Periodic Reporting for period 2 - ProRetro (Promoting building retrofits in the private residential sector through One-Stop-Shops in Germany)
Reporting period: 2021-12-01 to 2023-11-30
The EU-funded ProRetro project developed new One-Stop-Shop (OSS) services in five German cities or regions, where homeowners show a reluctance to retrofit. The project aimed to overcome barriers to residential energy efficiency renovations with OSS designed to meet the needs of German customers. OSS facilitate energy renovations by being a single point of contact. ProRetro has drawn from best practice examples in other EU Member States and used their experiences for the further development of new OSS services in Germany. OSS shall reduce non-financial cost (information and search costs, administrative costs) incurred by building owners and increase the quality of energy efficiency renovations.
ProRetro supports owners of residential buildings and condominium owners' associations who want to renovate their house. The OSS developed in the project have been put to test in five German cities and regions. In developing the new OSS, the implementing partners aimed to cover the customer’s journey of a building renovation, starting from the initial energy audit and planning to the contracting of construction work, implementation, monitoring, quality control and approval. The concrete scope of services offered varies however between the five OSS.
The German project partners are regional energy agencies and small and medium enterprises. Organisations from other European countries that have experimented with and implemented successful OSS business models have supported the German project partners. Peer-to-peer learning contributed to the project's success.
The ProRetro project aimed to
- Overcome barriers to residential building refurbishment by offering new OSS services to customers in five German cities/regions
- base the One-Stop-Shop design on the needs of customers so that they are attractive to customers,
- conceptualise, develop, implement and monitor and evaluate the new OSS,
- prepare their continuation beyond the project lifetime,
- cover the whole customer journey of a building renovation from audit/advice, planning, contracting, implementation and monitoring, quality control and approval – and involve respective stakeholders/ experts in the service offer,
- build on information and experiences in designing and implementing OSS from best practice examples in other European countries and establish peer-learning structures with those organisations.
ProRetro supports owners of residential buildings and condominium owners' associations who want to renovate their house. The OSS developed in the project have been put to test in five German cities and regions. In developing the new OSS, the implementing partners aimed to cover the customer’s journey of a building renovation, starting from the initial energy audit and planning to the contracting of construction work, implementation, monitoring, quality control and approval. The concrete scope of services offered varies however between the five OSS.
The German project partners are regional energy agencies and small and medium enterprises. Organisations from other European countries that have experimented with and implemented successful OSS business models have supported the German project partners. Peer-to-peer learning contributed to the project's success.
The ProRetro project aimed to
- Overcome barriers to residential building refurbishment by offering new OSS services to customers in five German cities/regions
- base the One-Stop-Shop design on the needs of customers so that they are attractive to customers,
- conceptualise, develop, implement and monitor and evaluate the new OSS,
- prepare their continuation beyond the project lifetime,
- cover the whole customer journey of a building renovation from audit/advice, planning, contracting, implementation and monitoring, quality control and approval – and involve respective stakeholders/ experts in the service offer,
- build on information and experiences in designing and implementing OSS from best practice examples in other European countries and establish peer-learning structures with those organisations.
Work performed in the first project period encompassed research on existing experience with OSS in Europe (literature review) and generating new data by surveying potential customers on their thoughts on the idea of a OSS and wishes for such a service. A large share of work in this reporting period was dedicated to developing five business models for OSS for five German cities/regions and different target groups (homeowner associations and owners of single- and two-family homes). These business models were evaluated during individual focus group discussions. Another task was to learn about other OSS in Europe and get feedback on German business models from functioning OSS in Europe during two peer workshops. Work was also performed to set up a monitoring system for the impacts of the German OSS.
The core work in the second half of the project was the implementation of the five OSS in the five cities/regions in Germany, so that first customers could have taken advantage of the new OSS services. The implementing partners have developed and implemented individual One-Stop-Shop models based on their existing experience, target groups and networks, i.e. the aim of ProRetro was not to develop a one-size-fits-it-all model.
- Berlin: The activities of the Berlin energy agency (Berliner Energieagentur) as part of the ProRetro project are integrated into the advice services offered by BAUInfo Berlin. The advice provided as part of ProRetro is focussed on homeowners' associations. In addition to individual advice, information events specifically aimed at homeowners' associations and visits of completed good practice renovation projects are also organised.
- Böblingen district: The services offered by the Böblingen Energy Agency are aimed at homeowners' associations and enable long-term support for homeowners' associations through the renovation process. This also includes, for example, the participation of an energy adviser from the energy agency in meetings of the homeowners' association.
- Bottrop: As part of ProRetro, Innovation City Management offers energy advice that can be carried out at an advice centre or on site. In line with the One-Stop-Shop concept, it is also possible to receive support over a longer period of time after the initial advice.
