{"id":6121,"date":"2026-04-28T11:23:45","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T09:23:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.peddm.gov.gr\/?page_id=6121"},"modified":"2026-04-28T11:41:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T09:41:35","slug":"good","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.peddm.gov.gr\/index.php\/good\/","title":{"rendered":"GOOD PRACTICES"},"content":{"rendered":"
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About this good practice<\/strong><\/p>\n

EcoZani addresses the structural socio-economic decline of Kozani and the wider Western Macedonia region following decades of lignite mining and the ongoing de-lignitisation process. The transition has led to high unemployment, youth outmigration, skills mismatch, environmental degradation, and a mono-sectoral economy. The practice responds to the need for a locally grounded, bottom-up approach to just transition, complementing top-down investment policies while preserving the region\u2019s socio-cultural identity.
EcoZani is highly relevant to long-term mining damages and legacies (MDLs), as it tackles both economic restructuring and social cohesion. It promotes diversification away from coal, supports circular economy solutions, encourages the reuse of materials and spaces linked to industrial decline, and reinvests in human capital. By embedding these actions within the Kozani Carnival, it reconnects transition policies with local identity, participation, and environmental awareness.
The practice operates through three integrated ecosystems: Talent, Technology, and Tolerance. It supports entrepreneurship, reskilling, and business creation through structured actions such as competitions, incubation and acceleration schemes. At the same time, it develops 3Z (zero-waste, zero-emission, zero-exclusion) solutions and infrastructures, including the UpCycle Creative Reuse Center, and promotes participatory planning and inclusive urban interventions.<\/p>\n

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Resources needed<\/strong><\/p>\n

The practice is implemented with a total budget of \u20ac6.13 million (80% ERDF financing) and the UoWM\u2019s budget of \u20ac432.4 thousand. It mobilises 14 partners and multidisciplinary teams (municipal staff, academics, trainers, researchers, experts), combining dedicated project staff and external experts.<\/p>\n

Evidence of success<\/strong><\/p>\n

The practice is considered successful due to its measurable results. By year 2, EcoZani has supported 20+ business ideas and engaged over 150 beneficiaries. It targets 600+ participants, start-up creation and incubation, and acceleration of 30 ideas. It also delivers reskilling programmes and establishes two legacy infrastructures: the UpCycle Creative Reuse Center and the Municipal Inclusive Circu-Tech Hub.<\/p>\n

Potential for learning or transfer<\/strong><\/p>\n

This practice is highly relevant for INTERREG EUROPE as it demonstrates how just transition challenges in mining regions can be addressed through a place-based, ecosystem approach. Its key strengths lie in strong local authority ownership, active quadruple-helix collaboration, and the use of a flagship cultural event as a low-threshold innovation testbed. EcoZani effectively links entrepreneurship, circular economy, and community engagement, while creating lasting legacy structures such as circular hubs and talent development pipelines that ensure sustainability beyond the project lifecycle.
The modular 3Z framework (zero-waste, zero-emission, zero-exclusion) enhances transferability, as it can be adapted to diverse regional contexts. Potential transfer barriers include differences in governance capacity & administrative complexity. However, initial transfer pathways are already in place through partner cities supporting replication and adaptation across Europe. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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About this good practice<\/strong><\/p>\n

DIADYMA SA operates the Integrated Waste Management System (IWMS) for 13 municipalities in Western Macedonia, a region undergoing just transition after decades of lignite mining that generated persistent environmental degradation and social imbalances. Within the EUMINDA perspective, the IWMS functions as a policy implementation tool that operationalises the recognition, balancing and repair of long-term mining damages, integrating waste management into broader territorial governance. It addresses legacy impacts by reducing cumulative environmental pressures, restoring ecological balance and preventing new forms of degradation in already burdened post-mining areas. The system is organised as a network of 12 facilities, combining decentralised Local Waste Management Units with a central Mechanical\u2013Biological Treatment facility. This structure enables spatial rebalancing of environmental burdens, avoiding further concentration of impacts in vulnerable communities historically affected by extractive activities. Through advanced recovery and composting processes, the IWMS greatly reduces landfill dependency, limiting soil and groundwater stress in post-mining ecosystems. Controlled disposal and monitoring prevent the continuation of legacy pollution patterns. Overall, the IWMS demonstrates how infrastructure can translate just transition principles into concrete policy action, contributing to the long-term repair of mining legacies while supporting circular economy development.<\/p>\n

