How can the EU building stock reach low and zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050? How can new methods like 'gamification' help make this ambitious goal a reality?

The buildings sector accounts for 36 percent of carbon emissions in the European Union (EU) and is thus a key sector that must be targeted to achieve European climate and energy goals. The EU Energy Efficiency Directive requires Member States to submit long-term strategies for mobilising investment to renovate their building stocks. And, recent changes to the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) require long-term renovation strategies as part of National Energy and Climate Plans. This clarifies a path achieve low- and zero-emission building stock in the EU by 2050, underpinned by national roadmaps and public and private investment.

This is an ambitious goal that must be paired with targeted support to cities, nations, and a range of other stakeholders. What's more, solutions have to be creative. We must find new methods that engage a range of stakeholders.

To make large-scale building renovation happen, it is critical to have building users, tenants and owners on board. A Horizon 2020 project – TripleA-reno: Acceptable, Affordable, Attractive deep renovation – takes a consumer-oriented and performance evidence-based approach. The project, in which ICLEI Europe is a partner, will test a new method: namely, it will deploy an online gamified platform to engage building tenants and owners, and thus create a local renovation community comprising craftspeople, engineers, suppliers, financial institutions and other stakeholders involved in the building renovation value chain. The platform will serve as a one-stop-shop, guiding potential renovators throughout the process, while linking them with contractors in their region, as well as peers that have already gone through this experience. Local, regional or even national governments will be able to use the "game" to boost building renovation on their areas.

TripleA-Reno builds on the legacies of previous Horizon 2020 projects focused on achieving low- and zero-emission building stock in Europe. EmBuild – Energy efficient buildings, for example, supported countries in developing long-term strategies for building renovation. The Build Upon project worked in parallel to EmBuild, gathering organisations such as Green Building Councils, to ensure that they were involved in renovation strategies. The project's successor, Build Upon2, aims to empower cities to join forces with national governments in decarbonising the building stock by 2050.

For more information about TripleA-reno and a sneak-peak of the gamified platform, click here.