EU Directive - "The Energy Performance of Buildings"

EU boost for energy-efficiency in buildings

A forthcoming EU Directive, "The Energy Performance of Buildings" will require Member States to take major steps to make buildings more energy-efficient, and is therefore set to boost demand for products which improve the energy performance of buildings.

The final wording of the Directive was released by the Council of the EU on 29^th July 2002 and is expected to be approved by the European Parliament in early October. Motivation for introducing the Directive was two-fold. First, there is the necessity to introduce measures which will help the EU meet its obligation, under the Kyoto Protocol, to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 8%. Secondly, there is the need to improve long term security of energy supply; reducing energy demand is seen as a key component of that objective. As buildings use over 40% of Europe's energy, a Directive which will make our buildings use it more efficiently was regarded as imperative.

The Directive will require Member States to introduce legislation which will affect both new and existing buildings. In particular the Directive will mean that

Member States must review and update their Building Regulations at least once every five years.
Member States must introduce legislation which will require existing buildings over 1000m², when undergoing major renovation, to have the best available energy efficiency measures incorporated at the same time.
Member States must ensure that, when a building is constructed, or whenever there is a change of owner or tenant, an Energy Performance Certificate is issued. The Certificate must include references to current legal minimum standards of energy performance, and must include recommendations for how the building can be improved to meet these standards.
Member States must ensure that all publicly owned or publicly accessible buildings over 1000m² possess an Energy Performance Certificate, and that it is prominently displayed.

There is also a provision in the Directive requiring it to be reviewed in due course, with a view to strengthening it in the light of progress. In particular the Commission will decide whether to extend the renovation obligation (second bullet point above) to buildings smaller than 1000m².

The Directive, when fully effective, is expected to deliver savings of 45 million tonnes CO₂ a year, a significant part of the EU's Kyoto commitment. But whether this potential is achieved depends crucially on the speed and effectiveness with which the Member States enact it into national legislation. Commenting on this point, Rick Wilberforce (Pilkington Market Development Manager, Europe) said "Most EU Member States have fallen behind the level of CO₂ reductions they should have achieved by now if they are to meet their Kyoto targets by 2010. In most cases their track records on policies and measures for energy efficiency in buildings are poor. We now have to move to a phase where campaigning groups, trade associations and NGOs apply pressure to national governments to make sure the new Directive is rapidly and fully implemented".

Pilkington is a member of the UK Association for the Conservation of Energy (ACE), and its European sister organisation EuroACE. Both associations will be active in monitoring the progress which Member States make in implementing the Directive.