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Hauptverband der Deutschen Bauindustrie

BAUINDUSTRIE

The Hauptverband der Deutschen Bauindustrie represents the interests of German construction companies on economic and social policy.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Mehdi Hocine (Head of Unit Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs) and Zentralverband Deutsches Baugewerbe

13 Jan 2026 · Discussion on the future Construction Services Act

Response to Construction services Act

15 Dec 2025

Die von der EU-Kommission festgestellte niedrige Integration des Handels mit Dienstleistungen im Baugewerbe (1%) ist durch die überwiegend lokale Ausrichtung von Baudienstleistungen zu erklären. Eine Bauleistung muss immer vollständig am Ort der Baustelle unter den dort herrschenden gesetzlichen Rahmenbedingungen erbracht werden. Die EU-Kommission hat wichtige Herausforderungen und Probleme identifiziert, zu denen wir uns wie folgt positionieren: - Problem 1 (fehlende gegenseitige Anerkennung in den Bereichen Arbeitssicherheit, Gesundheitsschutz, etc.) und Problem 3 (fehlende gegenseitige Anerkennung von Berufsqualifikationen für den Zugang zu reglementierten Berufen): Option 1.2 und Option 3.2, also Stärkung der Umsetzung und Durchsetzung der Dienstleistungsrichtlinie, einschließlich der Ausarbeitung von Leitlinien und Empfehlungen an die Mitgliedstaaten. - Problem 2 (Nationale Baustellenkarten): Die EU-Kommission sollte Bemühungen um Interoperabilität existierender Baustellenkarten-Modelle durch finanzielle und administrative Unterstützung fördern, um die Kompatibilität der Systeme mit den laufenden Digitalisierungsbemühungen der EU sicherzustellen. Darüber hinaus wollen wir auf folgende zusätzliche Probleme aufmerksam machen: Für Bauunternehmen ist es mit hohem Aufwand verbunden, sich mit den unterschiedlichen steuerrechtlichen Bestimmungen der Länder und der bilateralen DBAs auseinanderzusetzen. Hier wäre die Harmonisierung der Regelungen für Anmeldung und Erstattung der Mehrwehrsteuer bei grenzüberschreitender Tätigkeit sowie zur Vermeidung der Doppelbesteuerung (DBA) für Firmen und Arbeitnehmer hilfreich. Das Sozialversicherungsrecht unterliegt weitgehend nicht der Kompetenz der EU. Eine Harmonisierung ist daher schwierig, dies zeigt insbesondere die Diskussion um die Koordinierung des Sozialversicherungsrechts. Trotz langjähriger Diskussion ist es der EU-Politik bislang nicht gelungen, die Verordnung (EG) Nr. 883/2004 zu modernisieren. Eine stärkere Harmonisierung würde den Verwaltungsaufwand für die grenzüberschreitend tätigen Baufirmen indes erheblich reduzieren. Ein zentralisiertes System für die Anmeldung und Registrierung von Arbeitnehmer-Entsendungen, wie sie aktuell durch die e-Declaration in Planung sind, würde grenzüberschreitende Bauleistungen erleichtern. In Anbetracht der demographischen Entwicklung in der EU und des Fachkräftemangels besteht ferner ein Bedarf an qualifizierten Mitarbeitern aus Drittstaaten sowie ein Bedarf, diese Nicht-EU-Mitarbeiter EU-weit flexibel einzusetzen. Insgesamt würde eine Erleichterung der Mobilität von Arbeitskräften innerhalb der EU grenzüberschreitende Bauleistungen erheblich vereinfachen. Darüber hinaus sollte die EU die Bereitstellung umfassender Informationen zu lokalen Vorschriften verbessern. Eine einheitliche und übersichtliche Informationsplattform, idealerweise in mehreren Sprachen, könnte Unternehmen dabei unterstützen, die geltenden Anforderungen besser zu verstehen und umzusetzen. Dazu führt die Europäische Arbeitsbehörde (ELA) aktuell eine Machbarkeitsstudie zum Aufbau und Betrieb einer Beratungsstelle bzw. eines Helpdesks zu Fragen europäischer Arbeitskräftemobilität durch. Ziel einer solchen Beratungsstelle wäre, Ratsuchenden Auskünfte zu Themen wie nationalen Entsendregeln, Mindestlohnregelungen oder Sozialversicherungsthemen in verschiedenen Sprachen bereitzustellen. Die ELA könnte auch alle in den Mitgliedstaaten für allgemeinverbindlich erklärten Tarifverträge archivieren und transparent machen. Das wäre vor allem bedeutsam für die mittelständische Bauwirtschaft. Zudem könnte die EU einheitlichere und transparentere Regeln für die Anerkennung von Berufsqualifikationen im Bausektor schaffen. Hierbei könnten länderspezifische Vorschriften für Facharbeiter und Bauunternehmen stärker miteinander abgestimmt und unnötige bürokratische Hürden beseitigt werden.
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German construction industry demands simplified EU environmental criteria

