The brief, developed by the BuildON project, argues that digital technologies offer a cost-effective route to cutting emissions, lowering costs and improving comfort, without waiting for large-scale physical building renovation.

The full policy brief can be downloaded here

Buildings account for roughly 40% of the EU's energy consumption and 36% of its greenhouse gas emissions, yet around 35% are more than 50 years old and nearly 75% perform poorly. Renovating this ageing stock remains essential, but digital solutions can complement it by closing the gap between designed and actual performance. Their uptake, however, is uneven across Europe, held back by fragmented regulation, weak incentives, poor data access, limited technical capacity and low public awareness.

To accelerate this shift, the brief puts forward five key recommendations for EU decision-makers:

1. Strengthen funding and incentives, better coordinating instruments such as Horizon Europe, Digital Europe, LIFE, the ERDF and the Recovery and Resilience Facility, and adding fiscal incentives.
2. Improve data governance, interoperability and access, building on the revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), including digital building logbooks and the Smart Readiness Indicator, with clear rules on data ownership, quality and reuse.
3. Build technical capacity, funding training and upskilling for building managers, public authorities and SMEs.
4. Promote social acceptance and citizen engagement through user-centred design and occupant feedback.
5. Harmonise standards and regulatory frameworks for smart buildings, aligning national rules and integrating energy efficiency, digitalisation and indoor environmental quality objectives.

Combining these measures in a coordinated European framework would, the brief concludes, speed up the deployment of digital energy management and help deliver a more sustainable and efficient built environment, in line with the European Green Deal and the Fit for 55 package.