- Hanover region: The OSS for the Hanover region is offered in cooperation with the ‘Netzwerk Modernisierungspartner‘ (translates to ‚network modernisation partners’). The ‘Netzwerk Modernisierungspartner‘ brings together companies from various trades in the field of energy renovation – from energy advisers and architects to contractors. In the future, coordinated deep renovations can be organised by the ‘Netzwerk Modernisierungspartner‘.
- Wuppertal: Raumfabrik from Wuppertal developed its offer from a slightly different starting point than the other implementation partners. The Raumfabrik has already been a cooperation of contractors from various construction trades. It offers coordinated renovations from a single source. Within ProRetro, this offer has been expanded to include energy advice as default and additional support in the area of financing.
Other foci were devising and implementing communication activities to make the project and approach well-known (e.g. website, LinkedIn, blog, newsletter) and networking with other projects with similar goals (both Horizon 2020 and national projects). Moreover, the project experiences were discussed with representatives of organisations interested in implementing their own OSS in Germany in a replication workshop. Finally, the challenges, key lessons learnt and recommendations from the ProRetro project that may be relevant for scaling-up One-Stop- Shops in the European Member States, with a focus on Germany have been summarized in a policy brief.
The core work in the second half of the project was the implementation of the five OSS in the five cities/regions in Germany, so that first customers could have taken advantage of the new OSS services. The implementing partners have developed and implemented individual One-Stop-Shop models based on their existing experience, target groups and networks, i.e. the aim of ProRetro was not to develop a one-size-fits-it-all model.
- Berlin: The activities of the Berlin energy agency (Berliner Energieagentur) as part of the ProRetro project are integrated into the advice services offered by BAUInfo Berlin. The advice provided as part of ProRetro is focussed on homeowners' associations. In addition to individual advice, information events specifically aimed at homeowners' associations and visits of completed good practice renovation projects are also organised.
- Böblingen district: The services offered by the Böblingen Energy Agency are aimed at homeowners' associations and enable long-term support for homeowners' associations through the renovation process. This also includes, for example, the participation of an energy adviser from the energy agency in meetings of the homeowners' association.
- Bottrop: As part of ProRetro, Innovation City Management offers energy advice that can be carried out at an advice centre or on site. In line with the One-Stop-Shop concept, it is also possible to receive support over a longer period of time after the initial advice.
- Hanover region: The OSS for the Hanover region is offered in cooperation with the ‘Netzwerk Modernisierungspartner‘ (translates to ‚network modernisation partners’). The ‘Netzwerk Modernisierungspartner‘ brings together companies from various trades in the field of energy renovation – from energy advisers and architects to contractors. In the future, coordinated deep renovations can be organised by the ‘Netzwerk Modernisierungspartner‘.
- Wuppertal: Raumfabrik from Wuppertal developed its offer from a slightly different starting point than the other implementation partners. The Raumfabrik has already been a cooperation of contractors from various construction trades. It offers coordinated renovations from a single source. Within ProRetro, this offer has been expanded to include energy advice as default and additional support in the area of financing.
Other foci were devising and implementing communication activities to make the project and approach well-known (e.g. website, LinkedIn, blog, newsletter) and networking with other projects with similar goals (both Horizon 2020 and national projects). Moreover, the project experiences were discussed with representatives of organisations interested in implementing their own OSS in Germany in a replication workshop. Finally, the challenges, key lessons learnt and recommendations from the ProRetro project that may be relevant for scaling-up One-Stop- Shops in the European Member States, with a focus on Germany have been summarized in a policy brief.
Progress was made towards the implementation of OSS services that cover the customer journey of an energy renovation more completely. The five OSS implemented make energy renovations for homeowners easier in the five German cities and region by reducing many barriers (e.g. information and search costs, time needed) of an energy renovation. Thereby, they facilitate an increase of renovation rates in the five cities/regions and, consequently, achieved energy savings, GHG emission reductions and less air pollutant emissions, induced additional investments into the building stock and generated demand in the local economy.
However, the ProRetro project has also demonstrated that a further development of the OSS in the direction of more comprehensive business models (e.g. encompassing the coordination of installation contractors, accompanying the construction work or quality assurance, or providing financial solutions) is not easy to realise in Germany for a variety of reasons. These include, for example, the shortage of qualified workforce, the continuous provision of funding for the operation of the One-Stop-Shops, the differentiation from services that are already offered on the market and various regulatory requirements.
However, the ProRetro project has also demonstrated that a further development of the OSS in the direction of more comprehensive business models (e.g. encompassing the coordination of installation contractors, accompanying the construction work or quality assurance, or providing financial solutions) is not easy to realise in Germany for a variety of reasons. These include, for example, the shortage of qualified workforce, the continuous provision of funding for the operation of the One-Stop-Shops, the differentiation from services that are already offered on the market and various regulatory requirements.