BPIE is a leading independent centre of expertise on energy performance of buildings.

We are advancing the transition towards climate-neutrality in Europe and globally.

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Publications

BPIE has an extensive publications library. Use the filter option to search publications by year, type, country, keywords or language.

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Meet the Team

Oliver Rapf
Executive Director
Office: Brussels

Mariangiola Fabbri
Head of Research
Office: Brussels

Elodie Da Rocha
Head of Finance and Operations
Office: Brussels

Sibyl Steuwer
Head of BPIE Berlin Office
Office: Berlin

Caroline Milne
Head of Communications
Office: Brussels

Hélène Sibileau
Senior Policy Advisor
Office: Brussels

Zsolt Toth
Team Lead
Office: Brussels

Judit Kockat
Project Manager
Office: Brussels

Ivan Jankovic
Team Lead
Office: Brussels

Jelena Simjanovic
Senior Project Manager
Office: Brussels

Vivian Dorizas
Project Manager
Office: Brussels

Sheikh Zuhaib
Senior Project Manager
Office: Berlin

Carla Mauricio
Senior Communications Manager
Office: Brussels

Margaux Barrett
Communications Manager
Office: Brussels

Victoria Taranu
Senior Researcher
Office: Brussels

Teresa Henriques Lobo
Finance and Operations Manager
Office: Brussels

Rutger Broer
Project Manager
Office: Berlin

Jules Oriol
Project Manager
Office: Berlin

Xerome Fernández Álvarez
Researcher
Office: Brussels

Lisa Graaf
Senior Project Manager
Office: Berlin

Caroline Düvier
Project Manager
Office: Berlin

Volodymyr Vladyka
Policy Assistant
Office: Brussels

Emily Bankert
Researcher for Carbon and Energy in the Built Environment
Office: Brussels

Jerson Alexis Pinzon Amorocho
Researcher
Office: Berlin

Panta rhei - Everything flows.
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Oliver Rapf
Executive Director
Office: Brussels

Oliver Rapf

Executive Director

Panta rhei - Everything flows.

As Executive Director of BPIE, Oliver has spearheaded strategic planning, administration, program development, fundraising and outreach since joining BPIE during its infancy in 2011. Through his leadership, Oliver has grown BPIE into a financially independent non-profit organization and trusted thought leader on energy performance of buildings in Europe and globally.

Before joining BPIE, Oliver worked for the global conservation organization WWF in various roles, including as Head of the Climate Business Engagement unit of WWF International, managing strategy and partnership development with the private sector. Leading an international team, he advised multinational companies on climate change and energy issues.

Oliver’s experience in buildings efficiency goes back to the late 90s when he was a project leader for several deep renovation projects on behalf of WWF in cooperation with housing companies across Germany. Oliver participated in UNFCCC negotiation processes, and was the leader of the German NGO coalition at international conferences. Oliver has been active as a jury member of environmental and sustainability awards and serves on various advisory boards. In his early career, he worked on regional sustainability strategies and spatial planning.

Office: Brussels
Estote Parati (Be prepared)
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Mariangiola Fabbri
Head of Research
Office: Brussels

Mariangiola Fabbri

Head of Research

Estote Parati (Be prepared)

As Head of Research at BPIE, Mariangiola leads the design and implementation of BPIE’s research and policy strategy, and oversees the day-to-day work of the BPIE research team. With over fifteen years of experience working in energy efficiency and climate change policy analysis, Mariangiola has managed numerous flagship projects at BPIE, including iBroad, De-Risking Energy Efficiency Investments (DG ENER), EmBuild, and the adoption of the Clean Energy Package for All Europeans.

Prior to joining BPIE, Mariangiola worked as an energy consultant at Dunsky Energy Consulting in Montreal, where she carried out primary and secondary research on energy efficiency financing, market transformation, programme evaluation, market analysis and characterisation and best practices reviews of residential and commercial programmes.

