Commission launches BUILD UP web portal to help cut energy consumption for buildings

The European Commission launched today the BUILD UP web portal on  http://www.buildup.eu/ as a tool for sharing information on reducing energy use of buildings. Content will be regularly updated and enhanced by users themselves to cover a wide range of good practice in energy reduction and of information on legislation.

"The BUILD UP web portal will enable anyone from home owners to builders to look up and share best practice and information. At the same time, it will inform and update the market about the legislative framework. BUILD UP can be an extremely useful tool to improve building performance," said Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs.

Buildings are responsible for about 40% of total energy consumption in Europe and therefore improvements in building performance are crucial to achieving EU energy-savings targets and combating climate change, whilst contributing to energy security.

The EU adopted in 2002 the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), which provided the Member States with an integrated approach towards efficient energy use in the buildings sector. The Commission recognised there is still a considerable potential for cost-efficient energy savings that is not being exploited. Consequently, in November 2008, it proposed a recast of the EPBD that could generate additional energy savings of the equivalent of 60 to 80 million tonnes of oil per year by 2020 equivalent to a further reduction by 5 to 6% of total EU energy consumption over that achievable by full implementation of the current Directive. Based on these proposals, the European Parliament adopted in April 2009 a legislative resolution calling for even more ambitious and demanding legislation. The position of the Council of the European Union is now awaited.

The BUILD UP web portal: http://www.buildup.eu/

Bron : Europese Commissie

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Extra info  :

• Nieuwsbericht : "The BUILD UP initiative" (16 Jun 2009)