Energiesprong is very happy to announce today that it has been awarded the prestigious Gold World Habitat Award . This award recognises Energiesprongs innovative and financially sustainable approach to addressing climate change and improving energy efficiency in the building sector. Photo credits Felix Zahn The Energy Challenge of Old Buildings Our homes, buildings and neighbourhoods play a major role in the climate crisis. They are responsible for a significant portion of greenhouse gas emissions, as well as sometimes being uncomfortable and expensive to live in. However, retrofitting old buildings to improve their energy efficiency is and use energy positive materials often costly and time-consuming. A Holistic Solution The Energiesprong approach is developed to overcome these challenges. The approach itself is revolutionary, combining prefabricated insulated wall and roof panels, energy positive materials along with a range of smart green technologies. These prefabricated panels are directly attached to the existing building structure, which significantly expedites the construction process and minimizes disruptions for residents. The in-country teams support organisations to follow the Energiesprong idea and with financial and regulatory challenges, helping them to overcome potential stumbling blocks and implement a system unique to their needs. Cost-effective, Sustainable and Transferable Retrofits Energiesprong retrofits can be completed in as little as seven to ten days. They can achieve a remarkable 70-80% reduction in a building's energy consumption, whilst generating their own energy through integrated renewable technology. Increasingly, the retrofits also use bio-based materials which have a smaller carbon footprint than traditional materials. To date, the Energiesprong Global Alliance has helped to implement over 10,000 projects across seven countries in Europe and North America, demonstrating its replicability in different contexts.  Recognition for Climate Impact  The Gold Award at the World Habitat Awards underscores its clear and efficient approach to addressing the climate, financial and regulatory challenges posed by old housing stock. It can also help to mitigate the effects of the cost-of-living and energy crises for tenants on low incomes. Great start for a new Energiesprong year Winning this award is a great start for all our teams and partners to keep working on our approach and make new connections to spread the Energiesprong spirit in 2024! "We are very proud to win the award with the entire Energiesprong-movement and to have the opportunity to work together and learn from the other winners. We look forward to further developing the Energiesprong approach together, including by developing bio-based construction materials and working on the social transition within construction." - Sanne de Wit, Energiesprong

Thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter at a time when the news hits us with wars, fear and despair, with only an occasional glimmer of light. The climate crisis is also far from over, but the movement dedicated to tackling this challenge is growing. Its voice is getting louder, its voice is being heard. Energiesprong feels part of this global movement. We know that we can’t solve such a big problem all at once, we have to take small steps. With our everlasting efforts we are taking these small steps, with heart and soul. In this newsletter you can, therefore, read about our new projects. About how we are steadfastly investing in retrofitting homes to the net zero standard, about how our bandwidth is broader than just construction. Let’s also include our neighbourhoods, our schools, our private homeowners, as well as bio-based materials, and let’s check out giga ways of scaling up. We are doing everything we can to get our homes off fossil fuels because how can we, together, limit global warming to a maximum of 1.5 degrees? Living as climate friendly as possible, worldwide, that’s how we can do it. That's what we do it for. Will you join us? Read the newsletter here! Team Energiesprong Global Alliance

