Dear Commissioner Oettinger, Dear Ministers,
Recent environmental disasters as well as turmoil in the energy market have underlined the energy challenges that we face. We need affordable, secure and safe energy for our economies to grow and for our citizens to prosper.
You have the opportunity to help address this once in a generation challenge. You can continue the policies of the past or pursue a better, brighter energy future by making Europe’s buildings more energy efficient.
A deep renovation of Europe’s existing buildings will save 32% of the total primary energy used in Europe. This saving is equivalent to the combined total energy production of the European coal and nuclear energy sectors or a saving of 4 billion barrels of foreign oil per year.1
Our companies and trade associations stand ready and willing to help you Renovate Europe. Working together we can create local jobs, reduce Europe’s CO2 footprint and ensure that we are less likely to suffer from foreign energy shocks.
We urge you to ensure that energy saving is made a national and European priority. You can make a start by ensuring that energy saving is given equal weight to energy production in Europe’s 2050 Energy Road Map.
Yours faithfully,
Marc Jardinier, CEO, Aereco • Jean-François Heris, CEO, AGC Glass Europe • Bruno Lacroix, Chairman & CEO, ALDES • Philippe Delpech, President, Carrier EMEA • Richard Pemberton, Chief Executive Officer, Celotex Ltd • Niels B. Christiansen, CEO, Danfoss A/S • Nils Borg, Executive Director, ECEEE • Steve Winslet, Managing Director, EcoTherm Insulation (UK) Ltd • Jan te Bos, Director General, Eurima • Rick Wilberforce, President, EuroACE Monica Frassoni, President, European Alliance to Save Energy • Jan Denneman, President, European Lamp Companies’ Federation • Bertrand Cazes, Secretary General, Glass for Europe • Luc Theis, Group Vice President, Guardian Industries Corp. • Edwin Pittomvils, Vice President and General Manager Europe & North Africa, Honeywell Building Solutions • Nick Webster, Vice President, Huntsman Polyurethanes Europe • Agostino Renna, Vice President and General Manager EMEA, Energy Solutions, Johnson Controls • Gene Murtagh, CEO, Kingspan Group • Tony Robson, Group CEO, Knauf Insulation Philip M. Ramsey, VP Technology – Building Products R&D, NSG Group • Väinö Tuomisalo, CEO, Paroc Group • Garrett Forde, Chief Executive Officer, Philips Lighting Solutions, EMEA • Oliver Loebel, Secretary General, PU Europe • Olivier Chapelle, CEO, Recticel nv/sa • Jakob Sørensen, Senior Vice President, Group Corporate Affairs, Rockwool International A/S • Jean-Pierre Floris, CEO, Saint-Gobain Glass • Benoît Carpentier, CEO, Saint-Gobain Insulation • D. Michael Donnelly, President & General Manager – Performance Films, Solutia Inc. • Jørgen Tang-Jensen, CEO, VELUX Group • Leif Frilund, President and CEO, Walki Group