Europe and America region: Strengthening regulations and raising standards

The policies in the European and American markets are shifting from "encouragement" to "compulsion", placing greater demands on the sustainability and operational energy efficiency of construction products. 

Ⅰ.EU: New Rules Coming into Effect and Life-Cycle Carbon Management

The EU's "New Building Products Regulation", which came into effect on January 7, 2025, is a far-reaching new rule. It mandates the implementation of "product digital passports", requiring the provision of information on product performance, carbon footprint, etc., significantly enhancing supply chain transparency. Additionally, policy research is pushing to incorporate the carbon emissions throughout the life cycle of buildings (including hidden carbon from material production and construction) into regulatory considerations. In the future, clear emission reduction targets may be set. Ireland has already introduced specific regulations, requiring that from December 31, 2025, the HVAC systems of large public buildings must be equipped with Building Automation and Control Systems (BACS). 

Ⅱ.The United States: Intelligent Upgrades Led by Federal Buildings

The US policies set an example by focusing on federal buildings and guiding the market through special funds. The federal government is using the funds from the Inflation Reduction Act to invest over 110 million US dollars to test and deploy innovative clean energy and smart building technologies, covering six major areas such as deep energy efficiency renovations, full electrification, and healthy buildings. At the same time, the continuous review and update of technical standards such as the "2025 Building Energy Efficiency Standards" have also set clear energy efficiency improvement routes for the market.

Southeast Asia Region: Coordinated Development under the Smart City Framework

The policies in Southeast Asia are more integrated into the overall planning of smart cities, emphasizing regional consensus and international cooperation. 

Ⅰ.ASEAN Region: Smart City Initiative Launched

At the 8th Annual ASEAN Smart City Network Conference held recently, the "ASEAN Smart City Action Plan 2026–2035" was officially launched, establishing three main pillars for regional cooperation: "Administrative Digitalization", "Regional Balanced Development", and others. This provides a long-term and stable regional cooperation framework for the intelligent development of public buildings. 

Ⅱ.Progress of various countries: Vietnam and others have entered a new stage

At the national level, Vietnam has just completed the phased summary of the "2018-2025 Smart City Sustainable Development Plan", and has planned seven key tasks for the next stage, including improving regulations and building data centers, marking the deepening of its practice. 

Ⅲ.Focus of Cooperation: Deepening Connections with the Chinese Market

The "China-ASEAN" cooperation mechanism has become an important platform. The recent construction ministers' roundtable meeting focused on the theme of "Digital and Intelligent Empowerment" and adopted the "Guilin Initiative". Project cooperation and technical exchanges in areas such as intelligent construction and green building solutions between the two sides are expected to continue to deepen.