Public bodies across Europe join affordable green housing initiative

Jose Nunés from Matosinhos Habit has shared organisation’s green certification achievements at the SMARTER4EU conference in Madrid

Municipalities look to green homes to tackle issues from extreme heat to post war reconstruction

The convergence of several crises are causing hundreds of municipalities to turn to a burgeoning network of experts in green home certification and finance. By collaborating with the Smarter Finance for EU consortium, municipalities are accessing the expertise and solutions to  tackle challenges like Europe’s housing crisis, energy poverty, the need to plan for the reconstruction of Ukraine and the increasing threats posed by extreme temperatures.

Green housing is an essential part of building communities resilient to energy poverty. Across Europe, municipalities play a key role in the development of affordable housing and that is why the Smarter Finance for EU (Smarter4EU) consortium has been involving them in the project since the very start.

Since 2023, our team has been providing capacity building opportunities to tens of municipalities eager to mainstream green housing standards in their cities. Several of these municipalities have decided to take their commitment one step further, pledging to pilot-test green homes certification in their affordable housing projects.

12 municipal entities taking action

Today, we are proud to introduce you to 12 entities from Ukraine, Portugal and Romania which partnered with Smarter4EU to bring green housing closer to their citizens. 

Upon signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU), Smarter4EU provides these municipalities with individualised support, including expert consultancy on green housing standards – with an emphasis on evidence-based green home certification systems which are aligned to meet European rules, such as the EU taxonomy—Europe's classification system that defines which economic activities count as environmentally sustainable—requires buildings to meet strict energy efficiency and climate resilience standards.

By utilizing efficient and credible green residential certification systems, Smarter4EU helps municipalities and their residents confidently identify best-in-class green homes and realize their benefits for the affordable housing sector. Additionally, Smarter4EU helps municipalities develop solutions that integrate private green finance with public funding. So-called hybrid funding typically combines public grants (or other assets such as land) with private green loans and municipal bonds, allowing cities to leverage limited public budgets while attracting private investment in sustainable housing.

Green recovery in Ukraine

In Ukraine MoU signatories include cities such as Kovel, Mykolaiv, Vinnytsya and Rivne, alongside the Chernivtsi regional agency of municipal development and the Ivano-Frankivsk regional agency of municipal development, which brings together 118 municipalities from all parts of the country. Each of our Ukrainian partners implements green housing principles in their distinctive context. From sustainable emergency housing to plans of post-war redevelopment of damaged neighbourhoods into green communities, Ukrainian municipalities are turning to green certification as a part of their complex approach to resilient housing.

“We see this not only as a challenge, but also as an opportunity. We should not only rethink our city, but also our economy…Over 100,000 inhabitants of Mykolaiv moved to other parts of Ukraine, maybe even the European Union. We should provide them with a reason to come back.” says Serhii Koreniev, deputy mayor of Mykolaiv.

SMARTER4EU consortium member Energy Efficient Cities of Ukraine is regularly engaging with partner municipalities via online and in person events (photo credit: Energy Efficient Cities of Ukraine)

Kovel City of Kovel has a population of over 70,000 residents. In the past years it saw an influx of thousands of internally displaced persons. To accommodate housing needs of the growing population, Kovel has partnered with SMARTER4EU to provide its inhabitants with new green housing opportunities. Photo credit: Iramal
Ivano-Frankivsk regional agency of municipal development The Ivano-Frankivsk regional agency of municipal development represents 62 municipalities from the Ivano-Frankivsk region with a total population of 1.3 million inhabitants. With the support of Smarter4EU, the agency plans to initiate the implementation of green construction projects in the municipalities of the Ivano-Frankivsk region. Photo credit: Igor KOSOVYCH
Chernivtsi regional agency of municipal development The Chernivtsi regional agency of municipal development represents 52 municipalities from the Chernivtsi region with a total population of 800,000 inhabitants. With support of the Smarter4EU project, the agency aspires to initiate the development of a regulatory framework for green construction and green mortgages in Ukraine and pilot green housing in the Chernivtsi Region. Photo credit: Wereskowa
Vinnytsia The city of Vinnytsia has 370,000 residents. During the war, its population has significantly increased due to the city providing shelter to internally displaced people from other parts of the country. The city is partnering with Smarter4EU to receive technical and education support for implementation of new residential projects as well as guidance in green certification. Photo credit: Posterrr
Rivne Rivne is a city in western Ukraine with over 245,000 residents. As a member of the Covenant of Mayors, the city is implementing its own net zero cities initiative and aspires to provide its old and new inhabitants with new, modern green neighbourhoods which align with green housing and certification standards. Photo credit: Neovitaha777
Mykolaiv Mykolaiv, a city near the Black sea with 470,000 residents, experienced significant damage and has a high demand for housing recovery. It is estimated that at minimum 9,000–14,000 inhabitants will be in urgent need of reconstruction or housing support. With the support of SmarterR4EU, the city plans to integrate green construction principles into its reconstruction efforts and make green quality accessible to those who need it the most Photo credit: Георгий Долгопский

With whole neighbourhoods destroyed, Ukrainian municipalities play a key role in ensuring that private developers include affordable housing in their developments. To ensure that future reconstruction of the housing stock is sustainable, inclusive in materials and design, and oriented on overall life-cycle costs, it is essential to involve local communities and stakeholders in the decision-making process. Local public bodies also have a crucial role to play in the communication campaigns and consultancy services needed for successful implementation of affordable green housing projects with characteristic complex funding and stakeholder structures. Additionally, the more local communities that participate financially, the more these groups can expect to influence development projects and collect financial returns. For all these reasons, hybrid funding represents an ideal finance model for the recovery of Ukraine.

