Actors in buildings renovation:
banks as change agents?
Davide Maneschi
Dept. of Development and Planning, Aalborg University
2011-10-20 – ICP PhD Workshop, Valletta, Malta
maneschi@plan.auu.dk
Context
• Climate change/emissions reduction
• New buildings only 1%
• Energy renovations necessary to achieve
climate change goals
• In DK up to 800 bn DKK
• About 1 house/apt every 10 mins
• Collective effort
Energy efficient renovations
• Uptake depends on (amongst others):
– Technical and legal feasibility
– Cost-efficiency
• Includes energy prices, renovations prices, costs of
money
– Availability of capital
– Knowledge/Awareness/Interest
• Recent research stressed role of social and professional
networks
Hypothesis
• Banks can enable, inform and persuade clients
about energy efficient renovations and
contribute to overcoming barriers to
renovations
Banks
• Intermediary function:
1. Collect and provide capital
2. Advise and provide market knowledge
Investigation
1. Analysis of product offering of Swedish and
Danish banks
2. Retrofitting case study to analyze role of
banks
Preliminary findings
• Local banks more likely to offer specific loans
for renovations:
– Three local DK banks
– One commercial bank in Sweden
• In the case study bank appeared to have
scarce understanding of renovations practices
and investments
Preliminary findings (2)
• Some products include advise on how to
perform renovations
– i.e. not only loaning money, also persuasion and
information
Preliminary findings (3)
• Limited offering can be explained by:
– Banks limited knowledge of the industry:
• how to be sure loan is spent for energy renovations?
• what is energy efficient renovation investment and
what is not?
• how to evaluate projects?
Preliminary findings (4)
• Core skills and vision:
– Lack of skills within banks - as opposed to e.g.
skills in real estate markets;
– (Big) banks do not see themselves as actors in the
issue of buildings renovation
– CSR more focus on direct impacts as opposed to
impacts of investments
• Demand/markets (?)
Discussion
• Banks’ perception own role
• What’s in it for the banks?
– Loans for renovations can be new, although small
in size, business areas for banks
Discussion (2)
• Lack of networks and skills main obstacles
keeping banks from being change agents:
• Government/local authorities can work to
bring actors together