The Concept of Building Renovation Passports – A Systematic Review

The European Union’s ambition to achieve a climate-neutral building stock by 2050 is hindered by persistently low rates of deep renovation. Existing instruments, such as Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs), fall short in guiding the complex, phased retrofitting of inefficient buildings. In response, Building Renovation Passports (BRPs) have emerged as strategic tools offering tailored, step-by-step renovation roadmaps. However, their development and implementation remain challenging due to conceptual, technical, and policy-related issues. This paper presents a systematic literature review of BRPs and related instruments, following the PRISMA protocol. Searches in Scopus and Web of Science identified 116 eligible studies published up to June 2025. The review establishes a conceptual framework distinguishing BRPs from Digital Building Logbooks (DBLs), Material Passports (MPs), and Digital Product Passports (DPPs), and synthesises findings across three dominant themes: (1) conceptual and methodological proposals, (2) digital tool development, and (3) policy and regulatory analyses. Results reveal strong technological progress but limited empirical validation of BRPs in real-world contexts. Key tensions include standardisation versus customisation, technology-centric versus user-centric design, persistent issues with data quality, and energy-centred versus multi-dimensional planning. The paper concludes by outlining a research agenda prioritising longitudinal studies, socio-technical approaches, and scalable business models to bridge the gap between conceptual promise and practical adoption. The review is restricted to English-language sources, a single-reviewer screening process, and a predominantly European focus, which may omit relevant insights from other regions.