Boosting sustainability and well-being through building renovation in Italy

In a historic country such as Italy, building renovation is a real challenge.
Renewable energy communities can play a key role in engaging citizens and fighting both energy poverty and the housing crisis.
Sara Picone, Project Manager at Agenzia per l’Energia e lo Sviluppo Sostenibile (AESS) — the agency coordinating the third phase of the Support Service for Citizen-led Renovation (CLR) and one of the 10 enablers of the project — tells us about how Italy is advancing in building renovation and the importance of creating communities committed to shaping a more sustainable future.

How’s the state of the art of building renovation in Italy?

The building stock is the largest energy consumer in Italy, accounting for 40% of energy consumption and 36% of its greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, building renovation is a core strategy to tackle the climate and energy challenges, despite this renovation rates in Italy are rather low. Even though the majority of existing buildings in our country are old and have low energy performance rates, and several measures have been put in place to boost renovations, only about 1% of them are under revamp yearly. Additionally, a considerable proportion of the existing building stock in Italy falls into the category of historic, heritage or other protected buildings (their definition varies greatly between EU countries), thus limiting renovation options.

We need to further promote the benefits of building renovation as a driving force for cities’ transformation, a response to the housing crisis and energy poverty. Despite the many challenges, renewable energy communities can play a leading role. These are rather new organizations in the Italian context that need to be supported to structure themselves for the management of renovation projects to be able to empower local communities.

What’s the core purpose of the Agenzia per l’Energia e lo Sviluppo Sostenibile (AESS)?

L’AESS is an agency focused on promoting energy efficiency and sustainable development by working for its members. We are a network of over 160 municipalities and local authorities spread all over Italy, primarily in Emilia-Romagna, where our headquarters are based. Thanks to a close collaboration with local authorities, AESS strives to ideate and test innovative solutions, balancing economic, social and environmental sustainability. Our mission is to support communities and businesses in adopting environmentally friendly practices, reducing energy consumption, and fostering a greener future based on renewable sources. 

Building renovation is a key pillar of AESS activities: since 2018, AESS, with the financial support of European and national funding, has operated as a one-stop shop for energy-efficient renovation of over 5000 private and social housing dwellings. We also provide technical assistance for the development of Energy Performance Contracts and the retrofit of public buildings and public lighting, integrating different funding sources.

AESS has played a pioneering role in establishing Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) in Italy, supporting over 40 projects nationwide since 2019. It is the exclusive regional partner for CasaClima certification, and has helped over 100 cities develop and implement their SECAPs. AESS supports 5 of the 9 Italian cities involved in the EU Mission “100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030”. The agency also coordinates RENAEL, is a member of FEDARENE, and regularly delivers capacity-building and outreach activities. It has been involved in over 30 EU-funded projects, acting as coordinator or work package leader.

Why do you think citizen-led renovation initiatives are important?

Citizen-led renovation initiatives are crucial because they empower communities to take an active role in improving their environment and quality of life. When residents get involved, they can identify local needs more accurately and develop solutions that are tailored to their specific context. Additionally, these initiatives often foster a sense of ownership and pride, encouraging more sustainable and long-lasting changes. They also promote awareness about energy efficiency and sustainability, inspiring others to get involved. Overall, citizen-led efforts help create more resilient, environmentally friendly communities where everyone has a say in shaping their future.

What’s AESS’ role in the Citizen-les renovation project and why have you decided to join it?

AESS is thrilled to be one of the 5 - soon to be 10 -  enablers within the consortium, and at the same time leads the Phase 3 of the Citizen-les renovation project (CLR3). As an enabler, we will provide support services to at least three energy communities in Italy to empower them to implement collective energy renovation projects. 

We expect building renovation to represent a key future activity for energy communities as bottom-up initiatives, contributing to their long-term sustainability and capacity to concretely drive the energy transition at the local level. Establishing initiatives which rely on and are driven by a local community is also a response to the current challenges we are facing at the European level on the energy, social and housing aspects. 

Building on the success of the previous phases, with CLR3, we aim to foster a long-lasting impact on the local ecosystem and allow replication at the European level.

Find out more about the power of Citizen-led renovation here.