On 3 November 2020, the Compete4SECAP project team held its final EU conference online. Representatives from cities in Croatia, Cyprus, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia and Spain shared their experience transforming energy management practices.
The programme included presentations from Radoš Horáček, Energy Efficiency Unit, DG ENER; Giulia Pizzini, H2020 Energy Unit, EASME; and a keynote address from Tina Fawcett, Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford.
Radoš Horáček leads the general energy efficiency policy team in Directorate General Energy of the European Commission. Since 2015, he has been responsible for the development and implementation of the Energy Efficiency Directive. During his presentation he highlighted that “decarbonization is an opportunity and compatible with sustainable growth in local authorities.”
Tina Fawcett delivered the keynote address ‘Cities and the climate emergency’. With 20 years’ experience researching on energy demand and policy, Fawcett leads policy and governance work at the Centre for Research on Energy Demand Solutions. Her research, bridging theory and practice, explores new concepts for radically re-thinking our energy needs in the context of planetary limits, including energy sufficiency and personal carbon allowances. According to Fawcett: “The question is, how do we meet the needs of everyone by not exceeding the environmental limits? Energy sufficiency is about a decent standard of living, while respecting planetary boundaries and limits to growth.”
Giulia Pizzini, who works as a project adviser for the H2020 Energy Unit of EASME, in the sector for finance, public authorities and energy services, spoke to the wider project landscape that Compete4SECAP is part of, saying “EASME supports the market actions that foster energy transition. The Compete4SECAP project touches on the three main EASME policy areas: monitoring and data collection, peer-to-peer and capacity building, and stakeholder engagement.”
The Compete4SECAP team also shared insights on:
• Methods and tools to monitor municipal energy use, as part of implementing an Energy Management System;
• The do’s and don’ts of running a creative and inspiring energy-saving campaign;
• How Covenant of Mayors signatory cities can better integrate action on climate mitigation with efforts to adapt to climate change.
Finally, the event closed with highlights from the project’s energy saving competition, which ran throughout 2019 and involved 92 public buildings located in 31 municipalities across Europe. The main aim was to motivate participants to achieve energy savings through changes to their everyday behaviour. For each participating building, a team formed and ‘led by example’, encouraging others to follow suit. The competition also served as an extra incentive to support the successful implementation of an Energy Management System. At the conference, winners were announced from the categories ‘highest energy savings’ and ‘success in implementing the Energy Management System’, as follows:
Catergory 1: Highest Energy Savings – Building level
Highest Energy Savings
Grad Rijeka, Odjel gradske uprave za poduzetništvo, Rijeka (Croatia)
Mairie - Les Carmes, Montauban (France)
Verwaltungsgebäude 2, Amt Hohe Elbgeest (Germany)
Városgondnokság, Kaposvár (Hungary)
Kindergarten Birztaliņa, Ķegums (Latvia)
Biblioteca Municipal, Cieza (Spain)
Best Awareness and Communication Campaign
Maison de Quartier de Bellevue, Brest (France)
Honoured Schools in Italy
Scuola Elementare A. Manzoni, Abano Terme
Scuola Media V. da Feltre, Abano Terme
Scuola Elementare G. Marconi, Rubano
Istituto Comprensivo Statale M. Buonarroti, Rubano
Scuola statale - Scuola Secondaria Di Primo grado "Don A. Battistella", San Vito di Leguzzano
Scuola Primaria "A. Manzoni", San Vito di Leguzzano
Scuola Secondaria I grado "G. Ellero", Udine
Scuola Primaria "G. Rodari", Udine
Scuola Secondaria I grado "G. B. Tiepolo", Udine
Scuola Primaria "T. Wasserman", Udine
Category 2: Success in implementing the Energy Management System – Municipal Level
Third place: Rubano (Italy) and Cieza (Spain)
Second place: Saldus (Latvia)
First place: Bauska (Latvia)
Read and download the press release here