The Parc UdG hosted the GiDomus Conference: “Facing the challenge of energy renovation of residential buildings”, an event that served to present the new phase of GiDomus’ territorial deployment and the new municipal pilot, which will act on 150 multi-family residential buildings in 16 municipalities in the province, including 13 communities in vulnerable situations. The event, held this Tuesday in Girona, brought together local councils, property managers, homeowners’ associations, sector professionals and organisations linked to housing, energy and renovation.
The conference, held at the Manel Xifra Boada Auditorium of the Parc Científic i Tecnològic de la Universitat de Girona, was organised within the framework of the European GiDomus project by its consortium, made up of Fundació Europace, as coordinator, Clúster de l’Energia Eficient de Catalunya, Institut de Recerca de l’Energia de Catalunya, R2M Solution Spain SL, Social Innovation for Communities / UpSocial SL, ECROWD Invest Plataforma de Financiación Participativa SL and Asociación EcoServeis. The event was organised with the collaboration of Fundació Girona Regió del Coneixement and the Parc de Recerca i Innovació de la Universitat de Girona.
GiDomus is a pioneering project in Europe, promoted by eight Catalan organisations and co-funded by the European Union, which works to facilitate the energy renovation of residential buildings in the counties of Girona through a free technical, administrative and financial support service for families and homeowners’ associations. The initiative incorporates financial incentives that can reduce the final cost of works by between 5% and 10% and facilitate access to available grants which, in certain cases, can cover up to 80% of the intervention.
Following its official presentation, GiDomus is now entering a second phase of territorial deployment, expanding the service to Alt Empordà, Baix Empordà and La Selva, thereby extending coverage across the province of Girona. This new stage also includes the launch of new municipal pilots that will act on 150 multi-family residential buildings in 16 municipalities, with the aim of reaching homeowners’ associations directly and helping them move from initial interest to action. The pilots are being deployed in collaboration with local councils and property managers, two key actors in identifying buildings, reaching communities and supporting them throughout the process. The first visits are already being scheduled in different parts of the territory: 45 multi-family residential buildings will participate in the Baix Empordà alone, and 30 in the Alt Empordà.
The event provided an opportunity to discuss the first lessons learned from the deployment of the GiDomus offices, giving a voice to homeowners’ associations that have already begun considering the renovation of their buildings and sharing the first municipal pilots in multi-family residential buildings, with the aim of identifying barriers, needs and possible ways of facilitating these processes.
Institutional representatives also took part, including Sergi Font, Deputy Mayor for Ecological Transition and Urban Area of Girona City Council, who participated in the institutional opening, Gemma Geis, Second Vice-President of the Girona Provincial Council, and Jordi Mas, Director General of Housing of the Government of Catalonia, who took part in the closing session.
The Second Vice-President of the Girona Provincial Council highlighted GiDomus’ role and the need to advance the transformation of the residential building stock to address climate change. “The country needs to move forward and adapt to climate change, and it is very important for residential buildings to incorporate energy efficiency measures,” she highlighted. In this regard, she also stressed the importance of promoting spaces such as this conference to activate energy renovation: “We have a lot of work to do and we are late. We need to transform and activate this reality.”
The conference focused on GiDomus’ territorial deployment, which already has local offices open, information sessions underway and the first homeowners’ associations receiving support throughout the energy renovation process.
Key stakeholders gathered in Girona to share experiences and lessons learned from different perspectives: the GiDomus offices, communities that have already begun considering this process and municipalities working to activate pilots in residential buildings.
One of the key topics addressed during the conference was decision-making within homeowners’ associations, the difficulties that arise during the process and the type of support that can facilitate the first steps, through the expert contributions of Mancomunitat Quinta Elvira (Badalona), Comunitat Edifici Albéniz (Sant Antoni de Calonge) and Comunitat Edifici Gran Via Jaume I (Girona).
The conference also included the presentation of the first municipal pilots already being implemented in multi-family residential buildings to facilitate the transition from diagnosis to action. Representatives of Figueres City Council, L’Escala City Council, Consell Comarcal del Baix Empordà and Domus Grup shared how these pilots are being implemented in the territory, what needs they have identified, what types of buildings or communities are being targeted and the role played by housing offices, property managers and GiDomus in supporting the process.
An environmental, social and economic response
GiDomus pays particular attention to communities in vulnerable situations, where the cost of works, difficulties in accessing finance or the complexity of administrative procedures can become even greater barriers to undertaking renovation. In these cases, comprehensive support is key to facilitating access to grants and preventing families’ financial capacity from becoming an obstacle to renovating buildings that require intervention.
Improving the energy performance of homes can also help reduce energy expenditure, improve comfort and living conditions and reduce situations of energy poverty, particularly in older and less efficient buildings. At the same time, renovation works generate activity for local professionals in the construction and energy sectors and contribute to boosting the local economy.
Collaboration with local councils will be key to identifying synergies with the Neighbourhood Plans in which some of the multi-family residential buildings being incorporated into the municipal pilots are located, such as in Banyoles and Ripoll.
View all photographs from the conference here: