Summary of the 1st Slovenian National Renoinvest Roundtable 

Organizer: GZS + ZAG
Date: October 24, 2024
Location: GZS, Dimičeva 13, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Mode: hybrid (majority of participant attended as face-to-face)
Attendees: 50 participants, including 2 financial actors
Topics addressed: staged renovation, energy communities

 The 1st National Renoinvest Roundtable covering first project year and both private and public sector, took place on 24 October 2024 at the premises of GZS in Ljubljana, Slovenia . The roundtable brought together key stakeholders, including government representatives, financial experts, local authorities, housing associations, academics, and professionals from the construction and renovation sectors, to address sustainable building renovation challenges and solutions in Slovenia. Discussions focused on financial instruments, systemic barriers, good practices, and accelerating energy-efficient building renovations to meet sustainability goals.

 

7 SESSIONS with 10 SPEAKERS
1 Welcome session by organizer
1 Introductory plenary by the MOPE ministry rep

1 Thematic session on national issues by the MOPE ministry rep

1 International sessions by 2 foreign reps (FR, NL)

1 National good cases session presented by 3 domestic reps

1 Discussion and reflections by both organizers
1 Closing plenary with event take aways by both organizers

Energy and Housing Department of the Styrian Provincial Government, who provided an overview of Styrian housing subsidy programs and the region’s focus on renovation. This was followed by a presentation of the RENOINVEST project and an introduction to the core project team by Susanne Formanek, Christina Böckl, and Wolfgang Amann.

 

Event Overview:

  • Brought together key stakeholders: academia, public sector, financiers, municipalities, and property managers.
  • Focused on accelerating energy-efficient building renovations to achieve sustainable standards.

Key Themes & Discussions:

  • Identified financial instruments and business models to incentivize building owners.
  • Presented good practices from Slovenia and abroad.
  • Addressed systemic barriers, legislation adaptation, and effective resource utilization.

 

Highlighted Solutions:

  • Creation of "one-stop shops" (of more types) for streamlined access to renovation support services and promote staged renovation, setting up energy communities etc.
  • Financing building renovations (EE) via earthquake resistance funds and support deep renovation (block of flats).
  • Setting up institutional bodies for block of flats communities applying for credit at banks.
  • Emphasis on enhanced stakeholder collaboration to drive legislative and procedural improvements.

Commitments & Next Steps:

  • Ongoing meetings of smaller thematic SI working groups to monitor and refine strategies.
  • Review progress and outcomes at next year's roundtable to ensure faster and more effective transitions to sustainability. Fast and measurable solutions to be developed.

 

Agenda:
9.00 Opening address, Boštjan Udovič, GZS ZPN

9.30 MOPE view on sustainable renovation of buildings, Gregor Rome, MOPE

9.55 Investing in Energy Efficiency: POCITYF Renovation Journeys in Alkmaar

Martijn de Vries, Team Manager Research & Innovation at New Energy Coalition, NL- Via video link!

10.30 Business models for the renovation of buildings - best practices from EU-funded projects, Karine Laffont-Eloire, senior consultant at DOWEL Innovation - Via video link!

11.05 Break

11.50 Let's green the future: a national perspective on sustainable renovation of buildings, Uroš Vajgl, State Secretary, MOPE

12:05 Steering the energy renovation of buildings: Opportunities and challenges in the field of renovation financing, Gašper Stegnar, IJS

12.35 Energy renovation of multi-apartment buildings, Marijan Kaučič, JMSS MB

12.55 Comprehensive or phased renovation of managed multi-apartment buildings, Maja Potočnik, Dominvest d.o.o.

13.20 Lunch break

14.10 Green Hrastnik Energy Community, Boštjan Remic, Focus - Association for Sustainable Development

14.30 Round table, Moderator: Boštjan Udovič, GZS ZPN

 

Insights from Keynote Speakers

  1. Gregor Rome (MOPE):
    • Presented Slovenia’s 2030 renewable energy and energy efficiency targets.
    • Emphasized the role of digitized Local Energy Concepts (LECs) and public sector energy renovation.
  2. Martijn de Vries (Netherlands):
    • Shared renovation examples under the POCITYF project, like the energy-positive De Meent sports complex.
  3. Karine Laffont-Eloire (France):
    • Introduced OSS models and EU-funded business models tailored to local contexts.
    • Discussed the sustainability challenges of subsidy-free renovation models.
  4. Uroš Vajgl (MOPE):
    • Highlighted long-term renovation strategies and the circular economy.
    • Stressed adapting buildings for climate resilience.
  5. Gašper Stegnar (IJS):
    • Covered financing tools for progressive energy renovations and zero-emission buildings.
  6. Maja Potočnik (Dominvest):
    • Presented phased and comprehensive renovation cases, emphasizing energy savings and financing strategies.
  7. Boštjan Remic (Focus):
    • Advocated for energy communities, showcasing Green Hrastnik’s benefits and hurdles.

 

Key Conclusions and Proposed Actions

  1. Simplify procedures for energy renovation grants via effective introduction of One-Stop Shops.
  2. Increase financial support for preparatory activities by covering documentation costs through state-funded technical offices.
  3. Enhance inter-ministerial coordination to streamline Green Transition measures and remove regulatory barriers.
  4. Promote good practices from Slovenia and abroad to increase awareness and drive adoption of innovative solutions.

 

Showcasing good practice

The State must ensure that good practices, both from Slovenia and from EU countries, are effectively communicated, as this will allow us to demonstrate the positive effects of energy renovation in a simple way to floor owners and other stakeholders, while at the same time transferring innovative practices from other environments into our system, both in terms of implementation and, even more importantly, in terms of financing energy renovation.

At the end of the SI Round Table, the participants expressed their support for continuing the discussions and deepening the cooperation in the working groups, which will continue to operate continuously until the next Round Table. At the meeting planned for next year, we will review progress, verify the effectiveness of the measures implemented and design further improvements to enable even faster and more effective achievement of the objectives of sustainable building renovation in Slovenia. Participanst were invited to join TWG groups in 2nd project year:
1-i) staged renovation,

2-ii) circular economy & nature based solution,

3-iii)energy communities,

4-iv) energy consumption monitoring & visualisation

Did You missed the event, or would like to check the presentation and know more about it? Please find the presentations from the event here:

More https://www.gzs.si/zbornica_gradbenistva_in_industrije_gradbenega_materiala/Novice/ArticleId/89050/porocilo-z-1-slovenske-nacionalne-okrogle-mize-renoinvest-pospesujemo-trajnostno-prenovo-stavb-v-sloveniji

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