EU Renovation Wave positions information management as a key success factor in renovation construction

Buildings have taken centre stage in the European Union’s climate, energy, and investment policy. The EU’s Renovation Wave initiative aims to accelerate energy renovations and low-carbon construction. However, renovation construction is not merely a structural engineering challenge; it elevates the value of information management to a whole new level.

According to the European Commission, buildings account for approximately 40% of energy consumption and generate 36% of greenhouse gas emissions in the EU. Without renovation construction, Europe cannot meet its climate targets or reduce its dependence on imported energy.

What is the EU Renovation Wave?

Launched to address the climate and energy impacts of Europe’s current building stock, the Renovation Wave is a flagship initiative of the EU’s Green Deal. The programme aims to renovate 35 million buildings by 2030:

• Double the annual rate of energy renovation by 2030.

• Reduce energy consumption and emissions from buildings.

• Improve energy performance, indoor air quality, and climate resilience in buildings.

• Boost employment and investment across the entire construction value chain.

According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), existing buildings represent the largest untapped potential for emission reductions. This holds true even in countries where building performance is already high.

Energy renovations are taking place continuously, but the pace is extremely slow: nearly 75% of the current building stock is energy inefficient. Yet, over 85% of today's buildings will likely still be in use in 2050.

Renovation construction requires a wealth of data

Renovation projects aim to:

• improve energy efficiency

• upgrade building services / MEP systems

• improve documentation and lifecycle data

• comply with national and EU-level reporting requirements.

The targets for building renovation projects are ambitious, but projects often begin with incomplete or unreliable baseline data. Drawings may be outdated, technical systems undocumented, and previous alterations poorly recorded,” reflects Rasmus Vainio, Country Manager at SokoPro.

However, renovation projects rely heavily on accurate execution data—meaning as-built information, structured documentation of findings and changes, and continuous updating as conditions evolve. Clear traceability is also essential for future operation and regulatory compliance.

For this reason, renovation construction is not just a structural engineering challenge, but very much an information management challenge as well,” says Vainio.

Why renovation construction is changing documentation requirements

Renovation projects face an increasing number of requirements regarding:

• energy performance reporting

• climate assessments and disclosures

• documentation for funding and subsidies

• long-term property management and maintenance demands.

Reliable building data is a prerequisite for scaling up renovation construction and measuring its impact. In other words, the success of renovation construction does not depend solely on physical execution, but on built, accessible, and verifiable information.

For contracting and consultancy firms as well as property owners, the Renovation Wave brings several challenges.

Projects are increasingly focused on existing buildings rather than new builds, while the quality of documentation is becoming ever more critical. In addition, the importance of lifecycle data has grown significantly, leading to greater collaboration between construction and facility management,” explains Rasmus Vainio.

In summary, the EU’s Renovation Wave is not a temporary programme, but reflects a permanent shift in how Europe builds, renovates, and manages its real estate. For the Nordic construction sector, renovation is no longer a marginal segment; it is becoming a core project type where data quality is a crucial success factor.

When construction meets the future

Although Nordic buildings are generally more energy efficient than the EU average, the region also features a large number of properties built between the 1950s and 1980s that now require fundamental refurbishment. Stricter national climate and energy requirements, combined with the cold northern climate—where energy efficiency is particularly vital—present their own demands.

Below are a few examples of renovation initiatives aligned with EU and national goals:

Finland: Deep retrofits of older apartment blocks

Finland actively promotes energy-efficient renovations, particularly for blocks of flats built in the 1960s and 70s. ARA (The Housing Finance and Development Centre of Finland) provides grants for refurbishment projects that enhance energy performance and accessibility across the existing building stock.

Sweden: Refurbishment of Million Programme residential areas

Large-scale refurbishment of post-war residential buildings is underway across Sweden. In Stockholm, significant parts of the Million Programme (miljonprogrammet) housing estates built between 1965 and 1975 are being upgraded. These projects focus on energy performance, indoor climate, and long-term asset value.

Denmark: Energy retrofits in public buildings

Denmark has prioritized deep retrofits of schools, hospitals, and municipal buildings. Municipal energy retrofit programmes supported by the Danish Energy Agency aim to cut energy consumption across the public estate.

Norway: Upgrades to existing buildings and digital documentation

Although Norway is not an EU member state, it aligns with EU energy policies through the EEA Agreement.

Sources

● European Commission – The Renovation Wave

https://energy.ec.europa.eu/topics/energy-efficiency/energy-efficient-buildings/renovation-wave_en

● European Environment Agency (EEA) – Buildings and construction

https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/topics/in-depth/buildings-and-construction