Following a packed schedule of events in 2023, ULI Ireland’s first breakfast event of 2024 proved to be another very interesting one. Such was the interest in the subject of Sustainability and the impending Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), that the event (sponsored by FTI Consulting) had to move to a bigger venue at the Dublin Chamber of Commerce office to accommodate everyone who wanted to attend.

The keynote speaker on the morning was MEP Ciarán Cuffe, an Irishman who has led the implementation of the EPBD legislation in Europe in recent years and who has been instrumental in getting the legislation past a crucial stage in December 2023. Joining Mr Cuffe in the panel discussion were four highly respected industry experts in the sustainability field, namely Shane Caldwell, Head of Sustainability at IPUT Real Estate Dublin; Rachael McGinley, Head of Sustainability at CBRE Ireland; Neil Menzies, Head of Sustainability at Hibernia Real Estate Group and Marta Testagrossa, Senior Director at FTI Consulting (based in Brussels).

Mr Cuffe took the audience through a very interesting and thought-provoking presentation, highlighting the evolution of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) at a European level and the challenges in harmonising legislation across the region. In a talk that referenced synthetic jet fuel, offshore energy, the biodiversity crisis, heat pumps and solar power, Mr Cuffe clearly outlined why each EU member state must embrace EPBD to decarbonise buildings. He also spoke about the role that the built environment must play in a just transition and the need to implement Minimum Energy Performance Standards. Attendees were reminded that buildings account for 40% of energy consumption and 36% of greenhouse gas emissions in the EU, which is why the rollout of EPBD is so important.

Now that the directive has passed at a European level, it is down to each EU member state to transpose the directive into national legislation. Those attending the event in Dublin were told of the need for all stakeholders and the wider industry to engage and collaborate with national policymakers to shape the implementation of the legislation in their own jurisdictions. Mr Cuffe said that there is €285 billion ringfenced at a European to support the implementation across the region.