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In this workshop we discussed the progress and results of six Horizon 2020 projects—INSTRUCT, BIMEET, The nZEB Roadshow, TRAIN4SUSTAIN, HP4All, and BUSLeague—about how to increase the number of skilled building professionals and/or blue-collar workers across the building design, operation, and maintenance value chain (designers, architects, engineers, building managers, technicians, installers, blue-collar workers including apprentices, and other building professionals), with a specific focus on the engagement of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Circular Economy is the solution for the current environmental crisis, representing a huge economic opportunity to build new sustainable businesses. However, many barriers need to be faced for its implementation at industrial scale—firstly, the lack of data sharing between the different stakeholders of product value-chains. The DigiPrime project is an EU-funded Innovation Action aimed at developing and demonstrating a digital platform with services able to unlock innovative cross-sectorial business models for the remanufacturing and recycling of target value-added products. In this paper, the concept behind the DigiPrime project is reported, with a particular focus on the construction sector.

Solar thermal technologies are already available in the market, robust and relatively cheap. Unfortunately, the solar heat is little used in the industrial processes, and the main obstacles of the solar heat diffusion are often the lack of adequate predictive modelling of solar plant integration, identifying its energy potential, economic feasibility and environmental benefits. In this paper, to investigate and evaluate the possibility of supplying solar heat for the pasta drying process located in the north-east of the Italian Alps (“Felicetti”). The methodology proposed is structured with the combination of several software PVGIS®, Matlab®, Dymola®. The methodology developed is tested, considering solar thermal energy as primary source, in different geographical contexts.

Agricultural cropping systems and experiments include complex interactions of processes and various management practices and/or treatments under a wide range of environmental and climatic conditions. The use of standardized formats to monitor and document these systems and experiments can help researchers and stakeholders to efficiently exchange data, promote interdisciplinary collaborations, and simplify modelling and analysis procedures. In the scope of the SoilCare Horizon 2020 project monitoring and assessment work package, an integrated scheme to collect, validate, store, and access cropping system information and experimental data from 16 study sites, was created. The aim of the scheme is to make the data readily available in a way that the information is useful, easy to access and download, and safe, relying only on open source software. The database design considers data and metadata required to properly and easily monitor, process, and analyse cropping systems and/or agricultural experiments. The scheme allows for the storage of data and metadata regarding the experimental set-up, associated people and institutions, information about field management operations and experimental procedures which are clearly separated for making analysis procedures faster, links between system components, and information about the environmental and climatic conditions. Raw data are entered by the users into a structured spreadsheet. The quality is checked before storing the data into the database. Providing raw data allows processing and analysing as each other user needs. A desktop import application has been created to upload the information from spreadsheet to database, which includes automated error checks of relationship tables, data types, data constraints, etc. The final component of the scheme is the database web application interface, which enables users to access and query the database across the study sites without the knowledge of query languages and to download the required data. For this system design, PostgreSQL is used for storing the data, pgAdmin 4 for database management administration, MongoDB for user management and authentication, Python for the development of the import application, Angular and Node.js/Express for the web application and spreadsheets compatible with LibreOffice Calc. The system is currently tested with data provided by the SoilCare study sites. Preliminary testing indicated that extended quality control of the spreadsheets was required from the system’s administrator to meet the standards and restrictions of the import application. Initial comments from the users indicate that the database scheme, even if it initially seems complicated, includes all the variables and details required for a complete monitoring and modelling of an agricultural cropping system.

Abstract: Addressing how human behaviour can be taken into account when designing for 2 sustainability is an emerging topic in the development of pro-environmental person-centred smart 3 systems. Indeed, user diversity and categorisation in the context of sustainable behaviour has been 4 already studied by some scholars in recent literature. However, the complexity of the individual 5 present some open challenges that still have to be further investigated. In this work, behavioural 6 theories and user characterisation are analysed together to better understand the human factors when 7 trying to influence sustainable lifestyles and actions. Then, theoretical frameworks are combined 8 and mapped in a novel user meta-model, coined FOX, that classifies the individual dynamically 9 taking into account its heterogeneity and diversity. The dimensions involved in the FOX proposal are 10 explained by describing the categorisation of each dimension. Besides, an example of the potential 11 application of the model is exposed to better contextualise the work presented. Finally, controversial 12 aspects and emerging ideas of the proposal are equally discussed throughout the paper as well as 13 we discuss the use of FOX model to inform the design of behaviour change interventions related to 14 sustainability.

Under H2020 program, the European Commission (EC) is investing in projects that aim to develop IT tools that are attractive for its users and therefore leading to a long-term behavior change for energy savings. Four of such funded projects are: BENEFFICE, enCOMPASS, MOBISTYLE and UtilitEE. To ensure exploitation and further uptake of the project results, EC provides Support Services for Exploitation of Research Results (SSERR). Through this support, a workshop was held at the Sustainable Places Conference 2019 to present the business value proposition of the above mentioned H2020 projects. This paper presents the outcomes of the workshop on how to pitch the research projects. Conclusive remarks were given to provide projects partners further recommendations on how to exploit the results to key actors (such as investors and business partners).

Abstract: Clustering workshop of low TRL Smart Grids and Storage projects, focused on distributed schemes such as MAS, blockchain, P2P, among others. This workshop was organized by DRIvE project. The objective of the event was to establish common goals and methodologies among the participants, and to have a relevant discussion forum.