5 Dec 2025
Topic — Review of technical screening criteria for the EU environmental taxonomy regulation.
Message — The federation requests that the "Do No Significant Harm" criteria be simplified or transformed into voluntary indicators to cut red tape. They argue requirements should be reduced for pollution prevention and water usage reporting.123
Why — This would significantly lower the administrative burden and costs associated with reporting taxonomy compliance.45
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German Construction Industry Urges Funding for Military Mobility

16 Oct 2025
Topic — A legislative proposal to harmonise national rules and improve infrastructure for European military mobility.
Message — The association calls for increasing military mobility funding to 17 billion euros and fast-tracking planning by declaring projects to be in the overriding public interest. They also demand more transparency regarding project pipelines to ensure business planning security.123
Why — Better transparency and faster permitting allow firms to manage their workforces and resources more effectively.45
Impact — Environmental groups and local citizens lose legal safeguards as fast-track procedures reduce project scrutiny.6
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Meeting with Hildegard Bentele (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur) and European International Contractors

15 Oct 2025 · Global Gateway

Meeting with Jens Gieseke (Member of the European Parliament)

14 Oct 2025 · Austausch zu EU-Politik

Meeting with Daniel Caspary (Member of the European Parliament) and Wirtschaftsrat der CDU e.V.

14 Oct 2025 · Austausch

German construction industry urges EU shift to modular housing

17 Sept 2025
Topic — The consultation addresses ways to increase productivity and competitiveness in housing construction.
Message — The group wants public procurement rules changed to favor modular building methods. They call for fully digital approval processes and increased EU industrial funding.123
Why — This would lower administrative expenses and allow for cheaper industrial construction.45
Impact — Environmental protections might be weakened to prioritize faster urban housing development.6
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German construction industry rejects EU rules for corporate fleets

26 Aug 2025
Topic — The consultation examines setting minimum zero-emission vehicle requirements for European corporate fleets.
Message — HDB opposes new EU rules because companies already make fleet decisions using cost-benefit analysis. They claim that existing measures like the fossil fuel phase-out are sufficient.12
Why — This would prevent new administrative burdens and maintain flexibility for corporate vehicle procurement.3
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Meeting with Stefan Moser (Head of Unit Energy)

2 Jul 2025 · Housing Construction

Meeting with Andreas Glück (Member of the European Parliament) and Zentralverband Deutsches Baugewerbe

10 Jun 2025 · Climate and Environment Policy

Meeting with Helena Hinto (Cabinet of Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas), Simone Ritzek-Seidl (Cabinet of Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas)

6 Jun 2025 · Exchange on transport infrastructure

Response to European Affordable Housing Plan

26 May 2025

The feedback of the German Construction Industry Federation on the European affordable housing plan can be found in the attached document.
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Meeting with Dan Jørgensen (Commissioner) and

16 May 2025 · Affordable Housing

Meeting with Barbara Bonvissuto (Director Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs) and Bundesverband deutscher Wohnungs- und Immobilienunternehmen and

16 May 2025 · Exchange of views on the main issues affecting the German construction ecosystem and housing providers and on Commission policies on construction, particularly the ESHC

German Builders Demand Exemption from EU Deforestation Rules

12 May 2025
Topic — This consultation concerns amendments to the product scope of the EU Deforestation Regulation.
Message — The federation requests that due diligence obligations be limited to the first importer. They also call for excluding products from the EU and other low-risk countries.12
Why — Reducing these requirements would lower administrative costs and simplify compliance for construction firms.34
Impact — Transparency efforts may suffer as the proposal limits the traceability of wood products.5
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Meeting with Christian Doleschal (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur)

25 Apr 2025 · Revision der Vergaberichtlinien

Meeting with Markus Ferber (Member of the European Parliament)

18 Feb 2025 · Housing and construction policy

Meeting with Jens Geier (Member of the European Parliament)

18 Feb 2025 · Exchange on follow up initiatives of the Energy performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD)

Meeting with Anne Katherina Weidenbach (Cabinet of Commissioner Dan Jørgensen)

17 Feb 2025 · affordable housing

Meeting with Katharina Knapton-Vierlich (Head of Unit Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs)

17 Feb 2025 · Exchange of views on the construction sectors role in addressing the housing crisis and the Commissions planned activities.

Meeting with Jens Geier (Member of the European Parliament)

17 Feb 2025 · Preparation of the Exchange on follow up initiatives of the Energy performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD)

Meeting with Stefan Moser (Head of Unit Energy)

13 Feb 2025 · The European Affordable Housing Plan and the role of construction companies

Meeting with Stefan Moser (Head of Unit Energy)

13 Feb 2025 · Exchange of views on housing policy, including coordinating role of the TFH in Commission as well as cooperation with external partners

Meeting with Jens Geier (Member of the European Parliament)

28 Nov 2024 · Exchange on Expectations on the new European Parliament and EU Commission (EU Industry Policy, Green Deal, Energy Policy, Construction and housing)

Response to Interim evaluation of the Connecting Europe Facility 2021-2027

17 Sept 2024

Introduction The Connecting Europe Facility is of utmost importance to support the completion of the Transeuropean Networks. The Transeuropean Transport Networks are an essential part of the internal market and mobility of Europeans across the continent. Efficient Europe wide mobility is a precondition for deepening the internal market in the EU. For goods, people and service to float across borders suitable high-quality infrastructure is needed. The key strategic document for the forthcoming legislative period, the Letta-Report and the Draghi-Report both underline the critical importance of investing into European infrastructure. Letta speaks, for example, of the need to create a truly integrated TEN-T Network. Draghi estimates that EUR 845 billion by 2040 are needed to the TEN-T. Therefore, completing a better integrated European infrastructure must be the ambition that is met with the needed funding. Key points The price of completing the TEN-T networks is estimated to EUR 500 billion, whereas Draghi sees the need of EUR 845 billion of investment. The Co-financing of the EU must live up to the ambition to complete the TEN-T network according to the deadlines set the TEN-T Regulation. Therefore, adequate funding needs to be foreseen until 2027 and the next financial period. A clear sign that investment is insufficient is the fact that CEF 2 calls have been oversubscribed. Calls for tenders for projects are usually oversubscribed several times over, sometimes by a factor of 4, which shows much greater demand in the member states compared to the funds made available. Unfortunately, the prices of construction have sharply risen after the start of Russias war on Ukraine. Leading to price spikes and inflation for a large range of products used in civil engineering, such as steel, concrete and asphalt. The prices for cement have, for instance, increased from January 2021 to July 20244 from an index of roughly 100 to 160 (https://www.bauindustrie.de/zahlen-fakten/preise-ertraege/baumaterialpreise). This price development leads to the fact that less can be built for the foreseen budget. Price or respective budget adjustments should be already applied to the CEF transport budget 2021-2027, and certainly be taken into account when planning the budget after 2027. Next to the much-needed completion of missing-links in Europe and the deeper integration of the EUs transport network. The proper maintenance of the TEN-T networks becomes a more and more pressing challenge. Co-financing of the EU should be applied to maintenance measures, for instance, for bridges to support constrained national budgets. Not only Military Mobility needs to be considered more strongly in the upcoming years to allow the mobility of heavy military equipment, but also the general tendance that traffic, especially on roads, increases in scale, weight and dimensions and therefore strains European infrastructure stronger than anticipated, should be considered. The EU links infrastructure investment with other policy goals such as sustainable mobility and decarbonisation, which we do support. The AFIF is an important facility to modernize the transport sector and contribute to a more equal distribution of charging points in Europe. We represent companies delivering projects in all areas of infrastructure, from rail to waterways and motorways. However, regarding the TEN-T networks it is very important to take into account traffic projections for the different means of transport and take these projections into account to build an infrastructure that corresponds to the future mobility needs of citizens. The Letta-Report proposes a stronger use of Public Private Partnerships for infrastructure investments, considering budget constraints all over Europe. Therefore, we fully support the proposals made in the Report More than a Market on Public Private Partnerships, which should be used to leverage more private financial means into infrastructure
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Meeting with Svenja Hahn (Member of the European Parliament) and BUSINESSEUROPE and

