Euro Bank and MP hail West London at energy efficiency awards

European MP Claude Turmes and European Investment Bank president Werner Hoyer hailed the achievement of the West London Alliance of six local government councils at the annual European Energy Service Awards (EESA).

The Awards are part of the European Commission’s drive towards achieving the EU2020 Energy Saving Targets. The West London Alliance won the Best Energy Project award.

The local government group set up its Energy Efficiency Programme two years ago and won the award for a joint procurement initiative, which achieved significant cost and carbon dioxide savings in 21 government buildings across the Barnet, Brent, Ealing, Harrow, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow boroughs.

At the presentation Member of European Parliament Claude Turmes highlighted the importance of increased energy efficiency in buildings as a key factor in the EU’s efforts towards achieving its climate change targets.

Turmes said: “The European Union has set up the legal framework. Now it is up to member states to reduce energy consumption of its public and private buildings by implementing renovation roadmaps or models like Energy Performance Contracting.”

The European Investment Bank (EIB) was supporting the event for the first time and its president Werner Hoyer used his opening address to highlight the work of the Bank and the European Fund for Strategic Investments as a tool for bringing public and private finance together.

Hoyer said: “Public funds alone are insufficient, and it is clear that the vast majority of climate-related financing will have to come from the private sector.” The EIB’s board of directors recently endorsed a new strategy that will allow it to commit at least 25 percent of its lending towards climate action.

“In fact, last month in the margins of the WB‐IMF Annual Meetings I announced to finance ministers and other multilateral financial institutions that the EIB will provide financing of more than €100 billion over the next five years for climate related investments,” continued Hoyer.

The other winners at the EESA ceremony were the Catalan Energy Institute, which walked off with the award for Best Energy Service Promoter, and Norwegian company Norsk Enøk og Energie, which won the best provider award. The community of Sosnowiec in southern Poland and Deutsche Postbank also won Best Energy Project awards.

The Berlin Energy Agency and the European Commission have been running the European Energy Service Awards since 2006.

This year the judges were: Marie Donnelly, Director of Renewables, Research and Innovation, Energy Efficiency at the European Commission’s DG Energy; Paolo Bertoldi of the European Commission’s DG Joint Research Centre; senior energy expert Juan Alario a former associate director at the European Investment Bank; and Terry McCallion from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.