In Croatia, the City of Koprivnica, supported by Regional Energy Agency North (REAN), was one of the four winners of the prestigious European Awards for Excellence in Sustainable and Innovation Procurement. It was awarded the prize in category "Innovation Procurement of the Year", thanks to their public procurement of innovation for a complete reconstruction of a building, carried out in close cooperation with Regional Energy Agency North. The market dialogue to inform and involve market actors, in this first of its kind partnership in Croatia, to perform an extensive reconstruction of a prefabricated kindergarten building was positively assessed by the jury. “We are truly honored to receive the Procura+ Award. This type of public innovation procurement is the first to be conducted in Croatia, and being honoured with this Award is a remarkable confirmation that we are heading in right direction.” said Mr. Mišel Jakšić, Mayor of Koprivnica, in his thank you speech during the award ceremony.

C-Track 50 supported the project during the preliminary technical analysis and project designing phase. The reconstruction consisted not only of energy renovation works, but also of a complete reconstruction of the interior, including bathrooms, water supply and drainage system of the building. The procurement delivered an innovative and replicable solution for external, internal, energy efficient and functional transformation of a 35 year old prefabricated wooden kindergarten, and the innovation resulted from the combination of existing materials and basic techniques not previously offered or used in the market. The final impact of the procurement and implemented solution was a completely transformed and improved kindergarten with extended lifetime of 25+ more years for the cost of less than 500,00 € per square meter, which is less than 50 % of a cost of a new building. The solution also resulted in 61 % savings on heating energy, 66 % savings on primary energy and 66 % less CO2 emissions, all on an annual basis.

Riga Planning Region in Latvia has been working with its beneficiary municipalities for the preparation of an application regarding mobility points. In this framework, meetings with the EIB to discuss the region’s ELENA application have been realised, and the requested changes in the pre-application form are ongoing. Considering that there is no previous experience with ELENA projects in Latvia, this exercise is a significant experience for the engaged regional partners in the country

In Spain, Fundación Asturiana de la Energía (FAEN) has been preparing with 10 municipalities their SECAPS. Until now most of them didn’t have any work done on energy efficiency. Working together and providing them the necessary information, a new approach has been adopted by the local authorities. The priority projects identified include nine street lighting projects with LED technology, one zero emissions project in a natural park, one ICT solution and one district heating using biomass. The actions need a budget about 34 M€, and to support and encourage these actions FAEN has collaborate in the preparation of:

• Energy audit (more in detail than the SECAP);
• Technical documents for the application forms;
• Documents for the public procedures of contracting;
• Assistance during all the process.

The financing instruments considered in order to realise these actions include national funds, funds available for mining areas, cohesion funds, ESCO’s (Energy Service Companies) and external lighting service outsourcing. The work is almost finished and the 10 municipalities will realize important changes on their energy installations, looking for its efficiency and savings. All these actions are in line with the National Energy and Climate Plan defined by the national government of Spain.

WOJEWODZTWO, in the framework of the C-Track 50 project, supports local governments in adjusting their low-emission economy plans to the SECAP standard. Project activities are mainly aimed at 10 different municipalities from Wielkopolska with a population from 2,000 to 30,000. As part of the activities, a SECAP template based on a spreadsheet was developed. It seems to be a useful tool supporting municipalities in preparing baseline or control inventory of emissions. Based on the guidelines of the Polish national project on the climate change adaptation plans for cities, WOJEWODZTWO has developed an Annex template that shows, in an easy and transparent way, how to analyze climate threats and influence and what procedure should be applied to best identify priority tasks for municipalities. Our communes often have ready-made documentation of such projects, with the calculation of investment costs and key attachments, in the preparation of which WOJEWODZTWO was also involved. Because of the high percentage of subsidies for public entities, the communes are waiting for the announcement of new calls under the Regional Operational Program. As part of the documentation, the compendium of knowledge on available sources of investment project financing for municipalities, has been also developed. It is addressed to other municipalities from the Wielkopolska Region and municipalities from the partner region. In the study, we paid special attention to the ESCO financing model which so far is not widely used in Wielkopolska, especially among municipalities.

AREAM, the regional energy agency of Madeira, Portugal, has been supporting the Funchal municipality, among its beneficiaries, to develop e-charging stations for electric vehicles. In addition, the Madeira region is supported with solutions for the rehabilitation of residential buildings, in order to improve their energy and water performance.

In Germany, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability has undertaken several activities aimed at supporting local authorities to create ambitious climate plans. Currently, ICLEI is in the process of building a long-standing bilateral relationship with B.A.U.M. Consult focusing on energy and climate planning for climate neutrality. ICLEI has also been working together with individual German municipalities, of various sizes. The small city of Denzlingen has set itself the goal to become climate neutral by 2035 and to develop an integrated energy and climate plan that outlines a path towards that goal. ICLEI has supported Denzlingen in this endeavor. In November, the city council will decide whether it endorses the ambitious target and the first concept plan. Furthermore, in the City of Dortmund, the council has already endorsed the establishment of a climate action monitor, that has been integrated within the city’s Climate and Energy Plan 2030, currently under development.