The overall goal of this project is to conceptualize and structure a RE/EE Revolving Fund for the Real Estate sector that focuses on investing in advanced practices resulting in widespread construction and restructuring of low-energy or zero-emissions buildings in the Mediterranean Basin. The aim is to consolidate a Fund (possibly acting as a financial facility for commercial banks) through which the private sector (e.g. real estate industry) is incentivised to adopt energy efficient measures.
It remains unclear if the marketability, saleability and value of assets which do not meet sustainability criteria will be impacted in the short-term. In any case, recent reports show that medium to long term investors may take a more cautious view of riskier assets, including "non-compliant assets".
Energy ratings specifically focus on the energy performance of building operations: at EU level, the Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) play a central role in the context of the EU Energy Performance Buidings Directive. The recast of the Directive in 2010 strengthened the role of EPCs and several articles elaborate on the purpose, the content and the contexts in which EPCs are meant to be used. Art. 12 (1): "EPCs need to be produced for every building and building unit that is newly constructed, undergoes major renovation or where the total useful floor area over 250 m2 (from 7 July 2015) is owned and occupied by a public authority".
National and local government authorities are considering more stringent energy codes for new buildings that identify affordable technological solutions. Such codes, whenever possible, will be performance-based with minimum technical/prescriptive criteria for components, in certain cases adapted to local conditions (and market barriers). Technology will have a significant role in improving building performance with simple solutions, such as intelligent integrated technologies, including solar panels and rainwater harvesting. This is also helping to drive consumption changes and improve quality/well-being
While appetite for more sustainable property may be driven by regulatory change, there is also increasing recognition of the benefits available for all that result from improved sustainability. More energy efficient properties mean that tenants enjoy lower running costs, landlords’ costs fall and the quality of collateral available to banks increases. Investors and developers are increasingly putting sustainability at the forefront of their business strategies.

The transition to efficient building envelopes can be understood in terms of distinct asset classes: new buildings and existing buildings.

1) The most advanced stage is represented by buildings of the future which will incorporate "ex-ante" solar PV rooftop and solar thermal systems, with greater passive design, highly insulated windows and passive heating contributions, along with advanced facades that harvest natural daylight while reducing cooling loads, etc....
So far, the energy performance of building envelopes has been neglected. While there has been substantial success in deploying RE technologies and in improving the efficiency of new appliances, lighting and heating and cooling equipment, many buildings are still being constructed that are leaky, have no insulation or exterior shade control.
Well-insulated systems are important for cold climates but also needed in hot climates. The solar or optical characteristics of glass, which determine how much of the sun’s energy is transmitted into the building or rejected, need to be seasonally optimised for the climate. The quality and energy efficiency of building envelopes - the parts of a building that form the primary thermal barrier between interior and exterior – are the most important factors that affect the energy consumed by heating and cooling equipment. They plays a key role in determining levels of comfort, natural lighting and ventilations, and how much energy is required. The construction of new buildings offers the best opportunity to deploy passive heating and cooling designs, which make use of energy-efficient building materials to minimise energy required. Energy consumption for cooling is expected to increase sharply by 2050: in hot climates, low-cost solutions such as reflective roofs and walls, exterior shades, and low-emissivity window coatings and films can curtail energy consumption for cooling.

2) In parallel, transforming typical building renovation to make way for deep reductions in energy consumption should be a high priority. As well as enabling permanent ongoing reductions in energy costs, deep renovation can reduce the capital cost of heating and air-conditioning equipment. To enable advanced building envelopes to be used in a wider range of climates and regions, support mechanisms that favour deployment of ad-hoc advanced materials and systems (incl. digitalization of energy) are necessary. Inefficient materials should be avoided, building energy codes should require that roof/attic insulation that meets the latest standards is installed when roofs are replaced.
Selection of existing buildings is based upon the golden rule of "Independent Real Estate Units" on which to perform the integrated retrofit (trigeneration + EV plug-in) along this segmentation : 1) Sheds - Disused and / or disused industrial / craft real estate areas; 2) Public-Residential buildings; 3) Luxury Buildings / Historic Houses.
The potential strategy could possibly include the principle that the buildings are identified and conferred (to the Fund?) by participant entities which have to re-evaluate their immobilized assets (with low added value) in guarantee of non-performing loans. The transaction could probably revolve around an act of contribution of the asset (for example coming from real estate leasing operations ) of which the entity is immediately available or on which it should only proceed to repossession (in the case of a Bank, for the leasing operation).