The European Commission has recently recognised the iEPB project as a key contributor to the development of the Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI). This recognition marks a significant achievement for the project and highlights the strength of collaborative innovation in tackling the EU’s energy transition goals.
Launched under the EU’s LIFE Programme, the iEPB (integrated Energy Performance of Buildings) project set out to address one of the most persistent challenges in the building sector: the fragmentation of energy performance assessments across Europe. By developing a harmonised data model that links Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs), the Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI), and energy renovation recommendations, iEPB is contributing to a more effective evaluation of buildings’ energy performance.
META Group is proud to lead the project’s exploitation strategy, which plays a central role in ensuring that iEPB’s results live beyond the project itself. This role is instrumental in turning research outcomes into practical tools that can support both public and private stakeholders.
Tackling fragmentation in energy assessment
Across the EU, energy performance assessments are governed by a mix of national and regional frameworks. EPCs and SRIs often operate in isolation, resulting in inefficiencies and confusion for building professionals, policymakers, and property owners. The iEPB project set out to solve this by creating a common data model that allows for better integration of these tools.
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META Group’s leadership of the exploitation efforts ensures that iEPB’s solutions are not only technically sound but also ready for market uptake. This includes identifying the project’s Key Exploitable Results (KERs), such as the common data model for EPB assessments, and how they can be applied to enhance energy performance frameworks across Europe.
As Edoardo Missiroli, Project Manager at META Group, explains: “Implementing the exploitation strategy meant closely coordinating with all our partners to make sure everyone understood the value and potential of iEPB key results.” He also adds that “This collaborative approach allowed us to align our efforts, and shape results that are ready to be used across different markets in Europe.”
Additionally, by engaging relevant target groups, META Group validated the use of these results and helped shape them to meet real–world needs. Our demand-driven approach increases the likelihood of long-term adoption.
With a clear methodology and tools tested in previous assignments, iEPB is already showing how building assessments can be transformed into a more coherent and efficient system. One of the project’s most interesting result is the SRI StandAlone Application, a command-line tool developed under iEPB that calculates both the Smart Readiness Indicator and Key Functionalities scores. The European Commission has now acknowledged this tool as part of its broader Smart Readiness Indicator toolkit. This validation represents a major success for iEPB, confirming the relevance of its results in the EU’s energy policy ecosystem.
A strategic fit with the EU Green Deal
Co-funded by the LIFE Programme, iEPB is part of a broader effort to support the EU’s Green Deal and the Renovation Wave. The project’s tools and methodology provide the practical backbone to help Member States meet their renovation targets and climate goals. The LIFE Programme’s endorsement further cements the project’s strategic position, making it more attractive for future funding, partnerships, and integration into national policy frameworks.
“Leading the exploitation strategy for iEPB gives us a real chance to help shape the future of buildings energy performance in Europe”, says Missiroli. “We’re focused on turning research into practical tools that support both public and private actors involved in this specific value chain, from energy performance certificates to smart readiness indicators. It’s also a great opportunity for us at META Group to deepen our expertise and establish new partnerships across the energy sector.”
Thanks to the collective effort of 12 partners across four countries, and with META Group playing a key role in bringing the project’s results to market, iEPB is set to have a lasting impact on how energy performance is assessed, understood, and improved in Europe.