Period: 1.4.2015 - 2.5.2019

Content: A more efficient usage of resources, including energy, forms the basis for financial growth and sustainable development. A Resource Efficient Europe is one of seven flagship initiatives of the Europe 2020 strategy and also the Baltic Sea Region strategy supports the resource efficiency policy. The flagship concludes that existing policies on buildings, mainly linked to energy efficiency, need to be complemented with policies for resource efficiency looking at a wider range of resource use and environmental impacts, across the life-cycle of buildings. The energy efficiency of buildings is an important factor when it comes to stopping climate change. Energy consumption in residential and commercial buildings represents around 40 % of total final energy use. Moisture and mold problems are a threat when trying to maintain sustainable buildings. The neglected building maintenance is currently estimated to cost 30-50 billion euros in Finland. Neglected building maintenance and postponed repairs lead to aggravated user health problems and more extensive need and increased costs for repairs. The costs for increasing the energy efficiency in buildings are significantly lower if coordinated with necessary renovations. Insufficient expertise on how to design and renovate buildings is a major barrier to energy efficient and sustainable buildings. To be able to meet the new demands there is an urgent need for competence development and better training in the building sector. The main goal for this project is therefore to increase the number of skilled professionals needed to perform resource and energy efficient renovations within the Botnia Atlantica area. The goal can be reached by establishing a Nordic Renovation Center. The center would be a Nordic knowledge network that would share best practices and support regional stakeholders with information, education and new pedagogical tools on how to perform sustainable renovations. The primary target groups are companies within the building sector, municipalities and house owners. In order to provide relevant information, the project will gather information on end user needs and renovation methods. To be able to educate different stakeholders, the project will increase the availability of innovative and flexible pedagogical tools.The results will be disseminated through the project website and social media, network meetings and visits to key stakeholders, different types of dissemination events, reports and articles, and mobile e-learning tools like digital cases, e-books and apps. The results will be published in English, Swedish, Finnish and Norwegian. The project results will also be spread on a wider basis to Europe through the website and international conferences. During the project, activities like networking, benchmarking, visiting stakeholders, and dissemination and implementing results and tools to municipalities and companies will spread the awareness of the Renovation Center and help making the center sustainable. However, to ensure the continuation of the Renovation Centre after the project, three types of organizational models will be explored.The companies, municipalities and property owners who participated in project activities will, after the project, have expanded their network of valuable contacts, have an increased knowledge on sustainable renovation methods and have new tools for proactive property maintenance and energy efficient renovations.

Focus area: Hållbar energiteknik

Campus: Vasa

Financers: Interreg - Botnia Atlantica, Österbottens förbund, Länsstyrelsen Västerbotten

Project owner: Yrkeshögskolan Novia

Partners: Seinäjoen ammattikorkeakoulu, TTY Säätiö, VASEK Vasaregionens utveckling Ab, SP Sveriges tekniska forskningsinstitut Ab, Umeå universitet, Västerbottens läns landsting

Project manager: Annika Glader

Partners: Seinäjoen ammattikorkeakoulu, TTY Säätiö, VASEK Vasaregionens utveckling Ab, SP Sveriges tekniska forskningsinstitut Ab, Umeå universitet, Västerbottens läns landsting

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