Our Story

• BPIE’s influences outcome Renovation Wave and Covid-19 recovery plans

  

  2020 marked BPIE’s 10^th anniversary and one of our most eventful years to date. With 27 reports published in total, our research made a strong case to ensure the Renovation Wave would be given strong priority within the context of the EU Green Deal and the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Plans. In April 2020, we published our flagship publication providing a vision for the Renovation Wave strategy, which had been proposed by the European Commission in December 2019, in the context of the European Green Deal. In May, we provided specific figures on the investment opportunity for buildings in support of the Covid-19 recovery plans. In September, we released our Assessment of Member States’ 2020 Renovation Strategies, followed immediately by our response and recommendations to the Commission’s Renovation Wave detailed Renovation Wave communication, both for the European and German context. In December 2020, we launched the first-ever methodology to monitor decarbonisation of the global building sector, in support the ongoing work of the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction, and we also released arguably our most important publication of the year in response to the EU’s strengthened 2030 climate targets, which demonstrates that urgency to scale up the deep renovation rate in Europe to 3% annually by 2030.  

• Supporting Member States implement the new EPBD

  

  Following the EPBD recast in 2018, BPIE produced two documents that aim to support public officers and policy makers towards effective EPBD implementation and national policy development. EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive: Guidance for public officers – Navigating new requirements for renovation strategies, outlined 6 phases for successful implementation with stakeholder consultation throughout the process, that would facilitate the development of national renovation strategies (due March 2020). Future-proof buildings for all Europeans: A guide to implement the Energy Performance of Buidlings Directive, provided recommendations and best practices for policy makers on long-term renovation strategies, financing renovation and calculating energy performance certificates and the smart readiness indicators.

• BPIE develops new recommendations for a people-centric building stock and circular economy

  

  In 2018-2019, BPIE published a number of publications highlighting the multiple benefits of energy efficiency, circular economy and urban regeneration. In 2018, BPIE’s report on upscaling urban regeneration demonstrated the transformative potential a comprehensive renovation strategy can have on entire neighbourhoods, improving both physical and social well-being.  Building 4 People, a series of publications commissioned by Buildings 2030, revealed major business opportunities tied to people-centric buildings, and represented an important step towards defining, measuring, quantifying, and monetising the impact of indoor air quality, thermal comfort, acoustics, and lighting on students, office workers and patients across Europe. In 2019, The Zero Carbon and Circular Economy challenge in the built environment explored policy options to improve construction, heating and cooling of buildings, and address the challenges of changing construction material, urban biodiversity and integrating buildings with the energy system.

• Shaping policy: New EPBD reflects many of BPIE’s recommendations

  

  The launch of the “Clean Energy Package for all Europeans” by the European Commission reflected the new policy paradigm to keep global temperature increase to well below 2°C. This package includes the November 2016 policy proposal for a revision of the “Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD)”. Against this backdrop, BPIE developed its transformational strategies to support decision makers shape a robust and ambitious EPBD. The end result reflected many of BPIE’s recommendations and introduced for the first time the goal of a highly efficient and decarbonised building stock by 2050. Additionally, the new EPBD included a Smart Readiness Indicator, Building Passports, and EPC improvements, other key recommendations that BPIE had strongly advised.

• BPIE builds presence in Germany, supporting development of policies to decarbonise the German building stock

  

  In 2014 BPIE opened an office in Berlin, releasing Renovating Germany’s Building Stock  in November 2015. The report identified a series of policy tools and support measures that could stimulate investment towards achieving significant energy savings, and decarbonising a large part of Germany’s building stock within 15 years. In 2016, BPIE contributed to the Green Paper on Energy Efficiency, a government strategy on the cost-effective energy transition across sectors, discussing options to implement the European Efficiency First principle. BPIE has since continued to increase its presence and policy engagement; in 2019, BPIE started a series of discussions in collaboration with the HUMBOLDT-VIADRINA Governance Platform (HVGP), with the aim of quantifying the multiple benefits of building renovation in a comprehensive stakeholder process.

