GREEN PARTNERSHIPS Local Partnerships for Greener Cities and Regions KICK OFF MEETING, Rethymno, Crete, Greece, 9 10 April 2013 MEETING MINUTES

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1 GREEN PARTNERSHIPS Local Partnerships for Greener Cities and Regions KICK OFF MEETING, Rethymno, Crete, Greece, 9 10 April 2013 MEETING MINUTES Meeting participants: KGZS MB: Veronika Valentar, Stanka Klemenčič Kosi, Urška Dolinar, Mateja Softić ENERGAP: Simona Tekavec Lakatamia: Loucas Iatrou, Georgia Kapelides GERES: Cyril Jarny, Amélie Himpens TUC: Theocharis Tsoutsos, Stavroula Tournaki, Kostis Voumvourakis Kyoto Club: Sergio Andreis, Piero Pelizzaro AREANATejo (via skype): Ana Lacao Granollers: Albert Camps Giró, Angel Gonzalo Martí, Virgínia Domingo AUT: Ilir Kristo, Seit Shallari HEIS: Lejla Jahic ZAVOD: Mladen Matica, Jelena Kovač, Maja Turinski ISSP: Ivan Jovetic MED JTS: Tsveta Aleksandrova Municipality of Rethymno: Vassilis Myriokefalitakis (external partner) Short meeting overview: Day 1, 9 April: Welcome addresses, self introductions of meeting participants Project overview WP1 Project management and monitoring MED programme requirements and expectations Day 2, 10 April: Overview of activities in thematic work packages WP2 Information, awareness raising and capitalisation WP3 Joint approach for more efficient implementation of local energy strategies WP4 Capacity building and knowledge transfer for public bodies in MED cities and regions WP5 Pilot testing of more efficient implementation of energy strategies by creating local partnerships Technical Session Sustainable Energy Initiatives and Good Practices in the Municipality of Rethymno Attachments: 1_Meeting agenda (doc) 2_Agenda of the technical session (pdf) 3a & 3b_Attendance lists of day 1 and day 2 (pdf) 4_Contact list (updated) (xls) 1

2 MEETING MINUTES AND SUMMARY OF AGREEMENTS 1. Welcome addresses, self introductions of meeting participants At the beginning of the meeting, welcome addresses were expressed by: Stanka Klemenčič Kosi, representative of the Lead Partner Slovene Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry Institute of Agriculture and Forestry Maribor, Theocharis Tsoutsos, representative of the host Partner Technical University of Crete, Tsveta Aleksandrova, representative of the MED JTS. The meeting continued with the presentation of all project partners, their activities, experience with energy efficiency and renewable energy sources, and role of partners in the project (attachment 5). Attachment: 5_Presentation of partners (ppt) 2. Project overview First day of the meeting was devoted to presenting the general overview of the project, the planned activities and linkages between work packages and deliverables. Firstly, Veronika Valentar presented introduction into the project topic relevance of the project and the solutions we are trying to achieve in regard to the 2020 targets of EU countries for energy efficiency and use of renewable energy sources (attachment 6). Afterwards, Urška Dolinar presented the key points of the project (attachment 7): Background and purpose of the project, meaning of the local green partnerships Needs of the public organisations regarding effective implementation of energy efficiency measures How these needs will be addressed in the project at transnational level, in local/regional organisations with key role, and by addressing and involving local partnerships Expected results and benefits of the project Presentation of all work packages, key activities and deliverables Principles of the joint work in the project. The session concluded with discussion regarding expectations of partners from the project. The following points were discussed: Difficulties regarding the application for ELENA funds (EIB mechanism): Kyoto Club wanted to apply with an Italian province, but at the moment there are limitations for obtaining bank guarantees which disable a successful application of ELENA. On 25 October 2012, the EU adopted the Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency, setting the energy efficiency targets. More at: Within the cities signatories of the Covenants of Mayors SEAP, monitoring of the SEAP targets will be done by national coordinators, but the monitoring mechanism is not yet established. This is an opportunity for the GREEN PARTNERSHIPS project to connect with the CoM initiative. We should take into consideration methods done in several existing projects, such as: MERCHANTILITY (Kyoto Club), ISLEPACT (TUC), 2

