• Social Energy Renovations:

    Maximising social impact and boosting clean energy investments in sustainable renovation

  • The Main Challenge

    Lack of affordable financing and technical support in building renovation

    The third sector or non-profit sector includes a range of non-profit organisations, associations, foundations, cooperatives, mutual associations, and social enterprises providing a broad range of services responsible for driving the social economy. This sector is composed of 28.3 million workers, representing 13% of the European workforce, and generates significant social impact.

     

     

    Yet, it remains underserved by the financial industry making it challenging for non-profits to obtain the financing necessary to sustainably renovate their buildings. The lack of financing has played a large part in the absence of third sector building renovations, as non-profit organisations typically do not have the means to fund renovations with their own resources or obtain cheap funding.

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    Our Integrated Solution

    SER tackles current barriers to renovation for the third sector by offering an integrated renovation solution that combines technical and financial assistance, thus enabling easy and accessible sustainable building renovations for non-profits.

     

    This solution includes people-centred stakeholder engagement, standardised technical project design, impact monitoring and support to access upfront funding. Towards cooperation, solidarity, and social regeneration, SER unites eight organizations from four EU countries to establish and operationalize an innovative hub known as the SER HUB.

     

    Finally, SER enables a flow of private capital into the non-profit sector, thus maximising social and environmental impacts.

  • A strong and well-developed non-profit sector is a key driver in achieving a fair clean energy transition for all Europeans

  • Project Pillars

    SER bridges the gap between TSOs' needs and counterparties offering appropriate funding solutions, providing flexibility and adaptability to the evolving environment and market changes.

     

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    Financial Assistance

     

    SER guides TSOs in developing their business plans. This entails providing financial advice to structure suitable financial solutions through collaborations with financial intermediaries and alternative funding sources.

     

    These solutions combine the entities' own funds, specific grants and public incentives with market lending, crowdfunding, and/or innovative partnerships.

     

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    Technical Assistance

     

    SER provides improved technical assistance services through demand stimulation, standardisation, and digitisation.

     

    This promotes community training and development, data centralization, and audit standardisation.

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    Social Assessment

     

    Assess and capture the multiple benefits of energy efficiency and renewable energy renovations to ensure that investments have a strong social and environmental impact.

     

    Through a comprehensive impact methodology tailored to each initiative, we are able to measure each of the relevant indicators for the projects.

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    Scaling Across Europe

     

    SER is focused on Italy, with further scaling foreseen in Bulgaria and France, and exploratory roundtables in Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland.

     

    We have developed a comprehensive replicability tool that facilitates the integration of each of our services beyond Italy.

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    Project phases

    SER is a 4-year project, funded by the European Commission

    1

    Perform market research, profile third sector buildings and design the financing instrument

    2

    Consolidation of the SER HUB as a comprehensive service to assist TSOs during the implementation of their energy transition projects

    3

    Gain traction in Italy and adapt and replicate in other European countries

  • SER is led by an experienced consortium with complementary competencies and all of the required expertise to meet the project ambitions

  • Project Impact

    Generating social, environmental and economic impact at community, national and European Union levels

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    893 tCO2eq/year

    of CO2 emissions saved within the project duration

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    1.7 GWh/year

    of renewable energy generated within the project duration

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    3.7 GWh

    reduction in energy consumption within the project duration

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    3,100

    jobs will be created by 2029

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    €200M

    generated in clean energy

    investments by 2029

  • The project's impact goes well beyond energy savings. It creates social impact by mitigating energy poverty and improving social equality, health, wellbeing, productivity, financial literacy as well as overall social cohesion.

  • Europeans tend to spend 90% of their time indoors, thus buildings have an enormous impact on people’s health, wellbeing and productivity. SER aims to improve these conditions within the third sector.

  • News & Events

    Past and future SER-related news and events

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    6th Consortium Meeting, Pavía

    April 9 & 10, 2024

    We held our sixth consortium meeting at the Cooperativa Sociale Casa del Giovane in Pavia, Italy.

     

    Casa del Giovane is one of our pilot projects where we have contributed to the energy renovation of two of their buildings 🏡, providing technical and financial assistance, and impact assessment.

