Overview | Project reports | Related publications

Academic papers

How Innovative Business Models Can Boost the Energy Efficient Buildings Market

Boo E, Dallamaggiore E, Dunphy NP, Morrissey JE (2016) 'How Innovative Business Models Can Boost the Energy Efficient Buildings Market’'. International Journal for Housing Science and its Applications, Volume 40, Number 2, Mi>pp. 73-83

Abstract: Construction is the single biggest industry in the developed world, at around 13% of Gross Domestic Product, with the greatest environmental impact. There are approximately 190 million buildings in Europe and most of them were built before energy efficiency was a common issue in construction. Accelerating the market uptake of Energy Efficiency Building (EEB) projects is crucial and that is where innovative business models (IBM) can play a major role. IBM can support the needed change by reorganizing firms’ internal structures and offers, overcoming certain barriers to EEB uptake and aligning with new business opportunities brought by the need for sustainable and energy efficiency buildings. In the frame of the UMBRELLA project, a Europe-wide stakeholders’ engagement was undertaken to analyze their understanding of the business model concept and their motivation for energy efficiency, and to determine how to overcome the issue of building value chain fragmentation. This paper relies on concepts of sustainable and energy efficient pathways to address how innovative business models can boost the energy efficiency market. It highlights how the co-evolution of business models with both the wider energy system and the natural environment is responsible for the need of both innovative and sustainable business models, which are necessary for ensuring long-lasting change in the energy efficiency building market. The innovative and sustainable characteristics of four business models are presented according to the criteria of functional and product-service systems thinking. The analysis of these elements will allow for further replication and adaptation of these promising models.

Developing A Sustainable Housing Marketplace: New Business Models to Optimise Value Generation from Retrofit

Dunphy NP, Boo E, Dallamaggiore E, Morrissey JE (2016) 'Developing A Sustainable Housing Marketplace: New Business Models to Optimise Value Generation from Retrofit'. International Journal for Housing Science and its Applications, Volume 40 Number 3, pp. 211-221

Abstract: Buildings represent the largest untapped source of cost effective energy saving and CO2 reduction potential within Europe. More than 40% of Europe’s residential buildings predate the 1960s, when building energy regulations were limited; the majority of these buildings have not been brought up to modern energy standards. However, currently, the rate of building renovations in the EU comprises just 1% of the building stock, with only a small proportion of this activity comprising so-called deep renovations. Despite considerable market size and EU mandated retrofit targets, the sector continues to suffer from significant underinvestment, the market has not realized its full potential and a wide range of actual and perceived barriers impede stakeholders. For Energy Efficiency Conservation Retrofit (EECR) project actors, the challenge is to respond to this new business environment, while maintaining adequate value for stakeholders. For housing property actors, this means a growing impetus to understand the value propositions of other EER stakeholders and to consider new, innovative ways of doing business. The Business Model concept refers to organizational logic through which companies operate, defining the manner by which enterprises deliver value to customers, entice customers to pay for value, and convert those payments to profit. This paper posits that new collaborative approaches to developing business models are required to plan EECR projects such that value generation is maximized while value capture is satisficed.

Energy efficiency in commercial buildings: capturing added-value of retrofit

Morrissey JE, Dunphy NP, MacSweeney RD (2014) 'Energy efficiency in commercial buildings: capturing added-value of retrofit'. Journal of Property Investment and Finance, Volume 32, Number 4, pp.396-414 doi: 10.1108/JPIF-01-2014-0008

Abstract: 
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate, the functioning of value creating configurations and stakeholder interactions in networks of organisations of the retrofit industry for commercial buildings.

Design/methodology/approach – A value approach was applied to develop a model of retrofit activities. A Europe wide stakeholder engagement, consisting of over 50 face-to-face interviews with key informants with energy efficiency retrofit (EER) knowledge and expertise, informed analyses on flows of both tangible and intangible value for commercial EER projects.

Findings – Given the need to expand the EER marketplace, the sustainability of EER processes is as important as the sustainability of EER project outcomes. Understanding value creation in retrofit processes is crucial to successfully harnessing the available energy savings potential from the built environment.

Practical implications – The increasing importance of externalities, such as carbon, means that previously unaccounted for costs are now being considered in business models. For EER projects, the challenge is to respond to this new business environment, while maintaining adequate value for stakeholders. For commercial property developers, this means a growing impetus to understand the value propositions of other EER stakeholders.

Originality/value – The evaluation of value creation across business relationships such as those of the construction industry has not been conducted in a systematic manner to date. This paper provides a novel application of value analysis. Interrogating materials and monetary flows, value interactions between stakeholders and stakeholder perception of value are vital in fostering the long-term capacity of the EER sector.

Book Chapters

Optimization of Construction Supply Chains for Greenhouse Gas Reduction

Dunphy NP, Morrissey JE (2015) Optimization of Construction Supply Chains for Greenhouse Gas Reduction In: Sabri, E (ed), Optimization of Supply Chain Management in Contemporary Organizations. pp. 280-310. Hershey: IGI Global. doi: 10.4018/978-1-4666-8228-3.ch011

Abstract: There is an increasing number of regulatory and public policy initiatives aimed at improving building energy efficiency, recognizing the importance of the built environment to achieve lower energy-related emissions. However, these efforts have generally focused on the building scale. A comprehensive reduction of carbon emissions from construction requires a wider focus, considering the building as well as the lifecycle of materials and their supply chains. There is a need for robust analysis of the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) implications of construction supply chains and to optimize supply chains configurations so as to minimize GHG emissions across multiple organizations. This chapter provides a rigorous means of assessing the dynamic and complex supply chains of construction to obtain optimal and sustainable levels of GHG reductions in a whole-of-chain approach. Outcomes represent critical new knowledge, enabling deeper understanding as well as enhanced capacity to maximize energy savings from the built environment.

Building energy efficiency: a value approach for modelling retrofit materials supply chains

Dunphy NP, Morrissey JE, MacSweeney RD (2013) Building energy efficiency: a value approach for modelling retrofit materials supply chains In: Méndez-Vilas, A (Ed) Materials and processes for energy: communicating current research and technological developments. pp. 649-657. Badajoz, Spain: Formatex Research Center.

Abstract: Energy Efficiency Retrofit (EER) forms a critical component of strategies to reduce energy demand and is increasingly a source of investment and added economic value. While there is a growing body of literature on the technical aspects of EER, research to date has typically focused on the project or component level, to the detriment of system-wide studies. Understanding the materials and monetary flows within supply chains and the value interactions between stakeholders is vital in optimising the long-term capacity of the sector, and increasing the uptake of EER solutions. This chapter forwards a value approach to modelling retrofit activities, providing an analysis of typical EER materials in construction project supply chains. The reported research demonstrates a novel application of value analysis in the construction industry.