Ralph Cochrane, Editor, TechforClimateAction.TV (confirmed)

Delivering affordable, high quality and energy efficient housing is now one of Europe’s most pressing social and economic challenges. Rising construction costs, energy prices and financing constraints are colliding with an urgent need to expand and renovate housing stock, particularly for low and middle-income households. This session will examine how EU and national policy, finance and regulation can better align to drive investment into affordable, low-carbon housing at scale.

Speakers will explore how renovation programmes, energy efficiency standards, public funding instruments and demand aggregation can create stable pipelines for delivery, while ensuring that housing remains genuinely affordable for citizens. The discussion will also address how policy can strengthen confidence in renovation outcomes, ensure energy savings are realised in practice, and support housing providers and local authorities in moving from ambition to delivery.

Rosalinde van der Vlies, Director, Just Transition, Consumers, Efficiency and Innovation, DG ENER, European Commission (confirmed)

Fleming Voetmann, Vice President for External Relations and Sustainability, VELUX (confirmed)

Caterina Rocca, Senior Regulatory Affairs Director, ROCKWOOL (confirmed)

Sorcha Edwards, Secretary-General, Housing Europe (moderator – confirmed)

Additional speaker to be announced

Frederik Cuelemans, Alderman of Urban Renewal, Climate, Citizen Participation and Dutch-language Affairs, City of Brussels (confirmed)

Additional speaker to be announced.

Scaling Europe’s housing supply will require a step change in how buildings are designed, manufactured and delivered. This session will focus on how offsite and modular construction, industrialised renovation, low-carbon and bio-based materials, and digital manufacturing can move from niche solutions to mainstream delivery models.

Drawing directly on the Commission’s housing strategy, speakers will explore how industrial and digital innovation can reduce construction timelines, improve quality and affordability, and support circularity through reusable and standardised components. The discussion will also examine how EU policy, funding, permitting and public procurement can accelerate market uptake, particularly for social and affordable housing.

MEP Andrea Wechsler (EPP), Member of ITRE Committee, European Parliament (confirmed)

Richard Cronin, Housing, Local Government and Heritage Counsellor, Permanent Representation of Ireland to the European Union (confirmed)

Patrick Balemans, Chief Sustainability & CSR Officer, Etex (confirmed)

Hélène Sibileau, Senior Policy Advisor, BPIE (Building Performance Institute Europe) (moderator – confirmed)

Additional speakers to be announced

Europe’s construction sector must move rapidly from linear material use to circular systems if it is to reduce emissions, waste and dependency on primary raw materials. This session will focus on how stronger secondary material markets, clearer product rules and better data can accelerate the shift towards circular construction at scale.

Speakers will examine how policy frameworks such as the Construction Products Regulation, alongside market incentives and innovation, can support reuse, recycling and low-carbon material substitution without undermining competitiveness. The discussion will also explore how industry and policymakers can overcome remaining barriers to circularity, from fragmented standards to weak demand signals for secondary materials.

Barbara Bonvissuto, Director, Construction, Machinery & Market Surveillance, DG GROW, European Commission (confirmed)

Josefina Lindblom, Senior Policy Officer, DG ENV, European Commission (confirmed)

Laura Pallares, Head Europe, World Green Building Council (moderator – confirmed)

Additional speakers to be announced

MEP Borja Giménez Larraz (EPP), Rapporteur for EPP plan to cut red tape for housing (confirmed)

As climate impacts intensify, Europe’s buildings and infrastructure must be designed not only to reduce emissions, but to withstand increasing physical risks such as heat, flooding and water stress. This session will focus on how climate risk intelligence, adaptation planning and resilient design can be better embedded into construction and renovation decisions. The session will also explore how public procurement, standards and demand aggregation can create stable markets for circular and low-carbon materials.

Speakers will examine how data, standards and policy frameworks can help translate climate risk assessments into concrete design and investment choices. The discussion will also explore the role of cities, regions and the private sector in ensuring that resilience becomes a core requirement of Europe’s built environment, rather than an afterthought.

Elina Bardram, Director, Climate Resilience & Information Management, DG CLIMA, European Commission (confirmed)

Blaz Kurnik, Head of Unit for Climate Risk and Resilience, European Environment Agency (EEA) (confirmed)

Additional speakers to be announced

Grégoire De Hemptinne, Co-founder and CEO, Shayp (confirmed)

Delivering Circular, High-Performance Construction at Scale

Public procurement represents one of the EU’s most powerful levers for driving innovation, sustainability and market transformation in construction. This session will explore how digital tools such as AI, digital twins and data-driven compliance systems can modernise procurement, improve transparency and accelerate the uptake of circular and high-performance construction practices. Particular attention will be paid to how public sector demand can help scale innovative solutions beyond early adopters.

Speakers will discuss how procurement frameworks can move beyond lowest cost approaches towards lifecycle value, enabling better outcomes for energy performance, emissions and resilience. The discussion will also examine how digitalisation can support harmonisation across Member States, reduce administrative burden and help scale innovative solutions through public sector demand.

Ilias Iakovidis, Advisor – Digital Green Transition, DG CONNECT, European Commission (confirmed)

Angeliki Konstantinopoulou, Executive Director, SEFA (confirmed)

Additional speakers to be announced

Ralph Cochrane, Editor, TechforClimateAction.TV (confirmed)