How can sufficiency become a lever for competitiveness, territorial engagement and climate action? This question was at the centre of the workshop “Sufficiency: the winning asset for competitiveness and territorial engagement in Europe”, held on 24 June 2026 during the 27th European Energy Transition Conference, “Les 27e Assises Européennes de la Transition Énergétique”, in Dijon.
Taking place from 23 to 25 June 2026 at the Parc des Expositions et des Congrès and the Opéra de Dijon, the Assises are an annual reference event for actors working on the energy transition in territories. Since 1999, the conference has brought together local authorities, public institutions, experts, associations and economic actors to exchange practices, debate solutions and accelerate territorial energy transformation. Each year, it gathers around 3,000 participants.
The workshop was co-organised by Institut Paris Region and FEDARENE in the framework of Marie-Laure Falque Masset’s FEDARENE Vice-Presidency for Energy Sufficiency. It was facilitated by Marie-Laure Falque Masset, Raluca Manolache from ABMEE, and Lina Widenmo from Energikontor Norr. Together, they shared approaches and local examples showing how sufficiency can be translated into concrete actions across European territories.
Sufficiency as a practical approach
Marie-Laure Falque Masset introduced energy sufficiency as an approach that aims to reduce energy and resource consumption through voluntary and organised changes in behaviour, lifestyles and collective organisation. Unlike energy efficiency, which focuses on reducing the energy needed through technical solutions such as insulation or efficient heating systems, sufficiency questions how energy and resources are used in the first place.
This perspective is increasingly relevant for local and regional authorities. It can support climate action while also addressing everyday challenges such as mobility, heating, public service organisation, resource use and citizen participation.
European examples from FEDARENE members and partners
The session highlighted several examples of sufficiency in practice from across Europe, including cargo bikes in Växjö, the sponge city approach in Tulln, slow tourism in Levanto, CopenPay in Copenhagen, the SlowHeat project in Brussels, digital sufficiency in Waterford and many more.
These examples show the diversity of sufficiency measures. Some focus on mobility and transport, others on buildings, shared resources, public engagement or local services. Together, they demonstrate that sufficiency can be adapted to very different territorial contexts.
OSCAR: changing school mobility habits
Raluca Manolache from ABMEE presented OSCAR, the Wandering Snake, a programme that encourages sustainable school mobility through a playful and collective approach. The initiative helps children, parents, teachers, school principals, municipalities and local energy agencies work towards a shared goal: reducing car dependency around schools.
Through engagement, gamification, social visibility and collective action, OSCAR shows that behavioural change does not need to be imposed. It can be motivating, visible and enjoyable. Across 10 editions, the programme has involved 132 cities, more than 500 schools and nearly 93,000 pupils, with 525,000 km travelled sustainably.
The example underlined the role of schools as catalysts for climate action. Children can become powerful ambassadors of change, influencing family habits and helping create calmer, cleaner and safer streets around schools.
FEEL and frugal solutions in northern Sweden
Lina Widenmo from Energikontor Norr shared examples from Norrbotten, Sweden’s northernmost region, where long distances, sparse population and an Arctic climate create specific challenges for transport, heating and infrastructure.
Through the FEEL project, Energikontor Norr supports Överkalix Municipality in integrating resource efficiency and frugality into local energy planning. The examples presented included an internal marketplace, a leisure library, active transport in winter and climate leadership training.
The leisure library and internal marketplace help save money for both the municipality and citizens by making better use of existing resources. Winter mobility actions, including support for walking, cycling and kicksledding, show how sufficiency can also bring health benefits and make sustainable transport more accessible in cold climates. Climate leadership training further supports local leaders in embedding sufficiency into everyday decision-making.
Energy Agencies as connectors
The workshop showed how Energy Agencies can make sufficiency practical by connecting European ideas with local realities. Their role is not limited to technical projects. They also facilitate participation, design awareness-raising campaigns, support municipalities, organise capacity building and help communities test new ways of reducing demand.
From school mobility in Brașov to resource-sharing in Överkalix, the examples presented in Dijon confirmed that sufficiency is not about doing less for the sake of it. It is about using resources more wisely, improving quality of life, and helping territories become more resilient and engaged in the energy transition.