• BPIE addresses EU fuel poverty in flagship report, supporting development of the European Commission’s Energy Poverty Observatory

  

  The report,Alleviating Fuel Poverty in the EU, clearly demonstrated that vigorous energy renovation measures of fuel poor homes are a viable, long-term solution to alleviating energy poverty, and work better than energy subsidies and direct financial support to households.

  To evaluate the extent of the problem, BPIE described the current situation of fuel poverty in Europe using data from Eurostat. Indicators used to measure fuel poverty refer to the inability of people to keep their home adequately warm, to pay their utility bills and to live in a dwelling without defects (leakages, damp walls, etc.). The indicators developed by BPIE later formed the basis for data analysis of the European Commission’s Energy Poverty Observatory, which helps Member States combat energy poverty.

• BPIE joins EEFIG – the Energy Efficiency Financial Institutions Group

  

  BPIE played a key role in leading and developing the dialogue on energy efficiency finance from its very first event in 2010. The following years, BPIE organized a series of stakeholder meetings, convening policy makers, financial institutions and actors from the energy efficiency sector, which eventually contributed to the launch of Energy Efficiency Financial Institutions Group (EEFIG) by the European Commission and UNEP FI in 2013. In the following year, BPIE organised the Investors Forum

• BPIE launches first-of-kind data hub for buildings performance in Europe, the precursor to the European Commission’s EU Building Stock Observatory

  

  BPIE’s data hub created a comprehensive open data portal to assist policy makers at the EU and Member State level, as well as technical experts, building professionals, and the broader energy efficiency in buildings community. The data hub was the precursor to the European Commission’s EU Building Stock Observatory, which was created in 2016 by BPIE in partnership with Ecofys (Navigant), ECN, Enerdata, Seven, and many other national partners, as part of the Clean Energy for All Europeans legislative package,

• BPIE’s breakthrough publication, Europe’s Buildings Under the Microscope makes it possible to determine potential CO2 saving potential of Europe’s buildings

  

  The publication is the first ever pan-European survey taken on the building stock of all EU 27 member states, Switzerland and Norway. The reportprovided an exhaustive analysis on building characteristics, building codes and other regulatory measures, making it possible to determine the energy and CO₂ saving potential of Europe’s buildings and to model a variety of scenarios for the systematic renovation of the European building stock until 2050. The report was a catalyst for fact-based European policy-making, demonstrating how to leverage energy saving potential of EU buildings while maximizing environmental, economic, and social benefits.

• BPIE launches national initiatives in Romania, Bulgaria, and Poland

  

  BPIE launched its first national initiative in Romania in 2011, with the mission of supporting ambitious implementation of EU energy policies for buildings and the growth of national energy efficiency and renewable energy markets.  In 2011-2012, together with national authorities and private stakeholders, BPIE helped Romania secure over €100 million from EU structural funds for a financing scheme addressing multi-apartment houses owned by low-income occupants. As its first activity in Poland in 2012, BPIE undertook a technical analysis and economic assessment of the costs and benefits of renovating the Polish building stock, resulting in an ambitious roadmap to guide the transition towards nearly Zero-Energy Buildings and dramatically reduce energy consumption, air pollutants and CO₂ emissions. In Bulgaria, BPIE contributed to a 2012 study proposing nearly Zero-Energy Buildings definition and policy implementation roadmaps until 2020. BPIE has continued to strengthen its ties with national and local authorities in each country and performs ongoing analyses on a variety of topics, from granular building stock analyses, investment opportunities by building type, and financial support schemes.

• BPIE (Buildings Performance Institute Europe) is created in Brussels by the European Climate Foundation, eceee, and ClimateWorks Foundation, as the first pan-European organisation to provide political analysis and decision-making support to policymakers related to energy and buildings.

