The Concerted Action EPBD (CA EPBD) addresses the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). It aims to contribute to the reduction of energy use in European buildings, through the exchange of knowledge and best practices in the field of energy efficiency and energy savings between all 28 EU Member States plus Norway.

The EPBD is a cornerstone in EU legislation, and was developed to realise the saving potential in buildings, as they account for almost 40% of the consumption of energy in the EU. Full and efficient transposition of this directive is therefore central in achieving EU energy saving and carbon emission targets. The EPBD is considered as a significant legislative component in EU energy efficiency policy, and was adopted to contribute to the Kyoto commitment, securing energy supply and competitiveness.

The CA EPBD is a joint initiative between the EU Member States and the European Commission. It involves representatives of national ministries or their affiliated institutions who are in charge of preparing the technical, legal and administrative framework for the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (2002/91/EC) and the recast (2010/31/EC) in each EU Member State, plus Norway. The objective is to enhance the sharing of information and experiences from national adoption and implementation of this important European legislation.

The first CA EPBD was launched in 2005 and came to a close in June 2007. A second phase followed immediately after the first CA EPBD, and a third phase ran from 2011 to 2015. The current CA EPBD IV runs from October 2015 to March 2018 and aims to transpose and implement the EPBD recast, Directive 2010/31/EU.

It is organised around plenary meetings between national teams, regularly bringing together over 120 participants from 29 countries.

The work of the CA EPBD IV is organised using Central Teams and functions, which include:

• 3 Core Teams: ‘New Buildings’, ‘Existing Buildings’ and ‘Certification & Quality of Inspection’;
• 3 Cross-Cutting teams: ‘Technical Elements’, ‘Policy & Implementation’ and ‘Compliance, Capacity & Impact’;
• 2 Central Functions: ‘Collaboration with other actors’ and ‘Internal & External Communication’;
• Some additional functions and supporting measures.

The structure covers and addresses issues that support coordinated implementation of the EPBD to increase its impact and reduce implementation costs, focusing on issues that do not require harmonised national implementation methodologies as e.g., national application of NZEB definitions, cost-optimal requirements, and improved policies for existing buildings. Relevant topics are addressed in sessions during the Plenary Meetings, collaborations between meetings and possibly during a working group.

Of the most successful outcomes of the CA EPBD are the so-called Country Reports, which form part of the book "Implementing the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) – Featuring Country Reports" which is released every two eyars. The Country Reports give the status of implementation of the EPBD in each MS, focusing on national applications and statistics, as well as good examples and challenges. The book also includes the main outcomes of the discussions by topic. A set of individual technical reports or factsheets is also on an ad-hoc basis addressing other relevant topics.

The CA EPBD from time to time organises an open (sometimes live web streamed) stakeholders event on a topic of high interest. 

CA EPBD is also closely liaising with other relevant EU initiatives, e.g., the Concerted Actions on the Energy Efficiency Directive (CA EED) and the Renewable Energy Sources Directive (CA RES), other Horizon 2020 financed projects for energy efficiency in buildings, as well as the European Committee for Standardization developing Norms to support the implementation of the EPBD directive.

The CA EPBD has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.