The following cities recently received awards for their innovative local Display® communication campaigns :

1st prize : City of Lausanne
For its intensive communication campaign within its administration, strong external promotion activities and for its efficient marketing strategy. For more information

2nd prize : City of Montreux
For its excellent start and the results obtained during its first year within the Display® Campaign. For more information

3rd prize : Cities of Echirolles, Colomiers and Durham County Council
A tie for the third place this year :

• Echirolles for its energy awareness and education campaign, focused towards school children and gymnasium users. For more information

• Colomiers for its willingness to give the citizen a central position in energy performance management and its action using all actors in a logical and coordinated way, using diverse media. For more information

• Durham County Council for its valuable political support for the Display® Campaign and for the promotion of the latter at the European level. For more information

Following a survey in April last year, version 2.0 of the Display® online calculation tool has been in the process of development and is now available to all Display® users. The new version has been programmed to take into account the considerations of the survey. The most impressive aspect of the new tool is its speed, now making it possible to perform statistical calculations, even for thousands of buildings. Some new functions have also been added :

• The possibility to download calculation results and building data in "Excel type" spreadsheets

• Access to national statistics for the whole range of buildings of the cities participating in the Display® Campaign

• The possibility to create Display® users accounts for people in your organisation such as colleagues, in order to provide them with a personalised access to the Display® tool.

The new version of the tool has been translated in German, English and French. To add new languages, go to the “My Translations” section and complete the boxes with the words or expressions you wish to translate.

The ability to adapt Display® according to national regulations was also a function that was suggested during last April’s survey. For the countries with which we are working closely, we are awaiting the official release of these regulations in order to integrate them within the Display® tool.

Make the most of this new tool !

The long awaited transposition of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) into National Legislation for existing public buildings is finally being seen in a number of member states. In two of them (France and the United Kingdom) Display® member cities are lobbying either via National Users Clubs, or interaction with National Associations for the integration of the communication aspect of Display® into the official National certificates for public buildings.

In France local authorities will need to certify all existing public buildings larger than 1000 m², by the 1st of January 2008. Thanks to the National Users Clubs which met, three times in 2007, about 20 active Display® members with representatives of Energie-Cités, the DGUHC (the national body responsible for the transposition) and the ADEME (French environmental and energy agency) the French local authorities have been able to contribute to the national law that will soon be published. In France it will only be compulsory to produce a certificate that is valid for 10 years. This, therefore, encourages local authorities to pursue the update of their eye-catching and communicative Display® posters, in order to monitor their performances and continue to improve their buildings’ energy performances.

In the UK a number of the leading local authorities (Bristol, Milton Keynes, Leicester, Kirklees and Durham County) are currently lobbying the UK government with assistance from Energie-Cités and the Local Government Association to ensure that there will be a place for a communicative Display® poster in England and Wales. The first UK users club is planned for the 26th of November. Please contact Ian TURNER if you would like to attend this meeting.