EIC Reply to EU Consultation on “A more Resilient, Greener and Digital Construction Ecosystem”
On 25 February 2022, EIC submitted its response to the EU consultation on “Scenarios for a transition pathway for a more resilient, greener and digital construction ecosystem” prepared by the Joint EIC-ENCORD-FIEC Working Group on Carbon Neutrality.
The European Commission was inviting stakeholders of the so-called ‘construction ecosystem’ by means of a public consultation to collaborate, propose concrete actions, commitments and investments, as well as make bottom-up assessments of scale, cost, long-term benefits and challenges and conditions required for the twin transition of the industrial ecosystem. The consultation aimed at developing a vision for 2030 and to identify bottlenecks and future potentials for sustainable construction activities both within the EU internal market and third markets. The Commission’s questionnaire was composed of non-obligatory, closed and open questions.
The questionnaire was divided into three parts. In the first part, the Joint WG responded subjects related to the “transition towards a resilient ecosystem” including the role of an enabling framework, dependency on material as well as the importance of skills. In the second part, responses targeted the “transition towards a green ecosystem” entailing positions on energy renovation, resource consumption, circularity and waste as well as the management of GHG emissions and climate change adaption. Finally, in the third part, the Joint WG developed a position on the “transition towards a digital ecosystem” and the bottlenecks of digitalisation, administration and data management.
In general, the EIC response addressed:
Regulatory issues, including the lack of data sovereignty, the discrepancy between climate targets and related certification standards as well as the strong fragmentation of norms,
Supply chain issues, covering critical bottlenecks caused by missing certifications and the shortage of skilled labour as well as the high costs for climate-friendly materials; and
Commercial issues ranging from lack of investment in new technologies to the preference of clients for low price offers.
EIC’s response to the questionnaire can be seen as a preparatory exercise for the development of a Policy Manifesto on Carbon Neutrality currently prepared by the Joint Working Group.
The final response can be downloaded below.