europe for generations to come.

Lasting benefits start with better materials

Renovation at scale is essential — but the real payoff depends on how we renovate. Constructed and renovated well, buildings can contribute to improving our health, wellbeing and productivity; reducing energy waste and costs; and strengthening local economies. Getting renovation right for the long-term entails using building materials that are durable, recyclable, and non-combustible, materials that will last for generations and can be recycled at end of their useful life. We have an opportunity to create a new generation of energy efficient, acoustically comfortable, aesthetically pleasing and fire-safe buildings – our homes, workplaces, schools, care facilities, and so much more. We need to get it right.

Learn more about the benefits of investing in renovation

Competitiveness, jobs and growth

Europe’s next jobs story is worth building

Energy security

Energy independence starts at home

Social resilience and safety

A safe and thriving community begins indoors