The Mustbe0 project funded by Interreg North-West Europe started in 2019, bringing together market development teams from four countries to kick-start a market for net zero multi-storey buildings. The ambitious project has been one of the largest in the Interreg NWE programme’s portfolio, with 11 demonstrator retrofit projects in the UK, Germany, France, and the Netherlands aiming to create affordable, comfortable, long-term performance guaranteed zero carbon buildings. Name Location Property Vilogia Roubaix, France Apartment with 32 dwellings Notre Logis Halluin, France 1960s social housing apartment with 70 dwellings Anne Godeau school Raismes, France 1960s primary school Vonovia Bochum, Germany 3-storey building, 24 apartments VBW Bochum, Germany 7 multi-family-houses, 3/4 floors, 51 apartments WGAV Germany 2 multi-family-houses, 4 floors, 16 apartments Arsago (Hameln) Germany 2-storey 1930s building with 12 dwellings Herford Germany 4 multi-family buildings built in 1957, 3 floors, 24 apartments Woonmeij Netherlands 3-storey apartment with 30 dwellings Woonmeij Netherlands 2-storey apartment with 36 dwellings Treadgold House United Kingdom 5-storey apartment block of 38 flats As the project draws to a close, here’s a summary of all it has achieved as well as the challenges it has faced, and the valuable lessons learned along the way. Achievements France, Germany, and the UK carried out design competitions at the start of the project which have supported SMEs to develop and test their solutions for deep retrofits. The transnational nature of the project has created an open space to collaborate and share innovations across countries and companies. For example, Belgium-based SME Build Up won the design competition in France and their offsite manufactured panels have been installed on an apartment block owned by social housing landlord Vilogia. The first school in France to undergo an Energiesprong retrofit has been part of the project. The 1960s building has had all classrooms retrofitted, an elevator installed, fully renovated sanitary facilities and a new enlarged dining room created. As well as the improved internal comfort and carbon savings, attention has been paid to the acoustic comfort of the building and children have been involved in the decision-making process, selecting classroom colours and adding more green space in the school playground. In Germany, scaffold-free assembly was successfully tested on two pilot projects, saving costs and causing less disruption for residents. Resident satisfaction surveys issued in the Netherlands by housing provider Woonmeij reported lower energy bills and decreased use of medication by some tenants as a result of their homes being more comfortable, with constant temperature levels and less damp and draughts. Long-term benefits and lessons learned The Vilogia project in France developed an industrially-produced technical shaft to house the heat pumps and ventilation units, creating a highly replicable solution. Vilogia has also gained experience in industrialising the building envelope in terms of technology, solutions, processes, contracting, services, and relations with residents. Based on this, Vilogia is now developing an industrialised retrofit scale-up strategy, with 4,000 dwellings due to be retrofitted in the coming years. The German Market Development Team introduced and tested the Construction Team Agreement as a support tool for project matchmaking between the client and construction company, saving time and money in the design and planning phase. In the UK, the Treadgold House project in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) has used a new tender process for the procurement of contractors. The two-stage tender approach will now be used by RBKC for future projects on the estate. Despite facing many challenges – the Covid pandemic, Brexit, and the war in Ukraine – which have had an impact on material and transportation costs and caused delays, the Mustbe0 project has created warm and desirable places to live (or go to school in!) that are future proofed and will leave a legacy for more deep retrofits in the future. Moreover, it is estimated that the total energy savings from the project will be 1,320 tonnes of CO 2 per year. Thank you to all partners involved in the Mustbe0 project, everyone is incredibly proud of what has been achieved. And thank you to Interreg NWE for initiating and funding the project and for all your support. Find out more about Mustbe0

Soon private homeowners in Germany might also be able to benefit from the Energiesprong approach to retrofits. Energiesprong DE has been looking at ways to help private homeowners who want to retrofit their houses to net zero standards. With proven success in serially retrofitting multi-story, multi-unit blocks of housing, primarily owned by public authorities or private housing associations, one of the questions Energiesprong DE is now looking at is how the Energiesprong approach can be applied to individual private homeowners. Mapping out the sector needs Through talking to private homeowners , it was clear to the Energiesprong DE MDT that there are varying levels of awareness, very diverse approaches to retrofitting and many different types of houses (age, size, etc.) involved in the private homeowners’ sector. When the German team found that interested private homeowners were all at very different stages in the process (some had already started their projects while others were still years away from being ready) and that they had all adopted very different approaches to their retrofit projects, they began to consider a different route to researching the sector. The German team decided to contact experienced building companies who had already undertaken these types of retrofit or net zero self-build projects with private homeowners. The aim here was to find out: what the average costs were, what barriers private homeowners faced, whether the separate elements needed to be prefabricated or if there were any DIY elements which owners can tackle themselves. They also conducted studies to find out what the awareness levels were among private homeowners regarding the need to retrofit their houses and what would motivate them to undertake this type of work on their own homes. The team are considering whether any of the lessons learnt from serial retrofitting apartment blocks could be applied to the private homeowner sector. For example, in neighbourhoods where houses are quite similar, such as in local quartiers or in rows of terraced houses, where a portfolio of houses could be retrofitted with the homeowners benefitting from joint procurement. At the Energiesprong Convention 2023 in Berlin in October, the German team held a podium discussion on the challenges and opportunities for serial retrofits in the private homeowners’ sector which led to some really useful talking points. Energiesprong Convention 2023 – discussion on retrofit challenges for the private homeowners’ sector”.Copyright: photothek, Felix Zahn .  A marketplace was also set up where companies offering retrofit solutions to private homeowners could present their products and two homeowners, who have already retrofitted their homes using prefabricated elements from the German company Taglieber GmbH, could provide information and advice to other private homeowners considering undertaking similar work on their houses. Market stand showing 2 private houses retrofitted using prefabricated elements by Taglieber GmbH. Copyright: photothek, Felix Zahn.  Two private homeowners share their experience of retrofitting their homes. Copyright: photothek, Felix Zahn Another avenue the German team are looking at is working with building suppliers and large DIY/home improvement stores to see if they can create a retrofit “toolbox ” available to homeowners, which they can buy “off the shelf” in-store and install either themselves or using specialist contractors. The toolbox could include individual elements such as façades, heat pumps, insulation or offer homeowners a whole package of retrofit elements. Get in on the act! The aim this year has been to understand the private homeowner retrofit market in Germany and to identify who the main players are. The German team is now working with 15 individual private homeowners undertaking net zero retrofit projects on their houses, and they aim to showcase 2 example retrofit projects by the end of the year. Wouldn’t it be great if the Energiesprong approach could be easily used by millions of private homeowners to retrofit their homes in the future?!

