In the seventh of the 9 articles of this series, the attention will be focused in the Region of Crete (Greece), from where our project partners have shared four good energy practices.

The practices disseminated from Crete are:

  • ‘GREEN@Hospital Project’, a web-based energy management system for the optimization of the energy consumption in hospitals;
  • ‘Save energy in European schools (EURONET 50/50)’, a methodology to share economic incentives for saving energy between the schools and the municipalities;
  • ‘Green University Strategy for TUC’, a plan to promote the University to become an "open lab" for research and technology in sustainable development;
  • Application of novel high LRV photocatalytic paint at Stalida Tunnel’, to promote an eco-friendly innovative photocatalytic material developed to improve air quality and energy saving.

“Through the CLEAN project, we introduced these successful practices to our partners and their stakeholders, giving them inspiration on how to tackle different energy issues in their own region. Furthermore, the staff exchange that was held in Crete increased the knowledge and provided detailed information for better evaluation and adoption of these GPs”, explains Maria Apostolaki, Environmental Engineer and Special Advisor for Energy at Region of Crete.


Organisation of one staff exchange

On the 12th and 13th of June 2018, Greek CLEAN partners held one of the six staff exchanges that have taken place during the last year. They shared further details on the four good energy practices, mentioned above, with the project partners that attended these site visits: Iasi Municipality (Romania), Cooperative Les 7 Vents (France), Regional Council of North Karelia and Karelia University of Applied Sciences (Finland) and Development Agency of Savinjska Region (Slovenia).

“The partners had the opportunity to meet with Cretan experts and get informed about the way these GPs were designed and implemented, their results and possible difficulties encountered. Additionally, the partners were very interested in the way that the users were motivated and actively involved”, continues Apostolaki.

Read more about the staff exchange in Crete.

 

Participation in project’s staff exchanges

On the 30th and 31st of April 2018, representatives and key stakeholders from Region of Crete attended the staff exchange hosted by ANEA Naples Agency for Energy and Environment (Italy). Stakeholders from Ireland and Northern Ireland, on behalf of CLEAN lead partner ERNACT, attended the staff exchange as well.

“As the Campania Region has quite similar climate conditions and energy needs as Crete, we are very interested in seeing how energy efficiency is addressed and how the national target of a near Zero Energy Building is reached. Moreover, successful examples of energy management system in buildings can offer additional knowledge transfer to our region”, adds Maria Apostolaki.

Find out more about the staff exchange in Naples.

 

On the 28th and 29th of November 2018, representatives and key stakeholders from Region of Crete also attended the staff exchange organised in Normandy (France) by Cooperative Les 7 Vents. Project partners Fomento San Sebastian (Basque Country, Spain), Iasi Municipality (Romania) and Development Agency of Savinjska Region (Slovenia) attended the CLEAN event too.

Maria Apostolaki added that, “it was really interesting and inspiring to see how local people and local companies can be activated towards saving energy and financial resources, even in the means of volunteering. This common effort can maximize the social benefits, boost the local economy and accelerate growth of the region”.

Read more about the staff exchange in Normandy.