The Consortium

PadovaFIT Expanded is the collaborative effort of eight project partners representing local authorities City of Padova (Lead Partner) and Municipality of Timisoara, an internationally renowned research centre expert in business modeling Bocconi University, two financing expert organisations Forum per la finanza sostenible and Sistema Iniziative Locali SpA, an engineering and consulting company SOGESCA s.r.l., and a European network of local authorities for sustainability Climate Alliance.

City of Padova

The City of Padova - Environmental Department is committed since a decade in the creation of a climate strategy, implementing measures for the mitigation of and adaptation to the effects of climate change. The main tool is the Action Plan for Sustainable Energy which is going to be updated within 2020, rethinking the approach of the city towards a more sustainable development, looking at 2030 and beyond.

The City has a long experience in EU projects. It has been the coordinator of the PadovaFIT project, and is currently leading the Veneto Adapt project, focused on the adaptation of urban areas.

Within the PadovaFIT Expanded project the Municipality of Padova (CPD) will be the general coordinator, supported by WP and task leaders. Further on, the Municipality will manage the engagement of citizens, supporting them in taking informed decisions about refurbishing their homes and increasing their confidence in the innovative solutions proposed by the project

Universita Commerciale Luigi Bocconi

CENTER FOR RESEARCH ON ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS AND POLICY (ITALY)

Established in 1902, Università Bocconi is a university of international standing in business, economics and law. Its research projects are funded by national and supranational institutions.

GREEN (http://www.green.unibocconi.eu/) is Bocconi’s Centre for Research in Geography, Resources, Environment, Energy and Networks. GREEN was established in September 2018 as the result of the merger between two historic research centers at Bocconi University, namely IEFE (Center for Research on Energy and Environmental Economics and Policy) and CERTET (Center for Regional Economics, Transport and Tourism). The new center aims to conduct and promote research at the intersection of the spatial of socio-economic phenomena and of climate change, transportation, environmental policy and energy markets.

GREEN brings together approximately thirty experts in cost-benefit analysis, economic modelling, policy impact assessment, evaluation, measurement of economics and environmental performance, quantitative/qualitative analysis (including analysis and support to stakeholder’s consultations).

Within “PadovaFIT Expanded”, GREEN is responsible for the analysis and development of a sustainable business model for the One-Stop-Shop that will be implemented within the project.

Sinloc – Sistema Iniziative Locali SpA

Sinloc is a consulting and investment company located in Padova and operating throughout Italy. Sinloc promotes development of local infrastructure, providing advisory services, feasibility studies and direct investments in Public-Private Partnerships (concessions, project financing, etc.). It also facilitates access to EU funds and their efficient and sustainable use.

Its shareholders are ten of the most relevant banking Foundations in Italy, which turns into tangible solutions to local issues and concerns when approaching to infrastructural development projects. In particular, Sinloc focuses on economic, financial, social and environmental sustainability, business modelling and fund raising.

Sinloc employs 35 multidisciplinary professionals and gained over 12 years of experience in the infrastructural and local development market place, developing over 300 advisory projects and managing – among others – 5 ESIF Funds, 5 ELENA technical assistance projects financed by EIB and 9 Ex Ante ESIF Evaluations.

SOGESCA srl

SOGESCA srl is an engineering and consultancy company founded in 1986 to offer environmental consulting services to public bodies and industrial enterprises. SOGESCA’s technical team consists of 15 skilled, certified experts with a specific client-oriented training in the services and products offered. Engineers, chemists, geologists, biologists, agronomists, social and political science experts provide their competence and are ready to complete each other adequately to comply with the complex issues related to sustainable development, energy and work safety.

SOGESCA is experienced in the energy sector. It’s working on a number of projects and actions dealing with energy planning, energy policies and regulations, the Covenant of Mayors (directly and indirectly supporting 80+ Italian Municipalities and working as technical support to Supporting Structures of the CoM), energy management systems and CO2 emissions management in the public sector as well as in the private one (ref. ISO 50001 and ISO 14064).

Forum per la Finanza Sostenibile

The Italian Sustainable Investment Forum (Forum per la Finanza Sostenibile, FFS) is a non-profit association founded in 2001. Its membership base is multistakeholder: its members are financial actors and other organisations interested in the environmental and social impacts of financial activity.

The FFS mission is to promote the awareness and the strategies linked to sustainable investments, to encourage the integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria into financial products and processes.

The FFS target is to interact with the demand side of financial products (retail and institutional investors), the supply side (financial institutions) as well as intermediaries (consultants and sales network) and policymakers. FFS runs research and education activities, facilitates working groups to promote best practice and to contribute to analysis and growth of sustainable investments. FFS informs and advises the financial community, the media and society on sustainable finance through the organization of communication campaigns, conferences, seminars and cultural events. Furthermore, FFS engages with Italian and European institutions to encourage the implementation of a regulatory framework promoting sustainable investments.

Due to his history in the field and to the experience on financing sustainable local development, FFS has skills and knowledge to give useful technical support to the project. The multi-stakeholder Forum’s nature gives it the experience in different sectors; all the competences and the experiences are useful to the development of a market analysis of the investment sector and the study of sustainable finance tools aimed to home renovation.

FFS is a member of Eurosif, the association for the promotion of sustainable investment in the European market, and participates to the two-yearly European SRI Study promoted by Eurosif.

Climate Alliance

Climate Alliance is a non-for-profit association founded in 1990. For more than 25 years, Climate Alliance member municipalities have been acting in partnership with indigenous rainforest peoples for the benefit of the global climate. With some 1,700 members spread across 26 European countries, Climate Alliance is the world’s largest city network dedicated to climate action and the only one to set tangible targets: each member city, town and district has committed itself to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 10% every five years. Climate Alliance has developed a comprehensive methodology to help its members to prepare, implement and follow up on their local climate and energy plans. This includes CO2 monitoring tools to get acquainted on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and a benchmarking system for reinforcing the learning experience.

Climate Alliance has extensive experience in coordinating and participating in various EC projects, ranging from Intelligent Energy Europe to FP7 and Horizon 2020 projects. Building on over 27 years of experience in working with municipalities and 10 years of experience within the Covenant of Mayors office, Climate Alliance will contribute to the project with its expertise in financing, energy planning, capacity building and knowledge transfer.

Municipality of Timisoara

Timisoara is the largest city in Western Romania, capital of Timis County and the second largest in the country, with 319,279 inhabitants. Timisoara is the main economic, social and cultural centre in the Western part of Romania. The city’s location near the border with Hungary and Serbia, enabled Timisoara to become a multicultural and economic hub among the three neighbouring countries.

Trade holds an important share of the local economy, in addition to industry, with production sites that cover several sectors from electronics, chemical, automotive to telecommunication. From an economical point of view, Timisoara is now an important pole in Romania, occupying the second place – after Bucharest - in economic results.

„Expanding PadovaFIT! Home Solutions” Project allows the implementation of the  experience of Padova City in the field of energy efficiency, especially in the residential private sector, in order to plan a one-stop-shop dedicated to private residential buildings with an improved and financially sustainable business model, adapted to the Romanian energy service market conditions, to create opportunities for further ambitious investments in deep refurbishment.

Energy Agency of Plovdiv Association

The Energy Agency of Plovdiv (EAP) was founded in 2000 and carries out feasibility studies, energy analyses, and energy project identification, development and management. Its priorities include: EE in buildings, EE and RES in SMEs, the development of SEAPs, and energy/environmental education.

EAP has participated in developing and managing of more than 30 RES and EE projects in partnership with national and international organisations, participated in more than 15 EU projects for  building renovation, policies and requirements towards retrofitting, the integration of ICT, smart  metering and BEMS in public buildings and households, RES integration for energy optimisation, smart  monitoring of energy production, and raising awareness and campaigning among municipal staff and citizens. EAP has been project manager for the National OP “Renovation of Bulgarian Homes” (2012-2015). EAP will support follower cities in Bulgaria to undertake preparatory actions for establishment of O-S-S.

© Photo by Andrew Scherle on Unsplash