Cork City Council proudly launched the Home Energy Upgrade Office on Grand Parade last Tuesday the 12th of July. Officially launched by the newly instated Lord Mayor of Cork Counsellor Deirdre Forde, the HEUGO is the result of an EU funded project called Intensify established to reduce our energy consumption through energy efficiency upgrades to our housing stock. The office provides an informative, non-judgemental outlet for the public to get information on energy efficiency and the financial assistance available from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland.
The objective of the Intensify Project is to reduce our carbon footprint through behavioural change and intense community engagement. It involves citizen focused consultation with the public informing them on the process to upgrading their homes to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. The office is the culmination of five years of work in the Intensify Project funded by the European Regional Development Fund and Interreg Europe. Under the Intensify project, a Regional Action Plan for the Southern Region was published detailing the actions to be taken. You can read the Intensify Regional Action Plan here: https://projects2014-2020.interregeurope.eu/intensify/library/
Governments are striving to reduce our carbon footprint through the Climate Action Plan and other such policy documents in a top-down approach. However, for a sustainable future, energising citizens, and communities with the relevant information on home energy upgrades will empower them to act. The Home Energy Upgrade Office will tackle the issues from the bottom-up supporting homeowners in a friendly non-judgemental manner striving to increase carbon reduction thorough intense community engagement.
