We would like to share with you our latest publication “Improving the Energy Efficiency of Residential Buildings in Revitalisation Areas – Toolkit” – it is published and can be downloaded from the EDINA project website.

The publication contains – among others, information on improving energy efficiency in revitalization areas and methods of comprehensive improvement of energy efficiency by improving the technical performance of buildings in the investment processes. The toolkit is dedicated to city/municipal offices with municipal revitalization programs or other subsidy programs supporting the renovation of private buildings, property owners/managers, housing communities/cooperatives, social housing association, NGOs, or other interested parties.

The toolkit is the result of a two-year project entitled: “EDINA -Energy efficient development of Special Revitalisation Zones and urban areas ”.  The leader of the project is The Polish Institute for Urban and Regional Development, while the partners are: the Energy conservation Foundation and the Initiative Wohnungswirtschaft Osteuropa  (IWO e.V.).

The videos summarising the EDINA project are available here: https://edina.irmir.pl/improving-energy-efficiency-of-buildings-in-revitalization-areas-films/

Within the project duration a series of webinars under “Revitalization Academy” was organized. Webinars were recorded and those in English were covering the topics ( link available under the title):

• INTRODUCTION TO ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND URBAN REGENERATION
  • The way to integrate energy efficient housing renovation and urban regeneration
  • Great examples of integration of deep renovation and urban regeneration
  • Rocketing the renovation projects. The pace of deep energy efficient renovation in the capital city of Lithuania, Vilnius
• Climate neutral quarters: inspirations and learnings and Serial Refurbishment – path to reach climate neutral quarters
• PRO-Heritage Best Practice Examples for Energy Efficient Historic Buildings

We invite you to check out the webinars and other materials that were developed under the EDINA project https://edina.irmir.pl/en/

We hope those would be useful and help us all to improve energy efficiency in Europe.

Climate Heroes

This year, in the second round of the project, around 60 young people from the region participated in the educational and capacity-building project, then organized into groups and began working on their ideas for climate change mitigation. This year, it was possible to organize the regional forum in person, so their efforts culminated in a 3-day trip to meet their peers and fellow climate activists face to face. The regional forum was held in Brno, Czech Republic, where 33 selected participants from Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, and the Czech Republic were able to present their initiatives, exchange experiences, and share knowledge and ideas.

VIDEO

Regional Climate Heroes Forum

When asked about impressions, the overwhelming majority of participants had a positive experience and many of them highlighted the importance of connecting and meeting others with similar interests, sharing different perspectives, and learning from each other. “I found it interesting that the participants had different approaches to the problem of climate change. Each Initiative came to its solution in a beautiful and creative way,” one participant shared, while another added: “We can’t do much on our own, but we can do something and influence others”.

Participants presented their work and achievements to the audience of their peers and to the jury, who selected three initiatives with the potential biggest climate impact. Along with the three awarded initiatives, two more initiatives received special recognition for best presentation at the forum. However, all of the work by the young people involved in the project was highlighted as relevant and crucial by the jury and the organizers, with the hope that these young people continue their good work, and inspire many others to get involved. We want young people to lead us to a brighter future because the future belongs to them!

The winning initiatives for 2022

1. Bianca Rusu from Romania with her initiative We Can Do It, consisting of a workshop dedicated to inspiring teenagers to recycle plastic in creative and artistic ways, giving new life to used and no longer needed items.
2. Adam Smolka and Jakob Mandik from the Czech Republic came up with a way to build a gym bicycle that produces electricity when used so that people can charge their phones for free and sustainably while exercising.
3. Simona Hildebrandova, Kristina Shimkova, Tibor Mitro, and Natalia Banichova, also in front of the Czech delegation with an initiative aimed at addressing the problem of air pollution around schools and drawing attention to the importance of biodiversity in the urban environment. They achieved this through interactive workshops and planting flower beds in collaboration with students from their local school.

Other initiatives worked on topics such as raising awareness through digital campaigns, like Gen Eco with their social media networks and Together4Planet, through video campaigns. Sea Frame on the other hand took a more direct approach with its campaign to increase visibility and draw attention to environmental problems.

