Episode 2:

Standstill in green housing construction occurs when everyone waits for others to make the first move. This is exactly where the GHAFP program comes in – with further training for everyone involved at the same time. This creates coordination instead of passivity – and paves the way for sustainable solutions.

This is episode 2 of the 2-part series “Green Homes Accredited Finance Professional: Capacity Building in the Smarter4EU Project”.
Click here for the first part.

Text FH-Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.techn. Anna-VeraDeinhammer, ÖGNI – Austrian Society for Sustainable Real Estate Management

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Coordination instead of waiting – a new approach

A major obstacle to the implementation of successful GHGM programs is a classic decision-making dilemma: banks, project developers, buyers and other stakeholders each expect other actors to act first. This mutual wait-and-see approach leads to stagnation. Banks only expand their credit offer if there is corresponding demand. Buyers delay investments in efficiency measures if suitable financing is not available. Project developers only implement sustainable standards if the market and banks actively recognize the benefits. This creates a cycle of mutual passivity.

Smarter4EU is therefore developing a comprehensive training program that reaches all relevant groups at the same time. This creates a common understanding of requirements, opportunities and synergies in the realization of green housing projects. The Energy Efficiency – Financial Institutions Group (EEFIG) – a partnership between the UNEP Finance Initiative and the European Commission, on which the European Energy Efficiency Financing Coalition (EEEFC)[1] is currently building – has already shown that the financial sector, the real estate industry and the construction sector do not speak the same language; different groups have specialized knowledge but pursue different interests. Joint training concepts are used to bridge these gaps. Specialists from different areas thus develop a common understanding – and a common goal.

Examples illustrate this approach:

  • Architects are given tools to clearly demonstrate the financial added value of their designs.
  • Project developers can make the overall value of green buildings plausible – for example through life cycle cost comparisons.
  • Bankers learn how energy-efficient residential buildings reduce the risk in the loan portfolio and at the same time better meet regulatory requirements.

This systematic training strengthens mutual understanding and enables concrete cooperation.


Green Homes Accredited Finance Professional (GHAFP)

The focus is on the Green Homes Accredited Finance Professional program (GHAFP program) – a continuing education program with a certificate of completion that was developed specifically for professionals from the finance and real estate industries. The target groups are analysts, marketing managers and decision-makers who come into contact with “green” housing subsidies or “green” financing products[2]. Graduates of the program are equipped to evaluate sustainable housing projects, provide customers with competent advice and convincingly present the advantages of green financing[3].

The program consists of ten modules – a combination of newly developed courses and existing learning units from the project partners’ network[4]. The modular structure allows the scope of the course to be flexible. Each unit deals with practical issues, such as assessment criteria for green buildings, regulatory framework conditions or strategies for marketing green building projects.

The new course content covers the following topics, among others:

  • Special features of lending for green housing projects
  • Marketing sustainable housing offers
  • Development of green renovation loans
  • Sustainable valuation and management of loan portfolios

These topics are supplemented by existing modules from the areas of:

  • Financial foundations of sustainable buildings
  • Certifications, EU taxonomy and regulatory requirements
  • Resource-conserving construction and choice of materials
  • Project management for green building projects
  • Basic principles of sustainable design
  • Circular economy in the building sector

This provides participants with in-depth training that covers technical, economic and strategic aspects in equal measure. The course content can be flexibly adapted to local markets – it can also form a basis for the mutual recognition of qualifications at European level. The training program described is currently in a pilot phase; work is underway to gradually roll it out in the EU member states. To this end, suitable national sponsoring organizations must be acquired or consortia established. In Austria, the author of this article is working on this and is currently involving interested institutions in the test phase.


Conclusio

The sustainable transformation of the building sector requires – in addition to technical innovations – well-trained specialists along the entire stakeholder chain. This is where the GHAFP program comes in: it imparts practical knowledge to key players and supports their active role in a changing market environment. Capacity building ensures that all stakeholders are better able to orient themselves, make appropriate decisions and drive innovation.

Programs such as GHAFP show that quality, climate protection and economic efficiency are compatible in the construction industry – and that further training is a key prerequisite for progress. The experience gained from Smarter4EU provides important impetus for national and European strategies in the areas of green finance and sustainable construction.

[1] European Commission (n.d.). https://energy.ec.europa.eu/topics/energy-efficiency/financing/european-energy-efficiency-financing-coalition_en
[2] Smarter Finance for EU (2024b). https://www.smarterfinance4.eu/education[3] Smarter Finance for EU (2024b).[4] Smarter Finance for EU (2024b).

Bibliography

European Commission. (2020). A Renovation Wave for Europe – Greening our buildings, creating jobs, improving lives (Communication COM(2020) 662 final). Brussels: European Commission.

European Commission (n.d.). European Energy Efficiency Financing Coalition. Retrieved April 22, 2025 from https://energy.ec.europa.eu/topics/energy-efficiency/financing/european-energy-efficiency-financing-coalition_en

Smarter Finance for EU. (2024a). Banking on green homes (project website). Retrieved April 16, 2025 from https://www.smarterfinance4.eu/

Smarter Finance for EU. (2024b). The Green Homes-Accredited Finance Professional program (project website). Retrieved April 16, 2025 from https://www.smarterfinance4.eu/education