How we are working to put renovation at the heart of national recovery plans across the European Union.
The European Union has agreed on a recovery plan to help re-build economies shattered by COVID-19. Member States have the opportunity to access funding from the EU’s €1.1 trillion long-term 2021-7 budget and a €750 billion recovery fund. National plans must prioritise sustainable growth, and this includes the opportunity to contribute to a ‘Renovation Wave’ of Europe’s buildings. Countries must create three-year recovery plans to show how the money would be used. Our Public Affairs teams have been working round the clock to ensure renovation is at the heart of every national recovery plan.
SLOVAKIA
Peter Robl, Public Affairs Manager Eastern Europe
In Slovakia, renovation projects of municipal buildings worth more than €100 million are ready to be applied. We are now campaigning to ensure these projects take priority in Slovakia’s national recovery plan.
BULGARIA
Tsvetelena Mladenova, Technical Specialist
We established the campaigning association BAIS which aims to keep renovation central to public agendas and offer support in the preparation of national renovation programmes. Bulgaria has a but now some projects are on hold due to budget issues. We aim to get these programmes back on track with EU funding.
POLAND
Agnieszka Strzemińska, Marketing Manager for Poland and the Baltics with Katarzyna Wardal, EU Public Affairs Manager
Together with other companies we established a business-driven coalition called Renovation Wave. A robust Polish renovation programme would create almost 300,000 new jobs and we have produced a report for policy makers highlighting how to unlock this potential. The EU Recovery Fund is an historic opportunity to increase investment in renovation in Poland. Our Marketing Manager Agnieszka Strzemińska is now President of the Polish Green Building Council.
ITALY
Francesco Cavicchioli, Public Affairs and Technical Marketing Manager
The new Super EcoBonus scheme in Italy provides a 110% fiscal incentive to meet the cost of a house or apartment covering insulation installation — up to a cost of €50,000 for a single-family house and up to €40,000 or €30,000 for different sized multi- family buildings. This scheme can be replicated in other countries.
ROMANIA
Maria Vicol, Technical Specialist
We have founded ROENEF a renovation advocacy association and successfully campaigned for a €90 million programme to reduce energy use in almost 9,000 single family homes. The interventions must improve energy consumption by up to a minimum of one energy class to receive funds and can include the installation of roof and exterior wall insulation, efficient boilers, solar panels, ventilation systems and LED lighting fixtures.
GERMANY
Christopher Dürr, Head of Public Affairs, Knauf Berlin office
Our Knauf Group German Public Affairs team has been highly successful in ensuring renovation is prioritised by the Federal Government. Since January 1, 2020, there has been a 20% tax reduction over three years for homeowners who carry out energy efficient renovations. This incentive will last for 10 years and allow renovation investments of up to €200,000. At the same time, the German financial institution KfW has allocated €3.25 billion in funds for 2020 exclusively for the renovation of the building envelope.
New climate strategy
“New Zealand is launching a ‘Building for Climate Change’ strategy designed to ensure buildings contribute fully to the country’s ambition to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050,” says Technical Product Manager Guy Manthel. “This will involve changing the building code and standards to make buildings more energy efficient, reduce their emissions, improve resource use and provide better living conditions. Through the Insulation Association of New Zealand, we are actively involved in the consultation phase of this strategy.”
Ensuring trust in renovation
“We are working to ensure that insulation in Australia is installed in a way that is safe and delivers quality outcomes,” says James Bedford, our Market and Product Portfolio Manager. “We are contributing to an Insulation Task Group that is responsible for helping to shape a framework of solutions that could guide policy makers in future. The group brings together a wide range of government, industry and community expertise and highlights issues such as training, accreditation and a focus on performance which are vital to ensure public confidence in future renovation programmes in Australia.”
ROOF RETROFIT SUCCESS
Our KombiPlan system — incorporating our Glass and Rock Mineral Wool as well as our vapour barriers — was installed into the roof of this 1950s six-storey corner building featuring shops and apartments in the German city of Würzburg. The insulation was applied from the outside without disturbing the residents who stayed in the attic throughout the work while an impressive PassivHaus standard for U-value was achieved with 0.13 W/m2K.
Read our Annual Review 2020!