“Chaud Devant” Action Plan aimed to reduce energy poverty through a programme consisting of diverse activities set up by local stakeholders. The municipality seized the opportunities to work together with them. This grassroots approach to programme implementation guaranteed long term effects on citizen engagement. The slogan of the programme, called “Chaud Devant” (meaning “Mind your backs!” in English, literally “Hot ahead!”) was the following: “In Recouvrance it’s your apartment that we heat, not our climate!”.
The following activities were implemented:
- Several informal meetings were organised in local community centres. These events included games such as “Question pour un lampion” or “coffeedebates” such as “Café Moisi”. Overall, more than 170 people attended these activities.
- At all meetings, the “Bricobus” (a DIYbus), which helps residents to receive and implement homebased improvements, was also present. Examples for such improvements are the repair of water leaks (flush, taps), the replacement of electric sockets, fixing rolling shutters or replacing window glazing.
- A 3-day event called “Toit par toi” (“Roof by yourself”) organised by voluntary organisation „Les Compagnons Bâttiseurs“ kicked off further activities. The focus was laid on raising awareness and offering thematic workshops for the residents. 1,800 inhabitants participated in the event, which was supported by more than 20 volunteers and employees.
- The main message of energy poverty was highlighted by the construction of a wooden roof frame. Each participant created a slate with a message on energy efficiency, energy poverty and housing difficulties.
Challenges and solutions
It is important to involve local, non-administrative partners in the programme to achieve the best outcome. Brest Métropole for example joined forces with Ener’gence and Les Compagnons Bâtisseurs. These partners continue to implement similar activities in the long term. The involved stakeholders have to be able and motivated to support the process. Moreover, strength lies in numbers, and cooperating with local actors widens the reach of the actions in the neighbourhoods.
Long-term aspects
- The successful implementation of the “Chaud Devant” programme in the Recouvrance neighbourhood leads to the implementation of similar programmes in other neighbourhoods. However, the programmes need to be tailored to the requirements of the targeted neighbourhood.
- After the initial setup of the programme, local organisations are able to continuously implement relevant activities.
Some concrete key performance indicators (KPIs) included:
- Number of participants/people reached during the different actions of the programme: almost 2,000.
The “Chaud Devant” Action Plan was part of the collection of best practices made over three years by the partners of the Interreg NWE funded project „Climate Active Neighbourhoods“. The multi-national consortium based in Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK has closely collaborated on methods and solutions for realising a low carbon future, increased energy efficiency and a socially just energy transition on the neighbourhood level. During the initial phase of the project (2016-2020), CAN focused on neighbourhoods in need of renovation in municipalities of different sizes in Northwest Europe. Innovative activation approaches for the expansion of energy retrofits in neighbourhoods have been implemented by the project partners (12 in total).
Main beneficiaries: low-income populations and national/local authorities.
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Countries impacted:
France -
Geographical scale:
Regional and Local -
Energy poverty phase:
Implementation -
Intervention type:
Household energy efficiency and refurbishmentTransparency and information sharingStakeholders' Engagement -
Professionals involved:
Member of a local/national authorityVolunteer -
Partners involved:
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Type of funding:
Supported by the INTERREG North-West Europe Programme -
SDGs addressed:
