The final event of the European project ORFEE (Originating Retrofits Financing for Energy Efficiency) and the SERAFIN network, which took place on April 11th at the Conseil Économique, Social et Environnemental in Paris, provided much food for thought. Ēkubirojs and LABEEF, its associated fund, are grateful for the multiple takeaways from the event.
While Sebastien Descours pulled off an exceptional closing for the Horizon project, it complemented perfectly the useful findings and conclusions shared by Francoise Refarbert and Alice Morcrette.
Descours masterfully organized every aspect of the event, from the carefully selected venue at the Conseil Économique, Social et Environnemental with its striking architecture, to the seamless logistics that accommodated both the large in-person attendance and online participants. The event’s success was a testament to Descours’ meticulous preparation and attention to detail, creating an engaging and memorable experience for all involved.
Conseil Économique, Social et Environnemental
During the event, Climate Alliance introduced EU Peers – the Serafin Network will form the core of a French platform while ĒKUBIROJS will be running the Baltic Platform as part of 7 European platforms.
At the same time, project partners ENEA, Energiaklub Climate Policy and Applied Science, Green Building Council España (GBCE), and South East Energy Agency shared insights into the diverse landscape of one-stop shops for energy efficiency in Italy, Hungary, Spain, and Ireland.
The Panel Discussion
A panel discussion hosted by EU Peers project partner GNE Finance, Energies Demain and Ēkubirojs discussed innovative financing for energy renovation of residential buildings. The speakers emphasised the necessity of establishing trust when offering information and recommendations on building renovation.
As was said during the discussions, the Serafin association’s greatest strength was its ability to bring together the strengths of these network members to demonstrate that combining technical and financial support is a successful approach to scale deep renovations, especially for vulnerable households.
The conclusion is clear: we must standardise the projects and the tools necessary to carry out and finance these projects. Like the BEEF model and its guidelines and policies or the EUROPA subscription model, a noteworthy benefit of the ORFEE project was the decision to standardize project development tools, consolidated into a single reference built around quality standards. Both owners and financiers can have greater trust in a more transparent approach.
The Panel Discussion
Serafin’s next goal
Serafin’s next goal is to create a model that partners can replicate throughout several countries instead of just local or regional areas. It must be a choice for all households, regardless of their current situation.
Nicholas Stancioff also mentioned at the conference that people underestimate the expense of not having a repository. LABEEF, an associated fund of Ēkubirojs, utilizes a repository similar to Serafin’s, but with the key difference of requiring performance guarantees as part of its core guidelines. The LABEEF fund is financing 20-year energy efficiency contracts, some of which have already been in place for 12 years. As these long-term projects progress, the importance of having a single frame of reference is becoming increasingly clear. LABEEF believes that the reference system, which provides a consistent framework, is the key to the success of these long-term contracts, and the annual monitoring required has been instrumental in tracking performance and ensuring the desired outcomes are achieved.
Finally and most importantly, during the renovation process, we must consider not only the buildings themselves but also the people who live in them. They must be comfortable with every aspect of the renovation: beyond energy saved, the value proposition must include “safety, health, and comfort.” As Descours mentioned:” What happens to a resident’s fishes when the current is current during a renovation?
Sebastien Descours
These discussions emphasised the importance of collaboration and knowledge exchange in moving toward a more sustainable future, the very goal of EU Peers: is to increase the number of renovations in Europe.
Let’s continue to collaborate to improve the global adoption of energy-efficient renovations!