3 ENERGIES FOR CITIES. A useful source of information is BUILD UP The European portal for energy efficiency in buildings: EU initiative Capacity building of local governments to advance Local Climate and Energy Action from planning to action to monitoring: capacity.eu. Agreements: Partners agreed to establish LinkedIn profile for the project. Attachments: 6_Project introduction_valentar (ppt) 7_Project overview_dolinar (ppt) 3. WP1 Project management and monitoring The next session was devoted to WP1, project management and monitoring of project progress. Firstly, Mateja Softić presented the following points (attachment 8): Project organisation, bodies and partner roles: Project Management Team, Steering Committee, Advisory Board, WP and activity leaders, External partners; Expert Working Groups (WP3) and their coordinators, Local Action Groups (WP4), coordinators of pilot activities and local partnerships (WP5). Each partner organisation should nominate one main contact person that will also be a member of the Steering Committee and communicate it to Stanka Klemenčič Kosi until WP leaders are responsible for preparing plan of implementation for their WP, prepare templates for documents, assist partners in the preparation of deliverables, and monitor progress of their WP and belonging activities. Seven Steering Committee meetings are planned in the project, and their attendance is obligatory for project partners. The meetings will be combined with workshops of partners and/or Expert Working Groups (WP3), as well as study visits of relevant examples of energy efficiency and/or use of renewable energy sources that will be used to provide knowledge and examples that can be used by partners for our joint work. Ways of monitoring project progress will be: work programme, detailed action plan and milestones, instructions and output standard for preparation of outputs, checklists, indicator table; detailed budgets, financial monitoring tables and Presage. For more information about project organisation, the Green Partnerships Implementation Handbook will be prepared until Afterwards, Stanka Klemenčič Kosi, who will be the financial manager of the project, presented milestones in project implementation and reporting, and key emphases from the Subsidy Contract (attachment 9). Partners should keep in mind: Project duration: Eligibility of costs: expenses are eligible from onwards. For Albanian partner AUT expenditures are eligible from

4 Agreements: The next, 2 nd Steering Committee meeting will be organised by AREANATejo in Portalegre, Portugal, in July On 8 9 July there will be Steering Committee meeting which is obligatory for all partners. On 10 July there will be an additional optional day organised together with another MED project SMART MED PARKS. Kyoto Club will suggest and collect ideas for the 3 rd SC meeting until The meeting is planned in EU outside the MED area, in a country with very good examples of EE and RES use. It is scheduled in November Word version of the application form will be prepared by LP and together with description of pilot activities sent to all PPs until LP will send to all partners the final budgets, including additional budget tables with allocation of budget per 6 month reporting periods until All partners have to send to Stanka Klemenčič Kosi organisations and addresses of the national auditors until Attachments: 8_Project organisation_softic (ppt) 9_Milestones in implementation_klemencic Kosi (ppt) 4. MED programme requirements and expectations Tsveta Aleksandrova (MED JTS) presented expectations of the MED programme towards the project and requirements regarding reporting. The presentations included (attachments 10a 10h): Reporting procedure, national control systems, audit trail and complementary information Eligibility of expenditure, reference documents, budget lines, supporting documents, public procurement, vat and ineligible expenditure Expenditure reporting procedure in PRESAGE CTE IPA contracting procedure (IPA Subsidy Contract) Reporting procedure of IPA partners in PRESAGE CTE IPA advance payments IPA eligibility of expenditure and specificities of the public procurement Follow up: attendance at project events, attendance at programme capitalisation events, capitalisation of experience, communication strategy and document requirements. Agreements: Partners will receive all ppt presentations. Partners should use the tools of the MED programme to communicate project achievements: programme website, programme events and events of other projects. We (WP2 leader Kyoto Club in cooperation with LP and PP) should always inform the programme representative about the project events if possible, a representative of the MED programme will participate, and will also inform other projects with related topics about the event. We should keep in contact with MED communication officer Magali Kirchgesser. We should regularly inform the MED representative about the project website statistics (Google analytics is sufficient). All project deliverables have to be published in the MED library. 4

