The window value-chain, which is made of both SMEs and larger firms, plays a strategic role for the sustainable future of the construction industry. The European building stock is equipped with very inefficient windows, mainly single glazed or early uncoated double glazing . By introducing measures in support of window replacements, national Recovery and Resilience Plans have the potential to deliver long-term energy savings and CO2 emission reduction. We are convinced that the 7 areas of intervention identified by the Commission in the Renovation Wave to scale up efficient renovation and trigger the transformation of the building stock will bring powerful tools to rapidly improve the energy efficiency of European buildings and their windows. To materialize, the Renovation Wave needs to be backed by an ambitious revision of both the Energy Efficiency Directive and the Energy Performance of Building Directive.

Download Joint position paper on the Renovation Wave (March 2021)