The human dimension of building energy performance

The human factor affects significantly the actual energy performance over the building life cycle. The incorporation of behavioral insights into the building design and operation is starting to be recognized as a key topic. Research efforts are therefore needed for fully integrating human dimensions in the building energy performance: data on occupant behaviour have to be collected and properly elaborated; drivers and motivations have to be understood; indexes describing users comfort preferences

Webinar on new EPBD tools to trigger renovations: building renovation passports and better access to financing

The countdown to transpose the revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) has started! Member States have until March 2020 to translate into national law all the new requirements from the EU energy efficiency legislation affecting buildings. To discuss changes and challenges, but also opportunities, EuroACE (the European Alliance of Companies for Energy Efficiency in Buildings) has written a Guidance Note on the topic.  For more information about this topic please visit EuroACE website

Useful Steam - Heat Recovery

While the United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC) takes place from the 2nd to the 14th of December 2018 in Katowice, Poland, we have been investigating how district heating can contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gases. Some modern systems are now using sustainable heating sources, like waste heat from power plants. Could this approach contribute to fight climate change? We report from Western Turkey where the city of Soma is taking a new approach to increase energy efficiency in

The iBRoad Concept in practice - Report on suggested elements, content and layout of the iBRoad tools.

The Report “The iBRoad Concept in practice” aims to elaborate on the concept and benefits of the Individual Building Renovation Roadmap, giving an overview of the potential services to be provided by the relevant software itself, as well as of the potential links with other tools or services available on the market, and present the ones that are to be actually implemented and tested under the iBRoad project. In this context, Chapter I of the report includes objectives and describes the iBRoad concept

What is an Energy Efficient Mortgages? EEM initiative published the definition

The Energy Efficient Mortgages (EEM) Initiative is unveiling its definition of an energy efficient mortgage which is the result of extensive cross-sectoral, market consultation of the lending institutions piloting the energy efficient mortgage framework and of the EEM Advisory Council.  The announcement coincides with the United Nations Climate Change Conference – COP24 –  taking place in Katowice, Poland until 14 December.  The definition is intended as a concrete response to the efforts of the

COP24: Social innovation to drive just transition of coal regions

With the carbon costs of travel in mind, key EIT Climate-KIC COP24 session summaries are available online for those who cannot attend—and for review for those present. These summaries aim to extract important debates, dialogues, and learnings from each session. ‘Just transition’—interventions needed to secure workers’ jobs and livelihoods as economies shift to sustainable production—is a major topic at this year’s COP in Katowice, Poland. Systemic, cross-sectoral change catalysed by inclusive social

Mix and Move in Trento

From the 16th to the 22nd of September, the local authorities from the city of Trento celebrated alongside other cities the European Mobility Week under the theme of multimodality. The European Mobility Week campaign encouraged people to explore their cities through means of clean and sustainable urban transport. The theme for this year’s campaign was on multimodality, a way in which travellers mix the different modes of transport available in all their journeys. Towns and cities organised a set

Renaturing cities: cooperation manifesto launched at the World Forum on Urban Forests

URBAN GreenUp and other EU projects jointly signed a document in Mantua, Italy, to promote and boost the adoption of nature-based solutions in urban areas worldwide. “Nature is often seen as a problem, here it is seen as the solution”. This sentence by Josefina Enfedaque may resume the sense of the 1st World Forum on Urban Foreststhat closed the month of November and opened December in Mantua on a deeply green note. The EC Senior Policy Officer, present at the invitation of URBAN GreenUp, participated

#GreenSolutions Awards 2018: Discover these winners whose solutions already shape the zero carbon city

The Green Solutions Awards 2018 winners were revealed in Katowice, a Polish mining town that made the shift to commit to the energy transition and COP24 theatre. The Construction21 network, organiser of the contest, rewarded the winning teams during a ceremony that gathered nearly 200 industry professionals from all around the world.  Beyond their prize, the awarded teams gain an exceptional visibility that allows them to show the market they are able to provide with relevant solutions, already used

KTR Headquarters (France): Sustainable Renovation Grand Prize Winner - Green Solutions Awards 2018

KTR, a German industrial group specialized in mechanical transmissions, wanted a building reflecting the image and the values of the company for its French headquarters: innovative and offering excellent work conditions for its employees, autonomous especially energy wise. The KTR group has already built very efficient buildings, but for the site of Dardilly, the refurbishment option was chosen. The construction manager oriented the project to aim for even more ambitious goals, with a more comprehensive