"The major environmental challenges require that each citizen develops an ability to understand the issues that must be addressed and to seek and implement solutions. Each person should be able to (re)find a power to act, at his or her own level. This is the whole point of developing energy education projects for children.A school is an ecosystem that brings together in the same place various actors with different missions: students, teachers, educators, administrative staff, technical staff, parents, companies involved in the maintenance and operation of technical equipment... It is often difficult to address the issue of energy because frequently, it is considered to be complicated and restrictive. Heating, lighting, water consumption, waste... are all energy-related topics that deserve to be discussed with young people as part of energy education projects in and outside school. Energy education aims to enable young people to:- acquire knowledge about energy (sources, production, consumption...).- understand the impact of our lifestyles, particularly in terms of energy consumption on our immediate and distant environment.- have the appropriate tools in order to initiate changes in their behaviour and to encourage them to develop eco-citizen attitudes.Energy Management schools has made it possible to develop an energy education program based on a participatory approach for educational institutions (schools, colleges) and recreation centres. The idea is to propose a challenge: the thrifty school"", bringing together all the actors of an establishment around the same objective of energy control. 6 organizations from 5 countries (Belgium, Croatia, Spain, France and Sweden) cooperated in this project. About 500 participants, primary school, college or recreation centre students (8-14 years old) and adults from these same establishments (teachers, directors, technical staff, managers), collectivity agents, but also parents and external stakeholders (associations, mediators, etc.) were involved.A one-year study phase made it possible to create the tools, which were then tested in 1 or 2 establishments per country (Croatia, Spain, France, Sweden) during an experimental phase. A third year was devoted to the dissemination of this energy education system through a competition, the ""economical/ thrifty school"" challenge. 4 types of productions were carried out:- the ""Energy Saving Toolbox"",- ""learning paths"" tested in schools or recreation centres, - a study report resulting from research work during the experiment. It contains recommendations for the animation of the system within the framework of the ""thrifty/ economical school"" challenge. The expected results of this energy education programm are: the reduction of energy consumption in the 3 to 5 schools per country participating in the competition. The impacts envisaged in the short term are the development of knowledge and skills of students and school staff in energy and project management. Spreading the programme beyond the project partners can, in the long term, contribute to strengthening and enriching existing energy education programmes and extending them to other institutions with the support of regions or States"

save@work focusses on overcoming the barriers to energy saving practices in public office buildings and changing the behaviour of public sector employees at work place. A minimum of 9000 employees in at least 180 public office buildings (administrative buildings - municipal/regional or federal state operated) from nine countries will compete in a year-long energy saving contest to achieve the highest energy savings possible compared to the previous year. Throughout the competition participants will benefit from expert knowledge provided by the partners; a web-based Energy Saving Online Tool (feedback system) which helps to visualise actual energy consumption and savings made by each building; tailor made information and campaign materials and the exchange of experience with other participants. The energy saving competition between public office buildings is embedded in an energy quality management system: Analysis – Development of Measures – Implementation – Monitoring and Continuation, which ensures an individual, professional goal-oriented and sustainable approach for realising energy savings. It is projected that the project will lead to 13 GWh primary energy saved and 3,100 t of CO2 avoided in public buildings across Europe. Support from behavioural change experts and an accompanying evaluation of the implemented measures and results will help provide important insights useful for both project implementation as well as future initiatives in this field. Factors of success, barriers and the impact of the project in respect to mid- and long-term changes will be analysed. Project activities and results will be disseminated through a wide communication campaign to the public, as well as other stakeholders in public administrations and academic institutions. By providing a complete set of strategies and materials needed to replicate this project, our goal is to inspire others to follow our lead and develop energy efficient offices of the future.

