🌍 SDG-BASED: What If a Neighbourhood Could Produce More Energy Than It Uses?
- Apr 17
- 2 min read
Project spotlight!
What if a neighbourhood could give back more energy than it consumes?
The SDG-BASED project is built to answer exactly that question—by helping cities turn sustainability ambitions into real, measurable impact through Positive Energy Districts (PEDs).
🌆 From Good Intentions to Real Impact
Cities across Europe are full of strong sustainability commitments. Yet one major challenge remains:
How do we move from strategy to implementation?
The gap between ambitious goals and place-based results continues to define urban policy today.
“SDG-BASED was built to work exactly on this—moving from frameworks to strategic implementation.”
Rather than focusing on isolated solutions, the project promotes integrated urban systems, where energy, environment, society, and governance are addressed together.
⚡ The Concept: Positive Energy Districts
A Positive Energy District (PED) is a district that produces more renewable energy than it consumes—feeding surplus energy back into the grid and the community.
SDG-BASED maps the pathway to achieving PEDs while embedding the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into every step.
This ensures that sustainability is not treated as a checklist—but as a systemic and measurable transformation process.
🎯 Our Goals
SDGs as a compass, not a checklist: The SDGs are fully integrated into city planning tools and decision-making frameworks—not just referenced.
Four pilot cities across Europe: Monreale (Italy), Cluj-Napoca (Romania), Graz and Lienz (Austria) act as living laboratories, each with unique contexts and challenges.
Designed for replication: All tools and methodologies are created so other cities across Europe can adopt and adapt them.
🤝 A Multidisciplinary European Team
SDG-BASED brings together 12 partners from 4 countries, forming a diverse ecosystem of expertise:
Universities: University of Catania, University of Palermo, Dalarna University
Research leaders: Austrian Institute of Technology
Industry & consultancy: SWECO Sverige AB, CitySync Solutions AB, URBASOFIA
Public authorities: Monreale, Cluj-Napoca Metropolitan Area, Graz, Lienz
Networks: Transylvania Energy Cluster
This collaboration ensures that:
Urban planners work alongside engineers and data scientists
Cities co-design solutions with researchers and businesses
Communities actively shape local interventions
The SDG-Based Team consortium meeting in Vienna, November 2025
🌐 Why European Collaboration Matters
Positive Energy Districts are complex systems. They require:
Integrated energy solutions
Policy alignment across governance levels
Social acceptance and behavioral change
No single city can tackle this alone.
European cooperation enables:
Cross-country knowledge exchange
Testing solutions in diverse urban environments
Scaling successful approaches across regions
🚀 Long-Term Vision
SDG-BASED aims to leave a lasting impact by:
Helping cities move from ambition to implementation
Providing practical tools and tested methodologies
Supporting the transition to climate-neutral, resilient, and inclusive districts
Ultimately, the project redefines sustainability as a collaborative, SDG-driven urban transformation process.
💬 Join the Conversation
What does the gap between sustainability strategy and real urban action look like in your city?
Share your perspective in the comments or reach out to us at sdgbased@gmail.com
🌐 Website: https://sdgbased.wixsite.com/sdg-based
Online workshop on the 28th of October, 2025
SDG-Based is funded funded by CETPartnership, the Clean Energy Transition Partnership under the 2023 joint call for research proposals, co-funded by the European Commission (GA N°101069750) and with the funding organizations of Italy, Sweden, Austria and Romania.
Comments