Prior to working at Dunsky, Mariangiola was Senior Policy Officer at WWF EPO in Brussels. In this role, Mariangiola led the organisation’s energy efficiency work, contributing to the adoption and implementation of a wide range of policies, including the recast of the EPBD, the Climate and Energy Package, and the Eco-design and Energy Services Directives. She then became Senior Partnership Manager for the Climate Business Engagement unit, managing international partnerships with the private sector.

She holds a Masters in Environmental Law and a Masters in European Political and Administrative Studies, and served several years on the board of CAN-Europe and Topten International Group.

Office: Brussels
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Elodie Da Rocha
Head of Finance and Operations
Office: Brussels

Elodie Da Rocha

Head of Finance and Operations

She holds a Master degree in Business Administration and gained twelve years of professional expertise by working for SME’s and multinational corporations in France, Belgium and Germany.

During this time, she managed finance and process related projects all around the world.

Today her biggest motivation is to support the company making the right financial decisions as she believes in the company’s purpose.

In her free time, Elodie enjoys roaming the playgrounds of Brussels with her two little sons.

Office: Brussels
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Sibyl Steuwer
Head of BPIE Berlin Office
Office: Berlin

Sibyl Steuwer

Head of BPIE Berlin Office

As head of the BPIE Berlin Office, Sibyl is responsible for BPIE’s research activities on climate protection in the building sector in Germany. In addition, she is in charge of outreach to German stakeholders: the team in Berlin is providing information on current European research and policy developments and engages in national debates on climate protection in the building sector.

Sibyl has been working on sustainable energy transitions and the politics of energy efficiency for more than a decade. Her professional expertise includes the governance of the German energy transition, policy instrument choice in climate and energy policy, and the management of multi-stakeholder projects in different areas of sustainable development. Prior to joining BPIE she had worked for the Environmental Policy Research Center at Freie University Berlin, the German Advisory Council on the Environment, and the German Council for Sustainable Development.

Sibyl holds a PhD in political science. In her dissertation project at Freie University Berlin, she compared the implementation of energy saving obligations in different European Member States. She also holds a M.A. and a B.Sc. in Environmental Management.

In her spare time, Sibyl enjoys bike tours, exploring biodiversity, and playing the Orgue.

Office: Berlin
Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Dylan Thomas
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Caroline Milne
Head of Communications
Office: Brussels

Caroline Milne

Head of Communications

Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Dylan Thomas

As Head of Communications at BPIE, Caroline develops and deploys BPIE’s long-term communications strategy, and manages communications campaigns across a wide range of projects.

Prior to joining BPIE, Caroline was Director of Communications and Marketing at Joule Assets, where she led communications and stakeholder engagement for European projects targeting energy efficiency project developers and investors, including SEAF H2020 and LAUNCH H2020. In this role, she also led deployment of the commercial launch of the eQuad platform, which facilitates investment in energy efficiency projects for SMEs in Europe, and organized outreach towards municipal leaders and residents in New York State in effort to create bulk energy buying programmes (“Community Choice Aggregation”). Before entering the energy efficiency space, Caroline spent several years working as a freelance English teacher for business professionals, copywriter and academic editor.

Caroline holds a BA in Political Science and French from the University of Victoria, Canada, and a MSc of Political Science from the Université libre de Bruxelles, where she specialized in institutional evolution in the context of EU electricity market.

When Caroline isn’t working, she can be found at her piano, going for a long run, brewing kombucha or practicing handstands in the kitchen.

Office: Brussels
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
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Hélène Sibileau
Senior Policy Advisor
Office: Brussels

Hélène Sibileau

Senior Policy Advisor

If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.

Hélène SIBILEAU joined BPIE in February 2021 as Senior Policy Advisor. Before that, she was Senior EU Affairs Manager for almost six years at EuroACE – Energy Efficient Buildings, a Brussels-based business association representing manufacturers of energy efficient products in buildings. At EuroACE, she advocated for more ambitious EU policies in the field of energy performance of buildings, and lobbied the negotiations of key files of the Clean Energy for All Europeans Package. Hélène’s missions ranged from monitoring, policy analysis, drafting amendments and implementing advocacy strategies towards the EU institutions. Previous experiences include a Blue Book Traineeship in the European Commission in the ‘Energy Efficiency’ Unit of DG ENER and various roles as consultant.

