According to the International Energy Agency, real estate accounts for 40 per cent of global CO2 emissions. The operation of buildings accounts for 70% of this, with the rest of the emissions coming from construction itself.
To meet European climate targets by 2050, all buildings will have to have an EPC A label. To bring this about, we need to invest heavily in energy-efficient new buildings and existing properties will have to undergo a real wave of renovation.
"}},{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"170,000 renovations per year"},{"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"In Belgium, the challenge is greater than in neighbouring countries. 'This is because our building stock is larger and older on average. 64% of our real estate was built before 1981,' says Kris Liesse, Head of Real Estate Finance at ING Belgium.
Belgian homes have the second highest per capita CO2 emissions in Europe. 'To meet the targets, 170,000 homes need to be renovated every year,' says Liesse. 'For non-residential property, the situation is even more challenging. It represents 17% of the total building stock in Belgium and causes at least 26% of emissions.'
"}},{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"Mandatory sustainability, also for businesses"},{"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"To step up the pace towards 2050, governments are gradually tightening EPC regulations. This is already strict for new construction, but there are increasing obligations for existing buildings as well. 'Since 1 January 2023, in Flanders there has been an obligation to renovate within five years of the transfer of residential property with an EPC E or F label,' says Kris Liesse.
'What few business leaders realise is that the mandatory renovation after transfer for non-residential property has already come into force, a year early. The obligation applies to most non-residential buildings (offices, commercial property ...) but not to work/storage facilities for the time being. Moreover, with effect from the beginning of 2023, you cannot sell a non-residential building without an EPC label,’ says Liesse.
"},"alignedImage":{"position":"left","transformBaseUrl":"https://assets.ing.com/transform/4b0fab91-c25d-42ff-a3f9-35ec3f439e6b/Kris-Liesse","altTextEN":"Kris Liesse","altTextNL":"Kris Liesse","altTextFR":"Kris Liesse","altTextDE":"Kris Liesse","original":"https://assets.ing.com/m/19d065d248083084/original/Kris-Liesse.jpg","extension":"jpg"}},{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"Insight into the impact and cost of investments"},{"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"But how do you plan those investments? How do you know which investments will have the most impact on your building's EPC? And does that always translate into maximum energy efficiency?
'With the ING Sustainable Buildings Guide, we provide our entrepreneurial customers with a free digital tool that offers insight into the impact and cost of investments that make their building sustainable,' says Marc Callier, Head of Sustainability at ING. 'The tool also takes into account the different EPC legislation in Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia, which is no mean feat.'
"},"alignedImage":{"position":"right","transformBaseUrl":"https://assets.ing.com/transform/1a0c4b6e-aaa1-4036-92cd-266a76179bfb/Marc-Callier","altTextEN":"Marc Callier","altTextNL":"Marc Callier","altTextFR":"Marc Callier","altTextDE":"Marc Callier","original":"https://assets.ing.com/m/7b8e68e08aac02f0/original/Marc-Callier.png","extension":"png"}},{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"Payback period of sustainable investments"},{"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"The intuitive dashboard of the ING Sustainable Buildings Guide shows not only energy label improvements and CO2 emission reductions, but also cost and annual energy savings, both for individual buildings and for the entire portfolio.
You get an indicative business case per building that shows the payback period of each investment, and that's what makes this service unique
'The user can also simulate different scenarios and visualise them on a timeline, which helps entrepreneurs prioritise measures according to their available cash flow', Marc Callier concludes.
"}},{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"Borrowing 100%"},{"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"'Moreover, as a bank, we want to give our customers a boost in financing those investments. We are willing to lend 100 per cent of the required amount with the Econ Renovation Loan. In this way, we not only give our customers' greater insight, but we help them maximise the conversion of that insight into practice,' concludes Liesse.
"}},{"componentType":"highlight","title":"Are you preparing your buildings for the future?","richBody":{"value":"