eu.bac, the European Building Automation and Controls Association, has produced a paper to coincide with the informal meeting of energy ministers currently taking place (17 to 20 April) in Horsens, Denmark.
The paper outlines five ways in which the directive can increase energy efficiency, generate growth and create jobs across the European Union. Together, if implemented, eu.bac says its solution will help to pave the way for a more energy efficient Europe, which is ready to embrace the future.

The five key points are:

1 A longer-term roadmap encompassing the renovation of public, non-residential and residential buildings

2 A harmonised set of policies to make buildings smart-grid ready

3 A clearer definition of Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) and of Energy Service Company (ESCO) and strong measures to promote their use

4 A stronger recognition of the need to combine energy audits and energy management systems

5 A whole life-cycle analysis when public bodies purchase products, systems, services and buildings

eu.bac says the key issue for the EU today is to ensure that investments are cost-effective, that they do not affect public finances and that they generate growth. It believes that using schemes which guarantee a return on investment and at the same time improve people's lives is essential.

The association says that an ambitious Directive on energy efficiency is required and that it needs to be reconciled with the EU's long term ambition of achieving sustainable growth.

Jean-Yves Blanc, president of eu.bac, said: 'Energy efficiency is fundamentally a vehicle to improve business effectiveness. The key question of the Directive should therefore be how much we would like to gain, rather than how much we are willing to spend.'

eu.bac is concerned that the EU will not meet the 2020 energy efficiency target and that the opportunity to create more than 400,000 green jobs will not be realised. It also points to the level of capital from the EU economy spent on energy imports and the fact that in the current financial crisis capitals are wary of signing on to anything with a financial implication.

Frederic Melchior, eu.bac director governmental relations, added: 'Around 20% of the energy consumed by Europe's buildings is wasted, mainly due to inefficient maintenance, a lack of basic energy efficiency measures and poor energy efficiency behaviour by occupants. This waste represents a cost of approximately €270 billion every year, a figure that is set to increase by 53% by 2030 if no action is taken to curb it.'

For more information visit www.eubac.org