On 27 May 2008, the European Commission, together with Europia, the European Petroleum Industry Association, launched the Save More Than Fuel Initiative. The Initiative promotes energy efficient driving habits among European car users.

"To reach our ambitious targets of CO₂ reduction and energy savings we have to make a big effort in all sectors. In certain cases this will require high tech solutions, but in others we just need to apply some common sense. This campaign provides a set of simple tips to reduce CO₂ emissions and save money, simply by driving more intelligently. Learning a few tricks will help EU citizens to keep more fuel in their tanks, more money in their pockets and more CO₂ out of the atmosphere", said Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs.

Over 45,000 petrol stations across 29 European countries will take part in the campaign led by Europia - "Save More Than Fuel" campaign (www.savemorethanfuel.eu) to distribute millions of leaflets on fuel efficiency and responsible driving behaviour. These leaflets will be available to consumers at filling stations, with additional information on the dedicated website.

Coinciding with this campaign, the Commission has launched a short video clip with some tips on how to drive efficiently and safely.

View the Video

The 2008 Call for Proposals for Energy (FP7-ENERGY-2008-TREN-1) under the Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP7) was published on 29 April 2008. In order to support the preparation of proposals, the Directorate General for Energy and Transport (DG TREN) of the European Commission held an Information Day on 20 June 2008 in Brussels.

The aim of this event was to disseminate information about FP7 and the research areas open in the 2008 Call for Proposals on Energy within the Cooperation Programme, to give details about the main legal and procedural conditions, and to answer any questions.

View all the video recordings

Further information about FP7 information days can be found on the Europa website at:
ec.europa.eu/dgs/energy_transport/rtd/fp7/infoday_en.htm

The seventh in a series of videos is now available on the Intelligent Energy - Europe website at: ec.europa.eu/energy/intelligent/library/videos_en.htm

The video on Local communities for sustainable energy in Europe describes the activities of public communication campaigns organised in Heidelberg (Germany) and Dunkerque (France) encouraging citizens to play their part in sustainable energy use.

Other videos cover Biomass Heating, Energy Efficient Lighting, Cycling, Sustainable Cooling, Biodiesel Production and Energy Education and are available online or on DVD in the following languages: Deutsch, English, Español, Français, Italiano, Polski.

In March 2007, the European Council committed to an integrated climate and energy policy with ambitious targets for 2020 and beyond. Europe has embarked on a transition to a high-efficiency, low-carbon energy system, initially in Europe but with a view to stimulating a global endeavour.

The Commission has followed up on the political commitments of the European Council with concrete implementation proposals.

The proposals will have a clear impact on greenhouse gas emissions. They will strengthen European competitiveness in increasingly important energy technologies and energy markets of the future. More immediately, cost-effectiveness has been a prime concern in their development. As regards energy security, broadly speaking the capacity to match demand with supply at reasonable prices, the proposals will have an impact in several ways - encouraging energy efficiency, demand management and new supplies, notably renewables, into energy and transport markets; developing low-carbon energy technologies, enabling supplies within a carbon constraint; developing flexibility and solidarity in the internal energy market, diminishing vulnerabilities to supply disruptions; and encouraging energy efficiency throughout the global market.

In context of the rapid change in global energy situation, with the main lines of EU energy policy established, both the European Council (March 2008 European Council, Presidency conclusions, par.25) and the European Parliament (European Parliament Resolution (2007)413 "Towards a common European foreign policy on energy") have underlined the importance which they attach to enhancing the energy security of the EU and its Member States and to further developing the external dimension of the EU energy policy. Responding to this, the 2 nd Strategic Energy Review to be prepared by the Commission will focus mainly on the related issues of security of supply and external relations.

The Commission is launching a public consultation on the main topics to be covered by the Strategic Review.
The consultation is open from 1 July 2008 and closes on 10 September 2008.

