Project observers from Spain:

Observers engaged by the Province of Barcelona

Bizkaia Provincial Council

Bizkaia is a province located in the Basque Country. The Bizkaia Provincial Council is a public body that governs and administers the Bizkaia region. The historical figure of the Deputy General heads the Regional Government. The latter is elected by the Provincial Parliament of Bizkaia The Deputy General elects, in turn, the Regional Deputies, who head the various departments that make up the Regional Government. Currently, it is formed by the following Regional Departments: Agriculture, Culture, Economic Promotion, Environment, General Deputy, Presidency, Public Works and Transport, Social action, Treasury and Finance. The Bizkaia Provinical Council decided to follow the EURONET 50/50 MAX project as recently it has approved its Sustainable Energy Strategy (EESB) and recognized the schools as one of the institutions that have strategic importance for changing the energy consumption culture.

Website: http://www.bizkaia.net/Home/eu_index.asp

Giorna Provincial Council

Girona is a province located in the Catalonia region. The Girona Provincial Council is a public institution that provides technical, financial and technological support to councils of 221 municipalities locates on its area, as well as coordinates some of their services. It also provides direct, supra-municipal services to the citizens. Its seat is located in the city of Girona. The council decided to follow the EURONET 50/50 MAX project as they are interested to acquire knowledge on successful methodologies to save energy at schools. At present they are applying the 50/50 concept in 10 of their schools.

Website: http://www.ddgi.cat/web/home.seam

Lleida Provincial Council

Lleida is a province located in the Catalonia region. The Lleida Provincial Council is a second-level public administration that provides technical support and gives resources to the municipalities located on its area. It also develops policies and strategies promoting sustainable development of the whole provincial territory, paying special attention to services and actions strengthening the community. The council decided to follow the EURONET 50/50 MAX project as it is interested to implement the 50/50 concept in schools and other facilities of their region.

Website: http://www.diputaciolleida.cat/

Gironès County Council

Gironès is a county located in eastern Catalonia. It provides the municipalities located on its area with services, which - due to its features - cannot be done by themselves, as well as safeguards the interests of the region. It also coordinates these services done by local governments, which have supra-municipal importance. The council decided to follow the EURONET 50/50 MAX project as they want to further involve their schools in energy saving actions. They started working on energy issues with 4 schools in 2012, implementing good practices in the area of energy management. As a result total GHG savings of 34,131 tonnes and total financial savings of 15 217 € were achieved. Currently, the county council is applying the 50/50 methodology in 6 of their schools.

Website: http://www.girones.cat/

Osona County Council

Osona is a county located in central Catalonia. The Osona County Council is a public body that provides services to the municipalities of the region, assists them, advises them and gives them tools to facilitate their day-to-day operation. It focuses its attention especially at supporting small municipalities, because they have less technical and human resources to fulfill their duties. The council decided to follow the EURONET 50/50 MAX project as, through the Local Energy Agency of Osona (ALEO), it is undertaking efforts to cut energy costs and CO2 emissions by implementing energy efficiency measures and developing renewable energy sources. It is also implementing the Desendolla't project aiming at saving energy at schools - in 2013 they managed to achieve 10% savings on electricity consumption and 30% savings on thermal energy consumption.

Website: https://www.ccosona.cat/

Node Garraf

Node Garraf is a public organisation formed by public authorities and social partners of the Garraf Region (Province of Barcelona, Catalonia). Its mission is to impulse local strategies aiming at improvement of the economy of the territory and engaging local companies in activities providing further employment and ensuring richness of the region. Node Garraf decided to follow the EURONET 50/50 MAX project as they are interested to implement the 50/50 concept in schools and other facilities of their region.

Website: http://nodegarraf.cat/index.php

Observers negaged by the Province of Huelva 

Provincial Energy Agency of Huelva

Provincial Energy Agency of Huelva is a non-profit organization set up in 2001 under the auspices of the European Commission’s SAVE Program by the Diputacion Provincial de Huelva, Area de Desarrollo Local (Provincial Government of Huelva, Local Development Area).

The Agency participates in European projects related to energy implementing actions at the local level, provides advisory services for municipal entities and organises trainings for professionals, technicians, teachers and students of all grades.

Website: http://www.apeh.org

Sustainability Department of the University of Huelva

The Sustainability Department of the University of Huelva is a representative entity, competent and responsible for the environmental policy of the University. Organically, it is a part of the research vice-rectorship and the Experimental Sciences Faculty.

The department emerged in March 2008 to raise environmental awareness and promote actions and volunteerism contributing to sustainable development, both among the University and the whole society of Huelva. The department’s fields of activity include:

• Environmental management
• Environmental education
• Environmental Volunteer
• Environmental Information and Communication

The Department of Sustainability is a benchmark for environmental sustainability within the University of Huelva that unifies the most relevant aspects of the two types of public buildings involved in the EURONET 50/50 MAX project. It is also a teaching center and public administration with great influence on educational programs of future teachers, educators and professionals.
Website: http://uhu.es/fexp/aulasostenibilidad

Europe Direct Huelva

Europe Direct Huelva (European Information Centre of Diputación de Huelva) was inaugurated on the 9th of May 2005. It is a part of the Europe Direct Information Network which was created by the European Commission in 2005 and consists of 498 centers across 27 countries which are EU member states.

The center is a bidirectional transmitter of information between European institutions and local organizations, therefore it can significantly contribute to the dissemination of the 50/50 concept and the EURONET 50/50 MAX project. Its impact is even bigger as it belongs to European-level network very active in the field of dissemination of information, initiatives, events, projects and best practices.

Website: http://www.diphuelva.es/europadirecto