A graduate of both Sciences Po Strasbourg and the College of Europe, where she wrote her Master Thesis on the Energy Efficiency Directive, she also teaches for many years now at Sciences Po Strasbourg, notably courses on ‘Lobbying in Practice’ or ‘The Energy Transition’. Hélène is French, and also speaks English and German. Besides energy efficiency in buildings, Hélène’s passions include horse riding, playing badminton, reading books, and continuing to learn more about European history.

Office: Brussels
Do not ask who I am and do not ask me to remain the same.
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Zsolt Toth
Team Lead
Office: Brussels

Zsolt Toth

Team Lead

Do not ask who I am and do not ask me to remain the same.

Zsolt is Senior Project Manager at BPIE where he is responsible for leading BPIE’s work across a number of research projects, focusing on green finance and European policy.

Before joining BPIE, Zsolt acted as Senior Adviser at the EMF-ECBC (European Mortgage Federation – European Covered Bond Council) focusing on green mortgages and reinforcing the link between building performance, market value and lending risk. Prior to this role, he worked for almost 10 years as EU Affairs Manager at RICS Europe (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) responsible for driving public affairs activity and delivering EU policy in the built environment. Working with a great diversity of projects, policy areas and stakeholders across Europe has given him a privileged insight into the real estate lifecycle and many of the current issues in green building as well as its relation with economic development and society.

Zsolt holds a PhD in Political Theory and has contributed to a series of academic and industry publications on energy efficiency, construction and sustainability, as member of international think thanks and European sustainability-built environment stakeholder partnerships.

In his spare time, Zsolt loves listening to jazz and classical music; he is a passionate record collector and dedicated to exploring the history and science of audio engineering and listening experience.

Office: Brussels
... we face the question, if and how the economic system can reintegrate its impacts on the environment into its communication. In principle, this is possible through the instability of prices – but only through that. ... Niklas Luhmann
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Judit Kockat
Project Manager
Office: Brussels

Judit Kockat

Project Manager

... we face the question, if and how the economic system can reintegrate its impacts on the environment into its communication. In principle, this is possible through the instability of prices – but only through that. ... Niklas Luhmann

As Project Manager at BPIE, Judit designs and implements research related to modelling energy efficiency and CO2 scenarios in the buildings sector as part of integrated energy system analyses. She interprets the modelling results to draw conclusions for the design, implementation and transfer of policy instruments and bundles.

Judit has been modelling building stocks and policy impacts for 10 years with a focus on data analysis, building modelling and related policies. Judit  holds a PhD in civil engineering, degrees in economy & engineering and business administration. After researching energy demand in buildings at the Fraunhofer Institute for System and Innovation Research she joined BPIE in November 2016.

As Project Manager at BPIE, Judit designs and implements research related to modelling energy efficiency and CO2 scenarios in the buildings sector and as part of integrated energy system analyses. Profound knowledge of German and EU energy policies connected to efficiency and renewable energy and buildings enables helps her to assess the ambition and evaluate their impact. In the latest EU-project, she modelled all energy uses in buildings for Europe by Member state, see http://tool.european-calculator.eu.

In various techno-economic analysis with international partners, Judit assessed costs and benefits and the macroeconomic effects of policies and analyzed policy instruments and their design, such as white certificates and subsidy schemes. Within the Odyssee-MURE database project, she maintained the German policies section adding their evaluation. In close collaboration with the international research team in the EU Project “ENTRANZE”, she contributed to the modelling of the building stock and renovation cost in the projections for EU countries. One of her particular roles was to design the data analysis tools that handle the data for all European countries’ building stocks.

When she’s not managing projects or modelling energy scenarios, Judit enjoys biking and theorizing.