Public Consultation

On 8 July 2008, the European Commission put forward a package of new "Greening Transport" initiatives to steer transport towards sustainability. First, a strategy to ensure that the prices of transport better reflect their real cost to society, so that environmental damage and congestion can gradually be reduced in a way that boosts the efficiency of transport and ultimately the economy as a whole. Second, a proposal to enable Member States to help make this happen through more efficient and greener road tolls for lorries, with the revenue to be used to reduce environmental impacts from transport and cut congestion. Third, a communication to reduce noise from rail freight. The package also includes an inventory of existing EU measures on greening transport and a communication on the additional greening transport initiatives that this Commission will take before the end of 2009.

Further Information | View the Package

This Good Practice case study is one of 5 New Good Practices added to the ManagEnergy website in May 2008 from a total of 600+ case studies on the ManagEnergy website. Submit your own case study to get recognition as Good Practice, appear in this newsletter or even win the ManagEnergy Local Energy Action Award 2009.


The POLYCITY project focuses on the sustainable development of three large urban areas in Germany (Ostfildern), Spain (Barcelona/Cerdanyola) and Italy (Turin) in the field of energy optimisation and the use of renewable energies. In real urban developments the rate of fossil fuels is reduced in favour of sustainable energy supply from biomass, solar and geothermal. The research teams work on the optimisation of design and operation of eco-buildings, optimisation of innovative supply systems, integration of supply and demand with the development and implementation of a communal energy management system, socio-economic analyses. Special issues are low temperature heating/cooling systems.

The project is coordinated by the Centre of Applied Research Sustainable Energy Technology at the Stuttgart University of Applied Sciences (HfT). POLYCITY is part of the European CONCERTO initiative, co-funded by the European Commission.

View the Case Study

The Sectoral Information Kit is a new service introduced by ManagEnergy in 2007. The information kits gather together a wide range of different themes related to sustainable energy such as energy use in buildings, energy education, behavioural change, etc. SIK8, covering Energy End-Use and Energy Services and SIK9, containing Energy Tips were added to the website at the end of May.

On 16-17 June 2008, the third training module "Marketing y estrategias de venta para las Agencias de Energía" was presented in Madrid, Spain. Material from all three Training modules for Energy Agency Directors is available in the Network Members section of the ManagEnergy website (you will be asked to enter your username and password).

• Module 1: Developing Successful Sustainable Projects
• Module 2: Developing a Successful Local Energy Agency
• Module 3: Marketing and Sales for a Local Energy Agency

The next training events currently under discussion are for Ireland, France, Slovenia and Croatia.

Further information about Training
Further information about the ManagEnergy Network

Thank you to the local and regional energy actors that have signed up for the Sectoral Advice service. You have been issued with a username and password which gives you access to the ManagEnergy Network Members area as well as a dedicated discussion forum

New Sectoral Advice assignments have been recently contracted,  including:

• Peer Review of the Green Travel Plan of  UK City Council
• Advice to a  Dutch local energy actor on energy public awareness measures in an island context
• Advice to a Macedonian energy actor on  energy education at kindergarden level 
• Advice on sustainable transport in a rural French area

Interested in how the Sectoral Advice facility can help you? Contact Stefania Ponzio or Isabelle Birsan at: sa@managenergy.net , Tel: +32 2 7430947/8

The three ManagEnergy Thematic Groups (TGs) covering Energy Education, Buildings and TG Transport & Mobility launched at the beginning of 2008 met for the second time in Brussels at the beginning of June. The working groups are composed of 7 members and are coordinated as follows:

• TG Energy Education: Eddy Deruwe (ABEA - Brussels Energy Center) - eddy.deruwe[at]curbain.be
• TG Buildings: Stefan Olson (Energikontor Sydost AB) - Stefan.Olsson[at]energikontor-so.com
• TG Transport & Mobility: Loic Lepage (Energy Agency Prioriterre, Savoie, France) - loic.lepage[at]prioriterre.org

The meetings of the Buildings and Education groups took place on the 3rd and 4th of June, which allowed the group members to attend the Green Week. The thematic group on mobility met on the 10th of June in Brussels.

