Low energy educational buildings are becoming the standard for new buildings in European and Mediterranean partner countries. Meanwhile, the potential of efficient renovation of existing buildings continues to be a development focus in these countries. Technical solutions are continuously proposed by universities for eco-sustainable building renovation, but there is still a gap between designed models and real world application. Med-EcoSuRe (Mediterranean University as Catalyst for Eco-Sustainable Renovation) project is rooted in the key role that Mediterranean universities have to contribute to environmental development and combat climate change. The project brings together researchers and stakeholders, in the framework of A Living Lab (LL), to build a common understanding of the eco-sustainable building renovation issues and to empower regional knowledge-to-action process, starting by the university’s immediate neighborhood, which is the university building.

A final event of the project, which will be officially concluded in August, was hosted by SOLARTYS in Barcelona on the 13th of July 2023 under the title “Towards efficiency and sustainability in the Mediterranean: from universities to public buildings”. The event was an opportunity not only to present the results of the project, but also to disseminate the knowledge gained during the implementation of the project to other stakeholders facing similar situations: from universities to public buildings.

In this sense, the final event of the Med-EcoSuRe project was complemented by two round tables and an inspirational session. Specifically, the first roundtable focused on how to promote decarbonisation in the public administration sector, and the second on energy communities led by public institutions, the last part of the event was a dynamic exchange between the participants and coordinated by SOLARTYS collaborators (innovative technologies providers) on innovative and disruptive technologies and solutions.

All the sessions organized during the final event will form the basis to open new horizons to deepen the knowledge on building energy retrofitting and shape sustainable and efficient building stock in the Mediterranean.

Based on the best practices and lessons learned from the project implementation, the actions implemented could be capitalized on and scaled up in the framework of future projects as highlighted by Fabrizion Paloni , coordinator of the Joint Technical Secretariat (JTS) of the ENI CBC MED programme:

The experience gained through the implementation of Med-EcoSuRe could help to address several objectives of the Interreg NEXT programme such as Green Transition, social inclusion, better cooperation governance. 

Fabrizion Paloni , coordinator of the Joint Technical Secretariat (JTS) of the ENI CBC MED programme

More details on the course of the event is available in this LINK

The recording of the event is available in this LINK

The video coverage of the event is available in this LINK