Cork City Council is one of three Irish local authorities that have joined a network of 32 across Europe in testing out how measuring the holistic benefits of energy renovation can help in addressing climate change.

The Irish Green Building Council (IGBC) announced that Cork City, Laois and Kilkenny County Councils are now part of the European Union (EU) funded BUILD UPON2 project.

Brian Cassidy, Senior Engineer at Cork City Council said: “Cork City Council will retrofit 2,700 social houses by 2030. 

"The Build Upon² Framework is a fantastic opportunity to better monitor the impact of this programme on our climate targets and to exchange best practices with fellow European Local Authorities”.

The objective of Build Upon² is to develop and implement a framework that allows local authorities to track and measure a wide range of benefits of building renovation, from energy efficiency to tackling energy poverty and creating jobs. 

Cork City Council will then be able to share retrofit best-practice and feed into Ireland’s Long Term Energy Renovation Strategy.

Pat Barry, CEO of The Irish Green Building Council said: "The aim of the Framework is to help local authorities to better monitor and quantify the impact of their renovation programmes, hence supporting decision-making.

"I am delighted that Cork City, Kilkenny and Laois County Councils have joined Dublin City Council on this project and I look forward to working with them."

Stephen Richardson, Director of Europe Regional Network, World Green Building Council said: “Getting all our buildings to net zero is crucial for the EU to reach its goal of climate neutrality by 2050. And there are lots of wider benefits to renovation, such as tackling energy poverty, stimulating local economies and creating jobs, which also make it a key part of the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic."

A total of 32 European local authorities, including the capital cities Dublin, Madrid and Rome, are now using the BUILD UPON² Framework. The EU’s Renovation Wave plan set an ambitious target to at least double the bloc’s renovation rate by 2030.