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The Energy Efficient Mortgages Initiative is Defining the Future: a Greener Future

Business Wire 24 aprile 201908:03

Today, the Energy Efficient Mortgages (EEM) Initiative is taking another important step toward its objective of delivering a standardised European framework and data collection architecture for energy efficient mortgages.

The EEM Initiative is organising a series of high-profile EEM Initiative events in Riga, Latvia, gathering together relevant stakeholders from the financing and banking communities, property and construction sectors, as well as policymakers to discuss how to align market best practices and debate the next steps with a view to securing market development in relation to energy efficient mortgages, in line with the overall objectives of the Capital Markets Union (CMU). These events are being organised alongside the 29^th ECBC Plenary Meeting, where the covered bond industry is celebrating another milestone in the form of the adoption of the Covered Bond Legislative Package (read more (link to be added)).

To recall, the objective of the Initiative is to stimulate and finance investment in energy efficient buildings, energy saving renovations and anti-seismic measures and, in this way, help to secure a greener and more sustainable future for all.

Remarkable progress has been made by the Energy Efficient Mortgages Initiative since the launch of the Pilot Scheme in June 2018, including the publication of a high-level, principle-based definition of an Energy Efficiency Mortgage, which constitutes a benchmark for lending institutions and consumers in a market of more than 30 energy efficient/green mortgage products compliant with the definition.

The EEM Initiative is the concrete and tangible market response to the Action Plan on Sustainable Finance adopted by the European Commission, and currently 45 European lending institutions, joined by 32 supporting organisations throughout the EU and by 12 national, European and International institutions of the Advisory Council are working together under the EEM Initiative to achieve the ultimate goal to successfully lead the way and foster sustainable growth.

Luca Bertalot, Energy Efficient Mortgages Initiative Coordinator, stated:

“The journey towards developing a European energy efficient mortgage market, by linking energy efficiency to financial processes and decision-making, and delivering a financial system that supports sustainable growth, requires actions across the entire financial system in close cooperation with the built environment world. The tangible progress achieved so far by the EEM Initiative has been made possible through the kind of close collaboration we are seeing today between market players which have recognised the importance of the Initiative and have committed to road-testing its integration into existing systems and infrastructures, ensuring that the solutions are scalable and have the potential to become the mainstream products of tomorrow for a greener future for all”.

Notes to Editors

The Energy Efficient Mortgages (EEM) Initiative consists of:

The Energy Efficient Mortgages Action Plan (EeMAP) Initiative – led by the European Mortgage Federation-European Covered Bond Council (EMF-ECBC), Ca’Foscari University of Venice, RICS, the Europe Regional Network of the World Green Building Council, E.ON and SAFE Goethe University Frankfurt– aims to create an energy efficient mortgage through which homebuyers are incentivised to improve the energy efficiency of their building or acquire an already energy efficient property by way of favourable conditions linked to the mortgage. The cornerstone of the initiative is the assumption that energy efficiency has a risk mitigation effect for banks as a result of the impact on a borrower’s ability to service his/her loan and on the value of the property, a correlation which the EeMAP Initiative will seek to substantiate.

The Energy Efficiency Data Portal & Protocol (EeDaPP) Initiative – led by European Mortgage Federation-European Covered Bond Council (EMF-ECBC), Ca’Foscari University of Venice, CRIF, European DataWarehouse, Hypoport, SAFE Goethe University Frankfurt and TXS - aims to design and deliver a market-led protocol, which will enable the large-scale recording of data relating to energy efficient mortgage assets (loan-by-loan), via a standardised reporting template. The data will be accessed by way of a common, centralised portal, allowing for continuous tracking of the performance of the energy efficient mortgage assets, thereby also facilitating the earmarking of such assets for the purposes of energy efficient bond issuance.

For additional information on the pilot scheme, please visit: http://eemap.energyefficientmortgages.eu/pilot-scheme/

The EeMAP and EeDaPP projects have received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 746205 and No 784979.