Office: Brussels
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Ivan Jankovic
Team Lead
Office: Brussels

Ivan Jankovic

Team Lead

Ivan holds M.Sc. in mechanical engineering with major in thermal engineering (University of Belgrade) and MBA degree with major in finance (Athens University), while his work experience covers both engineering and finance topics. Ivan worked as energy efficiency consultant and HVAC design engineer for IFI and privately funded projects in Europe and Middle East, concentrating on energy efficiency performance and renovation of public buildings. In addition, Ivan worked in the banking industry as a credit risk analyst for different loans and investments, as well as financial analyst for water and wastewater infrastructure projects in Western Balkans and Serbia.

Office: Brussels
Before you go looking for happiness, check - you might already be happy. Happiness is small, ordinary, inconspicuous. Many don’t see it. Duško Radović, a Serbian novelist
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Jelena Simjanovic
Senior Project Manager
Office: Brussels

Jelena Simjanovic

Senior Project Manager

Before you go looking for happiness, check - you might already be happy. Happiness is small, ordinary, inconspicuous. Many don’t see it. Duško Radović, a Serbian novelist

Jelena is as a Senior Project Manager who brought to BPIE more than 15 years of global work experience in energy efficiency, renewable energy, electricity & carbon markets, and clean technology fields. Prior to joining BPIE Jelena was with RWE Renewables, where she was working on renewable market development in the US and Asia. Besides working on corporate business development, Jelena’s experiences include advocacy (Transport & Environment), project management (Global CCS Institute); market analytics & strategy development (Refinitiv), as well as policy, technical and market analytics for numerous clients in Europe, United States and Asia such as the California Attorney General’s Office, the World Bank, the Hoover Institution, and many others. In her country of birth, Serbia, Jelena worked with the Alliance to Save Energy, where she implemented the first national energy-efficiency curriculum in schools and worked with local municipalities on energy efficiency improvements in public buildings.

Jelena earned a Master of Public Policy (MPP) and Master of Science (MS) in Energy & Resources degrees at the University of California, Berkeley. There, at the Haas School of Business and the School of Engineering she also specialized at Engineering and Business for Sustainability, and for Management of Technology. At Chuo University in Tokyo, Jelena studied Japanese medieval history, while her bachelor’s in Japanese Language and Culture she earned at University of Belgrade. She is a published author fluent in four languages.

In her free time, Jelena likes to develop fusion recipes inspired by tastes of 8 countries she lived in, and is a fitness instructor. Her goal is to motivate people aged 40+ who may have forgotten to take time for themselves to do so, help them get back in shape and stay healthy for years to come.

Office: Brussels
Our bodies were made to thrive only in pure air, and the scenes in which pure air is found. John Muir
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Vivian Dorizas
Project Manager
Office: Brussels

Vivian Dorizas

Project Manager

Our bodies were made to thrive only in pure air, and the scenes in which pure air is found. John Muir

As Project Manager at BPIE, Vivian manages research projects on energy efficiency from conceptualisation to completion. She undertakes research in relation to building policies, supports fundraising activities and manages stakeholder relationships.

Vivian has been working on buildings energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality for more than 8 years. Before joining BPIE, Vivian worked as Project Manager for a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) in Low Energy Ventilation Systems at the Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering (IEDE) of the University College London (UCL) in partnership with Ventive Ltd in London, UK. She has a strong background in designing and executing monitoring campaigns on Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) and ventilation and has also worked as environmental consultant, providing services on the environmental design of buildings.

 Vivian is a WELL Accredited Professional and has completed the lead auditor course on ISO 9001:2015. She has acted as a guest lecturer of the MSc in Health, Wellbeing and Sustainability in Buildings and the MSc in Environmental Design and Engineering of the Bartlett, UCL.

Vivian is a registered certified evaluator of programs related to energy efficiency in buildings at the Center for Renewable Energy Sources and Saving (CRES) and at the General Secretariat for Research and Technology in Greece. She is also the former secretary of the Natural Ventilation Group of the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE-NVG).

Vivian holds a PhD in Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) from the Physics Department of the NKUA, a M.Sc. in Environmental Design and Engineering from the Bartlett School of Graduate Studies of the University College of London (UCL) and a first degree in Physics from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) Greece.

