Sustainable Business Models for Deep Energy Retrofitting of Buildings: State-of-the-art and Methodological Approach

Abstract

The achievement of the sustainability goals within the building sector involves the adoption of sustainable business models (SBMs) and energy efficiency measures. On one side, traditional business models (BM s), aiming to express the business logic of firms, need to incorporate the triple bottom line, by embracing the economic, environmental and social dimensions. On the other side, the implementation of energy efficiency measures might occur through deep energy retrofits on buildings, considering their significant contribution to the decrease of greenhouse gas emissions and energy use. The measures of energy refurbishment are not only useful in reducing environmental impacts and saving building owners’ money, but might also represent a powerful source of business for other stakeholders, e.g., retrofitting service providers.This paper first illustrates the state-of-the-art of BMs for energy efficient retrofitting actions within the building field. Therefore, common BMs in this scope are described and compared in their main components, with an analysis of potentials and limitations. This leads to the identification of research gaps, with the formulation of a set of questions that need further examination. Afterwards, the paper presents a methodological approach regarding a possible way to incorporate quantitative sustainability analyses into BM s related to projects of energy efficient refurbishment in buildings. The aim is to provide the basis for empirical testing on case studies, with further development of the proposed methodology. Lastly, there is a critical discussion on how the presented methodological approach could fill the research gaps, with the indication of possible future research directions.