SEFA Executive Director Lina Konstantinopoulou joined Charles Van Thiel, Director of the Real Estate Standard at GRESB, and Andrew McCracken, Senior Director at JLL, for a new episode of The Pulse by GRESB exploring innovative approaches to financing energy efficiency in real assets.

The discussion focused on the GEAR-UP project and how it aims to address common barriers to large-scale deep retrofits by aligning incentives across building owners, investors, ESCOs and service providers, while improving performance certainty and reducing upfront capital requirements. Throughout the conversation, the speakers highlighted the growing importance of reliable operational data, smart metering and independent measurement and verification in building investor confidence and enabling scalable financing models for energy efficiency projects.

During the episode, Lina Konstantinopoulou emphasised that energy efficiency must evolve from isolated renovation projects into a structured and financeable market framework:

“If we turn performance into something that can be measured and certified, it becomes much easier to finance and scale across portfolios.”

The discussion also explored how the GEAR-UP framework seeks to position certified energy savings alongside renewable energy models by creating long-term, measurable and verifiable performance structures capable of attracting long-term investment.

Listen and Learn More

• Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5ICELxumDldNdUpnfjZv56?si=1cd76f72998b46b5&nd=1&dlsi=b3b08297ba2940f7

• Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pulse-by-gresb/id1784279903