After its success in the housing sector, the Energiesprong approach shows that it is also relevant as a highly efficient energy retrofit method for school buildings. the Anne Godeau school in Raismes In 2022 and 2023, the Georges Rascol school in Saint-Jean-de-Védas (Occitanie), and the Anne Godeau school in Raismes (Hauts-de-France), were completely retrofitted in record time. These retrofits, which were specifically implemented without moving students out of their schools, have enabled: A significant improvement in the energy and acoustic insulation of these spaces. Energy savings of up to 60% (as of today, this is in line with the 2050 regulatory requirements of the Eco-energy Decree). Increased comfort for the entire educational community, in both winter and summer These projects have also been a great educational opportunity to raise awareness among students and teachers about energy and environmental issues and to make them committed actors  to the ecological transformation. Further zero-energy retrofit projects of school and university buildings will be launched throughout France. These have begun recently and should be completed by the end of 2025. The aim is to make them the first large-scale serial projects as they form part of a replicable retrofit approach. These projects will make it possible to undertake energy retrofits at scale and to gradually reduce costs. Feedback from these projects will be used to improve the approach in order to scale-up full energy-efficient retrofits of educational buildings implemented over a short timescale on a large scale. What could be more necessary than to give our children the opportunity to see and experience for themselves today that which will have to become the norm by 2050: buildings whose energy performance aligns with France’s  ambition to achieve carbon neutrality. To find out more about these retrofit projects and the challenges of applying the Energiesprong approach to school buildings, please visit: https://www.energiesprong.fr/actualite/la-demarche-deployee-sur-les-batiments-educatifs/ It’s a French article, so you might need some help in translation .

Collective energy shift: street- level heat pump solutions The LIFE Street HP Reno project champions a visionary approach to upgrading residential heating systems through the collective purchasing of heat pumps. This initiative aims to streamline the adoption of eco-friendly heat pumps on a neighbourhood scale, leveraging the collective bargaining power of entire streets. By aligning with local authorities, housing organisations and residents, the project seeks to highlight the benefits of this strategy, fostering a community-driven push towards sustainable heating solutions. In the wake of global challenges and the pressing demand for an energy transition post-2022, the LIFE Street HP Reno initiative targets three pivotal areas: enhancing European energy independence by decreasing dependency on fossil fuels, stabilizing energy costs to alleviate fuel poverty and bolster businesses struggling with operational difficulties, and advancing decarbonization efforts to meet Europe's rigorous greenhouse gas reduction targets set by the Fit for 55 Plan. Leading initiatives for greener heating Tailored heat pump packages: This project emphasizes collaboration with community stakeholders to boost support for collective purchasing and promote heat pump adoption. It aims to develop comprehensive home heating solutions, supported by a community-level planning and optimization modeling tool. Innovative economic model: The project actively engages with industry partners to foster the development of cost-effective and high-quality heat pump solutions, aimed at aligning with ecological objectives while providing enhanced services. Additionally, it focuses on establishing a streamlined procurement model, simplifying the financing and implementation of heat pump retrofits at the street level. Collective buy-in scheme: By leveraging strategic partnerships and optimizing processes, the project aims to lower the financial hurdles linked to installing heat pumps, thus facilitating their widespread adoption and aiding in the decarbonization of residential zones. It advocates for a broad-scale adoption strategy that includes extensive training and creative methods to convince stakeholders of the collective purchasing benefits. Join us in shaping the future The LIFE Street HP Reno project is at the forefront of fostering a sustainable and resilient energy future. By developing efficient solutions, creating effective procurement models, and employing persuasive strategies, the project aims to inspire mass adoption of heat pumps for residential heating, making a significant contribution to environmental goals and energy efficiency at the street level. Project Project 101120015– LIFE22-CET-LIFE Street HP Reno Project Acronym Life Street HP Reno Project name Developing street wide approach for housing for collective switch of energy systems to heat pumps packaged modules Project coordinator EDERA SRL IMPRESA SOCIALE (EDERA) Project duration 36 months Website https://energiesprong.org/street-hp-reno/ Partner s

