Brussels, 18^th March 2016 – Yesterday the European Builders Confederation (EBC) and the International Union of Property Owners (UIPI) co-organised a workshop to learn how the Juncker Plan could be used to boost private investment in “small scale” energy efficiency renovation.

For the first time, European associations of construction SMEs and private property owners joined forces to address the key question of  how to finance energy efficiency retrofitting in the largest and most fragmented section of the European building stock: the privately owned residential sector. 75% of the square meters composing the European building stock are in residential buildings. SMEs carry out 70% of their activities in the residential sector. This means that small and medium companies, along with property owners, are the key actors for upscaling energy efficiency in homes.

This seminar is the first one of a series of events. It explored the triggering potential of the European Fund for Strategic Investments to increase renovation in the private housing stock. It brought together more than 140 participants, representing the stakeholders having an interest in energy efficiency in the building sector.

Patrick Liébus, President of the European Builders Confederation EBC, said: “Any new way to finance energy retrofitting of buildings is welcome. The Juncker Plan is not the silver bullet, but today’s seminar demonstrated a possible way forward to finance energy efficiency. The Picardie Pass Renovation project shows an approach to using the Investment Plan, which is good for both owners and SMEs. Through the aggregation of companies, it boosts local businesses and promotes the upskilling of jobs.”

Stratos Paradias, President of the International Union of Property Owners UIPI, said: “We see the Juncker Plan as a promising instrument to support retrofitting in the private housing stock. The project presented today proves that EU funding can be used to aggregate renovation projects and answer certain needs. Yet, if we really want to trigger investment decisions and scale up renovation in the private residential sector, the challenge is to complement this type of lending mechanisms with the right mix of incentives tailored for individual homeowners and landlords.  We need hundreds  of thousands of Picardie Pass Renovation projects all over Europe!”

Maria Spyraki, Member of the European Parliament, said “The European Fund for Strategic Investments was created to address market failure but it should avoid overlapping with other mechanisms. It should support private investments. EFSI needs synergies and good and sustainable projects in order to work.

Sustainability and complementarity are the keywords. ”Miguel Gil-Tertre, Member of the Cabinet of Vice President Jyrki Katainen, said: “The Investment Plan for Europe offers great opportunities in the areas of energy efficiency and retrofitting. Already the European Fund for Strategic Investments has helped to finance such a project in France: 40,000 homes are now able to access long-term loans to improve insulation and make huge energy savings. We encourage project promoters to set up investment platforms to pool together smaller investments in order to get financing, as well  as taking advantage of the new Project Portal which will help projects gain more visibility with investors."

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Note to the editors

Established in 1990, the European Builders Confederation EBC is a European professional organisation representing national associations of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises working in the construction sector.UIPI is a pan-European association comprising 30 organisations from 28 countries. Jointly, they represent more than five million property owners and some 20 million dwellings. Founded in 1923, its member organisations share the common goal of promoting the rights and interests of private property owners.

Contacts

Riccardo Viaggi, EBC Secretary General: riccardo.viaggi@ebc-construction.eu; +32 (0)2 2801650; +32 (0)495 123 577

Emmanuelle Causse, UIPI Director for European Affairs: office@uipi.com; +32 (0)2 502 2318