Policy Framework: An overview over European policies for energy efficiency in historic buildings

There are ambitious European and national targets on reducing energy use and carbon emissions in the built environment. At the same time, there is statutory protection of heritage values in the built environment. As part of the "Drawing the baseline" FuturHist work package, this report presents the results of Task 1.3 - “Policy framework". The report gives an overview of the relationship between policies for energy efficiency and heritage preservation in four European countries, and how they are applied in practice.

Existing management systems differ between countries and give different opportunities for how to accommodate necessary changes in policy. In this study of four European countries (Poland, Spain, Sweden, UK) we have investigated i) How are buildings protected (in terms of preservation), what are the legislative frameworks and how are they used in practice? , ii) How are heritage values in the building stock considered in construction law, energy efficiency, and other national sustainability policies?, iii) How can policy lever/hinder other dimensions of sustainability in the renovation of historic buildings?

The results show that energy efficiency and heritage policies are generally not well integrated. There are often opportunities to improve the energy performance of listed historic buildings, but achieving successful results requires holistic and systematic planning and design, as well as flexible requirements in building codes. High upfront costs and lack of public funding are seen as major economic obstacles. There is a need for a holistic perspective in the planning process. A one-sided focus on energy efficiency might have negative consequences for heritage significance and for other aspects, such as economy, circularity, and moisture risks.