In her spare time, Vivian sings in a choir, takes acting classes and loves dancing.

Office: Brussels
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Sheikh Zuhaib
Senior Project Manager
Office: Berlin

Sheikh Zuhaib

Senior Project Manager

Zuhaib is Senior Project Manager at BPIE. He has worked on a broad-spectrum of topics and has a strong background in architectural and environmental designm nearly Zero-Energy Buildings, deep-retrofitting, Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ), building energy modelling and simulation, conducting stakeholder analyses, field-studies, monitoring campaigns and statistical data analysis. He began his professional career as an Architect and has over 8 years of experience in design and research projects for the built environment.

Prior to joining BPIE, Zuhaib worked as scientific researcher at the National University of Ireland, Galway, in the nZEB-Retrofit project managing and leading one of the work-packages involving interdisciplinary collaborators and multiple stakeholders. He was a guest researcher at the Institute of Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Building, E3D (Germany) where he collaborated on developing solutions for building and district level retrofits. Earlier, he has also worked as an Assistant Professor for design, construction, computational modelling and sustainability for the undergraduate students of architecture at the Manipal University (India).

As an accredited professional in green buildings and certified in ‘Professional Energy Skills in nZEB’, Zuhaib holds a Ph.D. from the National University of Ireland, Galway, in developing deep-retrofit decision-making support for achieving nZEBs with enhanced comfort. He completed his master’s in architecture from the Indian Institute of Technology- Roorkee, where he also received a DAAD fellowship to conduct his research on building energy performance at the Department of Building Technology, RWTH Aachen (Germany). He is also an active member of international bodies such as ASHRAE and ISIAQ.

When Zuhaib isn’t working, he likes to play table tennis and basketball, enjoys travelling and cycling.

Office: Berlin
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Carla Mauricio
Senior Communications Manager
Office: Brussels

Carla Mauricio

Senior Communications Manager

Before joining BPIE, Carla worked as a communication consultant at Arctik (Technopolis Group) managing Horizon 2020 projects on sustainability topics. Her main experience on research and science communication was however built during her time at the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST Association) as a communications officer. There she was in charge of developing publications and audiovisual projects as well as supervising the development and implementation of the COST branding.

Thanks to a couple of internships in international organizations including the United Nations and the European Parliament, Carla realized she loves working in multicultural environments and on projects with a social impact. 

Carla holds a MA in journalism, media and communications from Cardiff University (Wales) and a BA in humanities from the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona. She is a Catalan and Spanish native speaker and is also fluent in English and French. 

In her free time, Carla enjoys spending quality time with her family and friends, discovering new brocantes or taking care of her plants. 

Office: Brussels
Change your life today. Don't gamble on the future, act now, without delay. Simone de Beauvoir
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Margaux Barrett
Communications Manager
Office: Brussels

Margaux Barrett

Communications Manager

Change your life today. Don't gamble on the future, act now, without delay. Simone de Beauvoir

Margaux is Communications Manager, where she works on a range of outreach campaigns and activities related to EU-funded and BPIE initiatives.

Prior to joining BPIE, Margaux worked as a research and communication assistant at the European Urban Knowledge Network (EUKN), a multilevel governmental network providing expertise on urban issues, based in The Hague. There, she was in charge of organising events, conducting background research and writing articles for the network. Additionally, she was involved in the communication activities of the Urban Agenda for the EU, a multilevel partnership programme supported by the European Commission.

Her previous experience has also taken her to Vietnam, where she spent some months conducting research on the new urban areas in Hanoi and their integration in the built environment.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Geography and a Master’s degree in European Studies for Urban and Territorial Development from Lille University. She also had the opportunity to broaden her curriculum by spending a year in Sweden to study sustainable development.

In her spare time, Margaux likes reading, doing yoga, biking around Brussels and sometimes playing a few notes on her flute. 

