We received the second prize at the prestigious global forum of the United Nations in Athens (UNECE International Public-Private Partnerships Forum) for the public-private partnership project of energy renovation of buildings owned by the City of Ljubljana (Energy Renovation of Ljubljana).

As many as 82 public-private partnership projects from around the world competed for the award, and our project was rated the best by a panel of international experts in public-private partnerships and ranked among the five finalists who were given the opportunity to introduce themselves live at the forum. Based on the presentations, the forum participants chose the best three public-private partnership projects in the world in 2023, and the Energy Renovation of Ljubljana project was only a few votes away from winning. The justification of the recognition points out that the project significantly contributes to all pillars of sustainable development – economic, social and environmental – thereby meeting the goals of sustainable development as defined by the United Nations.

The award we won is a confirmation for the comprehensive, innovative and strategic approach of the City of Ljubljana regarding the energy renovation of public buildings and the guideline that the greenest energy is the energy we save.

The first place was taken by the Turkish project to build the largest suspension bridge in the world across the Dardanelles sea strait »915Çanakkale«, valued at approximately 2.3 billion euros.

About the Energy Renovation of Ljubljana project

With the public-private Energy Renovation of Ljubljana project, we pursue the goals of reducing energy use and increasing the share of renewable energy sources. Within the scope of the individual phases of the project, we have so far renovated a total of 82 buildings, of which 47 were fully renovated and 35 partially. In addition, nine buildings are in various stages of implementation, and a competitive dialogue is underway for 34 buildings. Kindergartens, primary schools, sports facilities, city administration facilities, health care centres, cultural facilities and also parking garages are included in the energy renovation. Within the scope of partial renovations, replacements of lighting with more economical LED technology, renovations of heating sources, together with hydraulic balancing, renovations of inefficient ventilation systems and installations of new ones and, if possible, increases in the share of renewable energy sources (various types of heat pumps, solar collectors for heating of domestic hot water) are carried out, and as part of comprehensive renovations, we also carry out construction measures, that is, the building envelope, which includes roof insulation, facade insulation and replacement of building furniture.
The energy renovation of all implemented projects will amount to approximately 60 million euros. Most of these funds come from a private partner, partly EU from cohesion funds, and a minimal share from the City of Ljubljana.

Significant savings and care for the environment

The environmental effects of the project are remarkable. Overall, we will save over 400,000 MWh of energy during the project period, representing over 80,000 tons of CO2 equivalent. This amount is cleaned by about 3.2 million average-sized trees or about 8,000 hectares of forests.
The majority of the generated savings go to the private partner for the reimbursement of the investment, and throughout the duration of the public-private partnership, the City of Ljubljana participates in the savings and has lower energy consumption costs than it had before the implementation of the project.
The Energy Renovation of Ljubljana project is marked by a circular approach by reducing the amount of energy used for the operation of public buildings while, at the same time, the quality standard is raised with the renovation. Buildings that were previously not earthquake, fire and energy safe are now safer and more energy efficient due to the implementation of the project. The central concept of the projects is that the greenest and most sustainable energy is the energy that we do not use up. It is one of the most important green and circular projects in Ljubljana.