Life BE FREE: Belgium moves from dialogue to action to accelerate energy renovation
9 September 2026 - 6 min Reading time
Belgium cannot achieve its climate ambitions without a significant acceleration of energy-efficient building renovation. Yet 92% of Belgian homes still fall short of the 2050 energy performance targets, while the current renovation rate remains far too low. After three years of collaboration, the European Life BE FREE (Belgian Financing Roundtables on Energy Efficiency) project concludes that the greatest obstacle is not a lack of financing solutions, but insufficient coordination between policy, financing and implementation.
Life BE FREE brought together six Belgian partners - Febelfin, Embuild, VVSG, The Shift, Wattson and IDEA Consult - to explore how energy renovation can become faster, more affordable and more accessible through stronger cooperation between public and private actors. For the first time, the project succeeded in bringing together stakeholders from Belgium's three regions and the federal level in one structured dialogue.
Building a shared platform for renovation financing
Between 2024 and 2026, Life BE FREE organised:
- 22 thematic roundtables on topics including Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs), apartment buildings and co-ownership, subsidies and pre-financing, district renovation, social lending, the rental market, public buildings and ESCOs;
- 6 national roundtables bringing together stakeholders from across Belgium;
- 270 unique participants representing 140 public and private organisations.
The project also produced a practical manual for organising multi-stakeholder roundtables and published 20 policy briefs with recommendations for local, regional and federal authorities.
Making existing solutions work better
The project's main conclusion is clear: Belgium does not primarily lack financing solutions. Many effective instruments already exist, but their impact is limited by fragmented regulation, insufficient coordination between policy levels, complex governance and the difficulty of scaling up successful initiatives.
“The project shows that there is no need to reinvent the wheel,” says Daniel Kryszkiewiez, project coordinator of Life BE FREE. “Belgium already has many of the necessary tools and financial instruments. What we need now is better coordination, stable long-term policy frameworks and stronger cooperation between public and private actors. At the same time, we must ensure that vulnerable households are not left behind: an estimated 20 to 25% of tenants and homeowners still face barriers that prevent them from fully participating in the renovation and energy transition.”
Among its recommendations, Life BE FREE calls for more accessible financing for vulnerable homeowners, better pre-financing mechanisms, stronger support for apartment buildings and rental housing, improved coordination of Energy Performance Certificates across the regions, better access to European financing and greater mobilisation of private investment.
The project has identified the main challenges and mapped out potential pathways forward. The next step will focus on developing structural approaches to address the remaining barriers, particularly for vulnerable households.
From dialogue to action
The closing event marks the beginning of a new phase rather than the end of the project. During the event, the Life BE FREE partners will officially transfer the project's knowledge, network and recommendations to two organisations that will continue the work: the Belgian Energy Efficiency Financial Coalition (BEEFiC) and the Belgian Green Building Council (BGBC).
Until 2029, BEEFiC will focus on scaling up private investment in energy efficiency and renovation projects by strengthening cooperation between governments, financial institutions and European initiatives. BGBC will continue bringing together stakeholders from the real estate, construction and financial sectors to develop common standards, shared approaches and practical solutions for sustainable buildings.
Closing event
Life BE FREE will present its final results during its closing event on 17 September 2026 (14:00–17:00). The programme includes:
- presentation of the project's main findings and recommendations;
- a panel discussion with the leaders of the six partner organisations; moderated by VRT journalist Wim De Vilder;
- a forward-looking discussion with BEEFiC and BGBC;
- the formal handover of the Life BE FREE network and approach;
- the signing of a declaration of intent;
- a networking reception.
Venue: DoubleTree by Hilton Brussels City, Brussels
About Life BE FREE
Life BE FREE (Belgian Financing Roundtables on Energy Efficiency) is funded by the European Commission's LIFE Clean Energy Transition programme. The project brought together six Belgian partners: Febelfin, Embuild, VVSG, The Shift, Wattson and IDEA Consult. The final report, including the policy briefs and the practical roundtable manual, is available at www.lifebefree.be.