21 Feb 2024 · Stakeholder Roundtable on Late Payment Regulation

Meeting with Christian Doleschal (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur) and DIN Deutsches Institut für Normung e. V. and

7 Dec 2023 · AK Bau

Meeting with Axel Voss (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur)

14 Nov 2023 · Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence

German construction industry urges deletion of subcontractor payment proof

23 Oct 2023
Topic — A proposal to revise EU rules on late payments in commercial transactions.
Message — The association demands the deletion of requirements to prove subcontractor payments before being paid by public authorities. They also oppose the creation of new national enforcement bodies. The group calls for simple, clear, and effective rules for all market participants.123
Why — Removing these requirements avoids administrative delays and preserves the liquidity of construction firms.45
Impact — Subcontractors lose a new mechanism designed to ensure payments are passed down the chain.67
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Response to Evaluation of Standardisation Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012

19 Sept 2023

Grundsätzlich ist das Europäische Normungssystem, wie es durch die Normungsverordnung 1025/2012 vorgesehen ist, aus Sicht der BAUINDUSTRIE gut und sollte im Wesentlichen so beibehalten werden. Eine Einführung von delegierten Rechtsakten, als Ersatz für Normen, wird von der BAUINDUSTRIE grundsätzlich abgelehnt. Genauer betrachtet fällt es aber unseren Mitgliedern aus der BAUINDUSTRIE (und wahrscheinlich vielen anderen Akteuren der kleinteiligen Bauwirtschaft) zunehmend schwer, ihre Interessen angemessen in die Europäischen Normungsprozesse einzubringen. Diese bereits im Rahmen der nationalen Normungsprozesse existierende Distanz zwischen Praxiswissen und Normungswesen wird in bei der Europäischen Normung zusätzlich potenziert durch die Sprachbarriere. Der in Deutschland in erster Linie lokal und mittelständisch organisierten Bauwirtschaft wird das derzeit existierende System daher nicht gerecht. In der Konsequenz führt das dazu, dass der Anspruch von Europäischen Baunormen, einen ausgewogenen technischen Wissensstand (oder gar anerkannte Regeln der Technik) abzubilden, nicht aufrechterhalten werden kann. Dies hat sowohl technische Nachteile wie auch Auswirkungen auf die rechtliche Relevanz von Normen. Um die zukünftigen Herausforderungen (öffentliche Sicherheit gewährleisten und den ökologischen und digitalen Wandel unterstützen) zu bewältigen, sind sicherlich Anpassungen im Normungsprozess erforderlich. Insbesondere müssen die Europäischen Normungsprozesse angesichts des raschen technologischen Wandels in der Lage sein, schnell auf Innovationstrends im Bauwesen zu reagieren. Zudem ist eine zeitnahe Harmonisierung der Normen im gesamten EU-Binnenmarkt wichtig, um die Vermutung der Konformität von Produkten mit den Anforderungen des EU-Rechts zu ermöglichen. Ferner muss die Beteiligung aller Interessenträger aus der Gesellschaft im Europäischen Normungssystem gewährleistet sein, damit eine demokratische Besetzung der Gremien sichergestellt ist.
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German construction industry calls for more realistic recycling quotas

