Do you have a project or programme related to the energy transition? Like many other colleagues, you are probably looking for ways to get homeowners 'warmed up' to this challenge. We can come up with great plans and solutions, but if the homeowners do not want to, there is little we can do. How do you motivate them to become sustainable?

For several years, ICLEI Member Rotterdam (The Netherlands) has had a one-stop shop for dealing with the heat transition. The most well-known part of this is the energy desk. Newly added to the approach is the cooperation with energy cooperative Alex Energie and the establishment of ´Citizen hubs´. Based on a collective idea, Alex Energie is trying to make each neighbourhood and street more sustainable with owners and residents. In the last of a series of workshops by Save The Homes in their pilot cities, the Vereniging Projectmanagement Nederlandse Gemeenten (VPNG) will host a national webinar (in Dutch) on 18 January 2023 from 12:00 to 13:30 PM CET to help those interested in accelerating the energy transition.

Project leader Oubbol Oung of the Municipality of Rotterdam takes us through the set-up of the citizen hub, a process that involved trial and error. Oubbol will share her experiences with you, because it is an approach that can be applied in every municipality. From the energy cooperative, Donald van den Akker, Chairman of Alex Energie will speak about how they cooperated with the municipality and what lessons can be learnt from such collaborations.

The municipality and the energy cooperative made residents aware of the transition partly by using a customer journey. Haico van Nunen, Lecturer in sustainable renovation at the Hogeschool Rotterdam, will speak about the set-up of such a customer journey, an approach which can be applied in every municipality!

Finally, ICLEI Europe’s Expert in Sustainable Energy Systems Arthur Hinsch will share his experience in energy community collaboration with municipalities across Europe. These lessons can be put to good use for design and implementation within the Netherlands.

It is free of charge for all employees of municipalities, provinces, regions and water boards who are members of the VPNG. Others are welcome as guests. Register here.