Although, according to the Climate Mirror 2018 (Podnebno ogledalo 2018) report, emissions from buildings significantly decreased during 2005-2014, over the last two years emissions have been increasing. The gap is the consequence of lower investment in 2015 and 2016, however to achieve the goal of reducing greenhouse gas - GHG emissions by 53% by 2020 compared to 2005, the sector will need to reduce emissions by 12 percent from 2017-2020.

The reduction of energy consumption and the increased use of energy from renewable sources in the building sector are two measures that play a vital role in reducing the energy dependence and GHG emissions in the EU.

"The selection of appropriate strategies and definition of priorities for building renovations is crucial for the effective reduction of energy use and CO2 emissions, and therefore support provided by the ENERFUND web application developed within the framework of the eponymous EU project might be a useful step forward. Its purpose is to help increase the volume of investments in deep retrofit of buildings by providing information from energy performance certificates (EPC) in a structured cartographic form." says Jure Čižman from the Jožef Stefan Institute.

ENERFUND is a tool that rates and scores deep retrofit opportunities. The tool uses a set of parameters such as Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs), number of certified installers, government schemes etc. By providing a rating for deep retrofit opportunities, energy service or product companies can identify customer segments based on their needs, and environmental department heads can assess and compare buildings when prioritising deep retrofit and deciding on fund allocation, and financial institutions can provide targeted loans for building retrofits.

As highlighted by Dr Laura Soto Francés from the Valencia Institute of Building (IVE), having a good knowledge of your Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) is where the empowerment begins. "Since the ENERFUND tool is based on geographic information system (GIS) mapping software, it provides a promising tool to enhance priority-setting and resource allocation for EPC by displaying complex geospatial information in an integrated and visual way, enabling stakeholders to see the geographic distribution of energy efficiency of buildings through EPC and other relevant energy information that can be used to compare energy renovation potential among buildings. The use of EPC maps can identify gaps between policies (energy poverty) and needs, monitoring policies and promoting energy renovation market (green mortgages)."