3 May 2023
Topic — The EU is defining sustainable investment criteria for the transition to a circular economy.
Message — HDB requests lower recycling and secondary material quotas that align with current market availability. They also advocate for clearer project boundaries and better inclusion of resource-saving prefabricated components.123
Why — Firms would avoid high costs and competitive disadvantages caused by regional shortages of recycled materials.45
Impact — Environmental objectives suffer as the federation seeks to reduce the ambition of green construction standards.6
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Meeting with Christine Schneider (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur) and European Construction Industry Federation and Fédération Nationale des Travaux Publics

28 Mar 2023 · nature restoration

Meeting with Axel Voss (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur) and BUSINESSEUROPE and

8 Mar 2023 · Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence

Meeting with Christian Doleschal (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur)

7 Dec 2022 · Revision of the construction products regulation

Response to Review of the Construction Products Regulation

12 Jul 2022

Das Feedback befindet sich in der Datei im Anhang.
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Meeting with Christian Doleschal (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur)

24 Jun 2022 · AK Bau: Taking a look at the COM proposal for the revision of the Construction Products Regulation

Response to Revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive 2010/31/EU

10 Mar 2022

Please find the Position of the German Construction Industry Federation in the attached document.
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Meeting with Axel Voss (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur) and Zentralverband Deutsches Baugewerbe

1 Jul 2021 · Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence

Response to Data Act (including the review of the Directive 96/9/EC on the legal protection of databases)

18 Jun 2021

Challenges with Data in Construction Sector The German Construction Industry would like to draw the European Commission’s attention to the specific challenges the industry faces in Europe with regards to Data. Introduction Digitalisation is a key driver for the construction industry. The construction sector is becoming increasingly digitalised and production methods are automated, in particular with technologies like BIM (Building Information Modelling) or Digital Twins. Consequently, the legal framework must ensure that data is available, reliable and protected at the same time. The main goal of the Data Act to ensure fairness in the data handling between business-to-business, but also business-to-government cases is therefore an opportunity to clarify rules of processing, analysing and sharing data for construction. This aim is strongly supported by our industry. Data in the construction process In the construction value chain, many actors are involved and data, such as a BIM model, is created and used by many actors. Other participants in the construction process start the value chain: client, architect, engineering firm etc. These participants also organise the IT of the project. Often the construction company has to "plug in" to the value chain when it enters at a later stage. This results in a complex network of IT structures and users for construction projects. Challenges with Data Ownership A key challenge is how to balance the required sharing of project specific information and the intellectual property that has value beyond the end of the project. In principle, there are different sets of data: • The data which belong to the client. They can be specific general requirements which the client requests for all his projects (e.g. environmental requirements and all information to prove compliance with these requirements, etc.) • The data which belong to the project itself and which are provided to the client (i.e. data required according to the contract, as well as the usual legal requirements). • The data which belong to the construction company as they constitute their competitive advantage (i.e. know-how, methods, workers’ safety, daily detailed planning, etc.). • The data that is accumulated through and inside a digital platform and which is used by the terms of license agreements by the software provider Currently, there is no well-defined legal framework for access and usage rights with regards to that data. Data rights are handled widely via private contracts between businesses. However, we are aware that companies are often the weaker party to a contract. Clients tend to put disproportional constraints on companies. Therefore, a framework that addresses this imbalance from a legal perspective is strongly supported. The legal framework should ensure that the data rights remain with the respective creator, for instance, the architect holds the rights on his plans, the structural engineer holds the rights on the structural engineering plans. For the duration of the construction project all involved parties get the right of use, limited to the building, to all data that are necessary for their respective activities on the building. The client can use the data for the lifetime of the structure. Any further use of the data by the other parties involved in the construction is prohibited. Limited Competition Also, in the market for construction software in Europe a few software providers have reached a dominant position in some markets. Competition between software providers between in these markets is limited. Dominating providers have a strong leverage to set contracts conditions and can easily use their position to their advantage. This applies equally to large Cloud Providers (“Hyperscaler”) that construction companies rely on to host and run their software and data – directly or indirectly via other service providers. A few dominant providers divide the market among themselves. In combination with vendo
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Response to Revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive 2010/31/EU

