The public sector sets the example.

Public buildings are not always perceived as the standard for innovation or efficiency. But, in the current fight against global warming, governments have a central role to drive their constituencies forward in adopting measures that will reduce greenhouse emissions. However a small part of what is needed to accomplish the international agreements this represents, it holds great symbolic meaning, especially since it brings concrete measures to schools, where new generations will learn to uphold the efforts.

In this project, IDN and the Săveni local public administration are partnering to implement efficiency measures to four buildings under city hall administration: the City Hall building itself, the Petricani Local Public School, the Bodeasca Public School and the Public Library.

A school building in Săveni (Town in Botosani County, Romania)This will develop new knowledge and set best practices which are summarized in a report with recommendations for the replication of such initiatives. The main role of IDN is to advise on the best technical solutions, implementation and maintenance of the new technology and measures.

The project is funded by EEA Norway Grants and assembles a team of experts from the areas of green energy, climate and environment, building temperature efficiency, and technical feasibility for energy efficiency measures.

Together, they will focus on quality assurance, and perform a set of activities around three main tasks:

• Joint elaboration of the technical terms of reference, based on experiences both in Norway and Eastern Europe;
• Development of the Quality Assurance for Commissioning and Maintenance Plan, focused on the best and most cost-effective solutions;
• Development of and Energy Investment Plan for 2021 – 2027 based on local planning and experiences in Norway.

To increase cooperation and further develop bilateral relations, three workshops will be organized in Săveni. This local presence and exchange is the type of kick-off this long-term initiative needs, since it aims to be an inflection point in how the whole municipality deals with its energy efficiency initiatives and contributes to the larger efforts in mitigating global warming.