The building sector is one of the main causes of material flow and claims a significant part of an economy's final energy consumption, depending on climatic conditions.

Renovation measures do not merely serve the building's maintenance and conserve its equity. The realisation of innovative measures can allow renovation to reduce the building's environmental impact. This is referred to as an "ecological renovation".

Problem awareness and practical realisation of ecological renovation vary in individual countries. Europe shows a strong declining trend from North to South in this context. While programs to support ecological renovation have been in existence for awhile in The Netherlands, they are only in the process of being created in Austria where energetic renovation reducing thermal energy (e.g. thermal insulation, using - at best - an environmentally harmless insulation material combined with replacement of the heating system additionally reducing CO2) used to be considered an ecological renovation.

In Spain, to the contrary, ecological building construction is an issue only with regard to new buildings, mostly limited to family homes rather than multi-storied buildings. Public awareness of ecological renovation needs to be increased.

In Hungary -perhaps exemplary for the countries of Eastern Europe- mere technical maintenance poses great problems. Renovation covering more than an absolute minimum of technical requirements cannot even be considered.

The importance of renovation depends on the buildings in the country. Varying importance of renovation in individual countries cannot be explained merely by the economic situation and the degree of ecological awareness of the people. Another factor is the varying amount of new building construction. In The Netherlands, Finland, and Austria new building construction is decreasing at the same rate the share of renovation in contract volumes is growing. This sector is gaining significance with regard to the economy and the labour market. Final inspection of new building construction is not very strict in Spain and non-existent in Hungary, providing no incentive in these countries to concentrate on the renovation sector unless there are other factors involved. In Spain, for example, there is a shortage of land to build on and an awareness of the necessity of keeping up the outward appearance of the cities. Consequently, the number of renovation projects in Spain has increased over the past few years. Public funds support this trend by subsidising renovation projects.

Market Factor renovation
Renovation know-how is becoming more and more significant in the context of increasing renovation measures.

Presently, Residential building renovation is regarded only as one of many work-sectors by most skilled trade companies. In Austria, very few craftsmen are specialising in renovation work within their field. In The Netherlands, such specialised companies already exist. In Spain, it is understood that renovation might be a future market, while it is presently insignificant. In Finland and Norway, about 50% of all construction work is covered by renovation projects. In all three countries, a continual increase in renovation is expected. An opinion poll among employers in Estland showed that, in the future, qualified bricklayers and carpenters will be in high demand. In Hungary, renovation is presently no topic since new building construction is more significant than renovation.