Stakeholder Engagement and Industry Insights

Building envelope characteristics were extracted from the Australian Housing Data from CSIRO (https://ahd.csiro.au/) and includes class 1A existing buildings only. The building energy simulations were in New South Wales, Victoria, and Western Australia, more specifically in Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth. Two of the most common Australian housing types were analysed in this report: a detached home and a terraced home (or townhouse) – these two building types are building Class 1a in the Australian Building Codes Board National Construction Code (ABCB, 2020).

3.2.1 Building Energy Simulation Method

The building energy simulation unfolds in four main steps: 1. House plans were selected by the team of experts and authors as suitable typical plans in the three Australian states considered in this study. 2. The geometry of the house plans was modelled in a three-dimensional environment using SketchUp Pro 2021. 3. The 3D models were extracted into Sefaira v3.0.0, where the weather information, space use, and operations were entered. 4. The results were extracted into Excel 2105, analysed, and reported.

3.2.2 Life Cycle Assessment and Material Flow Accounting

The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology enables an evaluation of the environmental impact of products and services (ISO, 1994). The environmental impact of buildings span through their whole life cycle, usually divided in four stages: production (or construction, stage A), operation (stage B), end of life (stage C), and second life (stage D). For this study, only the operation stage was analysed, evaluating energy use and greenhouse gas emissions due to the use of the buildings and the retrofitting operations. Whilst the energy use of the buildings was analysed through the 3D modelling and energy simulation, the environmental impact of retrofitting operations was assessed through a desktop search. Results of the desktop search are shown in Section 7 of the accompanying report Pathways to Scale: Thermal Modelling, energy efficiency and life cycle assessment of Australian homes. Full details of the modelling method, home plans, models and results are available in the accompanying report Pathways to Scale: Thermal Modelling, energy efficiency and life cycle assessment of Australian homes.

Stakeholder Engagement and Industry Insights

The scheme design was progressed through meetings of the Project Partner Committee (PPC), insight generated by the Industry Reference Group (IRG), desk-top research, insights from the literature and based on emerging information from the modelling and literature review.

The stakeholder engagement activities conducted were:

1 Meetings of the PPC: o Meeting 1: kick-off: Overview of project plan and goals, resource identification, modelling options o Meeting 2: literature review and barriers insights, modelling update, governance insights, scheme model discussion o Meeting 3: wrap up: final products and insights, reflection, and next steps 2 Desktop research: drawing on the literature review and other resources to o Summarise preliminary insights into barriers and considerations o Identify current government and NFP policies, programs and initiatives supporting household energy efficiency retrofits in Vic, NSW, and WA o Advance development of the scheme model o Build understanding of consumer perspectives and o Assess finance options in relation to the scheme 3 IRG Workshop: two IRG workshops to understand the barriers for the scheme in the

Australian context and identify and test possible solutions, and to identify relevant stakeholders for implementation. 4 Semi-structured interviews: eight interviews with the IRG to provide insight on current activities, relevant stakeholders, and barriers 5 Governance and legal workshop with legal experts to explore the relevant considerations for a scheme of this nature and design. From the two IRG workshops, the eight interviews and the three PPC meetings we collected insight which allowed us to identify: • Stakeholder map – who are the stakeholders in the Australian ecosystem and what roles might they play • Current activity in the Australian residential energy efficiency sector • Barriers and opportunities from past experiences in Australia and internationally • Key actions required to develop the scheme itself and build a supporting environment in Australia

The messages delivered have also informed the design for the proposed large-scale home retrofit delivery model.

3.3.1 Project Partner Committee

The Project Partner Committee (PPC) was formed from those organisations that made contributions to the project and were partners of the RACE for 2030 CRC. The PPC was closely consulted in the development of the project plan, and provided input throughout the project, including guidance towards the project outputs. The PPC met three times across the project timeline, meeting agendas and meeting minutes were agreed on by the PPC. The PPC members also participated in the Industry Reference Group workshops. A table showing all PPC participant names is included in Appendix A.

3.3.2 Industry Reference Group

The Industry Reference Group (IRG) was made up of a coalition of organisations which had already mobilised to develop a proposal for large-scale energy efficiency home retrofits, the group also included additional industry representation that were able to provide insight to the process. This group includes representation from sectors that need to be engaged in a large-scale home retrofit scheme, and who are seeking critical insights from the research. Members of the IRG were encouraged to share the outputs of the research through their networks. An invitation to participate in the IRG was based on an individual’s known expertise being relevant to the project research as well as their active engagement within the industry. The group was engaged with the project through two workshops as well as eight one on one interviews that provided insights to guide the research, to hear the preliminary outcomes and provide feedback. This group was provided with targeted outputs to support the scheme development and communication about the issue. The group was advised that companies participating in the IRG take seriously their obligations under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 and intended to ensure that the discussions and any related communications fully comply with competition law requirements at all times. A table showing all IRG participant names is included in Appendix A.