Evaluation of the GreenBuilding Programme

In early 2006 the European Commission launched the GreenBuilding Programme (GBP), aimed at improving the energy efficiency of existing as well as newly constructed non-residential buildings in Europe on a voluntary basis. Building owners from different sectors are participating in the programme, e.g., public authorities with schools, hospitals or swimming pools, companies from the services and industry sectors with office buildings, sports centres and hotels. The aim of the paper is to provide a summary analysis of the results of the GBP over its almost four-year operation – from the launch of the programme in 2006 until the end of 2009.By the end of 2009, 167 Partners had joined the programme with almost 300 buildings from all sorts of fields and sectors of operation. The total savings achieved by the Partners are 304 GWh/year. The buildings themselves may vary in age, size and use, but they all have in common the energy performance, which goes far beyond the average performance of buildings in the participating countries. The paper focuses on efficiency measures implemented in the participating buildings and the achieved energy savings.

► We analyse results of four-year operation of the GreenBuilding Programme. ► In 2006–2009, 167 Partners joined the Programme with 286 buildings. ► Energy savings reach more than 304 GWh/year and average at 41% per project. ► Evaluation shows that cost-effective energy savings in buildings are feasible.