  

  A team of just five, BPIE’s work had a profound impact on setting the policy agenda in Brussels, already in its first year. BPIE’s first publication, Financing Energy Efficiency (EE) in Buildings put energy efficiency financing on the Commission’s agenda. The report is among the first in Europe to identify critical barriers to financing and project uptake, and maps existing financing mechanisms for energy efficiency. Cost-optimality in Building Renovations, directly supported the EU decision-making on cost-optimality in building renovations that began following the European Buildings Performance Directive (EPBD) recast (Directive 2010/31/EU). To that end, BPIE organized a series of meetings, engaging all internal and external stakeholders in the process. Energy performance certificates – from design to implementation, proposed different ways of increasing implementation effectiveness and enhancing public acceptance of EPCs.

2020 marked BPIE’s 10^th anniversary and one of our most eventful years to date. With 27 reports published in total, our research made a strong case to ensure the Renovation Wave would be given strong priority within the context of the EU Green Deal and the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Plans. In April 2020, we published our flagship publication providing a vision for the Renovation Wave strategy, which had been proposed by the European Commission in December 2019, in the context of the European Green Deal. In May, we provided specific figures on the investment opportunity for buildings in support of the Covid-19 recovery plans. In September, we released our Assessment of Member States’ 2020 Renovation Strategies, followed immediately by our response and recommendations to the Commission’s Renovation Wave detailed Renovation Wave communication, both for the European and German context. In December 2020, we launched the first-ever methodology to monitor decarbonisation of the global building sector, in support the ongoing work of the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction, and we also released arguably our most important publication of the year in response to the EU’s strengthened 2030 climate targets, which demonstrates that urgency to scale up the deep renovation rate in Europe to 3% annually by 2030.  

Following the EPBD recast in 2018, BPIE produced two documents that aim to support public officers and policy makers towards effective EPBD implementation and national policy development. EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive: Guidance for public officers – Navigating new requirements for renovation strategies, outlined 6 phases for successful implementation with stakeholder consultation throughout the process, that would facilitate the development of national renovation strategies (due March 2020). Future-proof buildings for all Europeans: A guide to implement the Energy Performance of Buidlings Directive, provided recommendations and best practices for policy makers on long-term renovation strategies, financing renovation and calculating energy performance certificates and the smart readiness indicators.

In 2018-2019, BPIE published a number of publications highlighting the multiple benefits of energy efficiency, circular economy and urban regeneration. In 2018, BPIE’s report on upscaling urban regeneration demonstrated the transformative potential a comprehensive renovation strategy can have on entire neighbourhoods, improving both physical and social well-being.  Building 4 People, a series of publications commissioned by Buildings 2030, revealed major business opportunities tied to people-centric buildings, and represented an important step towards defining, measuring, quantifying, and monetising the impact of indoor air quality, thermal comfort, acoustics, and lighting on students, office workers and patients across Europe. In 2019, The Zero Carbon and Circular Economy challenge in the built environment explored policy options to improve construction, heating and cooling of buildings, and address the challenges of changing construction material, urban biodiversity and integrating buildings with the energy system.

The launch of the “Clean Energy Package for all Europeans” by the European Commission reflected the new policy paradigm to keep global temperature increase to well below 2°C. This package includes the November 2016 policy proposal for a revision of the “Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD)”. Against this backdrop, BPIE developed its transformational strategies to support decision makers shape a robust and ambitious EPBD. The end result reflected many of BPIE’s recommendations and introduced for the first time the goal of a highly efficient and decarbonised building stock by 2050. Additionally, the new EPBD included a Smart Readiness Indicator, Building Passports, and EPC improvements, other key recommendations that BPIE had strongly advised.

In 2014 BPIE opened an office in Berlin, releasing Renovating Germany’s Building Stock  in November 2015. The report identified a series of policy tools and support measures that could stimulate investment towards achieving significant energy savings, and decarbonising a large part of Germany’s building stock within 15 years. In 2016, BPIE contributed to the Green Paper on Energy Efficiency, a government strategy on the cost-effective energy transition across sectors, discussing options to implement the European Efficiency First principle. BPIE has since continued to increase its presence and policy engagement; in 2019, BPIE started a series of discussions in collaboration with the HUMBOLDT-VIADRINA Governance Platform (HVGP), with the aim of quantifying the multiple benefits of building renovation in a comprehensive stakeholder process.

