Position Paper on the Revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD)

On 15th December 2021, the European Commission (EC) published a proposal for a directive on the energy performance of buildings (recast).

Bitkom welcomes the new proposal, especially regarding the twin green and digital transition under the European Green Deal. The European Green Deal is an important and necessary step towards achieving the climate targets. To reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, increasing energy efficiency in buildings and expanding the use of renewable energies is crucial. As a recently published Bitkom study shows, digital technologies are an essential component in achieving the climate targets in the buildings sector.

The building segment does not only account for a significant share of energy consumption, it is also still one of the least digitized sectors of the European economy. Digital solutions in buildings save energy, increase the quality of life, strengthen social interac-tion as well as local recreation, and enable the sustainable design and operation of smart buildings in the interest of society and citizens.

While the revision proposal fails to address the opportunities of Building Information Modelling (BIM), smart sector coupling, low-investment measures and partly building automation, the reinforcement of the Smart Readiness Indicator, the efforts to simplify data access, the digitalisation of energy performance certificates, and the introduction of national energy performance databases are appreciated.