Renovation wave

Renovating both public and private buildings was singled out in the European Green Deal as a key initiative to drive energy efficiency in the sector and deliver on objectives.

To pursue the dual ambition of energy gains and economic growth following the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2020 the Commission published the Renovation Wave Strategy along with an action plan and a document presenting available EU funding.

Objective

The Renovation Wave aims to renovate 35 million buildings by 2030, at least doubling the annual rate of energy renovations in the EU.

By reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, as well as creating green jobs in the construction sector, which is dominated by local businesses, the Renovation Wave will improve overall living standards for Europeans.

Achieving the Renovation Wave

The Renovation Wave strategy sets out measures across the whole renovation chain that aim to increase the rate and depth of renovations. The measures relate to the following areas

strengthening information, legal certainty and incentives for public and private owners and tenants to undertake renovations
ensuring adequate and well-targeted funding
increasing technical assistance to regional and local actors
promoting renovation interventions for smart buildings and digital friendly renovations
ensuring that the construction sector is fit to drive sustainable renovations and uses sustainable materials
using renovation as a lever to address energy poverty
promoting the decarbonisation of heating and cooling

Several of the actions proposed have been implemented through the review of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and other legislative reviews under the “Fit for 55” package.

Reinforced, accessible, and more targeted funding is a central principle of the Renovation Wave. Funding will be generated through a combination of direct investment and the leveraging of private investments. Such funding will also be used for research and innovation, addressing market barriers, and providing technical assistance.

With an estimated 40 million Europeans unable to afford to heat their homes properly in 2022, renovations will help tackling energy poverty. They will improve the health and wellbeing of vulnerable people while reducing their energy bills – as outlined in the 2020 Commission recommendation on energy poverty, which was part of the Renovation Wave initiative – and later highlighted also in the following Commission recommendation on energy poverty, published in October 2023.

The EU construction sector needs more and better-skilled workers to help deliver the Renovation Wave, particularly in the fields of building renovation and the decarbonisation of heating. In addition to the Renovation Wave Strategy, the well-established BUILD UP Skills initiative as well as other initiatives like the European Year of Skills (April 2023 – April 2024) aim to address skills gaps in the green and digital dual transition.

The Renovation Wave initiative builds on the national long-term building renovation strategy, other aspects of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, and building-related aspects of each EU country’s national energy and climate plans (NECPs).

More detail and information on the 3 focus areas

Energy poverty

Renovation of public buildings

Heating and cooling

The New European Bauhaus

In October 2020, the Commission also launched the New European Bauhaus initiative which provides a forum where Europeans can come together to share ideas on climate-friendly architecture. The initiative comprises of 3 phases: co-design, delivery and dissemination.

Find out more about the initiative’s ambitions, timeline and initial structure.

EU building projects

The Commission supports many building renovation projects, as well as research and innovation, through its Horizon Europe programmes including

the BUILD UP initiative, a portal for sharing knowledge on how to make buildings more energy efficient
the BUILD UP Skills initiative, which aims to deliver building renovations offering high-energy performance as well as new nearly zero-energy buildings
the 4RinEU project, which ran from October 2016 to June 2021, providing tools and strategies to encourage large-scale renovation of existing buildings and promoting the use of renewable energies (see “Home improvements for the planet ”)

For more EU-funded energy efficiency projects, visit the Horizon 2020 energy efficiency data hub.

Documents

24 SEPTEMBER 2021

Report – Stakeholder consultation on the renovation wave initiative (2020)

Factsheet – The European Green Deal – Renovation Wave (2020)
Study – Building energy renovation activities & uptake of near zero-energy buildings in the EU (2019)

Renovation Wave