Office: Brussels
The only constant in life is change. Heraclitus
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Victoria Taranu
Senior Researcher
Office: Brussels

Victoria Taranu

Senior Researcher

The only constant in life is change. Heraclitus

In the previous six years, Victoria has been researching policies to promote energy efficiency in the residential sector. In 2019 she received a PhD at the Faculty of Architecture and Arts, Hasselt University. Her research focused on evidence-based, behaviourally-informed policies to encourage energy renovation. Using insights from behavioural economics, she analysed the efficacy of the Flemish energy label for dwellings and investigated private homeowners’ decision-making regarding energy renovation. During the postdoc, Victoria worked on the RETAX Project, which aimed at reforming the property tax in Belgium to contribute to energy efficiency and sustainable land use. She has experience collaborating with public agencies and stakeholders in elaborating evidence-based policies; and is advocating for tighter collaboration between policymakers and researchers.

Victoria holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Sustainable Architecture from the Polytechnic University of Turin.

Besides her passion for the environment, Victoria enjoys volunteering for the community, politics, photography and piano.

Office: Brussels
Happiness consists in realizing it is all a great strange dream. Jack Kerouac
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Teresa Henriques Lobo
Finance and Operations Manager
Office: Brussels

Teresa Henriques Lobo

Finance and Operations Manager

Happiness consists in realizing it is all a great strange dream. Jack Kerouac

As Finance and Administrative Officer, Teresa is involved in the preparation and support of funding proposals while supporting the Finance and Human Resources teams, ensuring smooth day-to-day running of BPIE’s internal programs and administration. 

Teresa finished her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the School of Economics and Management of the University of Porto in 2018. Since then, she had the opportunity to work as an intern in the treasury team of a multinational company.

She joined The Climate Reality Project in June 2018 and day by day she is trying to improve herself as an environmentally-conscious human being. In her free time, Teresa enjoys a good chat while absorbing the sun or a good marathon of tv shows.

Office: Brussels
Make hay while the sun shines.
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Rutger Broer
Project Manager
Office: Berlin

Rutger Broer

Project Manager

Make hay while the sun shines.

Rutger is Project Manager at BPIE, and has previously finished his MSc Industrial Ecology at the TU Delft and Leiden University. Combining insights of social and natural sciences, he strives to become a bridge builder in the energy transition. Next to his standard study program, he completed the Climate KIC Master Label Program. His thesis researched concerned citizen participation in the transition to sustainably heating the built environment in the Netherlands.

Rutger became acquainted with comparative policy analysis while performing a research project for the Netherlands Institute of Multiparty Democracy in The Hague. Besides an exchange program in political science to the Université de Poitiers in France, Rutger worked half a year as junior officer in the field of public and economic diplomacy at the Dutch Consulate General in Cape Town. Additionally, he has half a year experience as communication manager in the start-up scene in Amsterdam and performed communication work for various Dutch Industry Associations. Just before joining BPIE, he finished a research project in heating installations in the context of energy and environmental performance of buildings for the Dutch Heating Industry Association. Next to his work, Rutger has organized multiple events and conferences related to the energy transition. His latest work experience and graduation have further strengthened his commitment to an energy efficient and environmentally sustainable built environment in Europe.

As facilitator and trainer, he has shared his enthusiasm about public speaking and rhetoric with a broad and international audience. He is always open for a conversation in Dutch, English, French or German. As a true Dutchman, he loves riding his bike whenever he can.

After work, Rutger likes to dance or do sports before cooking tasty and nutritious meals.

Office: Berlin
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Jules Oriol
Project Manager
Office: Berlin

Jules Oriol

Project Manager

Jules Oriol is joining the BPIE Berlin Office in May 2023 as Project Manager. Previously, he was a senior project manager at the German-French Office for Energy Transition (DFBEW/OFATE), an information and networking platform that shares best practices in the field of renewable energies.

For three years he worked on aspects related to energy efficiency and renewable heat in the building sector in both countries. He designed conferences and published papers on various issues, including the financing of energy efficiency, the development of low-carbon districts, the retrofitting of heritage buildings and the green value of buildings. Before that, he worked for a French think tank dedicated to urban planning and transitions, where he contributed to projects on sustainable urban logistics.