12 Mar 2021

REMARKS OF BAUINDUSTRIE ON THE EPBD ROADMAP Preliminaries - In 2050, the goal of ZERO emissions applies to all sectors. In view of the long-term nature of investments in the building sector, this must therefore be the target line for every building, which must be considered today in every measure. - If the target is not reached, building owners will have to expect high additional costs in the future due to sharply rising CO2 prices. These are the costs that must be offset by any investment today. - We see the necessity for a streamlined, cost-effective, and efficient measures to reach carbon neutrality in 2050. This should not be achieved by laying down very detailed measures, but by keeping in mind the target for 2050 and setting a carbon pricing mechanism and allowing a wide range of options for action as long as they implement measures to reduce the carbon emissions. - The product "energy efficiency" must be easily available, easy to implement and cost-effective. Only then will it be successful on the market, and only then will the roll-out succeed on a large scale. - Innovative, partnership-based, life-cycle contract models provide all parties involved with equally reliable, risk-minimised foundations. - Innovative product methods and processes must be expanded to the maximum, also to counteract personnel capacity bottlenecks in the construction industry. - Furthermore, a change of mind set needs to follow, in which the owner can purchase an energy efficient building as a product or service. On a potential Revision of the EPBD: We are not opposed to a revision of the EPBD, and we are ready to engage in a constructive exchange. It needs to be aligned to cost effective CO2-reduction to achieve the 2050 target. Further, any revision shall reduce administrative burden and follow the principle “keep it simple”. - A central proposal to a revised EPBD is a renovation roadmap that contain a holistic concept of renovations to optimize the CO2 emissions of a building. The target of that roadmap shall be aligned to a near climate neutral building stock in 2050. The specialists working on the EPCs shall lay down a concept of decreasing the CO2 emissions of the respective building step by step. It shall be possible to undertake measures step-by-step, as advised by the auditor. However, these measures need to follow a holistic concept to the end target of a significant CO2-reduction. - Good quality of EPCs should be tackled Europe wide, by having qualified experts in charge of drafting EPCs, that work based on reliable data, for instance, acquire through physical visits. Also, the comparability of EPCs between EU countries needs to be improved. Hence, qualitative, and comparable enforcement across Europe is advised. - Measures for the energy-efficient renovation of buildings can be stimulated particularly effectively by offering suitable funding programmes. The opportunities for this - supplemented by information and advice as well as by an accompanying, properly designed CO2 pricing instrument should be used consistently. The corresponding instruments should be checked for the need for optimisation - In the further development of the requirements for the energy certificate, the obligation to indicate the CO2 emission quantities, which already exists for new buildings, should also be envisaged for existing buildings. This would increase the information content of energy certificates and enable users to better compare the climate relevance of buildings.
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Response to Review of Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency

