Proposals should, where appropriate, explore synergies, while linking to, building on, complementing or promoting the market uptake of results from projects funded under other EU programmes.

Proposals are expected to focus on one of the two scopes (A or B) established below.

Scope A: Fostering energy renovations and competitiveness – Under Scope A, actions should address one of the following areas/aspects:

Increase renovation rates and deliver progress towards achieving a fully decarbonised, zero emission building stock by 2050, as defined in the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.

• Proposals should focus on removing market barriers, stimulating demand and scaling up energy renovations. Proposals should deploy strategies and business models for renovation that can be replicated across multiple buildings, increasing current renovation rates, and on aggregating demand to facilitate more costeffective, affordable, simple and efficient renovations. Proposals should support the large-scale roll out of solutions, models and approaches that lead to high quality renovations with energy performance guarantees, driving market confidence and stimulating investments.
• Proposals should take into account all actors in the renovation value chain as relevant (e.g. demand, building owners and investors, occupants, public and decision-making authorities, financial institutions, construction sector representatives, etc.).

In line with the 2050 vision for the building stock, besides improving energy performance, indoor environmental quality and decarbonising energy use in buildings, proposals can go beyond and consider reduction of whole lifecycle emissions (addressing materials) or increased resilience against climate risks in renovations.

Improve capacity and productivity of companies in the construction sector to deliver the ambition towards a decarbonised building stock.

• Proposals should support actors and companies in the supply chain of the construction sector, notably SMEs, to deliver energy renovations faster, with high quality and reduced costs. This may require the integration of new products, materials and processes with respect to current companies’ practice. Proposals should support companies move towards more industrialised processes and optimised ways of working, standardising projects and solutions (including modular and prefabricated solutions where relevant) and facilitating the uptake of digital solutions, including to increase labour productivity in the sector. Proposals can address different stages of the renovation process, including design, planning, management or execution of works, ensuring better access to information and decision making.
• Proposals can also facilitate the coordination of the different actors in the supply chain to reduce inefficiencies, errors and delays. Where relevant, activities to facilitate the market uptake of circular and low carbon solutions and materials in renovations can also be considered.
• Proposals should ensure uptake of their activities in the sector, for example through the involvement of professional organisations/associations and/or other relevant stakeholders.
• Proposals should explain and adapt the proposed activities to the context and maturity of the markets and/or countries addressed.
• Proposals should coordinate with existing support, funding schemes, one stop shops or existing renovation facilitation services in their area of action.

Scope B: Building instruments, data and services
Actions are expected to improve the availability, quality and accuracy of buildings data, in particular in view of enhancing the reliability and consistency of key policy instruments and information tools, such as Energy Performance Certificates (EPC), Renovation Passports (RP) and the Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI). Actions may moreover help explore and foster the use of buildings data, and in particular energy consumption data, for the development and financing of services that enhance the energy performance and comfort of buildings and the efficiency of the system. Technological, including innovative, solutions may be employed as enablers but must not be at the centre of the action.

Actions should address for example one or more of the following areas/aspects:

• Develop, implement and roll-out approaches that improve the availability, quality and consistency of data for Energy Performance Certificates, including by using new or different assessment methods and different integrated data sources, towards improving the accuracy and reliability of EPCs, their indicators and recommendations.
• Improve the reliability and usefulness of Energy Performance Certificates and Renovation Passports and increase the transparency of building performance and renovation needs towards enhancing the market value of energy performance and comfort and to guard against energy poverty; this includes for example actions that help link the rating of EPCs and the improvement of the rating to the value of a building in view of potential investments; this also includes methods to facilitate comparisons of energy costs, indoor environmental quality and other relevant parameters.
• Support the roll-out of Renovation Passports (RP) for buildings as introduced by the revised EPBD to provide building owners planning a staged renovation with a clear strategy for the best timing, sequencing and scope of their interventions. This could include actions to improve the practical market implementation aspects as well as measures to create demand and promote the use of RPs. The proposed actions need to be compatible with the Renovation Passport scheme that Member States are required to put in place and thus need to follow the policy evolutions and frameworks as appropriate; they should moreover consider the interrelation with other building related instruments, notably EPCs, SRI and digital building logbooks. Proposals should also take into account existing support and funding schemes as well as relevant renovation support services, including one-stopshops.
• Promote and support the use of digital tools for the assessment of the energy performance of buildings and inspections, notably following constructions, renovations and implementation of single renovation measures; help coordinate the assessments for Energy Performance Certificates, Renovation Passports (RP) and Smart Readiness Indicator; support the testing of combined issuing of EPCs and RPs, in line with the respective national frameworks.
• Develop methodologies that make the collection, structuring and integration of data more robust with the aim to measure and/or estimate and/or calculate and/or document energy performance, energy savings, comfort and other wider benefits, towards facilitating financing of energy renovations and roll-out of energy services.