Europe knows the scale of the problem.

Buildings account for a significant share of energy consumption and emissions, yet renovation rates remain low. The ambition is there driven by climate targets and policy frameworks, but execution continues to lag behind.

Across three conversations in the EBENTO Talks series, “Energy Efficiency in Buildings: A Societal Approach,” experts from EU projects and industry paint a clearer picture of why. They explore three critical dimensions of this transition: how renovation is financed, how people are placed at the centre, and how innovation enables real change.

What emerges is not a single bottleneck, but a system struggling to align finance, people, and technology.

Through these three talks, the EBENTO initiative aims to enhance public understanding of Energy Performance Contracts (EnPC) and the energy renovation process, raise awareness of the social benefits and challenges of energy efficiency initiatives, and increase engagement with innovative digital tools and platforms that facilitate building renovation. It also seeks to strengthen collaboration and dialogue among EU projects, EBENTO partners, researchers, and key stakeholders in the building and renovation sector.

 

The money problem isn’t just about money

At first glance, the challenge seems obvious: renovation is expensive.

But the issue runs deeper than upfront costs.

Models like Energy Performance Contracts (EnPC) are designed to remove that barrier, allowing investments to be repaid through energy savings over time. In theory, it is a persuasive proposition: reducing emissions without requiring immediate capital.

In practice, however, uptake has been slow.

The reasons are familiar: complex contractual structures, fragmented markets, and a lack of trust or awareness among building owners. What should be a straightforward solution often becomes a coordination challenge involving multiple actors, from ESCOs to financial institutions.

The result is a paradox: the tools to finance renovation exist, but they are not yet working at scale.

In Talk 1, speakers from the FORTESIE and EBENTO projects explain Energy Performance Contracting (EnPC) in a clear and accessible way, showing how it works in practice, who makes it happen, and what kinds of support mechanisms exist in Europe today to overcome technical, financial, and organisational barriers.

 

Renovation fails when people are treated as an afterthought

If financing explains part of the slowdown, social dynamics explain the rest.

Too often, renovation is approached as a technical upgrade rather than a lived experience. Yet projects consistently show that without resident engagement, even well-funded initiatives can stall or fail.

In Talk 2, experts from REHOUSE, WELLBASED, EnerCMed, FORTESIE, and EBENTO promote a different approach; one where communities are not passive recipients, but active participants.

Concerns about disruption, affordability, and trust in institutions shape how people respond to renovation efforts. For vulnerable groups in particular, the risks of exclusion are real if engagement is not built into the process from the beginning.

In this context, “people-centred renovation” is not a buzzword. It is a precondition for success.

 

Technology is advancing — but not always landing

On the technology front, there is no shortage of innovation.

Tools such as Building Information Modeling (BIM), digital twins, one-stop shops, and predictive maintenance systems are reshaping how buildings are designed, renovated, and managed. Data-driven decision-making promises greater efficiency and better outcomes across the entire lifecycle.

And yet, many of these solutions remain confined to pilot projects.

The issue is not invention but adoption, as speakers in Talk 3 emphasise. This time, insights come from the MultiHome and REHOUSE projects, alongside EBENTO solutions  leaders.

Interoperability between tools remains limited. Solutions are not always designed with end-users in mind. And perhaps most critically, the gap between development and market readiness is still wide.

Innovation, in other words, is happening, just not always where it is needed most.

 

Towards a more connected approach

Taken together, these challenges reveal a deeper issue: fragmentation.

Financial mechanisms operate in isolation from social realities. Technological solutions evolve without always aligning with market needs. Stakeholders move forward but not always in sync. This lack of integration slows everything down.

It also explains why progress can feel incremental despite the urgency of the climate agenda.

What the EBENTO Talks ultimately point to is not a single solution, but a direction of travel.

One where financial models are simplified and accessible, communities are embedded in the process, and innovation is designed for deployment not just demonstration.

Efforts like the EBENTO ONE-STOP-SHOP platform reflect this shift, bringing services, stakeholders, and tools into a more coordinated framework.

Because if there is one lesson that stands out, it is this: renovation does not fail for lack of ideas, it fails when those ideas are not connected.

Solving this will require more than better tools or bigger budgets. It will require aligning systems that have, until now, evolved separately.

The conversation is moving in that direction.

The question is whether implementation can keep up.

Watch the EBENTO Talks and join the debate.

Follow us on: