On the occasion of the ACE-Retrofitting kick-off meeting, the Paris Climate Agency (Agence Parisienne du Climat - APC) organised in cooperation with Energy Cities a full-day event on the energy retrofitting of condominiums, on 18 January 2017 in Paris. Besides the ACE-Retrofitting project partners, the event gathered local players from the renovation sector in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United-Kingdom, Germany and Slovakia.
After a great morning session focusing on public policy and local energy renovation schemes for Parisian condominiums, the day unfolded with a visit of the Du Guesclin multi-appartment dwelling that proves possible to complete ambitious thermal retrofitting in a condominium where there are great historical and architectural challenges to face!
"Showing that it is possible" is the motto of the actions undertaken by the APC, whose main tool is CoachCopro, which is both a collaborative web tool and a comprehensive supporting scheme that provides guidance to co-owners and building professionals through several steps to accelerate condominium energy retrofitting.
This will for an operational scheme relies on several levers aiming to accelerate the transformation:
- Building trust between co-owners and professionals. For instance, training the condomium managing structures on the energy renovation issue is important to get the profession move forward and give it extra value, as this role is crucial in the renovation process. Helping professionals get acquainted with this peculiar context of condominiums, and notably with the concept of non professional, multi-stakeholder client, is a key issue. Likewise, the ongoing setting up of the condominium renovation observatory allows for highlighting and objectively assessing the evolution of the market.
- Innovation is a constant will. Technical and regulatory work is in progress to encourage the raise of buildings to be renovated, as it allows for generating financial flows for co-owners to cover part of their renovation works. Ideas are also flourishing to work at block level and encourage a number of co-owned properties to engage into a renovation process, or to imagine a new job of eco-manager at block level.
- Breaking the negative image of working with condominiums. The objectives of a project are always communicated with a positive message. Co-owned property is modern and trendy! This is a message that will become mainstream, and the APC is working on it!
As a conclusion, APC Director Anne Girault showed enthusiatic to be a partner in the ACE-Retrofitting project. She sees it as an "extraordinary opportunity to get another point of view on Paris’ experience, to benefit from others’ to go further, and to unite European local authorities around this huge common project"!
Programme of the day (click on titles to access the presentations): 
Framework, issues, public policy and local energy renovation schemes for Parisian condominiums:
- Paris’ Climate Action Plan, 10 years of action and new perspectives! (English) - Yann Françoise, Climate and EnergieS Department, City of Paris
- The Agence Parisienne du Climat (French) - Anne Girault, Director of the Agence Parisienne du Climat
- "Eco-rénovons Paris", issues, objectives and stakeholders in the renovation programme - Nicolas Billotte, project Manager "Ecorénovons Paris", City of Paris
Accelerating energy retrofitting with the CoachCopro approach
- Combining the CoachCopro and "Ecorénovons Paris" schemes - Emmanuel Poussard, Director of Activities, APC
- Getting professionals on board - Yohann Desgeorges, Reaserch Officer, Agence Parisienne du Climat and Carole Labaudinière, CAPEB (association of buildings professionals)
- Mobilising stakeholders - Johanna Bouheret, Responsible for Mobilising local stakeholders, APC
- Communication campaigns - Cécile Gruber, Information and Communication Manager, APC