Efforts to make buildings environmentally sustainable often focus on the technical side, such as energy efficiency. But there is more to sustainability than just energy efficiency.

On 22 April , it is world Earth Day . The idea is to raise awareness of the need to rely on renewable energy. The EU requires its member states to provide a a 27% share of renewable energies by 2030—up from a 23.

To tackle climate change, new buildings are required to consume as little energy as possible . That’s because, in Europe, buildings are responsible for about 40% of our energy consumption.

Renewable energy sources play an important role in securing future energy supply and mitigating climate change.

A well-accepted measure for climate protection involves reducing greenhouse gas emissions . And buildings have the greatest energy saving potential, according to the official EU Energy Efficiency Plan 2011 .

The NuOffice in Munich is an office building and one of the showcases of the EU-funded project DIRECTION . The first building phase was completed in 2012, the second and third will be completed in 2014 and 2015.

Making food and drink production for more than 500 million people more eco-friendly is a key policy in Europe. About 99% of all agro-food companies in the European Union are small and medium size enterprises (SME).