Reno+

The RENO+ project, accelerator of energy renovation available to all households in Wallonia

Fully aware of the unique possibilities that their partnership presents them with, and enjoying the support of the sector as a whole, the CCW (Construction Confederation of Wallonia), the CSTC (Scientific and Technological Construction Centre) and GreenWin decided, from mid-2019, to develop a renovation approach in Wallonia that would have a direct impact on demand and supply: RENO+. The main theme revolves around a client-focused approach suited to all categories of parties essential to accelerating the renovation process. The goal is the rapid massification of the process, based on field tests, by entering into associations with manufacturers of products and those companies that employ them. It was on this basis that the RENO+ programme was progressively built. The mobilisation of those involved in the construction/renovation ecosystem and the coordination of dedicated activities via the  RENO+ accelerator must ensure that the following general objectives converge :

• Increasing demand: Identifying and stimulating demand (public and private) while favouring a « customer centric » approach, taking into account the characteristics of buildings, but also, and in particular, the different user profiles and co-benefits that are expected from the  renovation works that might influence the desire to renovate (increase in living space, integration of smart technology, increased comfort, increase in property value, simplified maintenance, …)
• Structuring of supply: Developing an energy renovation supply in a holistic and innovative approach to integrating technical solutions, legal and fiscal incentives, novel financial instruments, and training pathways to allow for new business models to be implemented in the long term. This offer must be made available to all Walloons via suitable financial mechanisms but must also be productive in view of the economies of scale.
• Facilitating execution : Ensuring the materialisation of execution while making sure to manage the 3 axes of project management that are quality/standardisation, cost, and delivery while relying on an ecosystem of local partakers.
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Confronted with the renovation/rebuild of 15,000 homes after the July 2021 floods, RENO+ can present a solution for such a vast building site. Providing households that are victims of disasters with an answer to their current and future needs, while allowing them to still manage their budgets and guaranteeing the quality of the works to be carried out.

A major challenge, and potential substantial economic repercussions for Wallonia

30% of GHG emissions in Wallonia are in fact linked to the building industry. 16.3% of these are the result of heating homes.

The current rate of renovation is very low (hardly 1%/year). To reach the climate targets of 2050, in the building sector, one would need to achieve a renovation rate of 3%, three times more than is currently the case, which is significant as a growth rate to achieve and tackle.

To these “climopolitical” challenges, one must add the emergency caused by the terrible bad weather that Wallonia suffered in July 2021: the reconstruction of buildings in disaster areas must take climatic requirements into account, so that it becomes necessary to build very rapidly albeit in a sensible way, and with quality in mind.

To these energy-related challenges, one must also now add adaptations to climate-related risks, otherwise, Wallonia will leave itself open to new socio-economic and environmental fractures that would propel the region and its inhabitants into a vicious circle, something that must be avoided at all costs. RENO+ must therefore form part of reconstruction programmes so that these are carried out sensibly and provide notable and intelligent improvements to the built sector, in terms of energy efficiency as much as in terms of security, comfort, and wellbeing of the occupants. This can only be possible with the participation of companies and those involved in construction and renovation who are willing and anxious to provide solutions, materials, and realisations of quality – and of a holistic kind, i.e.  global and integrated. That is precisely the approach that RENO+ suggests.