Sustainability is a hot topic in general and a hugely influential trend in building construction, which is very understandable. The construction sector uses substantial shares of resources, produces substantial shares of waste and buildings contribute a major share of annual CO2 emissions. One way to make buildings more climate-neutral is to deck them out with more sustainable and energy-efficient installation systems, which need to be installed by professional installers.
That last simple fact makes HVAC installers excellent sources to indicate how often these sustainable products and solutions are used in projects, and where sustainability plays a role in installation projects the most. We interviewed 700 HVAC installers from six major European markets for the Q4 2021 report of USP Marketing Consultancy’s European Mechanical Installation Monitor, and asked them how often they see sustainability play a role in their projects.
On average, installers from these six countries together report that sustainability is taken into account in 44% of their projects. There are substantial differences between countries, however. The UK seems to be lagging behind a bit, as sustainability is only reported to play a role in 31% of installation projects. On the other side of the spectrum, the Netherlands and Poland clearly take the lead, as sustainability is taken into account there in respectively 54% and 53% of installation projects.
No major differences between residential and non-residential projects
The above image also shows the shares of residential projects in which sustainability is taken into account. These residential shares do not differ much from the total, meaning that sustainability is taken into account to the same extent in residential and non-residential projects. The only exception is France, where sustainability is taken into account in 42% of all installation projects, but slightly less in installation projects in the residential sector (35%).
For manufacturers and brands producing sustainable installation solutions, these figures and differences per area can be used to indicate where demand for their products and systems will be higher, indicating fruitful ground for marketing campaigns focusing on the sustainability of their solutions, for instance. In other places, where sustainable solutions play less of a role as yet, there may be opportunities for brands to present themselves as knowledge leader and educate potential clients on sustainable solutions and sustainability of installations in general.
For the success of any strategy, more detail is required. What are the products or product groups of which more sustainable solutions are in highest demand, for instance? Or what are the most important drivers for sustainability in building construction in certain areas? These details and many more are provided in the Q4 2021 report of USP Marketing Consultancy’s European Mechanical Installation Monitor, which focuses on sustainability in the HVAC installation sector.