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    Launch of the official SER HUB Website

    March 1, 2024

    Following the incorporation of the SER HUB into the project, we invite you to discover its new website.

     

    Click here.

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    Retrofit of Cascina Nibai

    January 9, 2024

    Learn from the renovation of Cascina Nibai and the impact assessment conducted.

     

    Read more here.

    Energy Poverty Webinar - Canale Energia

    November 30, 2023

    Learning about energy poverty through European projects.

     

    With Fabio Gerosa, General Director of Fratello Sole; Laura Bano and Rose Ortolani, consultants; Alessandro Fiorini, researcher at Enea; Agatino Nicita, technologist at Cnr-Itae; Tiziana Toto, consumer policy manager at the association Cittadinanza Attiva.

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    Eurodiaconia

    November 8, 2023

    Presentation of the SER Project in Brussels on the occasion of the 'Social Policy Days' of Eurodiaconia, during the session "Can Social Services really be sustainable? The Green Deal, Social Services, and Financing," in which one of the panellists was Karen Vanderpoortel of DG Grow. Read more here.

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    Cascina Nibai

    October 19, 2023

    FS together with Gruppo Iren, were working on the energy redevelopment of two buildings. As part of the European project Social Energy Renovations (SER), TIRESIA Polimi and Sigma NL Spin Off Universitario are conducting the environmental and social impact assessment of the energy efficiency project. An activity of the Cantiere Sociale that Fratello Sole always includes in its interventions in support of the ecological transition of the Third Sector.

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    EnergETICI

    July 19, 2023

    Seminar presentation of the project “EnergETICI” sponsored by FMPS and SER-HUB at FMPS offices in Siena. Read more here.

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    Associazione Italiana Leucemia

    May 3, 2023

    SER is quoted for the impact evaluation activities in the press communication released at the beginning of the building site of AIL – Associazione Italiana Leucemia (Italian Leukemia Association), which is one of SER's three pilot building sites. Read more here.

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    Pax Bank, Rome

    January 24, 2023

    In January, Fratello Sole was invited to present its activities in support of the ecological transition of non-profit organizations and, together with GNE Finance. The seminar's subject was social and environmental impact finance, as envisioned by the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, summarized in the document Mensuram Bonam, which illustrates investments compatible with the environment and the well-being of people, in line with the encyclicals Laudato Si’ and Fratelli Tutti. Read more here.

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    Economy of Francesco 2022 Global Event #EoF2022

    September 23, 2022

    SER Project presented among the "Inspiring Projects" or the Energy and Poverty Workshop at the Economy of Francesco 2022 Global Event #EoF2022.

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    Tackling energy poverty and enhancing energy efficiency in Non Profit Organizations

    August 20, 2022

    SER has a dedicated box in the Toolkit for social organizations “Tackling energy poverty and enhancing energy efficiency in Non Profit Organizations”, a publication realized within the project GreenAbility (Green abilities to tackle social issues), funded by the EU program Erasmus+ of which FS and ENEA were partners. Read more here.

    SERVICE4Impact Video

    June, 2022

    SERVICE4Impact is the ENEA application capable of measuring the energy and structural criticalities of third sector buildings. The application - developed by the Agency for Energy Efficiency and the Laboratory of Seismic Engineering and Natural Risk Prevention - is implemented within the framework of the SER project.

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    Guidelines for the sustainability of Third Sector entities - Energy and Water

    November 1, 2021

    SER has a dedicated box in the publicatio “Linee Linee Guida per la sostenibilità degli enti del Terzo Settore – Energia e Acqua” (Guidelines for the sustainability of Third Sector entities - Energy and Water), realised by FS with ENEA and presented in a road show in Italy in November and December 2021. Read more here.

    EUSEW Sustainable Energy Days: Fostering Sustainable Renovations in the Third sector

    October 28, 2021

    In light of the ambitious target set by the European Commission to make the EU the first carbon neutral continent by 2050, this event served as a platform to exchange lessons learnt and best practices supporting the uptake of sustainable and energy efficient measures in Europe’s social and non-profit sectors. Read more here.

