Issues
In France, 3 million households are in energy poverty. Most of them live in “thermal vegetations” due to poor insulation. Heating these homes makes energy bills soar, just as heatwave temperatures turn these homes into “thermal kettle”. Renovating them is not only a social issue, but also an environmental one.
Since 2021, Watt for Change and Mirova Foundation have jointly financed energy renovation projects in France.
Actions
Watt for Change, the VALOREM Group’s Endowment Fund and Foundation, works in France and around the world to combat energy poverty and access to renewable energies.
Providing effective support for associations and helping households to renovate their homes for energy efficiency requires a long-term commitment.The financial support provided under this call for projects is thus multiannual over 3 years (2023-2026). During this period, the selected associations will benefit from support between 150,000 and 210,000 euros, repeated funding to finance both structural costs and projects.
In addition, extra-financial support is offered to the winning associations through training dedicated to measuring the impact of training times on the economic model. Regular and human follow-up with project leaders will be set up, in order to create a relationship of trust and promote synergies between the different actors.
In addition, a skills sponsorship program for employees of VALOREM and Mirova is also initiated to record the support over time.
In order to advance industry practices, a social impact assessment of the call for projects as a whole is currently being conducted by Phare Agency. Monitoring common indicators over time will allow the winners to have a better understanding of their impacts on beneficiaries and their partners, to objectify the difficulties encountered and to optimize the levers of action.
Discover the 8 projects :
- ALEC 07, an association that helps households in precarious situations reduce their energy and water consumption and save money. Together with the Compagnons Bâtisseurs Rhône-Alpes, Soliha Ardèche and Urbanis, their project aims to support 24 low- and very low-income households in renovating their homes for energy efficiency, including assisted self-rehabilitation.
- Apremis, an association whose purpose is to combat social exclusion linked to poor housing, was chosen for its project to set up a system of comprehensive support for 24 very low-income households experiencing fuel poverty in the Somme department.
- Compagnons Bâtisseurs National, an association that provides support for households with inadequate or substandard housing, to help them overcome fuel poverty and remain in their homes. The organisation was chosen for a project that aims to promote and develop assisted self-rehabilitation by training professionals to provide overall support for 15 to 20 low-income and very low-income households, and to make their nation-wide renovation fund sustainable.
- CREAQ, an association working to promote the energy transition, access to renewable energy, energy saving and eco-construction in the Gironde region, was chosen for its project to support 40 low-income and very low-income households in fuel poverty and to launch exploratory work in view to establishing a network of solidarity-based craftsmen in the Gironde region.
- GERES is an association whose aim is to help preserve the environment, limit climate change and improve living conditions for people in France and abroad. The aim of the project is to set up a programme to help 12 very low-income homeowners in the Marseille area carry out comprehensive energy renovation of their homes, and to develop technical adaptation solutions for the Mediterranean climate. The project complements the SLIME scheme launched this year by the city of Marseille.
- Solidar’TOIT, an association that fights fuel poverty and helps people renovate their homes, has been chosen for its project to set up a new association dedicated to fighting fuel poverty that will function as a network with other associations in the Deux-Sèvres and Vienne administrative departments. The aim of the project is to provide support to 30 low-income and very low-income homeowners.
- SOLIHA Mayotte, an association dedicated to ensuring that all households have access to decent, affordable, energy-efficient and appropriate housing on the island of Mayotte, has been chosen for its project to facilitate access to energy-efficient home renovation by providing additional support to 120 low-income and very low-income owner-occupants and reducing the unsubsidized costs of renovation work.
- Stop Exclusion Energétique, an association whose aim is to improve the lives of the most disadvantaged by renovating their homes, and to promote energy renovation on a mass scale, was chosen for its project to expand a fund dedicated to financing the unsubsidised renovation costs for 800 low-income and very low-income households in France.
Key figures
Our support
- Multi-year partnership since 2021
- Co-financing of projects
- Skills sponsorship of Mirova employees specializing in energy transition issues in the selection and monitoring of winning projects
- Implementation of stakeholder Committee consisting of representatives from RAPPEL (Réseau des Acteurs contre la Pauvreté et la Précarité Énergétique dans le Logement), the ANAH (Agence Nationale de l’Habitat) and the Fondation pour le Logement des Défavorisés.
- Outreach and raising awarenes