EuroACE recently celebrated its tenth anniversary with over fifty colleagues, friends, and special guest, Commissioner Andris Piebalgs. Mr. Gerben Stilma, CEO of CRH Insulation Europe, in his address, explained that EuroACE was formed ten years ago at the request of the European Commission who saw the need for greater input from European companies who provided products, technologies and services that could help Europe fulfill its Kyoto commitments. Four years later, the EU's Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD - 2002/91/EC) was adopted and provided the first legal impetus towards upgrading the energy efficiency of the EU's building stock.

According to the entity’s press release, last month the Commission presented an ambitious and thorough proposal to recast the EPBD. EuroACE calls on the European Parliament and the Council to endorse this EPBD recast proposal as soon as possible. Mr. Jørgen Mads Clausen, Chairman of the Board of Danfoss, explained that the "cheapest and cleanest energy...is the energy not used!". Building upgrades offer attractive payback periods, and the technologies exist already to enable Europe to save a significant portion of the 40% of total primary energy used in buildings today. Commissioner Piebalgs confirmed the importance of increasing energy efficiency across the EU, not just for business competitiveness, but, more importantly, for citizens in every Member State. Commissioner Piebalgs thanked EuroACE for its expertise and for its support of EU policy-making in this area.