dataNWG and the EU Building Stock Observatory

The main objective of the EU Building Stock Observatory (BSO) is to provide transparent information on the EU’s building stock, to support the monitoring of current EU energy policies and measures and contribute to future policy making process. But representative data on the structure and the energy-related quality of the buildings stocks in the EU Member States (MS) are rare. dataNWG proofed that geospatial data constitute a suitable sampling frame for a representative sample survey to explore the formerly unknown non-residential building stock (NRBS) in Germany. Most EU MSs also lack data on NRBSs (and often on RBSs also), but cadastral data are presumed to be available everywhere and form the basis of digital geospatial data. With the end of the implementation phase of the EU INSPIRE Directive by the end of 2021, all EU MSs should have their geospatial data infrastructures cross-border compatible and shareable. In principle, so it is conceivable to transfer the survey methodology described here to other EU MSs in order to carry out representative sample surveys in building stocks with reasonable effort and sufficient accuracy. We propose to conduct a preliminary study to elicit the availability and quality of geospatial data in the EU MSs and, if necessary, to describe the steps needed to make it usable for regular data collection to close the data gap in building stocks. A Building Stock Observatory (BSO) with representative data and regular updates on the structures and energy-related properties of national building stocks would be the ideal foundation for successful climate protection policies in the EU building sector. A presentation held at the BSO workshop in the course of the Concerted Action EPBD Plenary Meeting 29 & 30 November 2023 Prague is available here.