On 28th October, FIEC attended the meeting of the European Council for Construction Research, Development and Innovation (ECCREDI), hosted at the premises of the European Builders Confederation (EBC) in Brussels. Participants discussed how the European construction sector can advance on circularity, innovation and digitalisation, and exchanged perspectives across the built environment.
Domenico Campogrande, FIEC Director General, is co-rapporteur of the opinion report on fostering innovation and digitalisation in the construction industry, prepared by the Consultative Commission on Industrial Change (CCMI) of the European Economic and Social Committee. The latest draft was presented to open a discussion on the proposed recommendations.
Members also shared ongoing initiatives, including Scale One by Bouygues Construction, the cutting-edge innovation centre and materials lab, presented by Edwards Woods, Head of R&D, and circular building in practice at Colruyt Group, presented by Hilde Carens.
Mihai Barcanescu, from the European Federation of Engineering Consultancy Associations (EFCA), presented its position paper on the circular economy, which calls for a “reduce, reuse and extend life” approach, harmonised EU rules, and procurement that rewards life-cycle value over the lowest upfront cost.
Construction is a critical enabler of the Union’s climate, industrial and competitiveness objectives. Delivering energy-efficient buildings, resilient infrastructure, circular value chains and clean mobility all depend on continued innovation across the construction ecosystem. Sustained investment in research and innovation is therefore essential for Europe’s competitiveness and strategic resilience.
ECCREDI brings together stakeholders from across the construction value chain with the objective of aligning research & innovation priorities. As a founding member, FIEC is committed to strengthening this collaboration, represented by Benedikt Fischer as ECCREDI 2nd Vice-President. The role of FIEC is to bridge the perspectives of contractors, researchers, and decision makers and deliver on one common mission: make construction more affordable and sustainable and ensure the competitiveness of the industry.
The 2026 ECCREDI Strategy for Construction Research and Innovation is available here.