Transforming net zero energy renovation through SMEs The LIFE Cosme Reno project stands at the forefront of increasing energy renovation within the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector. With a keen focus on accelerating the pace and quality of energy renovations, our mission is to bridge the performance gap and introduce efficient, industrialised solutions. Our project is designed to empower SMEs, enabling them to undertake more effective and affordable, high-quality retrofit projects. Our project is fundamentally motivated by the urgent need to tackle climate change and achieve the European Union's aggressive targets for energy efficiency. By unlocking substantial employment prospects in the energy and heating industry, we are committed to overcoming the shortage of skilled labor and reshaping the construction industry into a more attractive and enduring sector. Boosting SME efficiency: cutting costs and accelerating projects Better cooperation tools for SMEs: We're introducing tools for carbon tracking, marketing, performance warranties, and ICT to facilitate seamless cooperation from design through to project completion. Our goal is to make starting these collaborations more attractive by reducing costs and project timelines. Shared investment through "Prefab Lab": Inspired by fab-labs and startup incubators, our prefab lab model allows SMEs to use advanced manufacturing technologies without the need for significant individual investment, supported by local authorities and public co-investments. This platform let SMEs share capital investments in prefabrication facilities, thereby reducing costs and improving the quality and speed of delivering prefabricated elements. Leveraging financing & warranty tools: Addressing SMEs' concerns about risk, we're exploring the establishment of a warranty fund and collective buy-in schemes to enable SMEs to procure efficient solutions at better prices, supported by potential public co-investment. By identifying financial challenges and setting up warranty funds, we aim to change the perception of SMEs as risky investments and encourage the use of prefabricated elements for guaranteed performance retrofits. Join us in shaping the future The LIFE Cosme Reno project is more than just a project; it's a movement towards sustainable, efficient, and high-quality energy renovations in the SME sector. By addressing labour and skill shortages, financial barriers, and the need for better collaboration tools, we're setting the stage for a greener, more efficient future in construction and renovation. Join us as we pave the way for transformative change in the industry. Project Project 101121032 – LIFE22-CET-COSME RENO Project Acronym COSME Reno Project name New cooperation models for SMEs to scale updeep energy efficient renovations Project coordinator Housing Initiative for Eastern Europe e.V. (IWO) Project duration October 2, 2023 - October 1, 2026 Website https://energiesprong.org/cosme-reno/ Partners Funding

Energiesprong Italy has been working full steam ahead to develop the Italian sector for industrialised retrofits. The number of homes included has now increased to 150,000 dwellings spread across the network of 15 public and private sector partners. The partnership is made up of housing organisations, public authorities, private social housing organisations, residents’ cooperatives and local municipalities, mostly located in Northern Italy with the Municipalities of Milan and Rome both involved.   All the partners will come together in Milan for the first Italian Energiesprong Retrofit Days on 29 & 30 November. This will also be the first time all the Italian demand-side organisations have got together. It’s set to be an event of firsts in Italy as the catalogue of technical solutions will also be presented for the first time at the event. In addition, further information on Energiesprong design and public procurement guidelines for municipalities and housing organisations in Italy will also be disseminated. No doubt it’s going to be a hugely inspiring event!   The next step for the Energiesprong Italy team is to have 5 or maybe even 6 new pilot projects completed next year… so watch this space for exciting future developments in Italy!

