Horizon 2020 is the main EU Research and Innovation programme with nearly €80 billion of funding available over seven years (2014 to 2020). The programme is structured in three main pillars: Excellent Science, Industrial Leadership and Societal Challenges. These pillars are divided into different priority areas. Two areas are of particular interest to local authorities: ‘Secure, Clean and Efficient Energy’ and ‘Smart, Green and Integrated Transport’.

The main priorities identified for local authorities under the area of ‘Secure, Clean and Efficient Energy’ for each focus area are as follows:

• Energy Efficiency: EE-5, EE-6, EE-8, EE-9, EE-10, EE-11, EE-15, EE-19, EE-22, EE-23, EE-24, EE-25.
• Competitive Low-Carbon Energy: LCE-21
• Smart Cities and Communities: SCC-1, SCC-02, SCC-03
• Other actions: B.1.4. Innovative financing for sustainable energy (EIB-ELENA Facility)

With respect to the area of ‘Smart, Green and Integrated Transport’, some of the main priorities identified under the ‘Mobility for Growth’ call are:

• Urban mobility: MG-4.4, MG-4.5,
• Logistics: MG-5.3
• Intelligent transport systems: MG-6.1, MG-6.2, MG-6.3
• Socio-economic and behavioral research and forward-looking activities for policy making: MG-8.4, MG-8.5

For more information:

• See all calls under Horizon 2020 here.
• General information on Horizon 2020, including how to apply for funding, can be found here.

For any question related to the Energy Efficiency Call, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or your H2020 National Contact Point.

On the Covenant of Mayors website, you can find inspiration for your local energy days in the agenda of CoM-relevant events.

Furthermore, every year the European Commission hosts the European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) focusing on energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions. An essential part of EUSEW is the Local Energy Days, organized by local authorities throughout Europe.

A Local Energy Day is defined as a not-for-profit event, activity, project, exhibition or display that promotes energy efficiency or renewable energy. Activities such as exhibitions, conferences, online events, performances, guided tours, open door days, workshops, media campaigns and concerts are all eligible.

Full support from EUSEW is available by This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

As the Action Plan concerns the whole territory - not only municipal buildings and vehicles but also private housing, tertiary sector and transport - it is thus crucial to involve local stakeholders and citizens in the preparation and implementation of the Action Plan.

Each Covenant signatory can increase the level of their involvement through efficient communication and awareness raising activities focused on their energy and climate objectives.

A Climate and Energy Day is a local event that aims to raise public awareness on issues such as energy efficiency, the use of renewable energy sources, resilience to climate change and the links between energy and climate change. Usually organized during a specific period, the types of events may vary, but often include activities such as workshops, exhibitions, guided visits and open-door days. Examples of local Energy Days in the Covenant online agenda.

Energy Days may also be held together with other events (for example, with the day of the city/town) organized by municipal authorities and/or other organizations.

During event organization attention should be paid to availability of such information materials as brochures, leaflets, prospectuses that facilitate access of residents and event participants to information.

Benchmarks of Excellence are proposed as relevant examples of local initiatives which Covenant Signatories, Coordinators and Supporters have realized in their territories and feel particularly proud of, and moreover endorse as useful actions for other local authorities to replicate.

The Benchmarks of Excellence catalogue provides an online platform for promoting good practices and showcasing actions that have a large replication potential. The catalogue can be explored here.

When submitting their Monitoring template, Covenant signatories are required to submit at least three implemented actions as Benchmarks of Excellence, for which they shall provide more detailed information.

Covenant signatories have to do the following actions:

• Log in to 'My Covenant'.
• Go to 'My Action Plan' > 'My Sustainable Energy Action Plan' and select among their list actions to be highlighted as Benchmarks of Excellence by clicking on the 'star' icon. Please note that only actions currently in place are eligible for submission.

Fill in all the information in English or Russian: provide a short description of the highlighted actions along with key figures in terms of CO2 reduction, energy savings, renewable energy, implementation cost and/or jobs created.

Covenant Coordinators and Supporters should adopt the following procedure:

• Log in to 'My Covenant'.
• Go to 'My Benchmarks' > 'Add a new Benchmark'.
• Complete all the information in English or Russian, including a short description, the signatories involved and the category to which the Benchmark of Excellence refers.

Note: The Covenant of Mayors Office reserves the right to remove from the public website any submitted Benchmark of Excellence, if the information provided is incomplete and/or if, in the case of signatories' Benchmarks, the action is not in the implementation stage.

To request an extension of the deadline for submitting your monitoring template please provide a short explanation for the extension request to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. You will receive a confirmation, when the extension has been granted.

If you are an individual Signatory (i.e. not belonging to any official Covenant Coordinator):

A 9-month extension may be granted to individual Signatories where circumstances, outside the local authority’ control, delay the completion and submission of the monitoring report by the official submission date.

If you belong to an official Covenant Coordinator:

When supported by an official Covenant Coordinator, the Coordinator can ask for an 18-months extension for all supported signatories.

Covenant Signatories are invited to use the on-line submission system available via the website restricted area: 'My Covenant'.

The procedure includes the following steps:

• Log in to ‘My Covenant’ using your personal identifiers - You can retrieve your password at any time under the ‘sign-in’ section.
• Fill in the ‘Monitoring template’ in English - Click on 'My progress' > 'Get started' or ‘Fill in a monitoring template’ in the blue menu at the top of the homepage. Choose if you wish to monitor by making use of Action Reporting (without including a Monitoring Emission Inventory (MEI)) or Full Reporting (including at least one recent MEI). Please note that all the green cells are mandatory. Note also that you must submit at least three actions as Benchmarks of Excellence.
• Upload your Monitoring Report document (optional) - After filling in the monitoring template, if you wish to add your Monitoring Report document click on ‘Upload monitoring document’ and upload it in a PDF format. If you do not wish to do so, proceed by clicking ‘Go to submission’.
• Validate your online Monitoring submission - Click on 'submit' in order to have your monitoring template officially submitted. A preliminary checking system of the template will be made available in 2017, allowing the detection of errors or inconsistencies. For this, you should click on the ‘See notification checklist’ button. This will be run through a parallel online application, developed and managed by the JRC.

Please consult the Reporting Guidelines available in the website library for step by step guidance on the process of completing the template.

1) Action reporting

Every two years after having submitted their Action Plan, Covenant Signatories have to monitor their progress in an Action Reporting including:

Report on the implementation status of their actions in qualitative terms

Update of the Adaptation Scoreboard, The Risk and Vulnerability Assessment and the choice of updating the Adaptation Action Tab.

2) Full reporting

Every four years after having submitted their Action Plan, Covenant Signatories have to provide a more quantitative report - the Full reporting, including:

Monitoring Emission Inventory and quantified outcomes of the actions implemented, such as: energy savings, renewable energy production, CO2emissions reduction.

An update of the Adaptation Scoreboard, the Risk and Vulnerability Assessment and a minimum update of 3 key adaptation actions

The reporting requirements are the minimum and both the Action Reporting and the Full reporting can be done as often as the Signatory find it relevant to have a status of its progress towards fulfilling their commitments. Please consult the "Quick Reference Guide on Monitoring" and the "Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy Reporting Guidelines" for further information available in the website library.

Monitoring and evaluating results is important for following up on the main achievements and for continuously improving your action plan (in case corrective measures are needed). Covenant Signatories are committed to regularly submit monitoring reports to show the results achieved at a glance, both in terms of measures implemented and CO2emissions reduction.

Please consult the Quick Reference Guide on Monitoring for further information.