On 23rd September, the e-SAFE Final Conference took place at the BIP Meeting Centre in Brussels, marking the conclusion of the project and celebrating five years of innovation, collaboration, and shared vision across Europe. This event served as a key moment for reflecting on the progress made and discussing how integrated renovation solutions can contribute to Europe's building transformation goals. Hosted by our partner Buildings Performance Institute Europe (BPIE), the event gathered policymakers, researchers, engineers, and local stakeholders to discuss one of Europe’s most urgent challenges: how to combine energy renovation with seismic safety.
Delving deeper into the focus topic “Enabling Replication: Integrated Renovation for Adaptive and Resilient Buildings”, between greetings and new meetings, Giuseppe Margani, e-SAFE Project Coordinator from the University of Catania, welcomed the audience and started the conference. He introduced some key points such as the EU building stock challenges in earthquake-prone areas and the e-SAFE innovative renovation solutions. Then, it was the turn of Ciarán Cuffe, former Member of the European Parliament and rapporteur for the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), who shared his thoughts on how the EPBD recast is supporting resilient, adaptive buildings that not only reduce emissions but also protect communities from climate and seismic risks. Several other speakers were invited to contribute to this event to better understand the groundbreaking advancements made over the past five years in transforming building renovations for a more sustainable and resilient future. The program and interventions during the conference were organised into three panels and one roundtable, together with coffee and lunch breaks to enable participants to interact, share perspectives and experiences.
Panel I: Advancing an integrated energy and seismic renovation approach through EPBD implementation
The experts invited on the stage, namely Pau Audi Garcia (Policy Officer, DG ENER), Adrian Joyce (Secretary General of Efficient Buildings Europe), and Zsolt Toth (Team Lead, BPIE), with the mediation of Caroline Milne (BPIE), explained how the EPBD can bring together energy efficiency and seismic safety, providing insights coming from their personal professional knowledge and experience. The EPBD aims to decarbonize the EU building stock by 2050 by improving energy efficiency and promoting the development of zero-emission buildings. This includes integrating energy performance standards with seismic safety measures, which aligns with the objectives of the e-SAFE project.
Panel II: Key Findings and Challenges from the e-SAFE Project
After the insights on EPBD and its role in integrated energy and seismic renovation, Panel II focused on the specific findings and challenges from the e-SAFE project. With Angelos Protopsaltis (SALFO & ASSOCIATES SA.) acting as moderator, e-SAFE partners joined the stage discussing the innovative renovation solutions developed within the project and the opportunities and obstacles encountered during implementation. Focusing on the topic “Seismic & energy-efficient renovation solutions”, Annarita Ferrante (University of Bologna) and Caterina Sarno (Engineering Group) introduced the e-SAFE system, a set of prefabricated, timber-based, and steel solutions designed to improve both energy efficiency and seismic resilience in existing buildings. Components like e-PANEL, e-CLT, and e-EXOS are key in strengthening building structures and modernizing facades, while e-THERM enhances heating, cooling, and hot water systems. Additionally, the e-DSS software aids professionals in designing customized renovation projects by assessing both energy and seismic improvements. Moving to the next speaker, Laura Saija (University of Catania) emphasized that co-design is more than just consultation; it represents a form of democracy in action that fosters creativity and reshapes how experts, policymakers, designers, and engineers approach building renovation. The last speaker from this Panel, Gianpiero Evola (University of Catania) explained that the building renovation rate in the EU remains insufficient, and the e-SAFE initiative plays a key role in decarbonizing the sector. While pilot projects in Romania have shown some limitations, high-performance renovations in Timișoara and Bucharest demonstrate the potential of this approach. e-SAFE also offers opportunities in seismically active countries like Turkey, Albania, and Kosovo, with significant cost reductions (over 20% for energy renovation and 40% for combined seismic and energy upgrades). Additionally, the initiative has triggered annual investments of approximately €312.5 million, reducing renovation times by 50% for deep energy upgrades and by 45-50% for combined interventions. After the project ends, e-SAFE consortium hopes to continue promoting replicability and knowledge transfer, supported by EU and national funding.
Panel III: Case studies and good practices from Member States
During the Panel III, Giuseppe Margani moderated the interventions of four experts illustrating their projects and case studies. The first speaker, Mehtap Kumdakci Can, introduced the newly launched Shake-Up project, which focuses on vocational education and equipping construction professionals with the skills to address both seismic and climate challenges. The following speaker, Simona Bianchi, presented the MULTICARE project that develops innovative solutions to enhance building resilience against extreme climate events, such as flooding and heatwaves. It uses low-carbon modular technologies and digital tools to assess building resilience. The results are tested in pilot sites in Italy, Romania, and the Netherlands, with an inclusive approach involving end-users. It was then the turn of Gašper Stegnar, who illustrated the GreenRenoV8 project. It focuses on enhancing both energy efficiency and seismic resilience in European buildings, particularly in earthquake-prone areas. It aims to develop sustainable renovation strategies, create tools like the "Building Renovation Passport," and mobilize investments. The project contributes to the EU's climate goals by promoting low-carbon, earthquake-resistant buildings. Panel III concluded with the intervention of Claudio Del Pero presenting the RE-SKIN project, that develops an integrated, multifunctional renovation system for improving energy efficiency in existing buildings. It uses sustainable, circular materials and advanced technologies like hybrid photovoltaic-thermal systems and intelligent energy management. The project aims to reduce energy consumption and CO₂ emissions by up to 90%, contributing to the EU’s climate goals and promoting the "Renovation Wave" strategy.
Roundtable: Opportunities beyond EPBD to ignite integrated renovation
Following the lunch break, Veronica Christofidis (Moverim Srl) moderated a Roundtable discussion with experts Céline Carré (Efficient Buildings Europe & Saint-Gobain), Spyros Mathioudakis (European Builders Confederation), Marco Dal Mas (EDERA), and João Goncalves (Housing Europe). This session explored strategies for effectively driving integrated renovation across Europe. It was emphasized that while renovation efforts are underway, their success depends on the collaboration of multiple stakeholders and the application of innovative approaches. Moreover, it was highlighted that policies need to be more firmly embedded within long-term legislative frameworks to ensure consistency and sustainability. A stronger focus on education, market development, and the nurturing of local ecosystems was also identified as essential for fostering growth and scalability in the sector. Additionally, the importance of aggregating demand to scale solutions that address localized needs was emphasized, with a focus on ensuring reliable data and adequate analysis for the successful replication of these solutions. Finally, it was emphasized that renovation should be viewed as a local, high cost but necessary endeavour, with lifecycle costing and long-term subsidies as key enablers. The overarching message was clear: achieving widespread renovation requires the implementation of integrated solutions, the establishment of reliable frameworks, and the promotion of collaboration at all levels of governance and industry.
In his concluding remarks, Gianpiero Evola emphasized that integrated building renovations are critical for the future of our built environment, stressing that these efforts must go beyond technical considerations to also address broader issues such as climate change and long-term sustainability. It is essential to recognize that the challenges extend beyond technical issues within buildings; climate change scenarios and other broader factors must also be considered.
The e-SAFE Final Conference was a success, bringing together over 60 participants from various European countries. The event not only highlighted the remarkable achievements of the e-SAFE project but also underscored the importance of continued collaboration across Europe for integrated retrofitting solutions. As the project concludes, e-SAFE and its partners remain committed to advancing combined energy and seismic renovation strategies, with the establishment of the e-SAFE European Economic Interest Group (EEIG) ensuring ongoing efforts and the replication of these innovative solutions across Europe.