The two European LIFE projects in France, Energy Poverty 0 (EPO) and Giga Regio Factory (GRF), are moving forward. Both have already drawn up their roadmaps.  Firstly, we have EP0, with a budget of 1.6 million Euros, operating in 3 European countries and with 13 expert partners. This project aims to support local authorities and social landlords in identifying the most suitable neighbourhoods in which to deploy industrialised retrofits. The objective is to develop a tool to assess the potential for industrially retrofitting residential buildings. This tool will enable demand for industrialised retrofits to be aggregated at neighbourhood level, so that as many people as possible can have access to high-performance retrofits.  To achieve this, it will be essential that local residents are involved in the process, whether they are tenants or homeowners. Therefore, the project will implement a range of activities within a "neighbourhood energy compass" in collaboration with residents, in order to best meet their specific needs.  EP0 will explore schemes for purchasing shared industrialised retrofits involving private owners and social landlords and will look at the associated financing methods. The aim of the project is to launch mixed retrofit projects involving both social and private housing.  Secondly, with a budget of 2.4 million Euros, operating in 4 European countries and with 13 expert partners, the Giga Regio Factory project will bring about a change of scale in the market for industrialised zero-energy guaranteed retrofits. The project already supports all the players involved in the process, from building owners to manufacturers and construction companies.  Three areas of work have been developed with a view to mass-marketing high-efficiency, industrialised retrofits:  1.         Improving the quality of housing types  From the demand side, in order to generate more volume, we need to better classify the different types of housing in relation to the different industrial retrofit solutions, both those currently on the market and upcoming solutions. The project will, therefore, develop a tool that will enable buildings to be aggregated more finely, thereby facilitating grouped orders for high-performance retrofits in several European regions. The aim is to facilitate the emergence of mass demand which is in line with industrialised solutions.  2.         Supporting supply-side players in integrating industrial solutions From the supply side, companies need to be supported in developing industrialised, high-performance retrofit solutions. The aim is to encourage the development of an industrial approach in the building sector, by supporting supply-side players to integrate industrial solutions and develop their catalogue of solutions through coaching, feedback and the provision of resources. In this way, the project aims to stimulate market development.  3.         Scaling up to meet large-scale future demand  Finally, we need to develop manufacturers’ and suppliers’ capacity to produce off-site retrofit solutions. This project aims to support them in the next stages of their development: business planning and investment, extending production capacity, reducing costs, etc. The aim is to help solutions manufacturers and suppliers scale up to meet the large-scale future demand. With these two exciting new LIFE projects, comprising partners from across Europe, we hope to aggregate demand for industrialised, energy-neutral retrofit projects at neighbourhood level, and bring about a change of scale in order to be able to target 10% of the market by 2030 and to industrially retrofit 1 million homes in Europe to a guaranteed zero-energy level.

How do you explain to others about Circular Reno, what is this story all about?  "Developing biobased, recycled & reused material solutions for retrofit", that is our slogan. But what exactly is the intention with this Interreg NWE project? Click  here  for a short film where the partners themselves explain in simple words.

Not one, but two inspiring Summer Days in the Netherlands to get Interreg NWE's  Circular Reno  show on the road. Starting with a tour around the  Naturel Pavilion in Almere  where one of the project partners, Building Balance, has their office. This building is constructed almost entirely from natural (biobased) materials and is literally an accumulation of innovations. What a great way to start! Talking about ‘a great way to start’… how do you actually create a value chain for bio-based materials? Harold van de Ven, from Building Balance, has the necessary experience in this regard and he explains how it works really clearly in this video.  Click here if you’d like Harold to take you through the process >>

Role profile: Strategic communication & experience marketing agency Reports to:  Energiesprong Alliance board Location : Flexible (option for home-based working) Role may require occasional international travel (mainly IE, NL, FR, BE, DE)‍ Circular Reno - Interreg NWE The Energiesprong Global Alliance seeks an external agency to support the organisation and coordination of communication, community building and experience marketing initially for the Interreg NWE funded project: Circular Reno. The role may be expanded in case additional (EU) funding will be secured in the course of this contract. Circular Reno focuses on setting up Bio-based chains. The project wants to accelerate the use of bio-raw materials in construction, so that the climate goals and circular goals can be achieved. The communication deliverables for Circular Reno are described and must be delivered according to the schedule in the project plan.  The core element of this role will include: Developing a marketing and communications plan for Circular Reno Pushing forward PR topics and advising the other market development teams on strategic topics Coordinating and aligning communications with international market development teams in Ireland, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Belgium. Strengthen the movement within the Energiesprong markets by extensive community building activities Communication and social media Retrieve news and trends within Circular Reno/Energiesprong markets Creating media kits Writing articles, newsletters and messages Maintaining the Circular Reno program website Keeping track of the social media channels Creating content for social media Social media training Produce photos and videos of the projects Design communication materials, such as leaflets, best practices, flyers, brochure, white papers etc. Experience marketing and events Organising 6 Partner Days Organising workshop Organising 12 site visits in Ireland, France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands Organising the closing event Development of methods for knowledge sharing and development within the Energiesprong/Circular Reno The party or person will provide strategic and substantive support to the Energiesprong team in the market development of serial renovation solutions according to the Energiesprong principle and by bringing in experiences from other countries with comparable activities with a focus on Europe. The contractor must also represent the Energiesprong market development team at companies. Duration of the project The project starts in July 2023 and ends in June 2026. Application and selection criteria This tender runs from 26 June to 4 July. You can send your entry to  sebastien@energiesprong.org . The agency will be chosen on July 5 and the assignment will start on July 6. View the selection document for the information required for the award.