The CLEAN partnership is working together since January 2017. We are approaching the second phase of the project and we are working hard to find out what some of the beneficiaries think about the work that we are carrying on. We have made a series of interviews to find out more about the thoughts of local stakeholders.
This week, we speak with some Greek stakeholders: Eirini Sfakianaki from Municipality of Malevizi, Emmanouil Karapidakis from Hellenic Mediterranean University and Efprepios Baradakis from Technical University of Crete.
Why did you decide to take part in CLEAN?
Eirini: I decided to take part in Clean because I thought that it would be a great challenge for me. I would have the chance to be informed about environmental and energy issues that I came across with during my MSc. I would look into other European countries’ point of view, different from my own, and maybe adopt some of their innovative actions in my municipality.
Emmanouil: to enhance our knowledge and exchange experiences with other stakeholders from other European countries in the field of energy management and saving in public building.
Efprepios: to see examples of actions related to the following: energy performance of buildings, investments in energy efficiency, energy efficiency in public sector, engagement of all governance levels to support energy efficiency and learn from successful applications and policies in other EU countries.
Have you participated in any staff exchanges or study visits?
Eirini: I participated in two study visits that took place in Caen (France) and in Lasko (Slovenia) respectively.
Emmanouil: yes, I have. More precisely I have participated in a staff exchange and a study visit in Naples (Italy).
Efprepios: I participated in the staff exchange that took place in Caen (France).
Have you learnt any lessons from other stakeholders? Or, have you shared your expertise with them?
Eirini: the innovative actions that our partners in Normandy and Slovenia presented were very interesting. Especially the good practices presented to us in Slovenia, which dealt with issues of energy efficiency in school buildings. It was an excellent opportunity for us to see how our European partners deal with energy efficiency.
Emmanouil: both. I learned about new subsidies schemes, successful implementation of EMS (Energy Management System) in the university campus and the real performance of an nZEB (Nearly zero-energy buildings) through a mock-up. I shared my expertise in the active technologies solution such as PVs, Smart metering and Microgrids.
Efprepios: all the presentations in Caen showed us very powerful examples of network between public - private sector - local administration and citizens. This is the level of organization we are hoping to achieve here in Greece in the forthcoming future. We also had the chance to present from our side the good practice, Green Strategy, implemented by the Technical University.
How are you benefiting from this international network? Is CLEAN impacting your work?
Eirini: we have already elaborated studies, in cooperation with Technological Education Institute, and submitted proposals in order to upgrade two schools in our municipality.
Emmanouil: besides the exchange of knowledge and experiences, I gain a list of international contacts for future collaboration.
Efprepios: we have learnt a lot from the presentations introduced in Caen and we are keen to cease the opportunity and develop networks between public - private sector - local administration and citizens.
What do you expect from the CLEAN partnership?
Eirini: CLEAN project change our mentality and the way we think. Even though we were well informed about environmental issues, we were introduced to new ways of implementing energy efficiency in our municipality. We would like to create a platform with all the CLEAN partners, where all could exchange thoughts, ideas, innovative plans etc. That way we could all learn from the experiences of one another and find solutions that would help us tackle any difficulties that may arise when implementing energy efficiency practices in public buildings.
Emmanouil: to keep informing the local stakeholders for best practices and share its international networking in this specific field.
Efprepios: we expect to create an open channel of collaboration.
