Roundtable

Boosting Demand for Sustainable Solutions:

From Green Premium to Industry Standard

In Collaboration with Brussels Sustainability Club

• 11.45 AM to 13.15 PM | 14 October 2025

Context

Europe has made significant progress in developing sustainable technologies, advancing circular business models, and strengthening environmental regulation. However, scaling sustainable solutions across markets remains a major challenge. While innovation capacity exists, demand has not yet grown at the speed required to accelerate industrial transformation and competitiveness.  

To tackle this challenge and to reduce strategic dependence on non-EU companies in critical sectors, the European Commission has proposed the Industrial Accelerator Act, as part of the Clean Industrial Deal, to boost demand for sustainable solutions through public procurement and investment incentives. The initiative reflects a growing recognition that industrial competitiveness and sustainability must be reinforced simultaneously, and that demand-side measures are essential to unlock investment and scale sustainable production in Europe, instead of relying on consumers or companies accepting higher costs for greener alternatives. 

Today, sustainable solutions often face a perceived “green premium” barrier. Consumers and businesses may value sustainability but higher upfront and investment costs, uncertain market signals, and fragmented sustainability claims slow adoption across value chains and create uncertainty about real benefits. Boosting demand therefore requires moving beyond sustainability as an environmental obligation toward a source of tangible value, delivering economic and performance benefits alongside environmental impact.  

As companies increasingly act both as suppliers and buyers of sustainable solutions, corporate procurement and supply-chain collaboration are becoming decisive drivers of market uptake. In this context, clear regulatory frameworks, digital product information systems, and aligned market incentives can help turn sustainability into a competitive industrial standard.  This enables companies to invest with confidence and collaborate across value chains, accelerating the transition toward sustainable production and consumption.