5 All outputs of the project have to be sent to the JTS representative (final and draft outputs, photos etc). When reporting about the project progress, there should always be a clear link between what was done, a proof for that and a related expenditure. Partners have to establish a mechanism to prove avoiding double financing (at least MED and project stamps at invoices related to project expenditure). Partners should pay special attention to the validation procedures in countries with two level control (Spain and Portugal) to assure enough time to validate costs. Each partner is responsible for entering adequate information about their activities and related costs in the Presage CTE reporting system. Each partner received the username and password for Presage by the LP. Costs of external partners (their work or travel to project events) can be covered and included in the budget line External expertise. Reporting periods throughout the project are the following: Reporting period duration Deadline for submission of the progress report + payment claim + certifications of expenditure to the JTS 1 st January 30 th June 30 th August 1 st July 31 st December 28 th February Attachments: 10a_Reporting Procedure_Aleksandrova (ppt) 10b_Eligibility of expenditure_aleksandrova (ppt) 10c_Presage_Aleksandrova (ppt) 10d_IPA contracting procedure_aleksandrova (ppt) 10e_IPA Presage_Reporting procedure_aleksandrova (ppt) 10f_IPA advance payments_aleksandrova (ppt) 10g_IPA eligibility_public procurement_aleksandrova (ppt) 10h_Follow up_aleksandrova (ppt) 5. WP2 Information, awareness raising and capitalisation Sergio Andreis presented activities related to project communication (attachment 11): WP2 activities Requirements for the use of the MED and EU logos that should be respected in all project related communication by all partners Proposed communication plan table of contents Proposed website site map Proposed plan of WP2 activities in Agreements: Among 3 proposed logos the logo with shaking hands was selected with consensus as most suitable one (see header of the minutes). Stavroula Tournaki communicates her additional ideas regarding 5

6 the hands in the logo to Sergio Andreis until Afterwards, the final logo will be confirmed, sent to all partners and used for templates of project documents. Partners agreed with the proposed communication plan, website and plan of activities. Additional ideas can be communicated to Sergio Andreis (until for the communication plan and until for the website). Partners agreed to add a calendar of events to the website. Key messages to target groups should be included in the communication plan which will be prepared by Kyoto Club until Attachment: 11_WP2 Information, awareness raising and capitalisation_andreis (ppt) 6. WP3 Joint approach for more efficient implementation of local energy strategies Ana Lacao (AREANATejo) joined the meeting via Skype. Firstly, she presented regular activities of ARENANATejo. Afterwards, she presented the aim, activities and outputs of WP3 and proposed approach to work (attachment 12). The transnational work of partners in WP3 is crucial as a basis for further coordinated work in work packages 4 and 5, therefore it is important to define well the joint approach of partners. One of the activities in WP3 is formation of transnational Expert Working Groups (EWG) that will focus on different thematic areas. There will be 8 thematic EWGs, four for 4 types of renewable energy sources (solar, wind, biomass, hydropower) and 4 for energy efficiency implementation measures that will be selected as most relevant by partners. Each working group will consist of representatives of partners that are most experienced in a certain field (approx. 3 5 people), and will help partners that would like to know more and improve their approach in the selected field. For this reason a table was passed around where partners estimated their level of knowledge and their interest in certain expertise areas. The filled in table is enclosed as attachment 13 to the meeting minutes. It will be used by AREANATejo for planning further work in WP3. Additionally, a thematic workshop was implemented to discuss in the partnership which are the relevant topics to be tackled. In a form of carousel partners worked in 3 different stations and collected their suggestions to the following ideas: Which are the gaps when implementing measures for energy efficiency (EE) at local level? What are the solutions to overcome these gaps? What are the obstacles to using renewable energy sources (RES) at local level? What are your suggestions for increasing the use of RES? Which knowledge and skills of local administration employees should be improved for better management of EE and RES? Workshop report is enclosed as attachment 14 to the meeting minutes. Agreements: On the basis of the workshop discussion, partners agreed that small steps should be taken in their pilot areas to make at least a small contribution to energy efficiency and/or use of RES in these areas. 6

