Governance in the Strategy for Energy Building Renovation in Asturias

Managed by the Regional Government of Asturias, Asturias Energy Agency (FAEN) is organizing the implementation of a Regional Strategy for the Energy Renovation of Buildings, which involves stakeholders from both the public and private sector. The energy building renovation is an opportunity for the Asturias region and must be seen under a broad vision, where there is room for planning, management and financing opportunities. All of them are interrelated and define different action areas to achieve the regional objectives set.

Public agents are responsible for the design, development and execution of the Strategy for the housing, energy and commercial sectors. The local administration and other key public institutions in the fields of construction and energy are also engaged in the implementation of the Strategy. With regards to the private sector, companies with technicians and professionals are involved in the energy rehabilitation process. In addition, there are professional associations and organizations with broad experience in reducing demand and improving energy consumption systems. The participation of energy trading companies and energy service companies is also essential.

For an effective public-private collaboration and an adequate governance and operability of the Strategy, it is imperative to define two instruments: roundtables and working groups, and the Regional Consultation Office. These are formed and organized in a coordinated manner according to the topics to be analysed. The roundtables serve as a forum for the participation of the main public and private agents related to the Strategy, with a fixed structure to work together in its definition and implementation, while the working groups are also collaborative fora but participants may vary depending on the topics at hand. The participants’ actions focus on very specific content defined by the working group, mainly based on financing and communication.

As intended, this strategy and the associated governance were successful. Initially, Asturias received just over €7.6 million from the central government to enable a line of aid for rehabilitation. As a result of the joint work and the high demand received, the region managed to obtain an additional €40 million to be used for the development of new projects.

This best practice is issued from our publication Sustainable Regions in Action 2022. Read it now to discover many more best practices from FEDARENE members as well as an overview of our activities.