Context

Europe is facing the now more than pressing challenge to triple the current renovation rate in order to meet its climate and energy goals, mitigate climate change and get on track to limit global temperature increase to 1,5°C as agreed in the Paris Agreement in 2015.

Tackling this challenge would not only be beneficial for the climate, but first and foremost for the people living, working and using these buildings: inadequate and poor housing causes high energy bills, health issues and a lower quality of life.

Renovating the existing building stock represents an exceptional investment opportunity, with the capacity to boost the economy and generate local jobs. The energy renovation market plays an important role in the economy, amounting to a value of €109 billion and generating 882,900 jobs in Europe (2015) [1] and its potential is far greater [2].

[1] OpenExp – Energy Transition of the EU Building Stock – Unleashing the 4th Industrial Revolution in Europe
[2] Another report estimates that investments in energy renovation must increase fivefold, in order for Europe to meet its energy targets (European Parliament, “Boosting Building Renovation: What potential and value for Europe?”, 2016)

For homeowners and building managers, the renovation process can seem complicated, shaped by the ambiguity of the interventions to implement, a lack of knowledge on the existing solutions as well as a lack of services to coordinate all required market actors involved in the renovation process. This often results in lengthy, time-consuming and disruptive renovation processes.

The renovation rate continues to linger around 1% and private investments remain limited. Achieving the full market potential of renovation calls for a paradigm shift, with a more service-oriented supply-side and a deeper awareness on the demand-side, and where market offers go beyond energy performance to include a wider range of home improvement and support services.