Of particular relevance for individual dwellings as well as for buildings is the chapter on construction and real estate activities of the Commission Notice (Section II).

This chapter provides several helpful clarifications, such as:

• The distinction between the “as-built” and “as-designed” Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs), under point 115.

While the Climate Delegated Act only envisaged the plain “EPC” and “as-built EPC” terms, stating that alignment with the Taxonomy would require the construction of new buildings under Section 7.1 of the Taxonomy Regulation to substantially contribute to climate change mitigation, demonstrating the prescribed Primary Energy Demand (PED) via an “as-built EPC”, the Commission Notice introduces the “as-designed EPC” term.

The European Commission explains in the Notice that for new buildings, either an EPC (valid for 10 years) or an EPC as-built are valid. The Commission further acknowledges that construction projects for the loan is provided before the works start and funds are made available as work progresses, it is not possible to obtain the as-built EPC until the very end of the project. In such cases, the Commission considers that it should be possible to obtain and use an as-designed EPC as a provisional measure. Upon completion of the works, the as-built EPC needs to be obtained to certify that the building complied with the criterion 10% better than Nearly Zero-Energy Building (NZEB).

• The definition of “major renovation”, under point 129.

The Commission refers to the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) to define the concept “major renovation” under Section 7.2 of the Climate Delegated Act. In this regard, a major renovation is defined by Article 2(1)(10) of the EPBD as the renovation of a building where: a) the total cost of the renovation relating to the building envelope or the technical building systems is higher than 25% of the value of the building, excluding the value of the land; or b) more than 25% of the surface of the building envelope undergoes renovation.

Member States can choose to apply option (a) or (b) or both. As a consequence, there is no unique definition of major renovation uniformly applied throughout the European Union.

• The methodology to determine whether the reduction of PED of at least 30 % is achieved in the renovation of existing buildings, under point 132.

The Commission Notice clarifies that the calculation should be based on the EPC before and after the renovation based on the numeric indicators in kWh/m2 indicated in the EPC.

• The methodology to determine the starting PED value, under point 133.

According to the Commission guidance, if no EPC is available, the initial PED and the estimated improvement can be based on a detailed building survey, an energy audit conducted by an accredited independent expert, or any other method which is transparent and proportionate.

• The applicable definitions of the specifications of energy efficiency equipment, under point 135.

The Notice claims that the specifications of energy efficient windows, doors, light sources, and highly efficient heating, ventilation and air-conditioning technologies listed under Section 7.3 of the Climate Delegated Act are defined at national level.

• The methodology to determine the top 15% for climate change mitigation and top 30% for climate change adaptation of the national or regional building stocks in the acquisition and ownership of buildings, under point 149.

The Commission Notice confirms that there are no specific rules for defining the top 15% and top 30% benchmarks.

The Notice suggests that EPCs should be the first source of information in this regard. In the absence of a relevant EPC, the Notice states that a technical study can be performed to estimate the top 15% of the national (or regional) building stock for that category of building.

The European Commission further notes that the EPC availability and accessibility challenge is being considered in the revision of the EPBD.

• With regard to the acquisition and ownership of buildings built before 31 December 2020, the way to demonstrate compliance with the top 15% of the national or regional building stock when data on the performance of the dwelling or building is not available, under point 150.

The Commission Notice reaffirms the wording of Section 7.7 of the Climate Delegated Act confirming the acceptability of an EPC class A as an alternative way to comply with the substantial contribution to climate change mitigation requirement of the TSC for this economic activity.

The Notice also foresees the possibility to conduct a study based on energy consumption -estimated or real depending on the type and size of building- to perform the assessment on the top 15% benchmark.

The clarifications on the TSC will be integrated into ENGAGE’s GIP solution, with the aim of helping financial institutions regularly review and assess their mortgage and loan books in terms of EPC, emissions, etc., as well as to facilitate the calculation of relevant sustainability values, such as the Green Asset Ratio (GAR).

Apart from the Commission Notice on the interpretation and implementation of certain legal provisions of the EU Taxonomy Climate Delegated Act, the European Commission issued a draft Commission Notice in December 2022 on the interpretation and implementation of certain legal provisions of the Disclosures Delegated Act under Article 8 of EU Taxonomy Regulation.