KompostIN and Sustainable Food Revolution focused on food waste and food production and their impact on the environment. While Food for Earth goes to the root of the problem by tackling soil degradation.

EcoHub is working on creating a climate change guide to help people reduce their carbon footprint, while the team behind Eko stopovačka used digital tools and quizzes to bring fun and games to learning about ecology.

In addition to presenting their work and networking, participants had the opportunity to go on a mobility tour of the city and visit a sustainably developed neighborhood designed for climate change adaptation and mitigation. The regional forum was a great conclusion to months of learning, dedication, and innovation, but also a great chance for young people to find like-minded individuals, get inspired and motivated to continue in their fight against the climate crisis.

As one of the participants commented during the Forum: “Anything you wanna do you can do and there are people who will support you, you just need to go find them and fight for what you want”.

The Climarchinet expert group is made up of experts who, beyond their own line of expertise and professional interest, deal with obstacles and challenges that stand in the way of sustainable, carbon-neutral construction.

The project cooperation aims at specific results applicable in practice, not only in the Czech Republic.

• Tomáš Vanický = expert sponsor of the ClimArchiNet project / CPD director
• arch. Josef Tlustý = Architect/ČKA, member of the CPD Board
• arch. Jan Soukup = Architect/ISU ČKA
• Ing. Tomáš Matuška, Ph.D. = Specialist on building energy management, associate professor at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the Czech Technical University in Prague
• Radim Kohoutek = Energy Specialist / APES, DS Energy Consulting
• Ing. Anna Francová = Lawyer / Frank Bold Advokáti
• Stanislav Kutáček = Economist / Frank Bold Advokáti
• Vladimír Kubeček = Economist/University of Economics, Prague

Objective of the document

• Summary of findings, available documents and expert opinions from individual fields who have participated in the implementation of the project as part of discussions, workshops and international conferences.
• Summary of recommendations resulting in faster transformation of the designers (in the role of architects) and contracting authorities (public administration) in public contracts with the aim of designing and constructing buildings with very low energy demands, adapted to climate change, political situation, and social and energy security.
• Taking into account PESTEL multi-criteria requirement

The document is intended for the following target groups:

• Architect (Czech Chamber of Architects)
• Public administration (level of regions, cities & municipalities)
• Ministry of Environment
• Ministry for Regional Development
• Ministry of Industry and Trade
• Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports
• State Environmental Fund
• State Investment Support Fund
• Cities and municipalities

About the ClimArchiNet project

The project is mainly funded by the EUKI. EUKI is an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK), the mission of which is to encourage cooperation within the EU in terms of further development and implementation of ambitious climate-related policy. Through the EUKI, the stakeholders in the field of climate can learn from each other. The initiative promotes intra-European dialogue, exchange of best practices, awareness raising and knowledge transfer.

The project implementation is ensured through the cooperation between:

Centrum pasivního domu, z.s(CZE) /Passive House Centre

Inštitútprepasivné domy(SK) Institute for Passive Houses

The aim of the project is to identify the current situation and support development of innovative processes, materials and technologies for the preparation and implementation of buildings with very low energy needs throughout their life cycle. Support transformation of the building sector towards carbon neutrality, building adaptation to climate change and social and energy security. More information about the project and its activities in the Czech Republic can be found on the CPD website and on the climarchi.net information platform.

Main activities of the Czech project in a brief summary

In 2020-2022, the project focused on discussions with experts and on sharing of examples of good practices in sustainable architecture:

• 2 expert round-tables
• 3 discussion workshops“INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR CLIMATE PROTECTION” with experts and invited guests
• 1-day international conferenceon Connection of Buildings & Sustainability
• 3-day excursion to see examples of good practices in sustainable architecture in Berlin
• Sustainable Architecture Information Platform https://climarchi.net/cz

For more informations about the Czech project activities visit the  Climarchinet project homepage.

Virtual Centre environment will take you back in time to 8bit graphic arcade games. You can move around the centre and decide on viewing content that interests you the most with your personalized avatar. We created a place where you can present and network openly and/or privately and maybe even get a virtual coffee.

