With the necessity to rethink processes after the COVID-19 pandemic, and more recently with the energy crises triggered by the war in Ukraine, the ambition and necessity of an optimal use of resources, energy demand reduction and energy efficiency increase, accelerated deployment of renewables, shorter and more secure supply circuits or a general massification of circularity and sustainability principles, have never been so present and pressing in the European economy and society, already embarked on those paths since the launch of the European Green Deal.

In this context, the construction sector is of vital importance to the whole European Union. With around 3 million enterprises and a total direct workforce of 16 million people, the construction sector generates about 10% of the GDP of the EU. A major challenge to meet all the social, economic and environmental objectives of the EU lies in ensuring the green transition of the overwhelming majority of SMEs and crafts in construction, with micro enterprises accounting for around 95% of the total number of companies in the sector.

Fully aware of the environmental impact of the construction sector as a whole, construction SMEs and crafts are strongly committed to improve the use of resources and contribute to the efforts towards a more sustainable construction sector.

The discussion of the EBC Conference will revolve around the topics of the circular economy in construction and the impact of sustainable finance and green public procurement on SMEs, in the context of the ambitious targets for the decarbonisation of the EU by 2050. This event will be a unique opportunity to gather institutional, financial, environmental and construction stakeholders and thought leaders from different countries to discuss the challenges and opportunities for construction SMEs and crafts in the green transition journey

The EBC Conference will be in a hybrid format (register here) to encourage and enable an extensive participation EU-wide.