Energy efficiency and smart buildings in public environmental policies
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69143/2464-9309/18152025Keywords:
energy efficiency improvement, smartness, EPBD, energy performance certificate, public procurement codeAbstract
Responsible for approximately 50% of total energy consumption, the European building stock lies at the centre of strategies that identify the combination of energy efficiency and smartness as a key paradigm for the dual ecological and digital transition. Obsolete and poorly performing, it also represents one of the main barriers to achieving climate-neutrality goals by 2050. In this context, the contribution presents the first outcomes of the PRIN 2022 ‘Better Policy’ research project that, starting from an analysis of the gaps that hinder the implementation of environmental policies by Public Administrations, proposes experimental guidelines: an operational framework articulated around four strategic thematic pillars: decarbonisation, resource circularity, LCA metrics, and digitalisation for the ecological transition. Specifically, the article presents the section that integrates the Smart Readiness Indicator into the planning documents required by the new Italian Public Procurement Code, providing Public Administrations with standardised criteria, verification procedures, and monitoring protocols throughout the entire life-cycle of public buildings, thus transforming the public building stock into an advanced laboratory for the testing of environmental policies aligned with European decarbonisation objectives for 2050.
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Received: 12/09/2025; Revised: 22/10/2025; Accepted: 23/10/2025
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Copyright (c) 2025 Massimo Lauria, Maria Azzalin, Francesca Giglio, Giovanna Maria La Face
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