Portugal

Although Portuguese municipalities are faced with very different challenges to those in Ukraine, they are no less interested in green housing as a tool for addressing their challenges. Overheating is becoming a chronic problem in much of Europe, and Portuguese high summer temperatures pose an existential threat – in particular to people living in energy poverty. The number of heat-related deaths keeps growing with the number of extreme temperature days and therefore Portuguese cities are putting more and more emphasis on the development of affordable housing in a green quality standard. 

Smarter4EU consortium member ADENE is coordinating with three Portuguese affordable housing municipal companies in Porto, Matosinhos and Vila Nova de Gaia. So far, Portugal’s recovery and resilience plan has been the main financing stream for housing construction and renovation. However, as ADENE’s research shows, local municipal companies are ready to address administrative barriers which currently limit their involvement in public-private funding opportunities. Together with the direct access to the local banking sector provided by Smarter4EU, our partners are hopeful their funds can be used to trigger more private investments into affordable housing.

“Matosinhos Habit, while not yet utilizing hybrid funding, is actively supporting initiatives aligned with the European Union’s taxonomy for green housing targeting social housing improvements that enhance residents' health, comfort and financial stability,” says Jose Nunés, head of the affordable housing department at Matosinhos Habit. “By focusing on energy efficient retrofits and sustainable construction practices, we aim to attract residential investors and funding aligned with green mortgage programs”

Matosinhos Habit (Matosinhos) Matosinhos Habit manages municipal housing stock as well as all personal and financial assets in the Matosinhos municipality. Matosinhos Habit manages a stock of over 4,000 housing units. With the support of Smarter4EU, Matosinhos habit plans to embed green standards into its construction projects with the aim to decrease energy costs and provide affordable high quality housing to its beneficiaries. So far, this had led to Matosinhos Habit certifying 64 residential units in alignment with the EU taxonomy. Photo credit: Sergei Gussev
Gaiurb (V.N Gaia) Gaiurb is responsible for territorial and urban planning, urban renewal, housing and social development, as well as the promotion of local development within Vila Nova de Gaia. Gaiurb currently has 3,123 social housing units under its management, supporting 3,025 families. With Smarter4EU’s support, Gaiurb has certified 20 units to date in alignment with EU taxonomy standards. Photo credit: Krzysztof Golik
Domus Social (Porto) Domus Social’s mission is to improve social housing in the city of Porto, to manage the municipal public housing stock and to maintain and conserve all municipal real estate assets. The company develops and implements all of Porto’s social housing projects. Domus Social is responsible for over 50 neighbourhoods with 13,000 houses providing accommodation to over 30,000 residents. With Smarter4EU’s support, Domus Social has certified 14 residential units to date in alignment with the EU taxonomy. Photo credit: Gustavo Motta

Romania

Smarter4EU has a long tradition in Romania, as the project was first piloted in this country in 2014 by the Romanian Green Building Council (RoGBC). The positive response of Romanian banks and developers to RoGBC’s Green Homes and Green Mortgage program was crucial for further expansion of the initiative to 21 other countries. Cooperation with public bodies has brought another opportunity to mainstream green housing in Romania and the wider region. In Romania, Smarter4EU expanded RoGBC’s activities to include collaboration with the university and NGO sector, bringing greater synergies into sustainable regional development of green, affordable housing practices. According to Horváth Béla, Mayor of the Romanian town of Salacea: “After witnessing the remarkable transformation in our community through the zero waste strategy – going from almost no recycling to 40% in just three months – we recognized the power of sustainable initiatives to create real change. Partnering with Smarter4EU on green affordable housing is a natural next step for us.“

Salacea Salacea is a commune in Bihor County with a rich historical heritage. After successful implementation of a zero waste strategy which led to a rise from almost no waste recycling to 40% in three months, the city decided to engage in the subject of green affordable housing and preserving healthy living conditions in this popular mountain region. Photo credit: Discover Bihor
Zero Waste Romania Zero Waste Romania is a non-profit, apolitical, independent organization that promotes holistic solutions for resource conservation, and campaigns for the elimination of waste. With support from Smarter4EU, Zero Waste Romania plans to raise green housing awareness, while boosting the capacities of its partner municipalities.
Technical University of Cluj Napoca Technical University of Cluj-Napoca is a public university located in Cluj-Napoca. The Faculty of Building Services and Engineering partnered with Smarter4EU to collaborate on the introduction of green certification standards into the university’s building stock. Photo credit: Dennis Jarvis

Meet our signatories

Jose Nunés, Matosinhos Habit (Porto Municipality)

Serhii Koreniev, Deputy Mayor, Mykolaiv Municipality (Ukraine)

Artem Hanushchak, Deputy Mayor, Rivne Municipality (Ukraine)