The thematic groups are working on the following:

• TG Education – Guidelines for the implementation of an energy education project
• TG Buildings - Changing behaviour: passive houses
• TG Transport & Mobility - Proposing actions and services in the field of sustainable mobility

More information will be available on the ManagEnergy website soon. In the meantime you are welcome to contact the thematic group coordinators.

During May and June, ManagEnergy staff have been actively promoting the tools and services it provides to local and regional energy actors. If you would like to find out more, contact: information@managenergy.net

On 15 May 2008, ManagEnergy participated in a meeting organised by the regional delegation of the Spanish Region of Castilla la Mancha in Brussels. The meeting gathered around 70 local actors, the majority being mayors of small municipalities of the region.

Pedro Ballesteros Torres from the European Commission's Directorate General for Energy and Transport presented the Covenant of Mayors. In addition, he explained the tools and services that ManagEnergy offers to municipalities who would like to join the Covenant of Mayors. Mr Ballesteros Torres enhanced the role of local and regional energy agencies in supporting municipalities (and in particular the smallest ones with less energy-related resources) in their efforts towards a reduction of their CO₂ emissions.

Last but not least, Mr Ballesteros Torres put great emphasis on the sectoral advice facility. This new service of ManagEnergy aims at making short-term expert technical assistance available free of charge to local and regional energy actors such as municipalities. Indeed, ManagEnergy offers support to the signataires of the Covenant of Mayors (i.e. identifying an expert to provide guidelines for the preparation of the action plan). Representative of the ManagEnergy team distributed to the participants promotional material on the Covenant of Mayors and the sectoral advice.

ManagEnergy was also invited on 20 May 2008 by the Brussels delegation of the Spanish Region of Valencia to present its tools and services. The session gathered representatives of the Brussels delegations, as well as a delegation from Penáguila, a small municipality of the Valencia region (Mayor, two counselors and an engineer working for the municipality).

The representatives of the Brussels delegation of the Valencia region encouraged the municipality to take actions in the field of sustainable energy and to join the Covenant of Mayors. A representative of the ManagEnergy team explained the tools and services (and in particular the sectoral advice) that ManagEnergy offers to local and regional actors and especially for small municipalities willing to undertake activities in the field of sustainable energy. He also reiterated the role of local and regional agencies in supporting municipalities in the framework of the Covenant of Mayors.

The Brussels delegation of the Valencia region is very active in the field of sustainable development and in the promotion of the activities and services of ManagEnergy.

The ManagEnergy support team ran a stand during the 2008 edition of Green Week. This year the Green Week, under the slogan “only one earth” looked at sustainable use of natural resources (including sustainable production and consumption).

ManagEnergy took this opportunity to present its tools and services to a wide range of stakeholders, regional delegations in Brussels, local authorities, associations and officials from the EU institutions.

Video recordings of all sessions and more information on Green Week

ManagEnergy was invited by the Fundación Comunidad Valenciana Región Europea (Valencia regional office in Brussels) to participate to the EGETICA Fair (International Fair for Energy Efficiency and New Technological Solutions) held in Valencia on the 11th and 12th of June 2008. The Valencia Region is among the most active regions in Europe in the field of energy and sustainable development.

ManagEnergy took part in a one-day seminar “The innovation in environment and renewable energy as key to prevent from climate change”, making a presentation in Spanish. The presentation of 1 hour was divided into two parts, in the framework of a session on the Covenant of Mayors (the session was introduced by the Head of the Valencia Office in Brussels), as follows:

• Introduction to the Covenant of Mayors
• Presentation of the ManagEnergy initiative and its tools and services at the disposal of local and regional energy actors. It focused particularly on how ManagEnergy can contribute to the Covenant of Mayors; A special focus was made on the smaller municipalities with less energy resources willing to join the Covenant of Mayors.

A ManagEnergy expert explained how local energy agencies can enhance their role in offering their services to municipalities. Last but not, least he reiterated the role of the sectoral advice facility for local municipalities that had signed the Covenant (i.e. an expert to help a municipality to draft the guidelines of a sustainable energy action plan.)

