Policy strategies for green retrofitting adoption: a systematic review and future directions

Abstract

<p>Green retrofitting is one of the prompt actions to mitigate the adverse issues associated with existing buildings. However, challenges have hindered progress despite policy efforts. Existing studies focus on regional policies, leaving a gap in reviewing the behaviour of policies and their contribution to green retrofitting penetration focusing on the entire world. 43 articles were chosen from a total of 385 articles screened through a systematic review approach via three databases and cross-referencing. A follow-up analysis was then conducted based on descriptive and content analyses. Descriptive analysis reveals Europe has made significant contributions and China features prominently in publications. Further, most of the policy studies mainly focus on the residential sector and energy retrofitting. Based on the content analysis five areas were discussed; green retrofitting-related policy classification, their interrelationships, how policy instruments influence barrier mitigation, how policy instruments behave in key phases of retrofitting, and research limitations and future needs of this domain. Given that existing studies predominantly examine developed economies, the current study can serve as a roadmap for regions in the early stages of green retrofitting adoption. The findings provide a holistic view of green retrofitting policies to both academia and industry practitioners to uptake efficient penetration of this concept in the future.</p>