Energy Policy Developments in the Dutch Non-Profit Housing Sector

In recent years, energy efficiency is a topic of growing importance not only on the political agenda of many Western countries, but also in the management of individual housing providers in these countries. Although there are many publications on how these organisations take up the topic of energy efficiency in their policies and activities, not so much has been written about the progress in policy in the national housing sectors as a whole. This paper presents the results of an investigation about the policy developments in the non-profit housing sector in the Netherlands, in which the present situation is compared with that of four years ago. Where did the Dutch non-profit housing providers stand in their policy development concerning energy efficiency, and where do they stand now? Have they become more ambitious or less ambitious? The paper also deals with the main stimuli and barriers that the non-profit housing providers have perceived. The findings show a progress in policy in the period under investigation, but this progress seems too small to attain national and international targets for 2020.