7 The approach has to be general enough to be useful for the whole project and beyond, and on the other hand specific or flexible enough to be useful and applicable at each pilot area. A thematic meeting will be organised in June in Slovenia between WP leaders (except TUC representatives, who will attend via Skype, due to time constraints) to discuss most suitable approach and topics as a preparation for the SC meeting in July. Attachments: 12_WP3 Joint approach_lacao (pptx) 13_Expert Working Groups table (xls) 14_Workshop report (doc) 7. WP4 Capacity building and knowledge transfer for public bodies in MED cities and regions Scope, outputs and activities of WP4 were presented by Stavroula Tournaki (TUC) (attachment 15). The target group of WP4 are public bodies responsible for implementation of measures defined in SEAPs or local energy strategies. Their capacity should be enhanced to enable improvement of this implementation. Therefore WP4 will base on the results of WP3 (exchange of good examples between partners, developed materials and outputs of EWGs), form Local Action Groups, implement capacity building workshops and create a basis for WP5 pilot activities. The roles and responsibilities of each partner as well as the key deliverables were explained. Next steps and timeplan were presented. Agreements: Partners should identify members of their Local Action Groups on the basis of guidelines prepared by TUC, which will be sent until Experts identified at WP3 will support LAGs to prepare the local step by step plans for capacity buildings. TUC, with the cooperation of AREANATejo who forms the basis for the local approach through WP3, will prepare a template for the local step by step plans of activities, and each partner will fill it in with a plan of activities in their pilot area. Details will be presented at the next SC meeting. Attachment: 15_WP4 Capacity building_tournaki (ppt) 8. WP5 Pilot testing of more efficient implementation of energy strategies by creating local partnerships Veronika Valentar (KGZS MB) presented the aims, activities and outputs of WP5 which will focus on pilot activities in 11 pilot areas in all partner countries (attachment 16). WP5 will be implemented the last and a good basis has to be created in WPs 3 and 4. Partners planned their pilot activities during the project preparation stage. It is recommended that the main pilot activities are respected and remain the same. If small changes in pilot cases are necessary this means a project change that has to be approved by the JTS and communicated to the JTS in advance. Partners have to inform KGZS MB about and foreseen changes to pilot activities in a questionnaire that will be circulated. 7

8 Agreements: Partners will receive description of their pilot activities. They have to check if the described activities are in line with their current plan of pilot cases. KGZS MB will prepare a questionnaire to define pilot activities more in detail. The questionnaire will be sent to all partners on and partners will have to fill it in until At the next SC meeting each partner will present their pilot activities. Power point template for the presentations will be sent by Veronika Valentar until , and partners will prepare the presentations until Attachment: 16_ WP5 Pilot testing_valentar (ppt) 9. Technical Session Sustainable Energy Initiatives and Good Practices in the Municipality of Rethymno At the end of the meeting a study visit technical session was organised at the Municipality of Rethymno which is the pilot area in Greece. Representatives of the municipality the mayor, vice mayors and TUC representatives presented Sustainable Energy Initiatives and Good Practices that take place in Rethymno (a member city of the Covenant of Mayors) and the Region of Crete. Since 2008 when these activities started considerable improvements were achieved. Topics presented at the technical session were: Sustainable Energy Initiatives of the Municipality of Rethymno: Sustainable Energy Action Plan, Sustainable Mobility Strategic Plan and Energy Awards Bioclimatic upgrading of public places in the municipality Used cooking oils recycling for the sustainable biodiesel production Sustainable sitting of RES installations in the region of Crete and Initiatives for culture and tourism. Following to the presentation, there was a fruitful exchange between participants and the Municipality representatives. They transferred their experience with regard to the development of the Sustainable Energy plans, and discussed about barriers that have been addressed. The Technical session gained significant publicity to the local and regional media (TV, newspaper), where the Green Partnerships scope and activities were presented. 8

