Families located in the five project countries -
Cyprus, Spain, Italy, Bulgaria, and Croatia – can also apply for a full energy audit to be carried out on their home. Energy auditors drawn from the project’s 19 partner organisations will examine past utility bills and carry out a room-by-room examination to help determine where the house is losing energy and money. ICLEI
is also helping local authorities to make
use of Energy Performance Contracting (EPC), a process whereby replacement and refurbishment costs are covered by an external energy service company (ESCO), who is then reimbursed through the cost savings generated as a result of the lower electricity consumption. As such, the ESCO will not receive payment unless significant energy savings are achieved. The EPC approach has the benefit of transferring the risk from the local authority to the ESCO.
The power of public procurement In addition, ICLEI is exploiting the power of public procurement to drive energy-efficiency. Through making smart purchasing decisions, public procurers can ensure that sustainable and innovative solutions are used in the retrofitting of public buildings. If public resources are mobilised behind energy-efficiency, higher potential for a return on investment will
stimulate PROBIS project aims to use greater
market involvement in the topic, increasing the amount of innovative solutions available. The
public
procurement of innovation as a means to increase energy efficiency, as well as the overall sustainability of urban building stock. Specifically it works to build capacity among local authorities to procure innovative solutions in the sustainable construction sector. Currently, a lack of know-how and a dearth of
incentives are holding local authorities back from pushing for clever solutions to reduce energy usage. PROBIS is addressing this by piloting innovative procurements for public buildings in Italy, Hungary, Spain and Sweden. Facilitating market engagement – in which public authorities directly explain the issues they
face to companies – is also a major component of the project. The construction sector, which is worth around
€1.2 trillion per year to Europe, is comprised of a multitude of stakeholders, each with their own roles and objectives. To ensure that energy-efficiency is understood and applied across the board, it is necessary for stakeholders to come together to exchange ideas and knowledge. Several examples from across Europe demonstrate how effective regional networking between public entities can help to provide support, improve skills and increase regional impact. The Network for Sustainable Construction and Innovation
through Procurement (SCI-Network)
brought together public authorities and experts to find new, sustainable construction solutions. Any public authority committed to sustainable construction was welcome to join the network and take part in one or more of the working groups. Although the project has now ended, the online discussion forum has
remained active on the
Procurement Forum, an online discussion space run as part of the Procurement of Innovation Platform. The Procurement of Innovation Platform helps authorities,
public procurers, researchers and other power of Public Procurement of
policy makers,
stakeholders harness the Innovation and
Pre-Commercial Procurement. The Procurement Forum is a specially designed networking tool that enables procurers and stakeholders from around Europe to discuss, share and connect. Users can also create private groups, which can be used to coordinate projects. The platform also has a Resource Centre, which
provides a centralised database for PPI guidance. Resources include national and European policy and strategy documents, useful tools, good practice case studies, details of projects and initiatives, as well as reports and valuable links on procuring innovation within the field of energy efficiency. Through the work of local governments, in
partnership with the private sector and other key stakeholders, a more energy efficient Europe is becoming a reality. Local governments are taking risks and trialling new and innovative ways to reduce the energy consumption of our building stock. In ensuring that the built heritage of Europe is made more sustainable, local governments are passing on a better, more energy efficient Europe to future generations.
★
zero energy by 31 December
Under new laws, all new buildings must be near
2020
www.projectsmagazine.eu.com
15
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64