Over the last few years, the worldwide crisis has hit and is hitting the building sector hard. Scenarios are now changing decisively, nothing will ever be the same again. The best way to escape this crisis is called Green Economy or rather Green Building. "Green" building means constructing (or renovating) buildings with high energy efficiency, good insulating materials and low energy requirements capable of generating electricity or heat.
Great care should be taken in the selection of materials: the market now offers products, such as ceramic tiles, containing "pre-consumer" or even "post-consumer" materials, i.e. recycled materials respectively recovered from the flow of industrial and household waste.
Attention is paid to the effect of a product on health, VOC-free materials are preferred, i.e. those producing no volatile organic compound emissions, and an attempt made to limit the effect of the building's "heat island".

"Green" certification schemes are being introduced that lend the product high added value. Examples include the EU's Ecolabel environmentally-friendly labelling scheme or the US LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building rating system that is gaining worldwide popularity, establishing itself as the de facto standard for sustainable design.