•The EPCs are rarely perceived as useful for the end-user.•The Building Renovation Passport (BRP) is intended as a document for triggering deep renovations.•Detailed renovation advice is needed to support the decision making process.•An extensive overview of the existing/developing BRP initiative across Europe is presented. Lack of information and transparency increases risk and undermines investor confidence. Therefore, a systematized and optimized capture and processing of information also supports investment decision making and creates opportunities for innovation and uptake of energy efficiency and sustainability measures, processes and designs. Building passports could play a valuable role in boosting the availability of information to a wide range of market participants. Better information flows are a necessary part of improving the quality assurance system for buildings and the construction industry market overall. The aim of the paper is firstly to set a Building Renovation Passport (BRP) definition, to explore the potential role of a voluntary scheme across EU as a key tool to help overcome this information imbalance by providing all market stakeholders, including financing institutions, providers of mortgage credit, investors and insurers with access to key building related documentation and information to properly assess the many factors impacting the overall quality of buildings. Within the presented study three initiatives currently developed across EU (Flanders, France and Germany), have been selected to be investigated in details providing an extensive overview of the process supporting the creation of a Building Renovation Passport and covering the main issues necessary for its development and implementation.