OUR CALL AND COMMITMENT FOR THE NEW EU POLITICAL TERM
The key-role of the construction sector has never been more important
in delivering the green, competitive, and inclusive transition of the built
environment, but suffers from a severe decline in demand. As we enter an
election year, the Construction 2050 Alliance is calling for a cross-stakeholder coordinated and integrated EU-policy approach to improving
the climate resilience of our sector’s process and output under the new
EU-Commission mandate. As the driver to deliver energy transition, industrial transformation and competitiveness, our sector requires an open
dialogue between its stakeholders and high-level political decision-makers
to jointly develop solutions for the built environment of the future that
adequately takes account of the specific characteristics of our sector and
accelerates the effective implementation of EU environmental policies.
As a first step, the Construction 2050 Alliance is committed to establishing, with the support of European policymakers, an annual High-Level
Summit for the Built environment, inviting all the relevant policymakers
at EU and national level to come together to take stock of the evolution
in the construction market. To continue our indispensable contribution to
the achievement of the EU’s environmental, social, and economic ambitions, work must begin no later than early 2024, in coordination with the
Belgian Presidency of the Council. This Summit should then become a regular event, mobilizing all actors. It will be even more necessary in crisis
situations.
The Construction 2050 Alliance is firm in its commitment to ensuring that
the fundamental contribution made by the construction industry is recognized and supported by policymakers, with the aim of building tomorrow’s Europe today.
The Construction 2050 Alliance is a
partnership established in 2020 made
of more than 50 European organizations representing the actors of the
built environment working together to
advance the needs and priorities of the
wider construction and built-environment sector at the EU level.
ABOUT THE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR
Construction is an important sector that contributes greatly to the economic growth of a nation. The construction process starts long before the
physical work on site that transforms materials and design into the complete buildings: construction-related enterprises and their workers build
the homes we live in, the roads and rails on which we travel and the buildings in which we work, learn, or spend our free time. European citizens
spend on average over 90% of their time indoors, meaning that our health
and well-being strongly depends on how our buildings are designed, engineered, built, maintained, and renovated, while buildings are also increasingly positioned at the nexus of integrated energy systems, with an impact
on housing affordability for all EU citizens.
In accordance with the social, environmental, and economic ambition of
the European Union, the construction sector has embarked on a transition
towards sustainability, with the strong commitment of all actors along its
value chain. Representing around 10% of the EU GDP and 15 million workers, the European construction sector, made of more than 95% of SMEs, is
pivotal to achieving the priority goals set by EU policymakers.
The construction sector has the potential to impact positively on short
and long term European sustainable growth. Construction should thus be
regarded as a major component of investment programmes at European
and national level and appropriate strategies shall be defined to further
support its development.
PEOPLE
The construction industry is one of the most vital pillars of our society.
Due its labor-intensive nature, the construction sector has immense potential to provide millions of quality jobs and a large variety of jobs. The
construction sector is resilient and tends towards full employment, whilst
also providing fertile ground for entrepreneurs and innovators and embracing diverse talents. The sector is comprised predominantly of SMEs
and is actively working on increasing its own attractiveness. Indeed, the
evolution of the trades, technologies and professions in the sector offer
a wide range of career paths to youth, women, migrants and workers and
entrepreneurs from other sectors.
ECONOMY
Investing in the construction sector is more than sound economic sense;
it provides a return on investment that delivers a positive impact for people and communities. It supports local industrial activity that cannot be
easily outsourced. In addition to the economic multiplier effect, investing
in the sector has a huge environmental, economic, and social knock-on
effect, because it creates high value local jobs, positively contributing to
the recovery of local economies, delivering the sustainable growth strategy of the European Green Deal, the Renovation Wave, and the Net Zero
Industrial Act. Ensuring a vibrant construction industry will ensure a better
quality of life for all people across the EU.
CLIMATE
The main mid-century goal for the EU is the reduction of greenhouse gas
emissions to zero. Entrepreneurs and workers all along the construction
value chain have a crucial mission, to deliver a climate-neutral building
stock by 2050. Climate resilience and sustainability must be designed into
the building stock. Key construction actors, active in the design and construction through the operational, renewal, and end-of-life phases, are
decarbonizing their tools, products, and processes to reduce their environmental impact and contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation. A more sustainable designed and built environment is the only way
forward for society, turning environmental challenges such as energy efficiency, waste management, and sustainable finance into opportunities
for an inclusive and revitalized market, at the same time enabling a carbon
neutral Europe