The report,Alleviating Fuel Poverty in the EU, clearly demonstrated that vigorous energy renovation measures of fuel poor homes are a viable, long-term solution to alleviating energy poverty, and work better than energy subsidies and direct financial support to households.

To evaluate the extent of the problem, BPIE described the current situation of fuel poverty in Europe using data from Eurostat. Indicators used to measure fuel poverty refer to the inability of people to keep their home adequately warm, to pay their utility bills and to live in a dwelling without defects (leakages, damp walls, etc.). The indicators developed by BPIE later formed the basis for data analysis of the European Commission’s Energy Poverty Observatory, which helps Member States combat energy poverty.

BPIE played a key role in leading and developing the dialogue on energy efficiency finance from its very first event in 2010. The following years, BPIE organized a series of stakeholder meetings, convening policy makers, financial institutions and actors from the energy efficiency sector, which eventually contributed to the launch of Energy Efficiency Financial Institutions Group (EEFIG) by the European Commission and UNEP FI in 2013. In the following year, BPIE organised the Investors Forum

BPIE’s data hub created a comprehensive open data portal to assist policy makers at the EU and Member State level, as well as technical experts, building professionals, and the broader energy efficiency in buildings community. The data hub was the precursor to the European Commission’s EU Building Stock Observatory, which was created in 2016 by BPIE in partnership with Ecofys (Navigant), ECN, Enerdata, Seven, and many other national partners, as part of the Clean Energy for All Europeans legislative package,

The publication is the first ever pan-European survey taken on the building stock of all EU 27 member states, Switzerland and Norway. The reportprovided an exhaustive analysis on building characteristics, building codes and other regulatory measures, making it possible to determine the energy and CO₂ saving potential of Europe’s buildings and to model a variety of scenarios for the systematic renovation of the European building stock until 2050. The report was a catalyst for fact-based European policy-making, demonstrating how to leverage energy saving potential of EU buildings while maximizing environmental, economic, and social benefits.

BPIE launched its first national initiative in Romania in 2011, with the mission of supporting ambitious implementation of EU energy policies for buildings and the growth of national energy efficiency and renewable energy markets.  In 2011-2012, together with national authorities and private stakeholders, BPIE helped Romania secure over €100 million from EU structural funds for a financing scheme addressing multi-apartment houses owned by low-income occupants. As its first activity in Poland in 2012, BPIE undertook a technical analysis and economic assessment of the costs and benefits of renovating the Polish building stock, resulting in an ambitious roadmap to guide the transition towards nearly Zero-Energy Buildings and dramatically reduce energy consumption, air pollutants and CO₂ emissions. In Bulgaria, BPIE contributed to a 2012 study proposing nearly Zero-Energy Buildings definition and policy implementation roadmaps until 2020. BPIE has continued to strengthen its ties with national and local authorities in each country and performs ongoing analyses on a variety of topics, from granular building stock analyses, investment opportunities by building type, and financial support schemes.

A team of just five, BPIE’s work had a profound impact on setting the policy agenda in Brussels, already in its first year. BPIE’s first publication, Financing Energy Efficiency (EE) in Buildings put energy efficiency financing on the Commission’s agenda. The report is among the first in Europe to identify critical barriers to financing and project uptake, and maps existing financing mechanisms for energy efficiency. Cost-optimality in Building Renovations, directly supported the EU decision-making on cost-optimality in building renovations that began following the European Buildings Performance Directive (EPBD) recast (Directive 2010/31/EU). To that end, BPIE organized a series of meetings, engaging all internal and external stakeholders in the process. Energy performance certificates – from design to implementation, proposed different ways of increasing implementation effectiveness and enhancing public acceptance of EPCs.