Architects for Future Deutschland e.V.

EU Legislative Interests

As a non-profit association of professionals from the building and planning sector committed to climate action, we engage in EU policy processes that support the sustainable transformation and decarbonisation of the built environment. Our aim is to contribute expert knowledge to ensure that legislation and policy are effectively aligned with environmental, climate, and social objectives. Our advocacy is firmly rooted in the public interest and guided by principles of ecological responsibility and intergenerational justice, not by sector-specific or commercial interests. We focus our influencing activities on concrete EU legislative proposals and regulatory initiatives situated within the broader context of key EU strategies such as the European Green Deal, the Circular Economy Action Plan, and the New European Bauhaus. Specifically, we engage with the following initiatives: ▪ Revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) – COM(2021) 802: We advocate for ambitious minimum energy performance standards, social equity in renovation policies, and climate-resilient building design. ▪ Circular Economy Action Plan – COM(2020) 98 and the forthcoming Sustainable Products Regulation – COM(2022) 142: We promote the reuse and renovation of existing buildings, the reduction of construction waste, and a life-cycle approach to materials in alignment with circular economy principles. ▪ Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) – including the extension to downstream sectors and rules on embedded emissions: We monitor the implications of CBAM on the construction sector and advocate for transparency and fair implementation that aligns with climate goals. ▪ Revision of EU sustainable finance rules, particularly the EU Taxonomy for Sustainable Activities, to ensure that definitions of sustainability in the building sector include renovation, adaptive reuse, and climate mitigation and adaptation measures. ▪ Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) – COM(2022) 142, including specific ecodesign requirements for building-related components such as circulators and HVAC systems. ▪ European Affordable Housing Initiative, as part of the Renovation Wave, where we have submitted feedback advocating for socially just and ecologically sound housing policies. We recognise that the scope of EU legislation relevant to our mission is broad and evolving. Our focus may expand as we continue to identify policies with significant impact on climate, biodiversity, and sustainability in the built environment.

Communication Activities

Our communication activities in connection with the above-mentioned EU legislative initiatives focus on raising awareness, sharing expertise, and encouraging informed debate on sustainable building policy. In recent months, we have undertaken the following activities that relate to the EU policy areas listed: We submitted a statement to the European Commission’s feedback process on the European Affordable Housing Initiative, advocating for sustainable and socially just renovation practices in the built environment. We published several position papers and open letters addressing the environmental impact of the construction sector, including contributions relevant to the revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) and the Sustainable Finance Taxonomy. These are publicly available on our website: https://www.architects4future.de/portfolio/veroffentlichungen. We co-organised and contributed to public events and panel discussions on the transformation of the building sector in line with planetary boundaries, some of which addressed the role of circularity and reuse in European building practices — topics central to the Circular Economy Action Plan and the Sustainable Products Initiative. We aim to participate in collaborative policy and advocacy efforts with organisations such as Architects Climate Action Network (ACAN), ICLEI Europe, and ACE/CAE, who are themselves actively engaged at EU level. In these contexts, we aim to contribute expertise, feedback and co-author communications on the climate impact of the building sector, relevant to the EPBD, the New European Bauhaus, and related files. In preparation for more direct EU engagement, we are building a network to monitor EU-level legislative processes and consultations and regularly communicate relevant developments to our community through online publications, presentations and workshops.

Interests Represented

Does not represent commercial interests

Member Of

https://www.architects4future.de/ueber-uns/kooperationen Our organisation is also embedded in a broad network of partners, including grassroots initiatives, the Fridays-for-Future-alliance, associations, professional groups, studios, education and research institutions as well as international associations with similar visions. Furthermore, A4F is an official partner of the New European Bauhaus, enabling us to present our demands and projects at the European level and in policy discussions.

Organisation Members

The association's voting membership is exclusively composed of natural persons. These individual members include professionals and engaged individuals from a wide range of fields relevant to the built environment, many of whom also hold positions in academia, chambers of architecture, student organisations, research institutions, and leading architecture and planning offices, including pioneering practices. In addition to voting members, the association also welcomes supporting members. These may include both natural and legal persons; however, current supporting members are primarily private individuals, small architecture offices, or university professors. There is no dominant financial influence from any supporting member, as detailed under heading 14. In respect of data privacy and the nature of our membership as a civil society initiative, we do not publish a list of individual members. Should this change, we would provide a direct link to the relevant page on our website.