The project "Additional Benefits as Drivers of Energy Efficiency Retrofits" aimed to bring more clarity to the societal debate on the multiple benefits of energy efficiency retrofits. Specifically, the trialogue and workshop series brought together the perspectives and connecting factors of stakeholders from business, organized civil society, politics & administration, and academia on additional benefits of energy retrofits in order to jointly develop ideas for quantifying and communicating these additional benefits.

The findings of the entire project have been incorporated into this interactive discussion atlas. This includes answers to the questions of what multiple benefits energy-efficient building refurbishment offers, what additional benefits stakeholders consider particularly important, and how additional benefits can be measured. Finally, we explain which recommendations for action can be derived from this.

With this novel format, we would like to make an equally appealing and entertaining as well as informative contribution to the debate around additional benefits of energy-efficient building refurbishment. We hope you enjoy clicking through the discussion atlas.

About the project: Developing methods for quantifying and communicating the additional benefits.

In the selected multi-stakeholder approach, instruments were discussed on how the added value of energy refurbishment can be determined and communicated. The resulting recommendations for communication and action, as well as the basic consensus and open questions on the topic, can be found in the final report and in the interactive discussion atlas.

Background - energy refurbishment necessary for climate protection

The building sector is particularly relevant for climate protection: Inefficient heating technology systems and poor thermal outer shells make the sector a central source of greenhouse gas emissions. In Germany, buildings are responsible for 35% of final energy consumption and produce almost one third of all greenhouse gas emissions.

According to the German government's energy concept, Germany should have a nearly climate-neutral building stock by 2050. At the same time, the majority of the building stock in 2050 is already built today. This means that energy savings must be achieved primarily through refurbishment. However, at the current refurbishment rate of 1% per year, it would take decades to bring today's stock up to the targeted low consumption level.

Social benefits of energy refurbishment are manifold

Energy retrofitting of buildings reduces energy costs and increases energy security, it creates jobs, increases the comfort and health protection of its users, and brings environmental benefits in the form of improved air quality and lower emissions.

In order for refurbishment measures to actually be initiated and implemented, the refurbishment in the specific case must offer a benefit for the building owners or the investor. Until now, this benefit has often been reduced to the factor of saving energy costs. However, the energy costs saved alone seldom provide sufficient incentive for the necessary, often demanding energy refurbishment measures. So far, the so-called additional benefits (often also called multiple benefits) are hardly considered and communicated in the cost-benefit analyses, since they cannot be quantified in a uniform way and cannot be monetized for the investor. There is a lack of economic instruments and methods in this regard, even though numerous studies exist on the effects of building renovation on the national economy, employment, public health or tax revenue.

We see an opportunity to better highlight, quantify and communicate the additional benefits to the relevant stakeholders.

The project was carried out by the Berlin Governance Platform (BGP) and the Buildings Performance Institute Europe (BPIE) and funded by the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU).