by Brianna Crandall — August 16, 2017 — Investor Confidence Project (ICP) Europe, a global underwriting standard for developing and measuring energy efficiency retrofits, recently announced that its Investor Ready Energy Efficiency certification, or IREE, is now being applied to projects across industry, street lighting and district energy. The energy efficiency certification was previously only available to the building sector. The expansion is made possible through funding from the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 program.
ICP aims to standardize energy efficiency upgrades through the adoption of best practices that work to make projects more attractive to investors and building owners. The protocols adopted by IREE-certified projects and verified by credentialed Quality Assurance providers help reduce transaction costs and increase confidence in savings to help engage private capital and scale up energy efficiency investments, says ICP.
The energy efficiency certification expansion will be overseen by the ICP Europe Consortium, which includes EnergyPro Ltd; RdA Climate Solutions in Portugal and Spain; Serimus in Germany; Denskatt in Austria and Bulgaria; and Verco in the U.K.; as well as Energy Efficiency in Industrial Processes (EEIP) and GRESB, the global ESG benchmark for real assets, which will play a communications role to engage the European investment market. The consortium aims to develop the new energy performance protocols for the additional sectors, referencing existing best practices.
The European Commission published an energy policy update in 2016 citing the ICP Europe protocols as “best practice” to maximize environmental performance in new buildings and investor interest and faith in buildings requiring energy efficiency building upgrade projects. In 2016, Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI) and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) announced a strategic vision to work together to develop, deliver and promote the Investor Confidence Project (ICP) as the premier global underwriting standard for energy efficiency projects. ICP joined GBCI’s portfolio of credentials and certifications, which includes the LEED green building rating system.
For more information, visit the Investor Ready Energy Efficiency certification Web site.
