Public Buildings as an Example of Energy Efficiency in the EU

According to Claude Turmes, a European Parliament member from the Greens in Luxembourg and the chief negotiator for this legislative proposal, regardless of the final outcome of the negotiations on the energy efficiency directive, governments have already secured a solid legal foundation for the renovation of public buildings.

Defining the steps necessary for implementing energy-efficient renovations at the national level, introducing targets and measures, as well as the idea of ‘deep renovation’ are some of the main achievements in the latest round of negotiations, Turmes said.
– Energy efficiency and building renovation will be an important part of growth – added Turmes while discussing the European growth agenda.

Economic Calculation Public buildings, including those at the regional and national levels, represent only 12 percent of the EU’s building stock, but the Energy Efficiency Commission believes that governments must lead by example. Given that public expenditure accounts for 19 percent of the Union’s GDP, this could be a key incentive for the market for energy-efficient services and products. The obligation for governments to renovate buildings would also have economic justification. By reducing their energy bills, governments could free up part of their limited budgets for other purposes, believes British Member of the European Parliament Fiona Hall. Turmes, on the other hand, hopes to include ‘renovation roadmaps’ in the final text of the directive, a measure that he claims would lead to the renovation of 80 percent of existing buildings by 2050 compared to the state in 2010.

Diluted Ambitions Last year, the Commission proposed a renovation rate of three percent targeting public buildings with a total usable floor area greater than 250 square meters, but member states later limited this to buildings owned or used by central authorities with a usable floor area greater than 500 square meters. From July 9, 2015, this will have to be reduced to 250 square meters. This change resulted in significant reductions in scope for many countries. While in Sweden, France, and the Netherlands many buildings are owned by the central government, this is not the case in Germany, where most buildings are owned by regional authorities.

Small Steps – Financial challenges are key, and working on public buildings is expensive. However, treating spending on energy efficiency as public spending is misguided because the return on investment is realized very quickly – said Adrian Joyce, Secretary General of EuroAce. 

By deciding that the obligation covers only ‘government buildings’, member states narrowed potential savings from 4.2 to 0.4 million tons of oil equivalent, which translates into dependence on energy imports. And this despite rising costs for member states for energy imports exceeding 400 billion euros last year.
– It is incredible how much energy ‘input’ drags down the economy – said Turmes.
Philip Lowe, the Director General of the Energy Efficiency Commission, warned that this shortfall in energy savings will also mean continued capital leakage from the EU economy through energy imports, although this can be avoided.

How Many Square Meters at the Preferred Rate
The proposed renovation rate of three percent is limited only to public buildings with a usable floor area greater than 500 square meters. From July 9, 2015, this will have to be reduced to 250 square meters.