Retrofit HUB

With 38 percent of global CO2 emissions, the building sector is one of the main contributors to climate change. For the very same reason, advancing sustainability in the sector holds enormous potential for climate action. A large amount of old building stock has not been built in compliance with energy efficiency standards, making retrofit of buildings a promising approach to the sustainable transformation of the building sector.

The project measures focused on facility managers, homeowners and tenants and provided them with awareness and knowledge on energy retrofit. A bottom-up approach ensured that all measures were targeted to their actual needs: the project team interviewed members of the target group on current challenges and processes within energy efficient retrofit.

Anselm Bareis, EUKI Advisor visiting the Retrofit Hub Team in Croatia 2021, Photo: © Anselm Bareis

The knowledge gained through this approach informed a series of training courses that provided participants with knowledge and skills on energy efficient retrofit practices. Participants continued to apply their skills on case-studies retrofitting buildings. An energy efficiency retrofit guidebook constituted the final product of the project.

The measures contributed to an increased understanding and promotion of environmental sustainability, climate mitigation measures and retrofit procedures in the building sector. Thus, the project fostered the sustainable transformation of the building sector in Croatia, Poland and Hungary, thereby significantly contributing to EU climate goals.

• Practical guide to energy-efficient building renovation: As part of the project, a comprehensive guide to the energy-efficient modernisation of multi-family buildings was published in Croatian, Polish, Hungarian and English. It serves as a practical roadmap for owners, property managers and professionals, facilitating the implementation of energy-efficient renovations and making knowledge accessible in the long term. 
• Wide reach for knowledge transfer and awareness raising: The guide was made available to key target groups such as ministries, local authorities, specialist institutions and the building industry. The digital version was downloaded over 6,000 times from the online platform retrofithub.eu. This wide reach enabled the project results to be used comprehensively and strengthened awareness and expertise on sustainable building renovation at national and European level. 
• Development of renovation pathways: At case study workshops in Croatia, Poland and Hungary, participants developed concrete renovation pathways and analysed the renovation options for specific buildings. This strengthened the practical skills of the participants and promoted exchange between experts and decision-makers. In addition, transferable examples for future renovation projects were developed. 
• Central information and exchange platform: The online platform retrofithub.eu serves as the first point of contact for all stakeholders involved in the energy-efficient renovation of multi-family buildings and promotes knowledge transfer and networking between owners, experts and authorities. 
• Information and training materials: As part of the project, information and training materials were published on topics such as current renovation methods and national framework conditions in Croatia, Hungary and Poland. This deepened specialist knowledge, standardised the level of knowledge in the region and supported national renovation strategies within the framework of the European ‘Renovation Wave’.