On last 10 July, the Commission launched a public consultation on the lifecycle impact of buildings, in advance of a communication which is expected at the beginning of 2014. Buildings are responsible for some 40% of energy use in Europe and a less wasteful approach to their power consumption is at the heart of EU plans for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. The consultation will cover ground ranging from the extraction of building materials to the demolition and recycling of materials at the end of a property’s lifecycle. Its results could in turn form the basis of new energy performance certification schemes for buildings in the future.

The European Commission is preparing a Communication on Sustainable Buildings. To this end, the Commission wishes to consult European citizens and stakeholders to get additional input to the policy development. Your views will help us to identify which issues to prioritise in the preparation of the Communication for the beginning of 2014. The consultation is based on a questionnaire divided into four sections. The first one is intended to gather information about the respondent and his or her background. The second section asks for input regarding which particular aspects ought to be in focus to improve the environmental performance of buildings. The third section goes through a number of issues which might be considered as problems or barriers to better environmental performing buildings. The respondent is asked to give feedback also on the appropriate level of intervention (EU, national, etc.) to address the areas for which the respondent feels improvements are needed. The fourth and last section suggests a range of policy options in order to address the different problems identified in the third section. The respondent is asked to comment on the effectiveness of the different options but also on their benefits and costs. The questionnaire is available at the following address:

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/consultations/pdf/buildings/Sustainable2en.pdf