     

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    ENEA Official Press Release (Italian)

    June 10, 2021

    SER enables sustainable building renovations in Italy's non-profit sector, but its benefits go beyond energy savings. In the next 5 years €200M will be invested in clean energy, 3000 jobs will be made & 900 tons of carbon dioxide will be mitigated. Read ENEA's full press release here.

     

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    SER Kick-off Meeting

    May 25 & 26, 2021

    The SER Project offically kicked-off in a hybrid setting, with several partners having participated digitally in the project's first Consortium Meeting hosted in Milan, Italy. Partners engaged in productive discussions about how to foster sustainable renovations in Italy's non-profit sector via the removal of their financial and technical barriers, and explored SER's replication in other EU countries.

  • FAQs

    How is the project funded?

    The SER project received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, under grant agreement No 101024254. In the long term, the project is poised to galvanize commercial activities that would be economically self-sustaining via funding provided by private capital, impact investors and other investors to boost clean energy investments in the sector.

    Who can benefit from SER?

    Non-profit organisations aquire comfortable and sustainable energy-efficient buildings to continue supporting their local communities, while financial institutions and private investors gain access to secure, high impact investments aligned with the ESG criteria.

    What is the third sector or the non-profit sector?

    The third sector is an umbrella term that covers a range of different organisations with different structures and purposes, belonging neither to the public sector nor to the private sector. It includes a range of non-profit organisations (NPOs), associations, foundations, cooperatives, mutual associations, and social enterprises providing a broad range of services such as education, research, housing, counselling, workforce training and more.

     

    Third sector organisations operate at all levels of society, from the very local to the national and the international, and make a significant contribution to the health and well-being of society.

    Why is SER focused on the third sector?

    SER intends to kick-start the Renovation Wave for European non-profits (NPOs) by tackling current barriers to renovation. Through SER, the connection between the financial sector and the third sector will enable much-needed building renovations among these buildings and boosts economic, environmental, and most notably social impacts in the area, especially for the most vulnerable groups in society.

     

    It is imperative that the non-profit sector, with its extensive and heterogeneous buildings, is supported in the clean energy transition, as their adoption of sustainable buildings will create a substantial positive effect on the environment as well as on the society as a whole, due to an improvement of comfort, health, well-being, and productivity of third sector workers.

    Which countries is SER going to focus on?

    The focus of SER is on Italy. The project’s replication will be tested in Bulgaria and France during the project, while exploratory roundtables will be held in Slovakia, Poland, Czech Republic, and Germany.

  • SER brings together 8 organisations from 4 EU countries

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    GNE is a high impact investment company focused on providing financing for the built environment. GNE is a leader at leveraging finance to deliver innovative solutions that maximise social and environmental impact while delivering sustainable returns to capital providers.

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    FS is a consortium of non-profit organisations engaged in transferring sustainability to third sector organisations. It promotes resource efficiency and energy efficiency in order to cut costs and allow investments to flow into social and welfare activities, and also supports the third sector's green transition.

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    CGM created in 1998, supports the development of social cooperation among industries and plays a central role across the financial system supporting the consortium in managing relations with the banks and financial institutions of the territory.

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    ENEA is the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development which provides technical and scientific support and consultancy services to the public central administration (mainly the Ministry of Economic Development), regions and local bodies.

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    Politecnico di Milano is one of the most outstanding universities in Europe that hosts an international research center, TIRESIA (Technology Innovation and Research for Social Impact), dedicated to pursuing scientific excellence in the research on social impact and inclusive innovation.

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    A fully owned subsidiary of Econoler Inc. The firm boasts experience in renewable energy, energy performance contracting, and climate change mitigation and designs, implements and performs feasibility studies for financing mechanisms.

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    It is a non-profit organisation, officially recognised for public interest since 1962. SC has developed a new vision for society. It is mainly focused on fighting poverty and its causes. It is also involved in social and environmental transition.

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    The SER HUB is a legal entity providing consulting services in the technical, administrative, fiscal, and financial fields to promote the Energy Transition of the TSOs and religious entities. Configured as a "boutique one-stop-shop," the SER HUB comprises an ecosystem of partners delivering modular and tailor-made solutions for specific projects.

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