In the United States and Europe, the building sector has become a frontline target in the race toward carbon neutrality. With buildings accounting for nearly one-third of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions in the EU alone, accelerating energy-efficient renovations is critical to achieving the 2050 climate-neutrality goal. To make building owners, contractors, and installers truly recognize the value of energy upgrades, we must look beyond technical potential and dive into behavioral, financial, and policy-based levers that drive real change.
At the heart of it, property owners—whether private homeowners, real estate developers, or institutional landlords—are primarily motivated by return on investment (ROI). Comfort, asset appreciation, and tenant satisfaction often outweigh energy savings in their decision-making. A powerful example is the Empire State Building’s green retrofit, completed between 2009 and 2011.
With a $120 million investment, upgrades like airtight windows, optimized HVAC systems, and improved insulation led to a 38% reduction in energy use, cutting over $4.4 million in annual energy bills and slashing carbon emissions by more than 100,000 tons.
The project received a LEED Gold certification and continues to be cited as a benchmark for profitable deep energy retrofits. It sent a strong message across the Western real estate sector: even legacy skyscrapers can be transformed into high-performing, future-proof assets with the right financing and technical approach.
As energy prices continue to surge, high-CPC (cost-per-click) topics like green financing incentives are gaining attention from stakeholders. The PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) model in the U.S., for instance, enables property owners to finance upgrades through long-term property tax assessments, eliminating upfront cost barriers.
One Chicago-style hotel in Oregon used a $2.4 million energy retrofit financed via PACE. With just a 0.25% cost overrun and an 18-month payback period, the hotel expects to save $600,000 in operating costs over ten years—clear proof that energy retrofits can drive positive cash flow when structured smartly.
Still, many owners hesitate due to perceived disruption, construction mess, or uncertainty about actual returns. Here, contractors and installers play a pivotal advisory role. They’re not just executing the retrofit—they’re also influencing decision-making by explaining outcomes and managing expectations.
In the Empire State Building project, major players like Johnson Controls and the Clinton Climate Initiative served not just as vendors but as trusted technical consultants, creating a ripple effect that inspired similar efforts in other skyscrapers.
Similarly, Hines, the developer behind One Franklin Square in Boston, consistently benchmarked energy performance since 1999, implementing upgrades that saved over 6 million kWh in energy while minimizing cost increases despite a 125% utility rate hike. For commercial property owners, such data is invaluable.
Behavioral influence within construction teams also matters. Peer norms, workplace culture, and the visibility of successful retrofits create pressure (and incentives) to promote energy-efficient methods. Katie McGinty, sustainability chief at Johnson Controls and former White House environmental advisor, argues that “sustainability is not just corporate responsibility—it’s competitive advantage.” Her team’s strategy is to use hard business cases, not ideology, to win over skeptical decision-makers.
In Europe and some U.S. states, Passive House (Passivhaus) standards are emerging as a high-performance benchmark. With ultra-tight envelopes, high-efficiency windows, mechanical ventilation, and insulation that slashes heating and cooling needs by up to 80%, passive design is no longer niche.
States like Massachusetts and New York are pushing to codify passive design into building codes. Local governments and industry alliances are supporting these efforts with rebates, training, and public-private partnerships to expand market uptake. For contractors, this creates a new premium segment that demands advanced skills and delivers high returns.
Critically, governments and builders must target decision trigger points—moments when property owners are most likely to consider renovations. These include energy price hikes, property sales, lease renewals, or refinancing events.
Communication and marketing strategies that align with these points can nudge owners to act. For example, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) launched the Green and Resilient Retrofit Program, a $1.4 billion initiative supporting energy upgrades for low-income housing. This covers windows, heat pump upgrades, solar panels, and even EV charging—improving living conditions while reducing utility costs and climate vulnerability. It’s a triple win for residents, owners, and the planet.
Public examples can be powerful persuasion tools. Amory Lovins, founder of the Rocky Mountain Institute, lives and works in a building that relies entirely on passive solar design—no furnace needed, even in Colorado winters.
RMI has advised giants like Wal‑Mart and Texas Instruments on net-zero buildings, emphasizing that energy efficiency pays for itself in most commercial contexts. Likewise, McGinty’s team at Johnson Controls has helped reposition energy retrofits from a “green cost” to a business growth strategy.
At the technical level, deep energy retrofits—which go beyond equipment upgrades to address envelope, HVAC systems, and smart controls—are gaining traction. Projects like the Empire State Building and the Indianapolis City-County Building have shown 38–46% reductions in energy use, with hundreds of thousands of dollars saved annually.
Contractors can use these as templates, providing data-driven proposals that include ROI, lifecycle cost savings, and carbon impact. In commercial and multifamily buildings with stable cash flows, these retrofits are no longer “nice to have”—they’re essential.
So how can Western property owners and contractors be persuaded of the value of energy upgrades? A multi-layered strategy is needed:
Showcase real-world results, including hard data on savings, property value gains, and tenant benefits.
Use smart financing tools like PACE to eliminate upfront cost barriers.
Empower contractors as advisors, not just executors, and provide them with tools to sell the benefits.
Leverage behavioral influence, especially peer success and workplace culture, to build momentum.
Target communication at decision points, like energy price surges or lease events.
Support with government-backed programs, financial incentives, and one-stop-shop services.
As the EU and U.S. continue to tighten carbon regulations, expand green subsidies, and adopt performance-based building codes, the market for energy retrofits will only grow. But it’s not just about doubling renovation rates—it’s about aligning economic, social, and behavioral drivers to make energy upgrades a mainstream, profitable, and inevitable part of building management.
In a world chasing net zero, the smartest building isn’t just wired—it’s energy-wise, future-proof, and designed to deliver returns on every level.