The lack of qualitative building data limits assessments of the EU building stock status & drivers, making building data collection vital for designing more targeted, evidence-based measures and energy policies. BIGG, BuiltHub, MATRYCS and BEYOND are four initiatives jointly tackling this challenge from building to EU level.

The four projects joined forces in order to bring the latest tools and resources on big data for energy efficiency in buildings and shared a stand during the Networking Village EUSEW 2022, which took place from 26 to 29 September in Brussels. The EUSEW, European Sustainable Energy Week, is the biggest conference dedicated to renewables and efficient energy use in Europe. Sessions were organized by the European Commission and energy stakeholders focused on sustainable energy issues, and debated new policy developments, best practices and sustainable energy ideas.

The Networking Village was the perfect complement to the high-level Policy Conference. It included different features and activities to allow participants to interact with topics that interest them, connect with other participants with shared interests, and visit exhibition stands to find more information and further network. The main components of the Networking Village 2022 were: Energy Fair, Energy Talks and 1 to 1 meetings, which thanks to the hybrid mode, both live and virtual participants could interact with other EUSEW participants.

The stand "Big Data: big breakthroughs for buildings" was part of the Energy Fair and drew on the examples and expertise of these projects to identify major barriers and potential solutions and to increase collaboration with an audience of key stakeholders in the EU building data space, in a fun and engaging way.

Renovating the existing building stock, boosting building energy efficiency and transforming Europe’s construction sector in line with the circular economy is a challenge in Europe's sustainability and quality of life. Mastering this challenge is tied to accessible and applicable data for policy and decision making, implementation of local action and impact analysis. The EPBD revision, #BuildingLife Campaign, EU Renovation Wave, New European Bauhaus Initiative, Intelligent Cities Challenge and EU Energy Data Spaces are key initiatives in this space needing access to clear, shared informative datasets to be successful.