COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Guidance note on Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency, amending Directives 2009/125/EC and 2010/30/EC, and repealing Directives 2004/8/EC and 2006/32/EC Article 5: Exemplary role of public bodies' buildings Accompanying the document COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Implementing the Energy Efficiency Directive – Commission Guidance
Date: 2013-11-06
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: application of EU law, building, building insulation, central government, energy consumption, energy efficiency, energy saving, energy use, heating, public building













EUR-Lex - 52013SC0445 - EN











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52013SC0445

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Guidance note on Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency, amending Directives 2009/125/EC and 2010/30/EC, and repealing Directives 2004/8/EC and 2006/32/EC Article 5: Exemplary role of public bodies' buildings Accompanying the document COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Implementing the Energy Efficiency Directive – Commission Guidance /* SWD/2013/0445 final */









Table of contents
A.      Introduction. 2
B.      Scope of
the obligation. 2
C.      Establishing
the basis for calculating the target (inventory or alternative) 3
D.      Exemplifications
of options for fulfilling the 3% renovation rate target 6

Article 5: Exemplary Role of Public Bodies' Buildings
A.                    
Introduction

1.                 
Article
5 of Directive 2012/27/EU of 25 October 2012 on energy efficiency[1]  ('the EED'
or 'the Directive') requires Member States to ensure that, as from 1 January
2014, 3% of the total floor area of central government-owned and –occupied
heated or cooled buildings is renovated each year to meet the minimum energy
performance requirements that each Member State has set in application of
Article 4 of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (2010/31/EU, also
the 'EPBD') [2]. The
implementation of Article 5 of the EED therefore builds on the correct
transposition of the EPBD. In addition to this main obligation set out in
paragraphs 1-5, it foresees an "alternative approach" (paragraph 6). 
This note
aims to provide guidance to Member States on how to apply Article 5 of the EED.
The note states the views of the Commission services, does not alter the legal
effects of the Directive and is without prejudice to the binding interpretation
of Article5 as provided by the Court of Justice.

B.                    
Scope of the obligation

2.                 
Article
2(9) of the EED defines 'Central government' as 'all administrative
departments whose competence extends over the whole territory of a Member State'. In putting this definition into practice, Member States can draw on:
·       
Annex
IV of the Public Procurement Directive (2004/18/EC[3]), which
includes a list of central government bodies in all Member States;
·       
The
data on public accounts which Eurostat collects on the basis of Council Regulation
479/2009/EC on the application of the Protocol on the excessive deficit
procedure annexed to the Treaty establishing the European Community[4]. 
The Guidance to Council Regulation 479/2009/EC,
ESA95[5] (European system of
national and regional accounts), defines central government in point S.1311 as:
'[…] All administrative departments of the State and other central agencies
whose competence extends normally over the whole economic territory, except for
the administration of social security funds. Included in sub-sector S.1311 are
those non-profit institutions which are controlled and mainly financed by
central government and whose competence extends over the whole economic
territory'..
This
definition differs from that used in the EED in that the latter does not refer
explicitly to 'central agencies' and does not exclude 'administrative
departments for the administration of social security funds'. Member States
could therefore, in principle, use the lists of central government bodies
specified for the purposes of Council Regulation 479/2009/EC as a possible
reference for establishing which institutions fall within the scope of Article
5 of the EED, while taking into account the differences mentioned above 
3.                 
As
indicated, the Commission guidance on Council Regulation 479/2009/EC clarifies
that for the purposes of that Regulation 'central government' consists of those
non-profit institutions which are controlled and mainly financed by central
government and whose competence extends over the whole economic territory. Thus
central government is not limited to ministries but includes the entities which
are directly dependent on them in terms of authority (i.e. are not fully
autonomous) and financing. Council Regulation 479/2009/EC and the accompanying
guidance provide possible criteria for Member States to establish the scope of
'central government' within the context of the EED – but are in no way binding
as the EED does not include references to Council Regulation 479/2009 nor to
Annex IV of the Public Procurement Directive in the context of defining
‘central government’. 
4.                 
When
establishing the scope of the obligation under Article 5 of the EED, Member
States should take into account Recital 17 of the EED which provides that '[…]
The
obligation to renovate floor area of central government buildings should apply
to the administrative departments whose competence extends over the whole
territory of a Member State. When in a given Member State and for a given
competence no such relevant administrative department exists that covers the
whole territory, the obligation should apply to those administrative
departments whose competences cover collectively the whole territory'. This recital
takes into account the federal structure of some Member States and is relevant
for those Member States where for certain competences (such as health or
education) there are no central/national government authorities which would
exert control or would be the main provider of financing. 

