Press Release: Jan Kříž, recipient of the first C4E Champion Award
Šamorín, 25th of May 2023
Jan Kříž, Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Environment of the Czech Republic, was awarded the first edition of the C4E Champion Award in a festive ceremony that took place last evening at the Šimák Castle in Pezinok, Slovakia.
The C4E Champion Award is an initiative launched by the C4E Forum, which is currently holding its fourth edition in Šamorín, Slovakia. The purpose of the award is recognising the role of public officials in enhancing energy efficiency of buildings in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).
Being responsible for 36% of the EU’s CO2 emissions and 40% of our energy consumption, buildings play a key role in tackling the current energy and climate crisis. Therefore, strong leadership in the public sector becomes essential in the implementation and promotion of good practices in the transition to a fully energy efficient building stock.
A total of 7 officials from different countries in the CEE region were nominated,
“It is a pleasure seeing so many CEE public officials leading in the push for more ambitious renovation and energy efficiency policies in their countries,”
says Adrian Joyce, Director of the Renovate Europe Campaign and member of the award’s jury.
“It is our duty to acknowledge their pioneering work and to hope that many more officials follow the footsteps of our nominees. They have proven their will to engage with stakeholders and have displayed strong conviction to further profiling energy efficiency and renovation as a political priority,”
he added.
The jury selected Jan Kříž as the first awardee of the C4E Champion Award in appreciation of his long-term work on renovation support projects in the Czech Republic.
“Mr. Kříž’s greatest achievement has not only been his contribution to establishing exemplary programmes such as the single-family home renovation subsidy program Nová zelená úsporam, but especially his strong defence of quality renovation for more than 10 years over several political cycles and pressures,”
says Renée Bruel, Director of Buildings Programme at the European Climate Foundation and also member of the jury.
“Thank you very much for the appreciation that I have received from your side. It’s a very big motivation for us and for our team that is engaged in energy efficiency projects,”
said Mr. Kříž in his acceptance speech. He then added that
“small innovation every year rather than deep changes is the reason behind the success of our programmes.”
The fourth edition of the C4E Forum is taking place from 23rd to the 26th of May in Šamorín, Slovakia. With the presence of around 240 participants representing all sectors (government, industry, research, and not-for-profit), the C4E Forum has established itself as the premier biennial event on energy efficiency policy in Central and Eastern Europe.
You can follow the latest news on the activities of the C4E Forum by following its specific pages on Twitter and LinkedIn, and by visiting its website.
ENDS
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