Further Information

• Institute for Passive Houses Slovakia
• Passive House Institute

We prepared whole day live stream program with moderator.

Each of the sustainable topics was followed by a panel discussion with our speakers and other guests. We called together lead experts in the field of sustainable construction (18 Speakers + 11 guests). Architects, designers, engineers, energetic specialists, city representatives, government officials, private investors and students.

Thanks to the conference programme, 18 visually attractive video presentations were produced, sharing practical experiences in the preparation and implementation of sustainable architecture, especially in the Czech Republic.

The recording of the 8-hour conference programme is now stored in the main hall of the Virtual Centre of sustainability and is freely available. The recordings of the panel discussions are located in secondary halls for professionals, investors and municipalities.

During the filming of 18 video presentations, the expert’s response to the question of the importance of Sustainability in their daily lives, was also recorded. These personal perspectives were then used as 18 short PR videos during Facebook campaign of the conference. You can watch them on the conference website in the programme section, under the name of each speaker.

We want the newly created virtual centre to pulsate with sustainability.

We are working with Members of the Passive House Centre, our partners, industry experts, public administrations, ministries, associations and professional organisations and others to further develop its content.

We will be adding more examples of good practice and concrete approaches to the proper procurement and implementation of buildings with sustainability parameters.  We will continuously update the content of the Sustainability Centre during the events that will take place in this on-line space.

Some outputs of the ClimArchiNet project will be published in this virtual centre during 2022.

396 professionals and stakeholders from the construction sector in the Czech Republic,registered participants of the Conference, expressed support for the Sustainability Declaration,with its total number.

We look forward to meeting you in this CENTRE OF SUSTAINABILITY !

The team of the Passive House Centre of the Czech Republic.

The project lasted from October 2017 to January 2020 and aimed to the complicity of the school community in climate protection, reduction of the energy footprint of school buildings, raising students/teachers/parents awareness and knowledge in the subject of energy savings and climate protection.

This project used the existing experience as it emerges from environmental educational programs both in Greece and Germany. It also propelled a more comprehensive approach which is the basis for future continuation and expansion of the project in schools.

Institutions with various experiences and roles, from the two countries, collaborated in the project, adding their own know-how: The Municipality of Athens as coordinator, the social cooperative enterprise “Anemos Ananeosis /Wind of Renewal”, the German “Independent Institute for Environmental Issues / Unabhängiges Institut fur Umweltfragen’’ (UFU) and the German Citizen’s initiative “Respect for Greece”.

“Climate Schools Ath.Be” project methodology – educational guide is integrated and includes collaboration between different partners in a more coherent way, training of trainers and exchange of good practices, collaboration between Greek and German experts for the production of an educational material and a methodology based on different experiences in both countries, training of the researchers and practical use of the tools (material, tool-box with appliances, assistance to the teachers etc).

Greek and German trainers, who already had significant experience from similar projects, trained 20 experts and these trainers then trained 240 teachers, of whom 197 took an active role in their school. In total 72 primary, secondary and high schools in Athens, mainly, have supported their students in this program and posted the necessary ‘’testimonies’’ on the digital platform “moodle” which is accessible to all members of the educational community who want to implement similar actions in the future.

The students were informed, sensitized and turned into active researchers, surprising all the participants for their commitment and interest. The students, teachers and school units participated in a relevant research that evaluated the implementation and catered, with good practices and suggestions, the project’s final Action Plan for interventions in the school.

The project was a useful tool for intercultural education and inclusion of all the pupils, Greeks and the ones with migrant and refugee background, offering different roles and tasks to all of them based on their interest, skills and capacities, enhance the community building approach. Some students with learning difficulties or of different cultural background (eg refugees) were attracted by the special equipment and they showed great interest to participate more and take responsibilities (i.e become “responsible” to teach the rest of the class on the use of the instruments) or/and be active member of the team (intercultural dimension).

Students that participate on the project become ambassadors at their school for climate protection and climate action and they aware other students, their parents, the neighborhood.

You find the full article, lessons learned and tools for further action from the project here.

