PARTNERS involved in an innovative European project aimed at promoting energy efficiency have been sharing ideas at conferences in Italy and the UK.

The Renovation for Energy Efficient Buildings (REBUS) project sees eight public authorities from countries across Europe come together to share good practice and learn more about new alternative energy technologies.

As the UK partner, staff from Durham County Council led a delegation of organisations to participate in a conference in Florence which brought together 14 European projects with a focus on energy efficiency, renewable energy and low carbon technologies within the public and community sectors.

The conference, titled Interregional Cooperation for Energy Transition, was also attended by a national government representative from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and a representative from the Voluntary Organisations Network North-East. Rich Hurst, sustainability education development advisor at Durham County Council, said: “The conference was a great opportunity for us to share our work with a particular focus on our School Energy Reduction programme which has been running since 2010.

“We are now working with over 240 schools to help them reduce their energy use and offer them support on a regular basis.”

Earlier in the week, council staff involved in the project also presented at a conference in Manchester run by Community Energy England, where they shared their experiences with other individuals and agencies from across the country.