The challenge 

Reducing the energy and carbon need of the building stock is a key priority for the European Union, as buildings are responsible for around 40% of energy consumption and 36% of CO2 emissions in the region. The obvious solution is to improve their energy and carbon performance through renovation works. Yet, with only 0.2% of buildings being deeply renovated each year, the decarbonisation of the sector is moving too slowly. The European Commission’s Renovation Wave Strategy proposes several solutions to this, with the new objectives of renovating 35 million building units by 2030 and of doubling the renovation rate within the next 10 years.

One-stop shops: one part of the solution

One-stop shops can play roles as facilitators in the Renovation Wave, by interconnecting funding opportunities, incorporating solutions to new regulatory requirements, organising training and apprenticeship programmes and supporting various awareness-raising activities. One-stop shop is a collective term for services offering integrated renovation solutions with the main intention of simplifying the renovation process for homeowners.

The Renovation Wave Strategy acknowledges this and outlines a central role for one-stop shops where it identifies a need for “standardised one-stop shops that can be deployed quickly”. More than 60 one-stop shop models have appeared across the EU over the last 10 years. Despite this, it remains a niche idea in the EU and the existing models have not achieved any particular scale. The roll-out of the Renovation Wave Strategy and concurrent Recovery and Resilience Facility plans make it clear that these services will have to become more mainstream. The development of more standardised one-stop shop models, which can be replicated and quickly deployed across Europe, is an important step.

Replicability of the renovation Journey

The report analyses 15 elements, which are common to most all-inclusive one-stop shop models. These models guide the homeowner throughout the whole renovation process: attracting the customer to the first estimate and on-site visit, a proposal for the works, the actual renovation works, and a follow-up quality check. Homeowners need to be guided through the whole renovation process to achieve a high conversion rate, i.e. to avoid drop-outs and thus to make sure the homeowner goes from being interested in investing in a renovation to actually carrying one out.

The report is based on the experience of the TURNKEY RETROFIT project, which has expanded existing one-stop shop services – HEERO and Operene – and initiated a replication process of certain elements in Spain and Ireland. This report discusses the replicability of the renovation journey and highlights 12 key recommendations for how the European Commission can support an effective roll-out of one-stop shops across the European Union.