European DataWarehouse submits suggestions for the revision of the Energy Performance for Buildings Directive

Mindful of the crucial importance of the building sector in achieving the European Union´s (EU) energy and environmental goals and following its commitment to the implementation of EU´s sustainable finance strategy, European DataWarehouse (EDW) has contributed to the revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) proposed by the European Commission in December 2021.

According to the European Commission, buildings account for 40% of energy consumed and 36% of energy-related direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, as stated in the proposal, “making Europe more resilient calls for renovation of EU buildings, making them more energy efficient and less dependent on fossil fuels. Renovation is key for reducing the energy consumption of buildings, for bringing down emissions and for reducing energy bills.”

SOLUTIONS PROPOSED TO FACILITATE INVESTMENT INTO GREEN RENOVATION INITIATIVES

EDW´s contribution focuses on the recommendation of a set of solutions to overcome the current barriers hampering the Renovation Wave Strategy promoted by the European Commission. More specifically, EDW advocates the following measures to be taken in the context of the revision of the Energy Performance for Buildings Directive:

  1. Providing a clarification with respect to the General Data Protection Regulation, to enable the publication and access to all existing Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) across Europe in an open manner (i.e., all EPCs available for download for a given area for a given period).
  2. Introducing a standardised, machine-readable EPC document with comparable scales for CO2 emissions across Europe.
  3. Allowing citizens to digitally opt out on the release of the EPC information once a new EPC is issued in case of a sale or rent of a property, car or other relevant assets.
  4. Promoting EPC usage across Europe, by offering economic or tax incentives, e.g., by making the EPC document expense potentially fiscally deductible for homeowners.
  5. Promoting good practices and examples of EPC databases that include quality and open access sustainable information, such as ADEME in France and CENED in Italy.
  6. Strengthening the mandate of the EU Building Stock Observatory, particularly in the countries and regions where there is no EPC database available.

STANDARDISATION, TRANSPARENCY, AND CENTRALISATION OF EPC DATA TO DRIVE EU SUSTAINABLE FINANCE STRATEGIES

European DataWarehouse is confident that the incorporation of the proposed solutions in the revised Energy Performance for Buildings Directive would have a positive impact on the development of EU sustainable finance strategies by helping the financial industry to comply with the applicable EPC-related reporting requirements. In particular, it would support reporting entities, who are required to provide the EPC and EPC provider data for residential real estate, auto, and consumer loans (if available) under the Securitisation Regulation.

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READ EDW’S FULL RESPONSE TO THE EC CONSULTATION

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