The overall aim of BUSLeague is to address and overcome the challenges of the stimulation of demand for energy skilled workforce (demand side), along with hands-on capacity building to increase the number of skilled workforce across the building design, operation and maintenance value chain (supply side). BUSLeague will achieve this objective by developing and implementing a cross European recognition of energy skills, together with upscaling successful training methods and techniques which have already been developed in previous EU and National initiatives such as BUILD UP Skills, Construction Skills. BUSLeague focusses on a blend of four elements: mutual recognition of energy skills, awareness raising, capacity building and legislative changes. Implementation will be done at country specific and regional levels; based on a blend of measures to stimulate demand complimented with hands-on and practical upskilling of involved local and regional workforce. In this way engagement of SMEs will be ensured. BUSLeague is formed by a coalition of former BUILD UP Skills and Construction Skills projects. The partners believe that by working together the national implementation plans and developed means will improve and become more attractive and effective. BUSLeague is strengthened by experienced anthropology researchers and educational technology researchers in order to prove impact and to optimize the blends for stimulating demand and optimizing learning transfer of applied learning means and materials.

Leveraging on the business operations of consortium partners (4000 integrated building renovations conducted to date), TURNKEY RETROFIT will develop and replicate an integrated home renovation service which will be initially operated in 3 EU countries - France, Ireland and Spain - with an expected 335M€ investment pipeline for home renovation within the first 5 years (approximately 14 700 dwellings renovated, leading to 96,6 GWh/year Primary energy savings triggered) beyond the end of the project. The project will point to further replication across Europe and Internationally in particular via the Green Building Council network. The TURNKEY RETROFIT service will be developed as a home-owner-centric renovation journey, which will transform the complex and fragmented renovation process into a simple, straightforward and attractive process for the home-owner. It will include the initial technical and behavioural diagnosis, technical offer, contract development and agreement, structuring and provision of financial support, as well as the on-site coordination of works and quality assurance. It will be a service-oriented model where the home-owner is offered tailor-made solutions through the whole customer journey. The service will be accessible through a user-friendly digital platform and it will address drivers of building renovation that go beyond a desire to reduce energy bills and increase asset value, such as home improvement, increased comfort, enhanced health & quality of life.

The European EVARENO project aims to develop a measurement and verification methodology adapted to residential buildings, based on their energy consumption data processing and modeling. By determining the impact of each type of energy rehabilitation measure, the project stakeholders will be able to optimize their technical and/or financial efforts. Also, various options will be explored to maximize the results of energy efficiency projects: (1) technical choices optimization based on location & climate, (2) procurement and supply aggregation, (3) adaptation of the CPE contract with energy performance guarantee to adapt it to the residential sector. Finally, technical and business training will be created and offered to SMEs wishing to develop their activity in the residential energy rehabilitation sector.

BUILD UPON: Empower stakeholders to assist public authorities. 1. Provide large-scale capacity building or engagement activities: The key objective is to engage and empower a ‘critical mass’ of over 1,000 stakeholders with the process of defining and implementing their long-term national renovation strategy (Article 4, Energy Efficiency Directive). Process carried out by an important organisational innovation, ‘Green Building Councils’ (GBCs), in BG,CZ,ES, HR, IT, IE, FI, LV, RO, SE, SI, SK and TR. GBCs are multi-stakeholder platforms, formalising a ‘Regional Action Network’ of connected actors who will ensure the continuation of the activities beyond the project’s duration. 2. Target specific actors among a wide spectrum of stakeholders: The renovation stakeholder ecosystem will be mapped across the Project countries, to understand precisely which organisations will be needed to define and implement Article 4 and how this system functions. BUILD UPON has received over 100 letters of support across all its target groups. 3. Demonstrate a strong European added value: The complex landscape of renovation initiatives (both public policy and market driven) will be compressed in a living ‘RenoWiki’ resource, to enable stakeholder understanding and dialogue, and ensure all stakeholders are ‘on the same page’. The stakeholder ‘community’ will be developed through a series of nearly 80 workshops across the region at local, national and European level. These will explore collaborative and solution focused working methods to deliver the stakeholder buy-in required by government to define and implement ambitious and viable Article 4 strategies. Experts involved with the design and management of identified best practice renovation initiatives will help stakeholders assess feasibility for implementing these in other countries, to move best practice sharing beyond information to action, and an incubator for new concepts will help launch further implementation orientated projects.

BUILD UPON2 proposes to address one of the main barriers stopping proper public management, and consequent upscaling of Deep Energy Efficiency Renovation: the lack of an adequate, widely shared Impact Framework. Buildings are one of the biggest contributors to climate change in Europe and account for over 40% of the EU’s final energy demand and 36% of CO2 emissions. To meet EU’s energy efficiency targets for 2020 and 2030 and long-term goal under the revised EPBD to decarbonise it’s building stock by 2050, renovation becomes crucial, and its rate needs to increase to at least 2-3% per annum. National Renovation Strategies under the EED aimed to accelerate the rate of renovation, however these have not proved effective. The 2018 recast of the EPBD strengthens the role of these Strategies and obliges MS to set out a roadmap to decarbonised building stock by 2050, supported by a suite of measurable progress indicators and milestones. BUILD UPON2 proposes to work with local, national and European stakeholders to create a Multi-Level Renovation Impact Framework that contains a suite of milestones and measurable progress indicators for building renovation strategies, integrating data and insights from the city level. This Framework will serve as a tool for Cities in delivering the EPBD and ensure that local initiatives are aligned with national and European policies. A methodology will be developed to indicate how the Framework reporting system can be integrated into Sustainable Energy Actions Plans (SECAPs), how to use the Framework and how data to support the indicators will be collected and used. The Framework will be tested with 8 pilot cities and the results of this testing phase will be used to update the Framework and create policy recommendations, ensuring that the Framework can be replicated across Europe and help local, regional and national authorities deliver on European energy efficiency goals. The Project Consortium ascertains a successful delivery.