The report was published by a consortium that conducted the Impact project in the framework of the EU Intelligent Energy Europe Programme. In this project the main requirement of the EPBD – energy certification of all existing buildings – has been tested in six countries: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands. In many countries implementation of the EPBD has been delayed, which was also a focus of the study. Implementation was due by the 1st of January 2006. The European Commission keeps calling upon Member States to fulfil their responsibilities. “This report might help”, according to Joosen.

For effective implementation of energy labelling, aspects like quality control, tools and communication need to be prepared and tested. The Impact project aimed to support national actors with the implementation of the directive and to contribute to the preparation of market actors for the introduction of energy certification. In all countries the results have influenced the national implementation process and contributed to the solution of specific problems.

Based on tests carried out in the project, good practice guidelines have been developed for energy certification throughout Europe. These guidelines cover essential process steps for energy performance certification. The project split up the energy performance certification process into separate steps, covering related quality aspects and main questions concerning implementing and carrying out energy performance certification of buildings. Some questions asked were: Is there sufficient expert capacity? How can expert quality and independence be guaranteed? What are the options to make a certificate understandable? Can we monitor the impact of energy certification on energy savings?