Emphasizing the enhancement and fortification of the energy performance certificates system, which serves as the foundation for adopting and implementing acquis communautaire, is preferable over investing in international voluntary certifications. This approach allows for the identification of highly performing buildings while encompassing sustainability aspects that go beyond just energy considerations.

The report presents key recommendations for energy efficiency in green renovation:

• Focus on international experience and EU cases in designing support schemes and attracting financing for energy-efficient projects;
• Set the energy efficiency eligibility criteria for funding streams and other reconstruction initiatives by stakeholders;
• Developing national programs for upskilling building sector professionals should be a mandatory element of support programs and a prerequisite for projects start-up.
• Given the increased European ambition on energy and climate and considerable damage to Ukrainian building stock, respective plans could be revised and amended with more precision and higher ambitions and merged into a single reliable renovation strategy/plan;
• Developing the NECP and Long-Term Renovation Strategy as guiding policy documents, ensuring the energy efficiency first principle to drive incentives toward renovation solutions, and learning to replicate proven best practices at regional and local levels – are parallel priority solutions, which have the potential to bring substantial progress toward thermal modernization of the Ukrainian building stock.
• The energy efficiency first (EE1st) principle should be legally defined in Ukraine’s legislation, based on the EU experience;
• Take into consideration the best practices of EU member states (e.g. KfW Energy Efficient Construction and Renovation, RenoWatt, EOL project) to improve the Energy Efficiency Fund of Ukraine performance and expand energy efficiency programs at national, regional and local levels;
• Acknowledge the importance of better penetration and exposure of buildings certification, as well as international voluntary certification systems, used to identify buildings with high levels of performance (e.g., LEED, BREEAM, DGNB, EDGE etc.).