The increased attention paid to resource efficiency, sustainable use of natural resources and sustainable buildings has raised awareness of the potential of the building sector to contribute to Europe’s goals in these areas.

The Resource Efficiency Roadmap identifies the building sector as one of the sectors that is key to addressing the challenges of energy, climate change and resource efficiency. The Roadmap recognises that increased waste recycling, among other measures, will contribute to a competitive construction sector.

This objective is also in line with the new basic requirement set out in the Construction Products Regulation concerning sustainable use of natural resources, as well as with the Raw Materials Initiative (RMI). Development of best practices in the collection and treatment of waste, recovery/reuse of valuable materials from waste and research and economic incentives for recycling/recovery should be supported.