As part of the REDESIGN project (Harmonized renovation methodology for the worst-performing public buildings in CEE region), on 30 June 2026 REA North held the Inspirational national renovation conference in Virovitica. The event brought together representatives of cities and municipalities, experts and decision makers, with the aim of encouraging the planning and implementation of energy renovation of public buildings at the local level.
The central part of the conference was a presentation by Damir Mandic, Business Development Manager at REA North, on the local renovation plan and renovation passports for public buildings. Among other things, he presented how European and national targets are translated into a concrete plan at city level, linking European directives, the National Building Renovation Plan, the local renovation plan and the renovation passport for an individual public building into a single chain. The local renovation plan objectively and transparently sets renovation priorities, while the renovation passport turns a strategic goal into a phased, financially detailed pathway to a zero-emission building. Along these lines, renovation passports were developed for the City of Virovitica for Jan Vlaswimsky Music School, Virovitica Theatre and Public Fire Brigade (JVP), providing a basis for future renovation projects of these public buildings.
Examples of good practice from Grubisno Polje, Koprivnica, Cakovec and Virovitica were also presented. City of Virovitica presented the energy renovation of the Vladimir Nazor Primary School, one of the city’s largest investments in education, worth almost three million euros.
Matej Viljevac, Junior Project Manager at REA North, presented financial instruments for energy renovation as part of the OUR-CEE project (Overcoming Underperforming Renovations in Central and Eastern Europe) — an overview of the available financing models together with examples of good practice in Croatia and the EU, with the message that the future lies in combining grants and financial instruments.
REDESIGN and OUR-CEE projects are funded by the European Climate Initiative (EUKI).
