A multi-stakeholder partnership was set up in Zagreb to support a fair energy transition. This initiative consists of mapping energy-poor households in Zagreb, implementing low-cost energy-efficiency measures, and providing advice on how to reduce energy use.
Title
Brief description
A partnership between the City Council, NGOs, students and academia was set up in Zagreb to map energy-poor households in Zagreb, implement low-cost energy-efficiency measures, and provide advice on how to reduce energy use. Energy poverty has been gaining increasing visibility over the last years and is becoming more prominent every day given the current energy crisis. However, up until now, there is still no clear definition of vulnerable energy customers in Croatian legislation and thus, there is a missing systematic policy framework to tackle the multi-dimensional problem of energy poverty. This multi-stakeholder collaboration is an example of an initiative that addresses energy poverty in a holistic way by linking the lack of affordable energy to poverty, inequality, health and environmental challenges.
Keywords
Energy poverty, multi-stakeholder partnership, fair transition, training, capacity building
City/Country
Time period
From 2018 to 2020
Lever(s)
Methodologies
- Energy audit
- Multi-stakeholder collaboration
- Skills development of students
World Region
Scale(s) of the case analysed
Target audience and dimension
Domain(s) of application
Context addressed
Solution applied
Challenge addressed/ Problem-led
Barriers addressed
Main Practices
Impact
Co benefits
Engagement Journey
Impact to climate neutrality
This initiative has trained university students to carry out simple energy audits in energy-poor households and help implement low-cost energy improvements. Energy poverty is a social, economic and environmental issue that can have serious physical and mental burdens for households. Inefficient building insulation and heating systems increase household energy bills. It can also cause health-related problems arising from mould, dampness, cold and low indoor air quality. Additionally, it can reinforce the conditions of poverty for the most vulnerable, amplifying social inequality in cities. Inefficient buildings with high demand for energy generated from fossil fuels also contribute to higher greenhouse gas emissions. This project has helped change the perception about what energy poverty means and the multifaceted consequences it can have.
Context & Public policy of reference
Innovative approach(es) addressed
One of the distinctive elements of this example lies in the engagement of different actors (including NGOs, the city council and a university) to find tackle the multi-dimensional problem of energy poverty. This initiative also stands out for having changed perceptions around the meaning of energy poverty. Engineering students usually learn technical solutions to problems. However, through this initiative and the energy audits they had to carry out, they were able to confront this concrete reality. The more concrete the trigger, the more likely a new perspective and/or idea can emerge to tackle a problem in a way that responds to local needs, which is what happened in this case. Lastly, this project made a critical contribution towards mainstreaming energy poverty issues in the education of future engineers.
Initiator
The project was initiated by the City of Zagreb, the NGO Society for Sustainable Development Design (DOOR) and the University of Zagreb’s Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing.
Stakeholder networks and organisational model
| Stakeholder | No.of people | Role |
| Engineering students | 15 | -Trained to carry out audits to identify energy-saving solutions -Conducted field visits to carry out low-cost energy-efficient interventions and gather data -Advised households on cost-efficient and energy-saving measures |
| Experts (from UNDP, University of Zagreb, civil society organisations, among others) | Unknown | -Trained the students, researchers and teachers on various issues, ranging from the challenges faced by energy-poor households to working with people with disabilities and the impacts of energy poverty on health. |
| City Council | Unknown | -Identified vulnerable households to target and requested statements of interest from them for involvement in the project. |
European Social Fund and Croatian state budget via the Government Office for NGOs | Unknown | -Financed the project |
Croatian civil society organisation DOOR (Society for Sustainable Development Design) | Unknown | -Project partner -Held some workshops for the students |
Democratic Purpose
Participant Recruitment
Interaction between participants
Resources
Key enablers
Political: Recognition of the serious implications of energy poverty
Social: A multi-stakeholder approach involving several actors
Technical: Students were taught technical solutions and learned how to implement efficiency measures. The students also developed a model for estimating the energy needs of households based on the results of the energy audit.
Key inhibiting factors
Drawbacks/pros/cons of the solutions (after implementation)
Pros:
- Established programme of socially useful learning at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb
- Increased staff capacity for the implementation of socially beneficial learning programmes
- Representatives of CSOs empowered to carry out advocacy activities
- Proposed policy proposal for combating energy poverty in the City of Zagreb
- Developed a model for assessing the energy needs of the households and for wall-retrofitting investments
- 10 students went through a socially useful learning programme
- Around 100 households from the City of Zagreb were equipped with simple energy efficiency measures
- Zagreb has used the recommendations from the household survey carried out to understand energy povery in Zagreb and the energy retrofit financial assessment model to promote legislative changes and provide energy-poor citizens with better protection and support. Moreover, the city added a definition of energy poverty to the ‘Zagreb Strategy for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion for the period 2021–2025’.
Cons:
Unknown
Scalability
The idea of the project could be replicable in other contexts. The project could also be expanded and target more people. In fact, one of the 'Zagreb Strategy for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion for the period 2021–2025' pilot measures will replicate the project’s actions, providing simple, low-cost energy-efficiency measures to energy-poor households.
Key lessons
Main positive lessons/opportunities identified:
- Increased visibility for the topic of energy poverty
- The project has increased the exchange of knowledge and skills by university staff, which can help engineering students become change agents for a fair energy transition
- This project has created educational benefits for the current and future students by integrating energy poverty into the university curriculum
- The engagement of different actors has proven successful and that has helped foster more multi-stakeholder collaborations
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