The European Mortgage Federation – European Covered Bond Council (EMF-ECBC) welcomes the publication of a study prepared by the Comitato Termotecnico Italiano (CTI) and CRIF under the Energy Efficient Mortgages Initiative (EEMI) of the percentage distribution of primary energy values in the Italian national building stock according to the EU Taxonomy requirements.
The Study analyses the Italian building stock and the availability of Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) and identifies a threshold for different building types and climate zones at 15% of the distribution to comply with the 15% best in class requirement of the EU Taxonomy. At the same time, the CTI has also designed a methodology for identifying newly buildings with a performance 10% better than nearly zero energy (nZEB) buildings.
In the spirit of the EEMI, this Report and its underlying methodology has the potential to be shared and adapted across other jurisdictions and EEM national market hubs with a view to supporting the identification of appropriate thresholds in these jurisdictions as necessary and supporting banks in achieving EU Taxonomy compliance.
Indeed, a methodology of this kind will support banks in evaluating the energy efficiency of their current loan portfolios, as well as in originating new energy efficiency loans and “greening” their balance sheets.
Commenting on this development, EMF-ECBC Secretary General Luca Bertalot stated:
“In the context of ongoing efforts to developing a sustainable EEMI home ecosystem, this Study represents an extremely valuable market tool, which will provide transparency for consumers, lenders and investors and greatly reduce the risk of green washing. This development highlights the commitment of the banking sector to progressively greening their loan books and opens up opportunities to boost Taxonomy-aligned bond issuance. In this respect, we believe that the EEM Label through the Harmonised Disclosure Template (HDT) can act as a compass for investors with its focus on market transparency and promotion of best practices. The CTI Study will encourage other financial institutions in the EU and beyond to adopt the underlying methodology with a view for banks to achieve EU Taxonomy compliance.”
Commenting on this development, EEMI Italian Hub Coordinator Daniela Antonini (Banco BPM) said:
“I’m very proud to be among the promoters of this initiative. I am strongly convinced that this study done jointly by CRIF and CTI will allow Italian banks to implement transparency in sustainability, in all its forms, and also hope that it will help institutions to increasingly achieve alignment of their activities with the Taxonomy regulation. Setting clear principles today is fundamental for banks in order to help clients to progressively reduce the environmental impact of the housing sector.“
The European Covered Bond Council (ECBC) is the platform that brings together covered bond market participants including covered bond issuers, analysts, investment bankers, rating agencies and a wide range of interested stakeholders.
