BUILD UP

Currently, risks related to energy-efficiency investments in buildings are still mainly evaluated on a case-by-case basis, without a standardised approach. This is due to a lack of sufficient track records related to financial risk. In particular, there is a shortfall in generally accepted key performance indicators and benchmarks providing a clear and comprehensive economic rationale for improving energy efficiency in buildings.

Developing the retrofitting market is proving to be a significant challenge throughout Europe, in particular in the Mediterranean region. Therefore, a specific approach is needed when it comes to promoting retrofitting of the residential built environment in this area. To this end, the H2020 HAPPEN project has developed the Mediterranean Zero Energy Building (MedZEB) approach.

Every month, BUILD UP highlights publications covering a specific topic. November’s Topic of the Month is ‘Renovation of existing buildings’. The website is already available for contributions and BUILD UP’s editorial board is eager to receive your discussion papers, news and articles.

For the 9th edition of the Build Up Expert Talks, the invited interviewee is Ursula Hartenberger, member of a series of international sustainable-development and responsible-investment platforms and sustainable finance expert with a track record of initiating and managing research, capacity-building and awareness-raising projects at organisational as well as value-chain stakeholder level.

Local energy-efficiency and sustainability policies are mainly defined by the EU’s legal framework, how it is interpreted by cities and regions, and how they will turn it into regional or local measures. Cities and regions across Europe are key in leading and achieving EU climate targets. The result is that, more often than not, they will implement more ambitious measures than they are required to.

Stakeholders in financial markets, capital and investment are key players in tackling climate change, supporting solutions for climate adaptation, and reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. But to enable the transition of our economy and society to net-zero, finance requires a fundamental overhaul.

The European Commission has published its Renovation Wave Strategy to improve the energy performance of buildings. The aim is to at least double renovation rates in the next 10 years and to ensure renovations lead to higher energy and resource efficiency. This will enhance the quality of life for people living in and using the buildings, reduce Europe's greenhouse gas emissions, foster digitalisation, and improve the reuse and recycling of materials.

This report assesses the compliance of the 14 available LTRS (as published on the website of the European Commission on 8 September 2020) against the provisions in Article 2a of the amended 2018 Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD).

To meet ambitious climate goals, leading local and state governments are adopting ambitious energy-efficiency policies that require building owners to make substantial capital investments in their properties. In affordable multi-family buildings, these costs could threaten the viability of owners’ operations, resulting in financial burdens for low-income residents and disproportionately impacting communities of colour, thereby exacerbating economic and racial inequities.

The building, a residential construction designed by DMDV Arquitectos and built in 2020, represents an exemplary nZEB that has also achieved Passivhaus Plus certification. The overall area of 2 475.54 m2 is shared between common spaces and 14 apartments, constructed on a rectangular building site of 1 287.85 m2.

The Dachverbandes der österreichischen Sozialversicherung administration building in Vienna, Austria, built at the end of the seventies, has recently undergone a general renovation. The building has 16 floors above ground and a total gross floor area of approximately 22 600 m2. Thanks to the various interventions during the renovation, it was awarded ‘EnerPHit Plus’ and ‘klimaaktiv Gold’ certification (996 out of 1 000 points).

The overall aim of this project is to set up permanent discussion forums on energy-efficiency investment topics bringing together government, local and regional authorities, the financial sector, energy service companies, homeowners, and the industry, construction and SME sectors. The focus of the round tables should include existing private and public buildings, industry and SMEs.

In order to extend the work of the Sustainable Energy Investment Forums, AÚNA proposes to create a permanent, multi-level, multilateral discussion FORUM in Spain. It will be fully focused on sustainable building financing, for the effective and wide implementation of the Smart Finance for Smart Buildings initiative.

The decentralisation of the energy system coupled with advancements in the Internet of Things, big data, artificial intelligence and distributed computing are creating a new momentum for exploiting data-driven services to improve buildings’ energy efficiency. Although a large number of data hubs and vocabularies are now available for buildings, some barriers continue to hamper the exploitation of such potential.

The EU-funded REBECCA project aims to prove the potential of circular and innovative actions to unlock public and private funds, meet energy-efficiency investment requirements, and contribute to a relaunch of the renovation and construction sector.

The goal of these example calculations is to demonstrate the functionality, sensitivity, and usability of individual calculation modules and of the whole building calculation procedure.

The SMARTER Finance for Families H2020 project intends to replicate the success of the Green Homes/Green Mortgages programme initiated by the Romanian Green Building Council.

The Low Energy Building Database is a repository of low-energy building information created to support the planning and development of low-energy new build and refurbishment using exemplary case studies.

The MOBISTYLE Expert tool, which has been developed in the EU-funded H2020 project MOBISTYLE, aims to enable the visualisation and management of a big volume of data available from a building monitoring. Experts can use the tool to filter the information they need, calculate predefined KPIs, as well as to set up their own KPIs.

This cutting-edge virtual experience will include all the key elements attendees and partners have come to expect from our physical event: interactive and collaborative education sessions, continuing education, virtual booths, future-focused keynotes from high-profile voices and valuable networking.

It is time to register for BtoB meetings. Organised by the Enterprise Europe Network, offered for participants present or remotely, these 20-minute meetings maximise useful contacts. The EEN teams will guide you in defining your needs, the type of partner you are looking for and allow you to exchange with the conference participants.

This event provides an opportunity for an exchange of views between stakeholders and EU policymakers on the role of skilled building professionals to deliver the European Green Deal, in particular the so-called ‘renovation wave’ in public and private buildings.

Climamed 2020, which will be hosted by Ordem dos Engenheiros, will have as its motto ‘Towards climate-neutral Mediterranean buildings and cities. It aims to provide a meaningful contribution towards solutions to the problems facing humanity as the result of climate change.