C.                    
Establishing the basis for calculating the target (inventory
or alternative)

5.                 
Member
States have a choice of two methods to meet the obligations of Article 5. The
main obligation is laid down in Article 5(1) and the 'alternative'
approach/obligation in Article 5(6). The fulfilment of either obligation is expected
to lead to an equivalent targeted improvement in the energy performance of
buildings, the chosen approach will mainly determine only the manner in which
this target is reached.
6.                 
Under
the main obligation ('default' approach) the energy performance and surface[6] of all
buildings to which Article 5 applies will need to be specified in a publicly
available inventory as set out in Article 5(5), excluding however buildings
exempted on the basis of Article 5(2). This task will be facilitated by the
fact that Member States are already required, under Article 12 of the EPBD, to
issue energy performance certificates for buildings occupied by a public
authority and frequently visited by the public. This requirement under the EBPD
applies as of 9 January 2013 to buildings with a total useful floor area above
500 m2, and as of 9 July 2015 above 250 m2. In line with Article 11
of the EPBD, these energy performance certificates must include:
·       
The
energy performance of a building and reference values such as minimum energy
performance requirements in order to make it possible for owners or tenants of
the building or building unit to compare and assess its energy performance;
·       
Recommendations
for the cost-optimal or cost-effective improvement of the energy performance of
a building or building unit. 
7.                 
The
energy performance certificates will therefore allow Member States to establish
which buildings do not meet minimum energy performance requirements and what
measures need to be undertaken to bring the buildings up to the required
efficiency.
8.                 
Two
provisions of the Directive allow for flexibility when applying the main
obligation (the 'default' approach):
·       
Article 5(3)
allows a Member State that has renovated more than 3% of the total floor area
of central government buildings in a given year to count the excess in any of
the three previous or following years;
·       
Article 5(4)
allows a Member State to count towards the annual renovation rate of central
government buildings:
o       New buildings occupied and
owned as replacement for specific central government buildings demolished in
any of the two previous years; or
o       Buildings that have been sold,
demolished or taken out of use in any of the two previous years due to more
intensive use of other buildings.
9.                 
Under
the 'alternative' approach/obligation set out in Article 5(6) the energy saving
target can be calculated on the basis of appropriate standard values for the
energy consumption – expressed in kWh or other energy units – of identified
reference central government buildings before and after renovation and
according to estimates of the surface of the central government stock. The
energy savings achieved under the alternative approach are cumulative, meaning
that Member States are required to achieve the sum of annual savings over the whole
period between 2014 and 2020. Furthermore, in line with Article 5(6), all the
savings have to be achieved within central government buildings.
10.             
The
main principle laid down by the Directive is that the amount of energy savings
obtained under the ‘alternative’ approach must be equivalent to the energy
savings obtained through the 3% renovation rate (‘default’ approach). The
Directive allows the level of energy savings that the ‘default’ approach would
generate to be estimated on the basis of standard values. Although establishing
an inventory of buildings owned and occupied by central governments is not
mandatory under the alternative approach, it should be noted that the best way
of ensuring equivalence is to use the inventory referred to in Article 5(5) as
the basis for calculating the 'alternative' target (i.e. expressed in
terms of energy saved, and not in terms of renovated surface), as this will
provide greater accuracy than establishing the target on the basis of
estimates. This being the case, Member States may wish to establish and use the
inventory, irrespective of whether they choose to reach the target using the
'alternative' or 'default' approach. 
11.             
If
Member States instead choose to use standard values for the calculation of the
'alternative' energy saving target' as foreseen in Article 5(6) second
subparagraph they may use the elements provided by the EPBD and the associated
"cost-optimal" methodology[7], namely:
·       
Types
of reference buildings;
·       
Reference
values for energy consumption of each type of reference building before
renovation;
·       
Reference
values for cost-optimal energy consumption of each type of reference building
with the defined energy efficiency measures applied. 
12.             
The
'defined energy efficiency measures' under the cost-optimal methodology will
include only those that address the building envelope, building elements and
technical systems. Therefore, savings resulting from behavioural changes would
need to be measured/estimated using other reliable methods, such as surveyed
savings or metered savings. 
13.             
The
alternative approach allows the combining of different ways of reducing energy
consumption in central government buildings (behavioural changes, 'deep'
renovations, 'shallow' renovations, etc.). 
14.             
The
EED foresees that Member States can use certain flexibility mechanisms provided
in Articles 5(3) and 5(4) for the purposes of the renovation rate target
('default' approach). . Article 5(6) provides that, under the ‘alternative’
approach, Member States will have to achieve by 2020 an amount of savings that
is at least equivalent to that achieved by fulfilling the 3% renovation rate
under Article 5(1). That means that as under Article 5(3) – it will be possible
to count in the target for a given year the excess of savings achieved in previous
or following years. Similarly, since the target under the alternative approach
will be established in energy terms, the flexibilities provided for under
Article 5(4) (replacing inefficient buildings with efficient ones and
relocating staff to a smaller space) will lead to decreased energy consumption
and thus will de facto also be available in this case. 
15.             
Member
States opting for the ‘alternative’ approach will have to notify to the
Commission, by 31 December 2013, the alternative measures that they plan to
adopt, showing how they would achieve an equivalent improvement in the energy
performance of the buildings within the central government estate. In terms of
notification methods, Member States should notify their legal provisions
transposing the Directive into national law using the 'NIF' database. To ensure
an efficient transfer of information the use of the 'NIF' database for the
other notifications required under the Directive, such as under Article 5(6) is
to be encouraged.

