Energiesprong wins prestigious Gold World Habitat Award

Buildings are the single largest energy consumer in Europe. It is estimated that 85% of EU buildings were built before 2000 and amongst those, 75% have a poor energy performance. Energiesprong is a ground-breaking approach that retrofits inefficient buildings to significantly reduce energy use and bring warmth to residents. Earlier in January, it was awarded the prestigious 2024 Gold World Habitat Award, recognising the project’s innovative and financially sustainable approach to address climate change and improve energy efficiency.    

Over the last 35 years, the World Habitat Awards have celebrated, identified, and promoted good global habitat practices that tackle a wide range of housing issues. In conjunction with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), Gold, Silver and Bronze awards are given to deserving projects each year.  

Energiesprong is coordinated by the Netherlands-based Global Energiesprong Alliance (GEA). Originating in the Netherlands, the initiative includes market development teams which support delivery teams working on retrofit projects in different countries, including France, Germany, UK, Canada, and the USA. Several EU-funded projects are supporting Energiesprong-related initiatives, including projects funded under the LIFE Programme and its LIFE Clean Energy Transition sub-programme. The Energiesprong approach is embedded into LIFE projects such as LIFE CET Giga Regio Factory, LIFE CET EP-0 and LIFE CET COSME RENO, which are addressing energy efficiency and energy poverty through the renovation and retrofitting of homes.     

The retrofit process uses prefabricated insulated wall and roof panels and smart green technologies such as heat pumps and solar panels. The insulation panels are attached directly to the existing building, speeding up the renovation process. They also minimise disruption for residents as Energiesprong retrofits can take between 7 and 10 days. This approach has been particularly suitable for non-profit social housing property owners who need to tackle several hundred homes, and low-income tenants struggling with the effects of energy crises. In some projects, residents are offered extra elements, such as a garden or to get involved in improving their local park.    

So far, over 10 000 homes have been net zero retrofitted across Europe and North America, with 50 000 more in the pipeline. Retrofitted properties have seen an 80% reduction in energy consumption, and residents report of warmer housing, lower energy bills, and housing being aesthetically beautiful.    

Speaking on the Award, “I applaud Energiesprong for its cost-effective, tenant-friendly approach to deep, net-zero housing retrofits,” said Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Executive Director of UN-Habitat. “Importantly, it addresses the potential risks posed by the energy transition, mitigating inequalities, housing loss and displacement.”  

“Energiesprong is a best practice retrofit, which reaps the benefits of standardisation but is also flexible in product delivery,” said David Ireland, CEO of World Habitat.   

“We are very proud of winning this award and we hope that it can help us realise our new ambitions; setting up new value chains for construction, where we now also work together with farmers to develop bio-based building materials.” said Sanne de Wit, Energiesprong.  

Using high-quality plug-and-play prefabricated elements, as being implemented by LIFE Giga Regio Factory, is a key focus. The market development teams support both the demand (building owners) and the supply (manufacturers), aggregating projects and creating economies of scale and business models suitable for all participants. Following the pioneering initiatives in the Netherlands, similar approaches have started in social housing in France, Germany and Italy, and could be activated in Belgium.