Sustainable building and construction sector exports

4 March 2025

With trends such as the adoption of technology to enable data-driven decision-making and to reduce delays, material consumption and costs, as well as a greater emphasis on circular economy solutions and diversification of employment criteria, the global construction industry is poised for growth.

A new report, Global Construction 2030, predicts the volume of construction output will grow by 85% to $15.5 trillion worldwide by 2030, with three countries – China, US and India – leading the way and accounting for 57% of all global growth.

Trends driving the future development of the construction sector include:

1. Digitalization. Enabling data-driven decision-making, digitalization brings benefits at all stages of construction product promotion: from digital prospecting to holistic lifecycle asset management.
2. Diversifying employment criteria. Hiring people with a more diverse set of skills and a broad range of experience has a lot of benefits – it can help bring a fresh perspective to traditional processes. It’s worth noting that the diversity of experience of new candidates can also lead to innovation or change in traditional business practices, such as in processes for organizing sustainable exports through digital solutions.
3. Fluctuations in the cost of materials. While the cost of some materials may be decreasing, the usually stable cost of concrete, steel and bricks are steadily increasing. This is due to rising energy prices, as the production of these materials is energy intensive. Changes in commodity prices will also continue to cause fluctuations in material costs, especially in markets such as steel and aluminum. As a result, industry stakeholders will continue to focus on initiatives to improve construction efficiency and reduce material consumption. R&D processes are focused on developing newer materials that can travel long distances.
4. Growth in prefabricated construction industry. Population growth and rapid urbanization will accelerate the production of prefabricated and modular structures for quick delivery anywhere in the world and rapid installation.

Ensuring export sustainability

Incorporating sustainability into export activities requires a strategic approach and commitment at all levels of the company. Some key steps include:

1. Innovation and adaptation: adopt innovative technologies and processes that enable the company to be more efficient and sustainable, such as online prospecting for continuous lead generation, the use of recyclable materials, or the integration of energy-efficient solutions such as efficient lighting systems, insulation and solar panels that optimize energy use and reduce environmental impact.
2. Transparency and communication: transparent reporting of the sustainable and fair trade practices implemented by the company to both customers and investors, which builds trust and commitment to the brand.
3. Selection of reliable suppliers. Continuous manufacturing operations require working with reliable suppliers who can provide a sustainable supply for your production as you expand.

7 keys to success on the road to sustainable exporting

To succeed in ensuring sustainable exporting in the construction sector from A to Z, take the time to properly prepare and support the business processes required to do so.

1. Define a clear strategy

At this stage, you need to identify your strengths and weak points, which will help you reveal opportunities and risks.

Regarding to the new market review:

• Target market and access points to it
• Potential competitors
• Key players

Regarding to your business:

• What markets are you planning to win?
• What does your product/service offer to the market?
• What price positioning should be adopted?
• What logistical, financial and human resources will be needed?

For example, China is one of the largest importers of marble and travertine. With EasyBusiness, not only can you identify Chinese importers of natural stone, but you can also view profiles of current exporters of marble and travertine to China to assess whether your proposal will be competitive.

2. Adapt your offer to the market

You should understand that a product/service that is well established in France would not be successfulthe same way in a neighboring country, let alone on another continent.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• What added value does your product bring to a new market?
• What are the unique benefits for your customers?
• What changes will you have to make to your product (color, eco-friendliness, packaging, etc.) and what marketing decisions will you have to make (create an online presentation in the target country’s language, make a more ergonomic website)?

Big brands have long realized this and make the necessary adjustments in a timely manner. Therefore, you will have to pay special attention to the local culture, customs and habits of consumers, because the foreigner here…. is you!

3. Choose the right form of market presence

To get started in a foreign market, it is in your best interest to:

• simplify your sales channels
• be in direct contact with the customers
• find local distributors willing to cooperate
• start with a light version of market presence (representative office, branch office, sales agent, etc.).

This will allow you to monitor and anticipate changes in the product range and technical expectations of customers. In this way, you can test the market before embarking on a larger commercial representation.

For example, French construction giant Vinci has taken huge advantage of using  the network of its Sogea-Satom division to join construction projects all over Africa.

4. Optimize your financial resources

Going international is an important investment, and it cannot be improvised! You will have to spend – sometimes a lot – so you need to check your cash flow before you start the process.

Here are a few aspects of your strategy that will incur costs:

• communication plan
• travel expenses
• intellectual property issues
• setting up special rep offices or subsidiaries
• legal advice
• hiring local staff

These costs and funds are estimated and deposited as accurately as possible, and they are usually amortized only after 3-4 years.

5. Select smart staff for the export project

Are you in position to select people who are motivated and able to work in an international environment?

First, identify people who have knowledge of exporting practice  (incoterms, invoicing, transportation, customs issues, free trade agreements, sales pipeline management, etc.). If none exist, consider training your teams.

Step by step, your whole team onboard will synchronize with the export project and ensure its sustainability.

6. Prepare for expansion

To enter a new market not blindly, you need to organize a process of target audience research and online prospecting.

• Evaluate the prospects by ordering a marketing ranking report
• Conduct market segmentation and targeting of the prospects
• Generate prospect lists
• Connect a digital sales pipeline that will allow your employees to control the sales funnel processes from anywhere, anytime and from any device 24/7.

7. Make exports sustainable with non-stop lead generation

Making exports sustainable means ensuring that prospecting and lead generation is intense and on a regular basis.

• Use EasyTrack by Kompass to continuously hunt for new buyers
• Use AI-powered semantic search to build profiles of companies similar to your existing customers.
• Use EasyBusiness system of business signals so that you don’t miss opportunities to offer cooperation to a particular company at the right time.

In conclusion

Entering a new foreign market is a difficult endeavor. And maintaining sustainable exports is doubly difficult. To avoid potential pitfalls on the way to new markets, use Kompass solutions to make the process of launching an export project and maintaining its sustainability as easy as possible.

Contact us for more detailed information.

Export sustainable