‘Building’ Energy Efficiency Action Plans: balancing what the Commission wants with what Member States can do

Anson Wu and Pedro Guertler, Association for the Conservation of Energy, London, United Kingdom

Keywords

programme evaluation, European policy, reporting, buildings, standardisation, best practice

Abstract

The Energy End-use Efficiency Energy Services Directive requires all Member States to submit energy efficiency action plans that outline their strategy to increase energy efficiency. To ensure the plans fulfil this role, this paper analyses the key elements needed for a template and guidance, tailored specifically to the buildings sector. Adapted from the Global Reporting Initiative reporting guidelines, the key principals are identified which fulfil the central purpose of the Plan – enabling the European Commission to examine progress towards the Directive’s 9 per cent energy saving target. The detailed structure and content can then be identified from the Directive and an international range of existing energy and climate change action plans. Using these principles, the details included within each plan are assessed for relevance and importance. These results are then compared against expert opinion, which includes a rating to establish how difficult including each detail in a template might be. A final assessment and ranking of the details required in an ideal template is then produced. By doing so, the template balances the requirements of the European Commission and administrative burden to Member States and therefore provides practical advice about prioritising particular details as well as guidance for developing new programmes and policies to fulfil the Directive.