Fighting against greenhouse gas emissions is a priority. Improving energy efficiency is decisive for meeting European Union’s (EU) commitments on climate change made under the Kyoto Protocol. There is significant potential for reducing consumption, especially in energy-intensive sector such as buildings which represents 40% of the EU total energy consumption. Bad energy efficiency of existing buildings, mainly housing stock is a key issue.

Most of social and affordable rental housing units are aging and have low environmental standards. The homebuilding sector is now expert in building new houses and buildings of high environmental quality. But there is still a lack of experience and expertise in the field of sustainable renovation of buildings.

Our challenge consists in filling this gap... at least, launching the process!

CASH will look for solutions of diverse kinds:

• technics and technologies of homebuilding and energy saving (e.g. thermical insulation, production of energy),

• logistics (e.g. management of waste),

• sociological factors (common practices),

• educative and prevention toward inhabitants,

• financial engineery of such works...

What motivates you to be part of the URBACT adventure ?

As a part of the european programmes URBAN II and URBACT I (as partner in the network Participendo), we have seen, in Echirolles, how the action of the European Union allowed concrete realisations and brought solutions to our citizens.

Trough the meetings and the exchanges with other European cities is developed common knowledge ans intelligence that are the catalyser of progress for each of us.

The projects developed in the framework of URBACT are essential for the cities and Europe. We are convinced that our point of focus in CASH, reducing the gas housing emissions and the energy bill of modest households in the same time, is one of these essential subjects.

Who would you like to benefit from the work achieved in your project?

In a context of raise of energy costs, modest households are the first concerned by the growing energy. They should be the first beneficiaries of the implementation of renovation policies of social and affordable housing too.

Each partner city will set up a local action plan to carry out such policies. Moreover, our local support groups as well as our institutional and technical partners will help to disseminate the outputs of our CASH project. It should give it a wider impact, to the benefit of European citizens.