Investor Confidence Project (ICP) Europe, a global underwriting standard for developing and measuring energy efficiency retrofits, announced its Investor Ready Energy Efficiency™ (IREE) certification is now being applied to energy efficiency projects across industry, street lighting and district energy. The 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.
"Since 2015, with the support of the European Commission, ICP has made great progress in introducing standardization to building energy efficiency projects in Europe," said Dr. Steve Fawkes, senior advisor, ICP Europe. "With additional support from the European Commission we look forward to extending the principles of ICP into industrial, street lighting and district energy projects."
The 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 & Bulgaria; and Verco in the UK; as well as Energy Efficiency in Industrial Processes (EEIP) and GRESB, the global ESG benchmark for real assets, who 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.
"We support ICP's work to standardize project development in the building sector and are pleased to see the project being extended into industry, street lighting and district energy," said Stephen Hibbert, global head of energy & carbon efficiency finance at ING.
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.
The ICPEU and I3CP projects have received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 649836 and 754056. The sole responsibility for the content of this document lies with the authors. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Union. Neither the EASME nor the European Commission are responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