All participants received a pack of information including sheets in Spanish on the Covenant of Mayors, a description of ManagEnergy and the sectoral advice facility.

The participants of the session included mayors and representatives of small municipalities of the region, the INTERREG Secretariat South, and the Energy Agency of La Ribera.

More information on the EGETICA fair: egetica.feriavalencia.com

More information on the “Fundación Comunidad Valenciana Región Europea”: www.uegva.info

On 17 June 2008, the ManagEnergy team met a representative from the East-Midlands (UK) Brussels office to discuss the involvement of the region in the workshop organised by ManagEnergy in the framework of the Open Days (see below). A Representative of the ManagEnergy support team took the opportunity to present the ManagEnergy tools at the disposal of local and regional energy actors, and in particular Sectoral Advice. He also promoted the role of local and regional energy agencies in helping municipalities in the framework of the Covenant of Mayors. The Brussels office of East Midlands will now promote the ManagEnergy tools and services in their region.

ManagEnergy will be present at a number of events during 2008. If you are attending any of these events, take advantage of the opportunity to discuss ManagEnergy services, tools and facilities with a member of the ManagEnergy Support Team. Click on the links below for further details.

The Open Days are organised by the Committee of the Regions and Directorate General for Regional Policy and they will take place from the 6-9 October 2008 in Brussels.

4000 people are expected to visit the Investors Café. It acts as a unique forum for communication and meeting place between private and public companies and regions and cities, enabling them to discover the rich diversity and economic attractiveness of European regions/cities and to identify investment and job creation opportunities. The investor's café is organised among four thematic priorities, one of them being "Sustainable development: regional answers to climate change (including energy)"

A wide range of seminars will be organised by partners regions and in the framework of the Investors café.

ManagEnergy is organizing a workshop in the framework of the Investors' Café thematic village "energy" on "helping municipalities to work in the framework of the Covenant of Mayors". The workshop will take place in the morning of 8 October 2008.

Should you be interested in attending the ManagEnergy workshop at the Open Days, please do not forget to register through the Open Days website: www.opendays.europa.eu

Please also send an email to information@managenergy.net to inform us of your attendance.

We welcome all the Local and Regional Energy Agencies to take part in the Open Days 2008.

More on the Open Days 2008 and the ManagEnergy Workshop - draft programme now online

More about the Covenant of Mayors

ManagEnergy will organise a workshop as part of this two-day conference. ManagEnergy staff will also attend the event to present the services offered to local and regional energy actors.

The event is Scandinavia's leading exhibition focusing on clean technology and sustainable business. The two-day draft conference programme includes workshops about "New Partnerships in Sustainable City Development", "Biogas Highway", "Green Logistics" and "Cleantech Strategies in Industry".

Further Information

The Central European Initiative has recently launched the First Call for Proposals of the CEI Special Fund for Climate and Environment Protection. The Fund supports projects in the field of energy efficiency, renewable energy, environmental friendly technologies.

The applicants have to be from one of the 18 CEI Member States: Albania, Austria, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine.

First Call Closing Date: 30 September 2008

Further information

At the Heiligendamm Summit in June 2007, the G-8 acknowledged an EU proposal for an international initiative on energy efficiency tabled in March 2007, and agreed to explore, together with the International Energy Agency, the most effective means to promote energy efficiency internationally. A year later, on 8 June 2008, the G8 countries, China, India, South Korea and the European Community decided to establish the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation, at the Energy Ministerial meeting hosted by Japan in the frame of the 2008 G8 Presidency, in Aomori.

The Partnership will add value to existing structures and agreements that tackle energy efficiency, its purpose being to facilitate those actions that yield high energy efficiency gains and improvements, and where the participating countries see an added value for themselves and therefore choose to take action in the areas of their interest on a voluntary basis.

The Partnership offers to the G8 and other interested countries a flexible forum for high level policy discussion, regular strategic cooperation and exchanges focused exclusively on energy efficiency. It will support the ongoing work of the participating countries and relevant organisations to promote energy efficiency. It will be a supplementary and complementary instrument to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change process.

Further information