Driving green renovation through community power in Flanders

Like many EU regions, Flanders (Belgium) faces significant challenges related to energy efficiency, the decarbonisation of buildings, and the integration of renewable energy sources. According to regional legislation, existing residential buildings should, on average, improve their energy performance by 75% by 2050, reaching approximately EPC label A by that date. Achieving this objective would require an average annual deep renovation rate of around 3% of the housing stock. However, according to the analysis of the Vlaamse Langetermijnrenovatiestrategie 2050, the current renovation rate remains significantly below this level.

Matthias Ghyselen, Co-coordinator of Citizen Services at Energent - one of the ten enablers of the Support Service for Citizen-Led Renovation (CLR) - explains how citizen-led initiatives can play a decisive role in helping the region meet its renovation and green transition goals.

How is the state of the art of building renovation in the Belgian Flanders?

The building stock in Flanders is relatively old and often poorly insulated, resulting in high energy consumption and increased vulnerability to rising energy prices. The regional renovation strategy, known as the Vlaams Renovatiepact, aims to accelerate deep renovation through stricter building standards, financial incentives, and long-term planning.

Municipalities, provinces, and energiehuizen (intermunicipal energy agencies) are increasingly assuming a coordinating role by developing local energy and climate plans and supporting citizens with renovation advice, subsidies, and practical tools. Nevertheless, the renovation market in Flanders remains highly fragmented. While many actors provide support, this assistance is often inconsistent or limited in scope. Other stakeholders, such as architects, tend to focus on higher-budget projects, offering valuable expertise but frequently leaving homeowners with more modest budgets without adequate support.

Although the Flemish Region has established a subsidy system - which is a positive development - it remains insufficient. Over the years, frequent policy changes have made the system less transparent, creating uncertainty and hesitation among citizens considering renovation works.

In this context, citizen-led renovation initiatives are becoming increasingly relevant. They help address persistent barriers such as limited technical knowledge, mistrust in contractors, fragmented information, and insufficient decision-making capacity within homeowner associations. By providing trusted, local, and collectively organised support, these initiatives can significantly increase renovation uptake, particularly among owner-occupied single-family homes and in older urban neighbourhoods. At the same time, they stimulate local renovation markets by bundling demand and ensuring quality through independent guidance.

What’s the core purpose of Energent?

Founded in Ghent in 2013, Energent is an energy cooperative driven by a strong commitment to renewable energy and community involvement. Today, Energent is active in 55 towns and villages across the entire province of East Flanders.

The cooperative’s activities are structured around four core pillars: innovation projects, investment projects, a strong volunteer and member movement, and services to citizens. Within its citizen services, Energent developed the brand Thuisbasis (“home base”), which brings together services related to photovoltaic installations, group purchasing for renovation services, and deep home renovation. Through this approach, Energent acts as a one-stop shop for renovation.

Which challenges do Flemish communities need to tackle?

Until the end of 2024, CLR collectives benefited from a viable funding model. However, since early 2025, changes to this framework have made it increasingly difficult for these collectives to sustain their activities. Financial uncertainty, evolving policy conditions, and operational pressures now require them to reassess their business models, explore new services, and rebuild partnerships—particularly with local authorities.

These challenges are compounded by a series of interconnected structural issues, including an ageing and inefficient building stock with high renovation needs, limited access to trusted and independent renovation advice, persistent mistrust towards contractors, energy poverty, difficulties coordinating renovation works among neighbours or homeowner associations, and a general lack of knowledge about renovation processes.

As several Flemish CLR collectives reach a critical turning point, the CLR project has the potential to be decisive for their survival. It can support them by helping to streamline existing processes and scale up successful initiatives, develop new strategies to adapt to the changing policy and funding landscape, and build sustainable business models for a range of renovation services.

What is Energent’s role in the Citizen-led Renovation project?

Energent will collaborate with several renovation initiatives in Flanders, including Klimaatpunt, Klimaatwerf, Klimaan, Campina Energie, Ecoob, and Rescoop Vlaanderen. As an enabler within CLR III, Energent will promote citizen-led renovation at multiple levels, provide hands-on support and guidance to local collectives, and establish a CLR library gathering existing services and modular building blocks.

This library will be continuously updated throughout the project, enabling both established and newly formed collectives to easily select the tools, services, and resources that best fit their needs and capacities. As a direct result of the CLR project, Energent expects at least 65 buildings to be renovated over the next three years.

Why do you think citizen-led renovation initiatives are important in your local context?

Citizen-led initiatives build trust, increase engagement, and enable behavioural change. Many homeowners feel overwhelmed by renovation decisions and do not know where to start; a cooperative or community-driven approach reduces complexity and creates a sense of shared purpose.

In Flanders, citizen cooperatives like Energent can act as neutral, mission-driven intermediaries who prioritise quality, sustainability, and affordability. Citizen-led renovation also enhances social cohesion and ensures that the energy transition is not only technical, but also socially inclusive.

What are your expectations from the CLR initiative?

Through the CLR project, Energent aims to strengthen existing citizen-led renovation collectives while inspiring new initiatives to develop similar services. The cooperative also seeks to increase the visibility of citizen-led renovation models within regional and national policy frameworks and to improve cooperation with local authorities.

Finally, the project offers a valuable opportunity to exchange knowledge with European frontrunners, bring best practices back to Flanders, and develop new tools and approaches to activate homeowners and neighbourhoods more effectively.