The Minister for Communications Energy and Natural resources Alex White has launched the Irish part of a €2.35 million project – Build Upon, to help mobilise financial, professional, construction and civic groups to agree a long term strategy to speed up the rate of deep energy renovation of the entire building stock. The project is funded by the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 programme to enable cross sectorial stakeholders work with Government to inform policy for energy efficient retrofit.  The project takes place across twelve European countries with the Irish Green Building Council facilitating the process in Ireland.

Speaking at the Green Room conference organised by the Irish Green Building Council today in the Wood Quay venue, Minister White stated:

“I am delighted to officially launch the Green Building Council’s Build-Upon project this morning. This project is led by the Green Building Councils across Europe. It is an ambitious attempt to bring together the great variety of stakeholders involved with energy efficiency, to help Governments to develop better renovation strategies.  Our energy strategy must be the property of the people of Ireland – the citizens of Ireland. To achieve this, we need a much more cooperative and collaborative policy-making process”.

The requirement for ambitious strategies set out in the European Energy Efficiency directive, is intended to stimulate stagnant European Economies, and create employment, particularly in the badly hit construction sector.  It is also intended to deliver additional benefits to European citizens such as improved health and quality of life.

EU countries were required to deliver long-term renovation strategies to Brussels in accordance with the Energy Efficiency Directive last year, but many of the strategies fell short of the ambitious requirements of the Directive.  As a result the expected levels of renovation are failing to materialise. Countries now have until 30th April 2017 to strengthen and resubmit their strategies to Brussels and the Build Upon Project is intended to help this process.

Pat Barry Executive director of the Irish Green Building Council stated: “A key part of the project will be to engage a broader group of the unusual suspects, on the benefits of comprehensive deep energy renovation for the quality of life in Ireland, by improving the places where we live, work and learn”

Download the BUILD UPON Project Summary here.

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