Making non-energy benefits a real asset and changing professionals’ habits: renew the partnership approach through the DECADIESE method

摘要

Meeting the European energy efficiency and carbon emissionstargets requires ambitious building projects. Unfortunately araw energy savings-based payback assessment approach is usuallyunable to underline the economic and financial relevanceof such projects. Benefits beyond energy aspects must thereforebe taken into account in an assessment method which estimatesa monetized value for each benefit within a larger scope whichincludes additional stakeholders. Although many extendedbuilding assessment methodologies have been developed, theyfailed to address the following challenges: being consideredlegitimate by the professionals (contractors, building companies)involved in such projects as well as designing compliantbusiness models which convert the non-energy benefits intooriginal co-financing schemes.The DECADIESE method was developed over a two-yearperiod starting in 2012 within the framework of a project inpart financed by the French research agency, Agence Nationalede la Recherche, involving leaders from the energy, real estateand construction sectors as well as research centres in economics,industrial engineering and sociology. Designed forcommercial and social buildings, DECADIESE integrates thefunctional performance of buildings together with environmentaland social externalities. This method also helps identifystakeholders likely to become relevant potential partnerswithin a business model giving a financial value to these externalities.It explicitly deals with the challenge of endorsementby professionals in construction and other related sectors,leading to a major change in work routines and modesof cooperation.This paper briefly presents the method and its supportingconcepts and then describes how and when it could be usedby professionals in real case studies. It eventually identifies themain barriers to overcome in order to establish this method asa widely used tool within the construction sector. Beyond raweconomic figures and the direct outputs resulting from its application,one of the key added values of DECADIESE, basedon feedback from first experience, is the dialogue and mutualunderstanding it triggers among professionals. The promotedpartnership approach could support a tremendous change incooperation habits within the construction sector and with theclients, which is a key to get energy efficient buildings.