Sustainability to go further
MARCHE TOSCANA UMBRIA
CENTRAL ITALY FOR CLEAN ENERGY
marche region
Energy as a path
of economic social
cohesion and inclusion
Territorial cohesion, social inclusion and environmental
sustainability are objectives that the Marche Region has
firmly reaffirmed with the current political direction, placing it at the center of its interventions.
These goals, within the global economic crisis, have become pillars on which to base the capacity of the Marche
community, made up of so many small and medium-sized
enterprises, of territories of high landscape, cultural and
rural value, of small communities characterized by high
employment levels and high Life expectancy.
For Marche, it is about to revitalize its development model
that the “Marche + 20” strategy defines “active resistance and
a new fracture-free development.” A high-intensity innovation development model that focuses on knowledge-based
specialization, on creativity, on international openness and
on the integration of sectoral policies (economic, social, environmental), and hence on a systemic strategy that combines efficient economies of scale with the safeguarding of
local peculiarities. A model aware that the real difference is
not among mature and new sectors, but among companies,
communities and individuals who innovate.
Regional energy policy is one of the emblems of the new
development model outlined above.
Investing in the energy sector to reduce energy consumption, to increase production and renewable energy consumption, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in line with
the European low carbon economy objectives, has demanded and continues to require an innovation effort to companies, to the region and to the regional community. The investment in energy becomes a competitive factor, creates
employment and benefit by preserving natural capital.
In Marche, in the post-crisis period, about 23% of companies invested and planned to invest in “green”, of which
approximately 83% in reducing raw material and energy
consumption, while achieving an increase in employment.
The recruitment of these companies accounts for about
43% of total recruitment with a steady increase in trend.
The number of enterprises registered in the high-value-added “start-up” section of the energy sector has increased by about 60% in the last year, while in Italy the
increase was around 36%.
Starting from the awareness of the achievements and the
need to consolidate the developments just illustrated, the
Regional Energy Plan has strengthened the strategy and
system of actions and instruments aimed at supporting the
“decarbonisation” of the economy and, at the same time,
pursuing the objectives of territorial, economic and social
cohesion.
The support, including through the resources of the 20142020 Structural Funds, to the increase of renewable energy and the reduction of consumption, places particular
emphasis on the revitalization of the marginal areas and
rural areas through the development of energy “supply
chains”, energy improvement of small mountainous villages. Furthermore, accent is put on the energy efficiency of
residential buildings, on the reconstruction according to
energy efficiency of buildings in the areas affected by the
earthquake, on production processes through technological innovation, on the development of circular economy,
on the use of renewable energy sources in self-consumption and on the promotion of public lighting smart city oriented.