D.                    
Exemplifications of options for fulfilling the 3%
renovation rate target

16.             
The
examples below aim to illustrate in a practical way how the 3% renovation rate
can be established and achieved under the 'default' and 'alternative'
approaches set out in Article 5 of the EED. The symbols and figures included
there are purely illustrative.
17.             
Example
1. Default approach with the different flexibility mechanisms applied
18.             
Calculation
of the target
 Building || Surface (in m2) || Rating || Buildings below minimum for new built/major renovation (assumed to be B) || Total surface of buildings below minimum 
 1 || 2000 || B ||   ||   
 2 || 10000 || C || v || 10000 
 3 || 7200 || D || v || 7200 
 4 || 600 || B ||   ||   
 5 || 30000 || E || v || 30000 
 6 || 3000 || A ||   ||   
 7 || 300 || E || v || 300 
 8[8] || 600 || E || v ||   
   ||   ||   ||   || Total: 47500 
In this
example the target for one given year will be: 3% * 47500 = 1425 m2.
19.             
In
line with Article 5(1), fifth subparagraph, Member States have to prioritise
the renovation of buildings with the poorest energy performance, where
cost-effective and technically feasible. Cost-effectiveness should in principle
be ensured by the fact that the targeted level of energy performance can be
based on the cost-optimal methodology under the EPBD. 
20.             
Under
the scenario in Example 1, this means that buildings 5 and 7 need to be
prioritised. However, at the same time, Article 5(4) allows Member States to
count towards the annual renovation rate new buildings occupied and owned as
replacements for specific central government buildings demolished in any of the
two previous years or buildings that have been sold, demolished or taken out of
use in any of the two previous years due to more intensive use of other
buildings. Assuming that building 4 was built as replacement for a specific
central government building demolished in the previous two years, its surface
can be counted towards the target. Assuming that building 8 was sold in the two
previous years and its staff were relocated to buildings 1 to 7, its surface
can also be counted in the target. Counting these two buildings will imply that
the remaining target for that year is 225 m2 (1425 – (600 + 600)).
21.             
The
two following options for meeting the target therefore arise:
Option 1: Renovate building 7. The annual target
will be met.
Option 2: Renovate building 5. Given its
surface, it will be possible to count savings resulting from this renovation in
this year and the three following years.
22.             
Example
2. Alternative obligation/approach: calculation of the energy saving target
using estimates and standard values and options for meeting it 
23.             
Calculation
of the target 
 a. Types of reference public buildings   || b.Energy consumption (kWh/m2) || c. Cost-optimal energy consumption with the defined energy efficiency measures applied (kWh/m2) || d. Total estimated surface for given category of buildings expressed in 1000 m2 || Total energy saving (GWh) Calculation: (b-c)*d/1000 
 Offices || 360 || 250 || 500000 || 55000 
 Educational buildings & hospitals || 200 || 150 || 200000 || 10000 
 Residential || 150 || 100 || 500000 || 25000 
 Other || 100 || 70 || 300000 || 9000 
 'denominator' under alternative approach || 99000 
Result: In
this example, the annual target will therefore be: 3% * 99000 GWh = 2970 GWh
(the estimated amount of energy that would be saved if 3% of central
govenrement buildings were renovated to meet cost-optimal energy consumption
levels).
24.             
As
indicated in section 3 of this paper, Member States may also find it convenient
use the inventory to establish the alternative target. In that case, a similar
formula as in the table above would apply:
 
