SHARE
Social Housing Action to Reduce Energy consumption

Background

SHARE stands for Social Housing Action to Reduce Energy consumption. The whole project focuses on SHARE-ing knowledge and experience.

Key Points

Eight project partners from across Europe

Hosting social housing forums for housing professionals

Raising awareness and providing training and advice

Share Report

>> Download the final SHARE Report

Firstly, there is the sharing of information and ideas between the eight project partners working together. As the partners represent a good mix of member states: from west to east; north to south; rural to urban; new to old; there is a lot of scope to learn from each other.

Another aspect of sharing occurs in the social housing forums established in each of the eight regions, and which are the primary focus of the project.

Aims

The overall aim of the project is to increase the sustainability of energy use and reduce carbon emissions and the risk of fuel poverty in social housing. To achieve this the project activities seek to:

Activities

Meetings

Social Housing Forums

Each project partner has established local or regional social housing forums to examine the issues around energy use in social housing. These forums include housing staff and tenants, building contractors, installers, architects, welfare agencies and energy companies.

Many social housing providers face common issues and familiar problems. The SHARE forums provide an opportunity to discuss these and use each other's experiences to help resolve them. Partners can share resources and materials, to the benefit of all, especially the smaller housing providers

Early examples of forum activities are:

The first Gloucestershire SHARE Forum

Training for staff and residents

A programme of training sessions was run for staff and residents. Over 1,000 participants were trained by the SHARE project, with programmes tailored to local interest and need, and covering a range of issues including

Awareness and Advice

Each region in the SHARE partnership ran an awareness and advice campaign. SWEA developed a core theme for a campaign, which several other partners adapted and used, centred on the idea of an 'agony aunt' available to answer difficult questions. The 'Ask Penny' campaign was developed through consultation with tenants, and uses eye catching imagery and humour in order to get the message across, while emphasising the friendliness and approachability of the energy advisers.

The campaign includes posters, branded sticky notes and thermometer cards translated into seven other languages. Penny became Miriam in France and Lucka in Slovenia.

Coordinator

Gilda Costley - Energy Advisor

[email]gilda
[phone]01452 835086

Related Projects

FinSH

Tenant Information

Dissemination

The project website www.socialhousingaction.com contains a wealth of information including updates of forums, training sessions, examples of awareness and advice materials, and 26 case studies in all eight languages of the partnership. These case studies highlight a range of solutions to the barriers faced in improving sustainable energy in social housing.

SHARE experience and materials have been promoted widely during the course of the project, at local, national and European events and through relevant networks. The SHARE partnership hoped to build further on its early success, and to continue to provide local services through partnership with social housing providers and others.

The SHARE Partnership

SHARE is coordinated by Severn Wye Energy Agency, (UK) and has seven other partners: