Elements of the eea
Continual Process
Instruments / Tools
Certification
Organisation & Structures
Elements of the European
Energy Award®
The European Energy Award® is a qualified
instrument for steering and controlling communal
energy policy in order to review systematically all
energy-related activities. The European Energy
Award® (eea) allows municipalities to identify
strengths, weaknesses, potential for improvement
and, above all, implement effectively energy
efficiency measures. The success of a municipality's
efforts is made visible by an award, namely the
European Energy Award®. The standardised
assessment permits a benchmarking between the eea
communities throughout Europe. It allows member
communities to share their experiences and
expertise.
The European Energy Award® comprises two main elements:
- A quality management system for communal energy-related services and activities
- Certification and award for energy-related achievements and control of success through regular audits
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Continual
Process
Communities continually improve their performance in
energy-related activities:
- Energy-related activities are reviewed
- Strengths, weaknesses and potentials for improvement are identified
- Goals for the local energy policy and decision-making criteria are defined
- An energy policy work programme is developed comprising concrete long-term and short-term projects
- The work programme is implemented step-by-step
- A continuous assessment of the results is carried out
The process is carried out by the Energy Team, formed by representatives from the communities administration and politicians, assisted by an external eea Advisor with expertise in the field of energy use and policy.
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Instruments
/ Tools
The Assessment Tool
The assessment tool is the central tool of the
European Energy Award®. It is a checklist
for carrying out the energy reviews, serves as a
planning aid, and is used as a benchmark for the
external audit and certification.
An integral component of the assessment tool is a measure-catalogue based on MS Excel which specifies approximately 90 concrete energy related measures assigned to six areas:
- Development and Regional Planning
- Communal Buildings, Facilities
- Supply, Disposal
- Mobility / Transportation
- Internal organisation
- Communication and Co-operation
The Team Leader
Handbook
This is a comprehensive handbook to guide
communities through the eea process. It provides a
clear description which presents the
process-orientated procedure step by step.
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Certification
Depending on the degree of implementation of
possible measures, a community can be certified and
awarded with the European Energy Award® through an
external audit. The certification is awarded in two
categories:
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When a community attains 50% of possible points the European Energy Award® is awarded by a regional trustee. |
When a community attains 75% of possible points the European Energy Award®Gold is awarded by the Forum “European Energy Award”. |
Organisation
& Structures
The eea is managed at the European level by the eea
Forum. The remit of the Forum European Energy Award
e.V. is
- to coordinate the activities of all regional and national organisations;
- to guarantee the quality of the eea instruments / tools and of jointly agreed standards;
- to evaluate applications and award the European Energy Award®Gold;
- to provide information both internally and externally;
- to select suitable implementing organisations/institutions in other countries;
- to cultivate contacts with municipal networks in Europe and with the relevant EU committees.
More details of the eea Forum can be found on the EU level website.
Individual countries or regions are assigned national or regional coordinator / license holder to implement the eea programme locally. The national coordinators are responsible for the day to day implementation of the programme in their respective countries / regions. Details of the national coordinator in Ireland can be found on the contact page.