Within the framework of the European Horizon 2020 funding programme, the project has developed a diagnostic method for the prioritisation of buildings to be energetically renovated

Buildings are responsible for approximately 40% of energy consumption, as well as 36% of CO2 emissions in the European Union (EU). According to EU data, around 35% of the buildings are over 50 years old and almost 75% of the building stock is energy inefficient. Furthermore, the cost of energy has risen significantly throughout Europe.

The Basque Country has one of the oldest housing stock in southern Europe. In fact, 57% of the territory's residential buildings were built between 1940 and 1980, before State regulations on energy efficiency were established.

The Basque Government's Environmental Management Company has contributed its knowledge of sustainability in the communication of strategic projects

As an entity belonging to the Basque Government’s Department of Economic Development, Sustainability, and Environment, Ihobe, has carried out the planning and management of the project dissemination with the aim of multiplying the impact of the work and has made its extensive knowledge and experience in sustainable building available to the consortium.

The project

The Agree Horizon 2020 was born in 2019 as a project aimed at boosting investments in energy-efficient renovations in the Basque Country. The goal, through its novel approach to demand activation and aggregation, improved governance and customised financing solutions, is to achieve benefits in energy consumption with its financial and environmental advantages, savings in the execution of works and, in parallel, the generation of financial activity in a sector that has a strong impact on employment.

The consortium has developed three pilot projects with the Urban Development Companies (SUR) of Donostia-San Sebastian, Vitoria-Gasteiz, and Basauri. As a technological partner, Tecnalia designed a diagnostic method to choose and prioritise the buildings to be renovated. In this sense, Agree Horizon 2020 has prioritised its intervention in buildings constructed between 1940 and 1970, in need of energy renovations, in many cases without lifts, and vulnerable populations with an advanced average age and in neighbourhoods with traditionally low incomes. Its goals were to mobilise an investment of 8.5 million euros and to achieve a reduction of 250 tonnes of CO² per year.

Agree's achievements in a disruptive context

The project and its practitioners have had to adapt to disruptive changes such as the COVID pandemic and the Ukraine invasion that have dramatically changed the project landscape. Thanks to the resilience of the teams and decision-makers of the institutions, Agree Horizon 2020 has managed to far exceed the impacts previously estimated.

The mobilisation of investments has reached a value of 10.8 million euros compared to the foreseen 8.5 million euros, which has led to the renovation of 602 dwellings instead of 510, amounting to a total of 48,000 m² compared to the 14,500 m² initially planned.

In terms of energy and emissions, the savings in primary energy amounted to 5.92 GWw/year compared to the 2.62 planned, while the emissions’ reduction amounted to 1,233 TCO²/year compared to the required 249 TCO²/year. 35% of participating buildings improved their energy rating by two tiers. In terms of heating demand, 41% improved by two tiers and 15% up to three tiers.

During the last phase of the process, the Agree Academy was activated, focusing on spreading good practices, the results, and the knowledge obtained. The aim of this action was to promote its replication in other Basque municipalities, the rest of Spain, or other European countries that are joining the European wave of renovations every day.

Upon closing the Agree project, a second phase began, in which these three pilot projects can generate new benefits. Along with other changes in production and consumption patterns, excellence in construction processes is key to achieving the EU's climate neutral commitment by 2050. The knowledge and tools created and shared on the Agree project website now have the capacity to keep this virtuous circle of sustainable renovations moving so that, like a snowball, it spreads its benefits.