Making building performance tools work together
As Member States implement the revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), attention is increasingly turning to how EPCs, renovation passports and the Smart Readiness Indicator can support renovation without creating unnecessary complexity for citizens, professionals and public authorities.
The revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) has entered a new phase. With the transposition deadline now behind us, attention is increasingly shifting from legislative design towards practical implementation.
This transition formed the backdrop to the European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) 2026 policy session “Boosting the potential of building renovations through renovation passports, EPCs and the SRI”, which brought together representatives from the European Commission, Member States and EU-funded initiatives to discuss how the Directive’s building-performance instruments can be implemented in practice.
The discussion highlighted a challenge that is becoming increasingly relevant across Europe. The revised EPBD strengthens existing instruments and introduces new ones, including Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs), renovation passports and the Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI). Yet as these instruments are rolled out, policymakers, assessors and building owners are increasingly asking how they can work together rather than operate as separate systems.
Readers looking for a deeper introduction to these instruments can explore our previous articles on interoperability (Why Europe Needs One Language for Building Performance), building-performance data (From Data to Decisions) and the Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI: Smart, Simple and Fair).
More tools, more complexity?
The challenge discussed at EUSEW was not whether EPCs, renovation passports or the SRI are useful. Rather, it was how these instruments can support renovation without creating unnecessary duplication.
Many building-performance assessments rely on similar information about the building itself. If that information is collected repeatedly through separate processes, different digital tools and parallel databases, implementation can become more complex for everyone involved. Building owners may face overlapping assessments. Professionals may need to enter similar information multiple times. Public authorities may find themselves managing disconnected systems that produce related outputs.
As several speakers noted throughout the session, implementation is increasingly becoming a question of usability. The success of building-performance instruments may depend not only on the quality of the information they provide, but also on how easily that information can move between different users, systems and decision-making processes.
National approaches begin to emerge
The discussion offered several examples of how Member States are approaching this challenge.
Portugal presented plans to build on its long-established EPC framework by integrating renovation passports into the existing ecosystem rather than creating a completely separate process. The objective is to connect renovation planning more closely with financing mechanisms, one-stop shops and implementation support, helping building owners move from recommendations towards actual renovation works.
Spain described a similarly integrated direction of travel. National authorities highlighted ongoing efforts to improve interoperability between EPCs, renovation passports and the SRI, while developing digital tools capable of supporting both professionals and citizens. The emphasis was placed on making these instruments easier to use and more useful in practice, while avoiding unnecessary duplication wherever possible.
Although implementation approaches differ between countries, both examples pointed towards a common objective: ensuring that building-performance instruments function as parts of a broader renovation ecosystem rather than as isolated assessments.
Collect once, use many times
A recurring theme throughout the session was the idea that building information should be collected once and reused wherever possible.
This principle is increasingly reflected in the work of several EU-funded initiatives. Projects such as iEPB, SmarterEPC, OneClickRENO and OpenBEP4EU are exploring different approaches to interoperability, integrated workflows and shared building-performance information.
While their approaches differ, they address a similar question: how can information collected through one assessment support other building-performance instruments without requiring the same data to be gathered repeatedly?
For OpenBEP4EU, this challenge is closely connected to ongoing work on open and interoperable methodologies based on the CEN/ISO Energy Performance of Buildings standards. By improving transparency, consistency and comparability, such approaches may help create stronger connections between different assessment tools and support more coherent implementation across Europe.
Looking ahead
The discussions at EUSEW reflected a broader shift taking place across the European building sector. The debate is increasingly moving beyond the design of individual instruments and towards the practical challenge of making them work together.
For citizens, this could mean simpler renovation journeys and clearer guidance. For professionals, it could reduce duplicated assessments and improve consistency. For public authorities, it could support more efficient implementation and monitoring.
As Member States continue implementing the revised EPBD, the challenge may no longer be the creation of additional building-performance instruments. Increasingly, it is how existing instruments can operate together in ways that support renovation decisions without creating unnecessary complexity.
Collect once, use many times
A recurring message at EUSEW 2026 was that EPCs, renovation passports and SRI assessments should not require the same building information to be collected repeatedly through disconnected processes. Across projects and Member States, increasing attention is being given to interoperable tools, shared data structures and integrated workflows that allow information to be reused across multiple instruments. The aim is to reduce duplication, improve consistency and make building-performance information more useful for homeowners, professionals and public authorities.