where:
'b' is the
energy consumption of each building not meeting EPBD requirements;
'c' is the
minimum consumption required under EPBD;
'd' is the surface of
each building not meeting EPBD requirements.
25.             
Sub-option
one under alternative approach: reaching the target by reaping full
cost-effective saving potential on the basis of deep renovations 
 a. Types of reference public buildings   || b.Energy consumption (kWh/m2) || c. Energy consumption after reaping the full cost-effective saving potential (kWh/m2) || d. Renovated surface (1000 m2) || Total energy saved (GWh) Calculation: (b-c)*d/1000 
 Offices || 360 || 20 || 5000 || 1700 
 Educational buildings & hospitals || 170 || 20 || 1000 || 150 
 Sport facilities || 150 || 20 || 5000 || 650 
 Other || 100 || 20 || 5800 || 470 
 Target || 2970 
Result: the
annual target was achieved by renovating about 1% of the floor area (column 'd'
in the first table in Example 2 divided by column 'd' in second table in
Example 2) to nearly zero-energy consumption level (in this case assumed to be
20 kWh/m2).
26.             
Sub-option
two under alternative approach: reaching the target on the basis of behavioural
changes
 a. Types of reference public buildings   || b.Energy consumption (kWh/m2) || c. Energy consumption after the introduction of behavioural changes (kWh/m2) || d. Surface of buildings where behavioural changes need to be introduced (1000 m2) || Total energy saved (GWh) Calculation: (b-c)*d/1000 
 Offices || 360 || 324 || 47222 || 1700 
 Educational buildings & hospitals || 170 || 153 || 8823 || 150 
 Sport facilities || 150 || 135 || 43000 || 650 
 Other || 100 || 90 || 47000 || 470 
 Target || 2970 
Result:
assuming that behavioural changes on average lead to a 10% reduction of energy
consumption, they would have to be introduced in about 10% of the buildings
owned and occupied by central government (column 'd' in the first table in
Example 2 divided by column 'd' in third table in Example 2).
The above
examples of meeting the target under the ‘alternative’ approach are not
exhaustive, as it is possible to meet the obligation through any combination of
renovations with different levels of inenstity, behavioural changes or building
management that have an impact on the energy consumption and lead to equivalent
savings as would be achieved by renovating 3% of relevant buildings to minimum
energy performance requirements set in application of the EPBD.
[1] Directive
2012/27/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on
energy efficiency,
 amending Directives 2009/125/EC and 2010/30/EU and repealing Directives
2004/8/EC and 2006/32/EC, .OJ L 315, 14.11.2012, p. 1
[2] Directive
2010/31/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May 2010 on the
energy performance of 
 buildings (recast), OJ L 153, 18.6.2010, p.13
[3] OJ L 134, 30.4.2004, p. 114–240
[4] OJ L 145,10.6.2009,.p.1
[5] http://circa.europa.eu/irc/dsis/nfaccount/info/data/esa95/en/een00081.htm.
[6] This discussion
document uses the word 'surface' as the equivalent of 'total useful
floor area'. The actual definition of surface for the purposes of this
Article must be formulated such that it ensures consistency with energy
performance certificates in use in the Member State/Region concerned.
[7] Commission Delegated
Regulation (EU) No 244/2012 of 16 January 2012 supplementing directive
2010/31/EU by establishing a comparative methodology framework for calculating
cost-optimal levels of minimum energy performance requirements for buildings
and building elements, OJ L 81, 21.03.2012, p. 18
[8] In this example it
is assumed that building 8 was sold in the two previous years by the central
government authorities,
   hence its
surface does not count in the 'denominator' (total surface of buildings owned
and occupied by central
   government on
1 January not meeting minimum EPBD requirements).