A one-stop shop for more climate action

One-stop shops (OSS) are gaining in popularity – a central point of contact, thematically oriented, with information from A-Z that is tailored to the target group and comprehensively prepared. The Croatian town of Križevci is leading the way as a pioneer in the field as the first town in the country to set up such an office on the subject of renewable energies and evolving it into an OSS on energy renovations.

Renewable energy and increasing energy efficiency are key building blocks on the road to climate neutrality. In order to help drive this transformation, the EU revised the European Buildings Directive last year so that it now, among other things, also directly encourages member states to promote one-stop shops. The underlying idea of a one-stop shop is simple yet promising: information and services relating to a specific topic are made available to citizens in one place, bypassing multiple trips to multiple service providers and thus simplifying projects.

Such simplification is a sure way to move faster on climate goals and the small Croatian town of Križevci’s goals are ambitious: Climate neutrality by 2030. The city administration quickly realised that its project could not succeed without the help of the citizens. "The buy-in of citizens is central to the energy transition – they need to be involved, educated and informed. The idea of the energy and climate office as a central contact point for citizens in Križevci was born out of this understanding," comments Mario Rajn, Mayor of Križevci.

The city administration received support in setting up and running the office from the local energy cooperative KLIK, which has been raising awareness on the energy transition and developing renewable energy projects since 2020. With their support, the city administration in Križevci has successfully established a structure that actively supports citizens in the transformation.

Big goals – great results

The Energy and Climate Office opened its doors back in 2021, initially focussing on renewable energy. Since then, it has served as a showroom for green technologies and services; the office, for example, offers all the information you need to install a PV system. But the office also served as a meeting place for citizens, offering a space for learning and for building climate resilience. The office is centrally located, highly visible, and easily accessible to all citizens.

Since the launch of the Energy and Climate Office in 2021, around 300 kW of PV capacity has been installed annually, cutting approximately 20 tonnes of CO₂ emissions each year. The city subsidised half of the €500,000 investment, with citizens covering the rest. In 2023, Križevci expanded the support to include fully funded roof insulation for at-risk citizens, with the OSS assisting applications free of charge.

In 2024, through the EU LIFE project crOss renoHome, the Office evolved into a OSS for energy renovations with a facilitation service, guiding citizens through subsidies, contractor selection, and project planning, without performing renovations itself.

The challenges of sustainability

However, sustainability remains a challenge. Once EU funding ends, long-term viability of OSS depends on partnerships with banks, the private sector, and geographical expansion. “Monetising OSS services, especially for vulnerable citizens, is nearly impossible, not only for Križevci’s OSS, but for OSS on the EU level. To remain citizen-focused and accelerate renovations, one-stop-shops should be recognised as public services at local, national, or EU levels. Otherwise, they risk shifting focus away from at-risk citizens, undermining the principle of leaving no one behind”, says Martina Nemčić, the One-stop Shop Manager. The Križevci OSS aims to find a balance, keeping citizens at the center of the energy transition while developing a sustainable business model that ensures long-term operation in an economy that typically prioritizes profit.

However, Križevci’s example shows the potential that lies in smaller towns and how beneficial centralised municipal structures and municipality-initiated and supported one-stop shops can be. The political course set in recent years only means that one-stop shops will play an even greater role in the future. That’s why it is important to recognize their contribution, and start treating them as public good.

Climate Alliance has long recognised the relevance of such structures and is currently offering municipalities a platform for exchange on one-stop shops as part of the EU Peers project. Interested cities and towns can join the community and gain insights from colleagues across Europe to advance their OSS strategies locally.

Have we sparked your interest? Contact Jenny-Claire Keilmann at j-c.keilmann(at)climatealliance.org for more information about the EU Peers community.

Learn more

• Križevci website
• EU-Peers website

_{Written in April 2025}