Stakeholders involvement for energy conscious communities: The Energy Labs experience in 10 European communities

Abstract

a b s t r a c tIn the framework of the INTERREG IVC RENERGY project an innovative methodology was devised to exploit stakeholder involvement on energy and environmental decisions at community level and to increase community acceptance. It is based on the "Living Lab" paradigm applied to policy making as a powerful instrument to encourage and coordinate stakeholder engagement. The paper describes the preliminary stakeholder analysis performed and the application of "Energy Lab" concept to eleven different EU communities (Kaunas e LT, Torre Vedras e PT, Potenza e IT, Slagelse e DK, Durham and Sheffield e UK, Tulln e AT, Szentes e Hu, Jaslo e PL and Avrig e RO) with the purpose of identifying gaps and needs at regional level, share the knowledge through the discussion of exemplar case studies, maximize the transfer of good practices for the regional implementation plans and derive effective policy recommendations. The results show that the Energy Labs can give a sound basis for a future dialogue and a long lasting co-operation among the different parties and can be therefore considered an investment in the future at community level. At interregional level the comparison of the experiences among different countries helps to highlight the different motivations and aspirations of the various communities as well as the main common barriers in the implementation of renewable energy and energy efficiency strategies.

Non-Technical Barriers to Energy Efficient Renovation of Residential Buildings and Potential Policy Instruments to overcome Them—Evidence from Young Russian Adults

“…Since there are many stakeholders involved in building renovations in Russia [26] some mechanism for community involvement could be suggested. For example in Lithuania, an Energy Lab approach to exploit stakeholder involvement on energy and environmental decisions at community level and to increase community acceptance was proven to be quite popular [83]. However, the Russian policy-making process generally does not include consultation with organized groups in society or take public opinion into account [16].…”

Creating a sustainable and resource efficient future: A methodological toolkit for municipalities

“…The involvement of stakeholders from the first stages of the policy making process is absolutely necessary, in particular to increase community acceptance on energy and environmental decisions at community level (see e.g. [20,21]). …”

“…Best practices are intended as effective initiatives and strategies which have resulted in real improvements for both the local governments and citizens [20]. The concept of Best Available Techniques (BAT) was introduced as a key principle in the IPPC Directive 96/61/EC on integrated pollution prevention and control, which defines BAT as "the most effective and advanced stage in the development of activities and their methods of operation" [24].…”

Competent Enough to Be Heard? Technicians’ Expectations about Local Stakeholders in Participative Processes

“…The community's acceptance of large energy projects with local impact is a crucial factor for their implementation. In fact, stakeholder involvement in a project development is a way of building a democratic bottom‐up process (Lima, Moreira, & Marques, ), of reaching consensus and improving policy‐making processes, while also valuing everyone's expertise, knowledge of the territory, and community expectations and motivations (Dvarioniene, Gurauskiene, Gecevicius, Trummer, Selada, Marques, & Cosmi, ). For this reason, public participation and community engagement in these projects is required by law, and a great effort has been made in understanding the residents’ views.…”