After the EU co-legislators reached an agreement at the end of 2017, the revised EPBD officially entered into force on 9 July 2018. Member States will have until March 2020 to translate the Directive into national legislation.

This provides a key opportunity to lobby national authorities to ensure that Energy Efficiency Services play a key role in the successful implementation of the EPBD. Article 2.A of the Directive requires Member States to prepare a Long-Term Renovation Strategy, a clear roadmap on how to achieve their energy efficiency objectives within the building sector. Successful strategies should encompass not only standard renovation actions, but also energy efficiency services, which can deliver significant energy savings as an alternative to renovation actions or as a complement before and/or after renovations.

Furthermore, the Article requires that governments carry out a public consultation on their respective national strategies, prior to submitting them to the European Commission, and it is therefore essential for energy efficiency services stakeholders to participate in these public consultations and make the best of this opportunity.