With buildings accounting for approximately 40% of EU energy consumption and contributing to 36% of greenhouse gas emissions, governments at all levels are confronted with a significant challenge in aligning their building stock with ambitious local, national, and European climate objectives. This task has become even more critical as Europe grapples with unprecedented climate, energy and housing crises.
In this context, pioneering EU-funded initiatives like Save the Homes are pivotal for catalysing efforts to future-proof and decarbonise Europe's building stock. The citizen hubs supported by Save the Homes in ICLEI Members Valencia (Spain) and Rotterdam (Netherlands), with replication efforts focusing on ICLEI Member Ljubljana (Slovenia), as well as San Cugat del Vallés (Spain) and cities across all three countries, can be seen as keystones to drive local renovation endeavours. Addressing both the demand and supply aspects of the renovation market, these hubs play a pivotal role in activating homeowners, supporting these with advice whilst also strengthening renovation market actors.
An impactful workshop recently convened representatives from several Spanish municipalities as well as other important stakeholders to explore the role of citizen hubs or so-called One-Stop-Shops (OSS) in driving energy renovation rates. The event was jointly organised by València Clima i Energia, Ajuntament de Sant Cugat, and supported by the Instituto Valenciano de la Edificacion, ICLEI and further partners of the EU-funded Save the Homes project. Throughout the workshop, the Save the Homes consortium provided updates on their endeavours to support citizen hubs, with the aim of expediting and making renovation more accessible as well as cost-effective. The workshop's agenda encompassed a series of presentations by local governments, alongside ample opportunities for open discussions, enabling the exchange of expertise on local renovation initiatives, identification of best practices in establishing OSS, exploration of supporting tools and protocols, and collaborative brainstorming to address common challenges and unlock untapped potentials.
Some key learnings and considerations related to housing sustainability, energy efficiency, and public-private collaboration at local and regional level included the age of housing stock, a massive renovation programme, effective bonuses, tax incentives, communication and outreach, office staffing capacity, data tools, collaboration between public and private sectors, addressing vulnerable housing and services replication.
Save the Homes is addressing these needs, having published useful tools and reports such as a Demand and Supply side mapping and guidelines for long-term citizen engagement. Access these resources and more here.