Jules holds a M.A. in Political Science and Public Affairs. He studied both in Paris (Sciences Po) and in Berlin (Freie Universität), focusing on European policies and political economy. In his spare time, Jules enjoys painting, designing ceramics and playing the saxophone.

Office: Berlin
We should try to be the parents of our future rather than the offspring of our past. Miguel de Unamuno
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Xerome Fernández Álvarez
Researcher
Office: Brussels

Xerome Fernández Álvarez

Researcher

We should try to be the parents of our future rather than the offspring of our past. Miguel de Unamuno

As a researcher, Xerome conducts data gathering and analysis as well as contributes to outputs from conceptualization to completion, in both technical and policy projects.

Xerome has been always interested in energy efficiency in buildings since starting university, as he studied a Bachelor’s degree in Energy Engineering at the University of Vigo (2013-2017), carrying out a Post-Occupation evaluation of Lugo’s market, in NW Spain. He then continued his education with a Master’s degree in Industrial Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, from which he graduated in September 2019. For his final thesis, he conducted a feasibility study on the conversion of an educational building into a nZEB.

Beyond energy performance of buildings, Xerome is passionate about football, ice hockey, languages and taking part in multicultural events, as a member of a folk group in his hometown, at the border with Portugal.

Office: Brussels
"There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart" - Jane Austen
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Lisa Graaf
Senior Project Manager
Office: Berlin

Lisa Graaf

Senior Project Manager

"There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart" - Jane Austen

As Senior Project Manager in the BPIE Berlin Office, Lisa will be involved in both, BPIE’s research activities as well as in the outreach to German stakeholders.

Lisa has been working on concepts and policies supporting the transformations towards climate neutrality and sustainability for more than a decade now.

Before joining BPIE, she conducted research projects at the Environmental Policy Research Centre, Freie Universität Berlin (2011 – 2019). Over six years, she consulted the strategy process and supported the stakeholder engagement of the German National Resource Efficiency Program (ProgRess). Besides that, she had also extensively worked on the dynamics of transformation processes, as well as environmental strategy processes – translating the findings into concrete guidelines or recommendations for policy makers, in particular for the German Ministry of the Environment.

From mid-2019 onwards, Lisa coordinated projects at the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy (Berlin Office), with a focus on sustainable resource use in cities of the Global South. For her academic endeavors, she also held a position at Habitat Unit at the Technical University of Berlin, coordinating capacity building and academic writing under the Urban Change Maker project.

Lisa holds a Diploma in Political Science and a B.A. in Communication Science. She had the opportunity to spend time abroad in Peru (voluntary service), Spain (Erasmus) and, thanks to a DAAD Scholarship, at The Resource and Energy Institute in India.

In her spare time, Lisa enjoys rock climbing, to discover adventures with her family in everyday life and beyond, and to contribute to neighbourhood initiatives to increase the liveability of the city.

Office: Berlin
'We must dare to invent the future' Thomas Sankara
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Caroline Düvier
Project Manager
Office: Berlin

Caroline Düvier

Project Manager

'We must dare to invent the future' Thomas Sankara

Prior to joining BPIE, Caroline completed her interdisciplinary PhD on sustainable transitions in the social housing system in England at the University of Bradford. She holds an MSc in Psychological Research from Oxford University and a BSc in Psychology from Essex University.

Caroline’s PhD focused on systems thinking and combining theories and concepts from a variety of different disciplines. This allowed her to combine her previous work experience on sustainable buildings and environmental psychology, as well as learning new theories particularly in engineering, transitions studies, and housing studies. Caroline has worked and lived in three different countries – Germany, the UK, and the USA. Her journey took her from a primary focus on environmental psychology to a policy focus on sustainable buildings in the social housing sector. She also enjoys teaching and has worked in a few higher education institutions in areas such as statistics, research methods, environmental psychology, social psychology, and sustainable cities.

Caroline is active as a volunteer in areas combining climate and energy justice and increasing our understanding of the interconnectedness of different areas, such as health, biodiversity, energy poverty, quality housing, and greening our living environments.