SecureChain promotes a Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM) that meets highest environmental quality standards and targets local biomass suppliers, energy producers and financial sector players to mobilise more biomass, maximise the share of sustainable bioenergy in the final energy consumption, and reduce the transaction costs for further market uptake of most efficient systems in six European model regions. An open call for SSCM pilot projects is launched encouraging market actors to mobilise and secure additional supplies of biomass from regional sources. Following a merit-based, objective competition, selected SMEs are awarded 15-20 Innovation Vouchers for the realisation of proposed SSCM pilot projects with the support of specialised advisors. Learning Labs for SME clusters support the implementation of most sustainable and energy efficient solutions in each model region. Tested quality assurance tools are readily installed in the pilots and SMEs receive proper training. A complete LCA of pilot supply chains evaluates their broader environmental and socio-economic impacts, ensuring that QA protocols meet eligible international sustainability standards for high efficiency and low carbon footprint. Suppliers are prepared for and ultimately acquire sustainability certification via independent audits. To facilitate critical financial proofs for market actors and financiers, a risk assessment of supply chains in line with a close mentoring of pilot teams by financial advisors is carried out. Roadshows promoting the pilots showcase that future-proof investment proposals can attract local to international capital for secured implementation and upscaling of efficient solutions. SecureChain exploits and disseminates a broadly transferable SSCM model for local bioenergy chains that fosters sustainable, environmentally compatible mobilisation of biomass sources and a proactive promotion of the market through conscious investments into the bioenergy sector.

BiogasAction aim to serve as vehicle for the development of the European biogas sector and thereby contribute to the EU 2020 targets by focusing on removing non-technical barriers to widespread production of biogas/biomethane from manure and other waste. Central driver is the cooperation between different policy levels at EU, national and regional level. The project will boost biogas development in the target regions in conjunction with replication efforts & promotion at broad EU scale. BiogasAction key activity & expected impact: • A web portal containing EU-wide biogas market overview, technical biogas and biomethane information and experience of EU/national biogas projects, case studies and free on-line/off-line biogas tools • Biogas and biomethane intervention strategy plans in the 9 target regions • Replication of the project in 5 EU countries/regions • A guidance document for investors about financing biogas/biomethane project and reducing investment risk. • A guidance document for policy and decision makers and for local authorities/municipalities, to enable them to improve national framework conditions for biogas and biomethane deployment • Definition and support of a total of 50 high quality, sustainable biogas projects in the 9 target regions. • 3 peer learning European workshops focusing on key competence areas (80 participants), 1 European roundtable about advanced biogas applications, organisation of at least 1 national energy info day in each target region, with more than 100 participants/event • 3-4 events/training courses per target region for public administration aimed to improve the framework, including follow-up of the recommendations • 2-4 events/training courses per target region aimed to raise the public acceptance • A local training package incl. use of training material from previous projects • Series of 6-8 trainings in each of the 9 target regions on specific topics for biogas plant operators • Final event on project achievements

One way in which bioenergy production can be increased is through retrofitting, the addition of new technology or features to existing industrial installations. Retrofitting means often lower capital expenditure (CAPEX), shorter lead times, faster implementation, less production time losses, lower risks and therefore faster project development and increased market benefits. BIOFIT aims to facilitate bioenergy retrofitting in five industries: first-generation biofuels, pulp and paper, fossil refineries, fossil firing power and combined heat and power plants. First an overview will be made of existing options for retrofitting, and best practices analysed, to establish (both technical and non-technical) success factors. This will constitute the basis for two core project actions i.e. the development of 10 concrete bioenergy retrofitting proposals (2 each per industry) and the establishment of dedicated working groups for each industry (industry platform) to facilitate two-way dialogue. Both actions will be industry-driven, and focus on identifying and helping to solve actual – general and industry-specific – barriers towards wider market uptake. BIOFIT will give specific attention to generating information for policy development. Acceptance of bioenergy, both by the industries and by the general public, is key to the industries’ transformation towards sustainable bioenergy generation and market uptake. Research into acceptance factors is an integral part of project set-up. Key issues will be highlighted, and guidelines for industries will be issued. The BIOFIT consortium is a multidisciplinary partnership, with strong industrial involvement, broad coverage across Europe, and existing practical experience developing bioenergy retrofits. The expertise of the consortium covers all five target industries. BIOFIT consortium partners have wide networks in industry and industry platforms, ensuring relevance and transferability of all results.