18 Sept 2020

The German Construction Industry Federation represents the interests of large companies, family companies and mid-sized companies at a national, European and global level. The federation members are mostly run as family companies, operating across regions, highly innovative and concentrated on technically complex projects. Buildings are responsible for approximately 40% of energy consumption and 36% of CO2 emissions in the EU. Currently, about 35% of the EU's buildings are over 50 years old and almost 75% of the building stock is energy inefficient. Therefore, we will focus our policy recommendation on the contribution that buildings can make to a more sustainable Europe: • The persistent failure to meet the necessary renovation rate in existing buildings shows that renovation is not economically attractive enough. In fact, stronger incentives are required here to achieve economic attractiveness • To achieve a higher renovation rate serial implementation concepts, comprehensive service packages and attractive contracting models that relieve users of the burden of complex processes need to be considered • Regarding economic incentives for building renovation, the potential of commercial and industrial property should be regarded. • Larger projects benefit from efficiency gains and economics of scale, also those should be financially supported by foreseen programmes. • The public sector, as the owner of real estate in the public infrastructure, must also fully exercise its role model function. Hence, an increased yearly renovation target for the public sector shall be considered. • Innovations in the fields of energy-efficient technology are needed in all areas, from building shells to (smart) building services to the use of renewable energies. Future EU research programmes shall take this stronger into account • Not only the building side, but also the production sides for example for energy efficient solutions, systems and prefabricated parts should benefit from EU support • Due to the long lifecycles of buildings it needs a long-term strategy that is cross-sectoral and comprises holistic approaches with which the building performance is improved overall • Next to the rightly emphasized principle “efficiency first” it needs to be highlighted that decarbonised energy sources have a big potential for lowering the carbon footprint of the building sector and that networks providing these energy sources need further investment • Openness to all technologies in terms of the best solution for every task is vital • As proposed under Option 2 energy consultation and public relations work such as information campaigns are necessary to achieve a higher impact on the ground. IT is necessary to communicate the consequences of CO2 pricing and other measures to decrease the use of fossil fuels, so that owners can make educated decision on the costs and benefits of renovation projects • Innovative business ideas should be further developed and supported. This includes addressing comprehensive service packages, supporting serial refurbishment and industrialized processes and approaches to renovations as well as contracting models for financing and warm rent operating models In conclusion we are convinced that Option 2 “Non regulatory measures” should be pursued by the European Commission as the gap persists in implementing and achieving set targets on the ground and not on setting even higher targets.
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Response to Commission Communication – "Renovation wave" initiative for the building sector

25 May 2020

A well-designed strategy for increasing the renovation rate across Europe – the so called “Renovation Wave” can pave the way for achieving the climate targets for 2050. In this context the German Construction Industry wants to highlight: - Incentives foreseen in the “Renovation Wave” Economic incentives must be extended beyond the housing sector to include commercial and industrial property - The public sector as an owner of many buildings needs to be a role model for increased energy efficiency and lead by example by laying down an ambitious roadmap for renovating the public buildings stocks - The inclusion of building stocks in the portfolio approach must be made possible in order to also include properties that are difficult to renovate for energy reasons. Portfolio eligibility would provide an incentive to over-fulfil energy efficiency targets with "simple" building types if they could be used to compensate for more complex building types. - Serial renovation should be promoted to reap the benefits of economics of scale when in comes to renovation – this is a beneficial approach for large portfolio owners - The scope of what is technically possible has remained relatively unchanged for several years, while at the same time no improvement in the rate of refurbishment has been achieved. In future, special attention must therefore be paid to the obstacles and the resulting further development of technical innovation, economic incentives, and attractive new business models - The construction industry supports the application of the principle of "efficiency first" strongly - CO2-low or CO2-free energy sources in the building sector are required in the future to mobilise the potential of CO2 reduction on the sector – hence, it is essential that the network infrastructure for decarbonised / renewable energy sources is developed quickly and decisively - Raising awareness and public relations work to communicate the consequences of CO2 pricing and other measures to decrease the use of fossil fuels , so that owners can make ed-ucated decision on the costs and benefits for the renovation projects of their buildings – one proven measure that needs to be extended is the energy counselling for owners - Innovative business ideas should be further developed and supported, examples are to form more comprehensive service packages, supporting serial refurbishment and industrialized processes and approaches to renovations as well as contracting models for financing and warm rent operating models
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Meeting with Günther Oettinger (Commissioner)

14 Oct 2019 · EU of the Future

Meeting with Christian Linder (Cabinet of Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič) and Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie e.V. and

11 Sept 2015 · Energy Union Strategy with a forward-looking climate policy