In her free time, she likes to read non-fiction, crochet realistic-looking flowers (she has too many, please take them off her hands!), be active, be outdoors, and travel the world, preferably by train.

Office: Berlin
"Wherever you go you will find your teacher, as long as you have the eyes to see and the ears to hear." - Shunryu Suzuki
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Volodymyr Vladyka
Policy Assistant
Office: Brussels

Volodymyr Vladyka

Policy Assistant

"Wherever you go you will find your teacher, as long as you have the eyes to see and the ears to hear." - Shunryu Suzuki

Volodymyr joined BPIE in March 2023 as Policy Assistant.

Before joining he completed a Blue Book traineeship in the European Commission in the ‘Buildings and Products’ Unit of DG ENER. There he obtained first-hand experience with the energy efficiency in buildings policy, assisting the Unit with various tasks, performing analysis and supporting negotiations of the EPBD recast.

Volodymyr is a recent graduate from the College of Europe, where he majored in EU Public Affairs and Policies with a particular focus on energy policy. Additionally, Volodymyr is a fellow of the European Leadership Programme and an active member of European youth organizations, such as BETA Poland and JEF Ukraine. He is passionate about energy transition, digital transformation, European identity and integration.

Volodymyr is Ukrainian, he speaks Ukrainian, English, Polish and Russian. In his free time, Volodymyr enjoys studying and reading non-fiction books, participating in philosophical and political discussions, attending cultural events and art exhibitions, and doing sports.

Office: Brussels
“Never be limited by other people's limited imaginations." –Dr. Mae Jemison
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Emily Bankert
Researcher for Carbon and Energy in the Built Environment
Office: Brussels

Emily Bankert

Researcher for Carbon and Energy in the Built Environment

“Never be limited by other people's limited imaginations." –Dr. Mae Jemison

Emily joined BPIE in April 2023 as a researcher for Carbon and Energy in the Built Environment.

She recently finished the Blue Book Traineeship at DG Research and Innovation of the European Commission, where she worked on cluster 5 of Horizon Europe and various Green Deal files. She graduated from the Erasmus Mundus Master in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management (MESPOM) in summer 2022 where she focused her research on the connection between energy, urban transitions, and ecological economics. In her Bachelor in Technology and Liberal Arts and Science at University College Twente she specialised in resource management and circular economy.

Besides, Emily has worked in different grassroots movements while living in Scotland, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Sweden, often in the role of a facilitator or coordinator for political education activities on climate topics and interrelated crises.

In her free time, Emily is a youth climate advocate, previously at Generation Climate Europe or the European Forum Alpbach, and most recently at the European Youth Energy Network. She also sings, dances Lindy Hop, climbs, and enjoys discovering cultural places in the city.

Office: Brussels
“You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals”-Marie Curie
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Jerson Alexis Pinzon Amorocho
Researcher
Office: Berlin

Jerson Alexis Pinzon Amorocho

Researcher

“You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals”-Marie Curie

Jerson joined BPIE in March 2023 as a Researcher

He considers that the transformation of the energy and building sectors is crucial to achieve the sustainable development of urban regions while enabling social innovation, decarbonization of many of our daily activities, and the creation of livable spaces for everyone.

Jerson studied Electrical engineering in Colombia. Later, his interest in buildings and energy led him to focus his masters’ studies at the university of Campinas in Brazil on the integration of microgrids and smart buildings. Prior to joining BPIE, Jerson was a researcher at the Civil systems engineering institute at TU Berlin, where he focused on the building renovation field and the digitalization of the construction industry.

Jerson also conducted his doctoral research at TU Berlin. As part of his dissertation, he developed a decision-making framework and a set of knowledge models to support a more comprehensive renovation of buildings, considering not only technical and economic aspects, but also social elements. Jerson considers that technical solutions and policy strategies to tackle climate challenges should thoroughly consider the social aspects of the context where they are meant to be implemented.

In his free time, Jerson enjoys playing volleyball, painting, and walking around Berlin with his camera.

Office: Berlin
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