GREPCon: an independent and standardized assessment of energy efficiency

building renovations in the tertiary sector

TOPIC:
8. Energy and facility management, energy services.
(Alternatively: 10. Energy consumption monitoring and benchmarking, Energy Modelling of
Building performances)

AUTHORS:

Paolo M. Sonvilla1, Pedro L. Espejo1, Javier Lemus2, Theocharis Tsousos3

Creara Consultores, Spain

1

Calle Velázquez, 157. 5ª planta. 28002, Madrid.

www.creara.es, +34 913 950 154
pms@creara.es
pel@creara.es

Bureau Veritas Iberia, Spain

2

francisco-javier.lemus@es.bureauveritas.com

3 Technical University of Crete, Greece

theocharis.tsoutsos@enveng.tuc.gr

KEYWORDS:
Buildings; Investment; EPC (Energy Performance Contracting); Assessment; Benchmarking

ABSTRACT

A new risk assessment and benchmarking service is now available to scale up investments in energy
efficiency building renovations. Within the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme, a pool of international
experts gathered by the Trust EPC South project has built an innovative methodology to support the
development of energy efficiency and sustainable energy investments in the tertiary sector.

In Europe, buildings are responsible for 40% of energy consumption and 36% of CO2 emissions.
Currently, about 35% of the EU's buildings are over 50 years old. By improving the energy
efficiency of buildings, we could reduce total EU energy consumption by 5-6% and lower CO2
emissions by about 5%i.

However, at present, insufficient public and private investment is flowing into energy efficiency.
This is especially true for the tertiary sector in the south of Europe, where there is significant energy

i
https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/topics/energy-efficiency/buildings
efficiency potential. Although energy consumption has decreased globally since 2003, southern
European countries present an increasing trend in electricity consumptionii.

A new investment assessment and benchmarking service – GREPCon – based on the existing Green
Rating™ methodology originally developed by Bureau Veritas, is now available to support the
development of energy efficiency building renovation opportunities. Due to its standardised and
certified approach, incorporating 47 energy saving measures models, the GREPCon service will
foster a common understanding of risks and benefits of building renovation projects, either financed
by Energy Performance Contracts (EPC) or other financing schemes.

Building sectors that can be assessed using the GREPCon service include offices, retail, logistics,
hospitality, healthcare, education and sport centres. All data required to perform the assessment are
gathered directly on site by independent third party auditors qualified and accredited by Bureau
Veritas.

The service developed within the framework of Trust EPC South has been tested on over 40 pilot
projects from the tertiary sector in the six participating countries of the project (Croatia, France,
Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain), to verify and fine-tune its methodology.

The GREPCon service can be used by real estate and tertiary sector actors to identify and prioritise
energy savings as well as building renovations. Financial institutions and other investors can rely on
this service to independently assess the technical and financial risks involved in these projects.

The GREPCon service’s value lies in its standardised approach, uniformly applied across Europe,
and in the fact that its application is certified by an independent third party such as Bureau Veritas.

ii
Source: Odysee-Mure, 2013 (from Eurostat) Elaborated by CREARA