ComActivate: Enabling Community Action for Energy Sufficiency

ComActivate responds to growing levels of energy poverty across the EU, especially in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region, by addressing the poor energy efficiency of buildings as a major driver of energy poverty, and as a driver of climate change.

ComActivate is being implemented in four municipalities in three countries: Burgas in Bulgaria, Józsefváros in Hungary, and Kaišiadorys and Elektrėnai in Lithuania. These countries are situated in different regions of Europe facing different climatic challenges, yet they have similar characteristics due to their shared Socialist history and the large privatisation of the housing stock in the 1990s.

Around 60% of people in CEE live in Multi-Family Apartment Buildings (MFABs) and the social, technical, legislative, and financial challenges to renovate such buildings are very complex, especially when it comes to renewable energies. ComActivate is developing, demonstrating and advocating for solutions for MFABs that reduce energy poverty, enhance energy security, and bring building emissions in line with climate targets (near complete decarbonisation by 2050) through:

  1. Institutionalising resource centres: Local resource centres (also called one-stop shops) will serve as hubs for engaging with energy poor communities and facilitating agreements within Homeowner Associations.
  2. Developing Neighbourhood Energy Sufficiency Roadmaps: These roadmaps will address the complexities of renewable energies for MFABs, ensuring energy needs are met while advancing poverty alleviation and climate neutrality goals.
  3. Building capacity and raising awareness: ComActivate will empower managers of Homeowner Associations with the knowledge and skills needed for energy-efficient renovations while raising awareness about the benefits of such initiatives within local communities.
  4. Establishing policy and investment dialogues: By fostering multi-stakeholder dialogues at both the national and EU levels, ComActivate aims to ensure the sustainability of resources centres and the successful implementation of Neighbourhood Energy Sufficiency Roadmaps.

Download the project brochure in English, Bulgarian, Hungarian and Lithuanian.

Project partners include:

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Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

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Resources

ComActivate: Assessments and calculations of potential renewable energy and required investment

June 10, 2025

ComActivate: Excel databases on the energy efficiency of entire residential housing stocks in three target districts

April 30, 2025

ComActivate: Capacity building materials and training tools for improving energy efficiency in multi-family apartment buildings

April 30, 2025

ComActivate: Analysis of EU and national level policies related to renovation and alleviating energy poverty

April 8, 2025

ComActivate: Analysis of gaps and barriers for financing Homeowners’ Associations and Multi-family Apartment Buildings

April 1, 2025

ComActivate: Individual refurbishment roadmaps for residential buildings provide many lessons to the multi-family apartment sector

January 8, 2025

ComActivate: Increasing capacity in local authorities for successful  deep renovation programs of multi-family apartment buildings

November 6, 2024

ComActivate: Exploitation and replication activities – international and EU

November 4, 2024

ComActivate: Collection of Good Practices of District Renovation Concepts and Individual Refurbishment Roadmaps

November 4, 2024

ComActivate: Unlocking the potential of community-driven models to drive residential renovation: Insights from six case studies

June 13, 2024

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