News

Europe is at the dawn of a new era in which sustainability and digitalisation are shaping a completely new market paradigm, presenting opportunities and the hope of a better future. The banking sector has a transformative role to play as a catalyst and enabler of a systemic acceleration towards a more sustainable economy. The magnitude and the depth of the socio-economic and political changes required for this unprecedented revolution are immense and banks are at the centre of the challenging mission of rapidly inducing this change in consumer, lender and investor behaviour, and perhaps more importantly, in the broader society as a whole.

 

The Energy Efficient Mortgages Initiative (EEMI) Bauhaus model is intended to support this process and  build a new methodological approach via a new platform of intellectual exchange, where the best digital innovation and market solutions will be gathered together and selected in multilayer and multisector scenarios. The underlying objective is to propose a strategic harmonic roadmap to accelerate the green and social transition.

 

Not acting at this crucial moment in time will jeopardise the future of our children and the fundamentals of our communities and societies at large. This risk  is now clear to all citizens and market participants more broadly who are increasingly ready to engage in a credible socioeconomic movement to secure the green transition. We need to leverage on this positive sentiment and provide a robust and pragmatic business model to deliver a new market paradigm. This is a ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity!

 

A raft of exciting ideas around sustainability are defining the perimeter and the scope of action, however those ideas should be introduced in a pragmatic way into the daily lives of families. A ‘real economy’ implementation strategy should be supported by practical digital solutions which can help market players and citizens to transform challenges into opportunities. 

 

We need clearly to highlight to all consumers the long-term tangible benefits of the transition and the opportunity costs of not acting, so as to generate consensus and political support. This revolution requires the construction of solid pillars, starting from complete convergence in governance across EU authorities in the European political infrastructure to local authorities involved in the day-to-day life and expectations of citizens. In this way, we can secure coordination in the efficient deployment of monetary and fiscal policies.

 

Efforts to deliver a green financial sector go hand in hand with the process of ‘greening’ the real economy, and extreme care should be taken to ensure cooperation and coordination which will mitigate the risk of speculation and greenwashing. Digital solutions and data gathering exercises should support the market in closing the data gap and securing a credible and sustainable ‘greening’ of the sector.

 

We should also take a very realistic approach to managing expectations and concentrate investment and private and public resources in the most strategic areas to maximise leverage effects and accelerate the transition.

 

In many respects, Europe is showing political leadership and offering guidance in the global political landscape. At this point in time, we consider it to be of the utmost importance to also show financial leadership in promoting blueprints, methodological approaches and best practice which could stimulate global cooperation and coordination. A competitive banking sector which is able to guide changes at global level is crucial, underlining the importance of a level playing field and competitiveness at global level and pointing to the need for a careful approach to the implementation of the Basel Agreement in Europe and appropriate calibration of legislation linked to climate change which impacts financial strategies.

 

 Improving the energy efficiency of the housing sector in Europe represents a strategic priority in achieving the climate goals, but we should be aware that this sector is even more critical in emerging countries where rapid demographic growth is driving an urgent need for housing.

 

Against this background, we need to offer appropriate green housing solutions and tailored blueprints for these markets in order to have a real, large scale global impact and mitigate climate change, whilst at the same time securing social development and supporting economic growth.    

 

Fundamentally, we believe that people’s homes and the cities they reside in are at the centre of this unprecedented global revolution – the places where we live and work and where we spend our most important moments determine our health and wellbeing and the overall quality of our lives.

 

Europe’s citizens currently live in approximately 220 million dwellings, three quarters of which need to be renovated in order to meeting the EU’s ambitious climate and energy savings targets. The decarbonisation of the EU’s building stock requires innovative private financing solutions as a complement to public sector grants and subsidies to meet the unprecedented investment volumes, as well as a robust and comprehensive value chain to deliver the needed improvements at pace and as efficiently as possible.

 

At this time of change and opportunity, the EEMI is taking the lead in ‘joining the dots’ and seamlessly integrating all market participants, including lenders, investors, start-ups, SMEs and utilities into a new value chain, known as the EEMI Home Ecosystem. The Ecosystem is intended to guide consumers towards financial and technical solutions which support them in the energy renovation of their homes. In essence and by combining market innovation, digitalisation and green financing instruments across the whole value chain, the Ecosystem will optimise the end-to-end customer journey and experience, deploy market interventions and partnerships that support delivery and maximise benefits for consumers.

 

The Trento EEMI Bauhaus Week (13-16 Feb 2023) is the first in a series of market events intended to launch a new movement in the design, scale-up and roll-out of home ecosystems globally through the exchange of ideas, knowledge and best practice between financial actors, SMEs, start-ups, architects, scientists and academics, local authorities, to name but a few. Together, these actors have the potential to design and deliver a new market paradigm and blueprint, built around clear best practices and market benchmarks, which can shape and drive massive qualitative improvements for the market and for millions of families around the globe.

 

In this first set of events in the series, the focus will be placed on harnessing the potential and potency of start-ups in implementing digital and sustainable solutions in the area of energy efficient home renovation. Indeed, start-ups can help to match the supply of and demand for innovative and cost-effective online financing and technical solutions for the EU’s consumers, whilst helping banks to meet regulatory and supervisory requirements and expectations around the management of climate and environmental risk, by closing the data gap, facilitating disclosure and reporting, supporting due diligence, and avoiding green washing.

 

Significantly, the Trento EEMI Bauhaus Week will provide a unique platform for start-ups to showcase their product and services not only to other participants in the value chain, but to investors, providing the start-ups present with the opportunity to seek and potentially secure funding for their activities.

 

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to join the EEMI Bauhaus family, market leaders and pioneering investors in our quest to build synergies across the value chain and implement leading-edge solutions in a forward-looking business model and sustainable market paradigm.

 

 

Luca Bertalot

EMF-ECBC Secretary General

EEMI Coordinator