The practical projects reduce emissions on average by 94 t CO₂

So far, the Energy Scouts designed 94 efficiency projects with considerable potential for savings, most of them in the areas of compressed air and lighting but the topics of mobility, resource efficiency and water consumption also play a significant role. The projects of the first two years of European Energy Scouts showed a possible reduction of greenhouse gas emissions of about 8,800 t CO₂ per year. This represents potential savings of more than 10,000 MWh of electricity and considerable quantities of natural gas, heating oil and fuels, but also water, paper, batteries and plastics, which the companies now use to a lesser extent. Some projects started as pilot projects in individual branches or subsidiaries and can later be extended to other locations in order to broaden the scale of the expected savings.

More online trainings in the future

In 2020, Energy Scouts face additional challenges due to the corona crisis. Since March, many companies in the four countries have shut down and some have had to reduce personnel. Some of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CCI) have moved the training sessions to virtual rooms, but not everything can be done from the home office. For example, the scouts can only carry out energy consumption measurements when the companies are in actual operation again. The first positive signals in this regard are coming from Hungary and the Czech Republic.

In the future, the qualification as Energy Scout will be further optimized – from locally flexible webinars to individual advice by lecturers for separate project teams. With the Best Practices of outstanding projects and the increasing networking of the scouts, digital tools are already available to help ensure the future success of Young Energy Europe.

Further Information

• http://young-energy-europe.eu/en

On 6 March all Energy Scouts from the Burgas area were still able to meet live and in groups to go through the training topic of project management. On this occasion the YEE team introduced Energy Scouts and tutors to the online conference system WebEx.

On 11 March – shortly before the general curfew in Bulgaria – the training on mobility followed. Seven Scouts took part on site with sufficient distance from each other and nine Scouts joined the training online from Burgas, Varna and Shumen.

On 12 March the topic of presentation techniques, which are more difficult to teach digitally, was discussed. Seven Scouts were on site in Burgas. The last seminar with the focus on resource efficiency took place on 13 March in Burgas, the lecturer was the only person in the room. All Energy Scouts connected online – from their companies or from the home office.

Advantages and disadvantages of online trainings
Crucial for the successful implementation was the joint test of software and hardware with tutors and Energy Scouts. After downloading the software, all Energy Scouts could join the test. On the hardware side, desktops, laptops or tablets have proven to be effective – following presentations over a longer period of time on smartphones is difficult and potentially costly due to the high data volume. With online training courses, even in times without coronavirus, participants can economize on travel costs and shorter breaks are possible. In small groups of up to ten people, an exchange or even discussions are very well possible, says Krassimira Dimitrova.

The main disadvantage is the missing personal exchange and informal networking between lecturers and Scouts during the breaks which makes social contact more difficult. Currently this social distancing is a necessary and widely accepted consequence.

In the future, Young Energy Europe will focus on digital solutions wherever possible and reasonable in order to continue the success story of the Energy Scouts.

The Energy Scouts of Askofruit, a company producing organic products from pomegranates, won the competition. As part of their project, Energy Scouts Konstantinos Spyridopoulos and Vlassis Dalmaris examined the energy consumption of the company’s transport operations and cooling processes. By using photovoltaics and off-peak electricity, they identified significant saving potentials and estimated a potential reduction of CO₂ emissions to less than a third annually (from 69t per year to 21t as soon as the measures are implemented).

Second place went to Energy Scout Nikos Moutsesidis of the brickworks Akek S.A. The company requires a lot of energy for their production processes and especially for brurning bricks. The project intends the installation of a photovoltaic system to produce electricity for the company from solar energy. The system can be used to supply the company or the electricity can be fed into the grid. The CO₂ savings potential of the project is 17,500t per year.

Kiara Koutoulakis of Koronekes, an oil mill that produces exclusively organic olive oil, came in third place. In her project she suggested the retrofitting of regular lights to LED lights, the added installation of inverters to the motors in the oil mill and the replacement of disposable plastic cups used for oil tasting.

A number of Scouts from Cretan hotels had also taken part in the workshops, however, they were not able not participate in the award ceremony because the tourist season on Crete is currently in full swing. They will have the opportunity to present their efficiency projects during the Athens award ceremony at the end of the year.