R4E Murcia – Dissemination Activity in a Seminar on Energy Saving & Energy Efficiency

Seminar on Energy Saving & Energy Efficiency for businesses and organizations in Murcia organized by the Department for  Government Modernization, Urban Quality & Participation, in collaboration with A3E. In the words of councilmember José Guillén, “The purpose of this meeting is to educate attendees on the important challenge we face which we wish you to transfer to your company and environment, our need to find alternatives that make the consumption of resources increasingly efficient”

“This seminar endeavours to boost energy savings in companies in the municipality, for the improvement of energy efficiency in the tertiary and industrial sector is one of the basic pillars to comply with local and national targets for CO2 emission reduction in 2020.”

“It’s a perfect opportunity for Murcian companies to inform themselves of the existing funds and grants to improve energy efficiency, which will not only result in improving the environment, but also represent a business opportunity, economic savings for participating businesses and, of course, last but not least, an improvement in the quality of life of our citizens.”

The conference is divided into three parts:

1)  Credit lines, aids, grants etc. as well as regional and national funding programs are presented to encourage companies and organizations to implement and invest in energy efficiency projects.

2) Explain the new rules of energy audits published in the Royal Decree 56/2016, which adapts to Directive 2012/27/EU of the European Parliament and Council concerning energy efficiency in relation to energy audits, accreditation of service providers and energy auditors and the promotion of an efficient energy supply.

“Taking advantage of the approval of the Royal Decree, we wish to use the current favourable situation to boost the Murcian energy business sector specialized in Energy Saving and Efficiency” stated councilmember José Guillén.

3) Successful cases of energy efficiency projects, driven by aid programs in different sectors such as transport, tourism, Industry and the public sector. Including representatives of the City of Murcia, and a round table debate after the presentation of the cases.

It is in this part a member of ALEM (the Murcian Local Energy Agency) introduces the attendees to the Roadmaps for Energy Project (R4E) as an initiative under the European “Horizon 2020”, highlighting the definition and design of services cities should offer their citizens in the long run, in the areas of buildings, mobility and urban spaces, with the Smart City approach.

Stressing above all the innovativeness in approaching and encouraging citizen participation, basing the project on participatory workshops and integrators, collecting input from technical experts in municipal policy areas like energy, combining them with input from and municipal policy makers, private companies, universities and local associations, etc. Being the development of a Municipal Energy Map the perfect example of what can be achieved.

The areas where roadmaps will be created are Smart Buildings, Smart Mobility and Smart Urban Spaces, laying the groundwork for genuine SmartCities. Informing the public about the R4E project is essential to create awareness and obtain support, in this case from companies, organisations and local experts.