9 10. TO DO LIST WHAT WHO BY WHEN WP1 Administrative and financial management of the project / coordination of the partnership Prepare word version of the Application Form and send it to all partners Stanka Klemenčič Kosi, KGZS MB 26 April 2013 Send description of pilot activities, final budgets and additional budget tables with allocation of Stanka Klemenčič Kosi, KGZS MB 26 April 2013 budget per 6 month reporting periods to all partners Nominate member (main contact person) of the Steering Committee and communicate it to All partners 15 May 2013 Stanka Klemenčič Kosi Organise 2 nd Steering Committee Meeting (prepare meeting agenda in cooperation with LP and Tiago Gaio, AREANATejo 15 May 2013 prepare travel information) on 8 10 July 2013 Send to Stanka Klemenčič Kosi organisation and address of the national auditor All partners 31 May 2013 Suggest locations for 3 rd SC meeting and study visit outside MED area with good examples of EE Sergio Andreis, Kyoto Club 1 July 2013 and RES Prepare Green Partnerships Implementation Handbook KGZS MB 30 July 2013 WP2 Information, awareness raising and capitalisation Communicate ideas regarding the hands in the logo to Sergio Andreis Stavroula Tournaki, TUC 19 April 2014 Provide written feedback to Kyoto Club on the proposed structure of the communication plan All partners 30 April 2013 that was presented in WP2 ppt presentation Send draft leaflet to all partners Sergio Andreis, Kyoto Club 30 April 2013 Send feedback to draft leaflet All partners 15 May 2013 Circulate the communication plan Sergio Andreis, Kyoto Club 31 May 2013 Print the planned 1,000 copies of the leaflet Sergio Andreis, Kyoto Club 31 May 2013 Provide written feedback to Kyoto Club on the proposed structure of the project website that All partners 31 May 2013 was presented in WP2 ppt presentation Translate the leaflet to national language and print the national version (150 copies) All partners 30 June 2013 Project website is on line Sergio Andreis, Kyoto Club 30 June

10 Add calendar to the project website Sergio Andreis, Kyoto Club 30 June 2013 Establish LinkedIn profile for the project Sergio Andreis, Kyoto Club 30 June 2013 WP3 Joint approach for more efficient implementation of local energy strategies Define the dates of the thematic WP3 meeting for WP leaders (in June) KGZS MB 26 April 2013 Suggest the areas of the Expert Working Groups Tiago Gaio, AREANATejo 10 May 2013 Prepare suggestions for the joint approach and database Tiago Gaio, AREANATejo 10 May 2013 WP4 Capacity building and knowledge transfer for public bodies in MED cities and regions Prepare guidelines for setting up Local Action Groups Stavroula Tournaki, TUC 10 May 2013 Define members of Local Action Groups All partners 1 June 2013 Organise the 1 st meeting of national LAGs to identify actual needs and priorities of local All partners 30 June 2013 authorities, so that LAGs can analyse key local potentials Prepare a template for Local step by step plans for capacity building in local/regional level TUC with input from AREANATejo 30 June 2013 (WP3) Exchanges and finalisation of the above template during the next SC TUC, all partners 15 July 2013 WP5 Pilot testing of more efficient implementation of energy strategies by creating local partnerships Prepare a questionnaire to define pilot activities more in detail Veronika Valentar, KGZS MB 3 June 2013 Fill in the questionnaire for defining pilot activities All partners 21 June 2013 Send a template for ppt presentation of pilot activities Veronika Valentar, KGZS MB 24 June 2013 Prepare the ppt presentation of the pilot activities All partners (KGZS MB and ENERGYP work together) 1 July