Forming attitudes is hard. It may be exciting to start a new habit, but it’s challenging to make it stick. This may often happen when we try to go green, consume less energy and constantly follow virtuous behaviours in the buildings where we live and work.

Buildings and the construction sector are responsible for over one-third of global final energy consumption and nearly 40% of total direct and indirect CO 2 emissions .

Peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms allow energy sharing and trading within a community without the binding mediation of the traditional big utilities.

If energy-saving measures came knocking at the door, wouldn't it be reassuring to have someone on hand to help you navigate the benefits and inconvenience, someone to help dispel your doubts? This is what is happening in Zaragoza, Spain, where social workers are helping the dwellers of a block of council flats.

Thirty-one apartment buildings comprising 140,000 m 2 of floor space: Europe’s most ambitious energy-saving renovation project is transforming Torrelago, a residential district of Valladolid in central Spain.

For most of us, any concerns about computing speed or data storage are usually to make it go faster while storing more. We hardly ever think about the enormous amounts of energy already required to power Internet servers or charge the increasing number of devices we own.

Local governments in Europe are notoriously risk averse, city council officials and industry leaders won’t hesitate to tell you.