Resources needed<\/strong><\/p>\n

The IWMS required significant financial investment (EU\/national funds), skilled human resources (engineers, operators, administrators), and advanced technical infrastructure (MBT plant, recycling facilities, landfill, biogas unit). Strong inter-municipal coordination ensured effective implementation<\/p>\n

Evidence of success<\/strong><\/p>\n

The IWMS serves 13 municipalities (~250,000 residents) and processes up to 120,000 t\/year of waste. It has restored 207 uncontrolled dumpsites and achieves recycling of almost 18,000 t\/year of packaging waste ( approximately 75% of targets). Separate collection covers 4 streams plus organics, with 82% of OFMSW treated. Additional streams (UCOs since 2020, hazardous waste since 2023) and reuse centres further strengthen circularity and policy compliance.<\/p>\n

Potential for learning or transfer<\/strong><\/p>\n

The IWMS developed and operated by DIADYMA SA demonstrates strong transferability, particularly for post-mining and just transition regions addressing long-term environmental legacies. Beyond technical performance, it provides a governance model for recognising, balancing and repairing mining-related impacts through integrated waste management policies. Its regional structure enables municipalities to jointly operate infrastructure that avoids concentrating environmental burdens in already affected areas. The combination of decentralised units, central MBT facilities, Green Points and monitoring offers a flexible framework adaptable to similar territories. By linking circular economy practices with environmental remediation and citizen engagement, the IWMS supports institutional capacity, reduces legacy pollution risks and strengthens public trust. It represents a transferable policy approach embedding just transition principles into environmental infrastructure.<\/p>\n

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About this good practice<\/strong><\/p>\n

The district heating system of Ptolemaida constitutes a flagship good practice of large-scale, publicly oriented energy infrastructure supporting a just transition in post-lignite regions. Developed initially to utilize waste heat from lignite power plants, the system delivers centralized thermal energy to households, public buildings, and enterprises through an extensive underground network.The practice has significantly reduced individual heating costs, improved energy efficiency, and mitigated air pollution by replacing decentralized oil and biomass heating. Its governance model is municipally led, ensuring affordability, social inclusion, and universal access, particularly benefiting vulnerable households during winter periods. As lignite units are phased out, the system is being strategically adapted to integrate alternative heat sources, including high-efficiency cogeneration, natural gas as a transitional fuel, and future renewable and waste-heat inputs. This gradual transformation safeguards energy security while aligning with national and EU climate targets. Beyond environmental benefits, the district heating network plays a stabilizing socio-economic role, preserving local employment, supporting urban resilience in a region undergoing structural economic change. Its long operational history, strong institutional capacity, and clear linkage to just transition policies make it highly transferable to other EU coal and carbon-intensive regions facing similar challenges<\/p>\n

Resources needed<\/strong><\/p>\n

Approximately \u20ac250\u2013300M total investment incl. network (332 km), plants and upgrades; annual O&M \u20ac8\u201312M. Staff:80\u2013100 technical\/admin. Advanced heat distribution, monitoring and backup systems. Strong municipal governance and EU\/national co-funding aligned with Just Transition priorities.<\/p>\n

Evidence of success<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Ptolemaida district heating system, Greece\u2019s largest, delivers up to 140 MWth of centralized thermal power and was the first urban district heating in the country, operational since the early 1990s. It supplies heat city-wide, lowering individual fuel use and local emissions while ensuring affordable heating through municipal governance. The infrastructure expansion (22 km pipeline) and ongoing integration with new power units demonstrate continued investment and service reliability.<\/p>\n

Potential for learning or transfer<\/strong><\/p>\n

The district heating system of Ptolemaida offers strong potential for international learning and transfer, particularly for European regions undergoing coal phase-out or structural energy transition. The practice demonstrates how centralized heating can be developed incrementally, starting from industrial waste heat and later adapting to alternative and cleaner energy sources. Its municipally led governance model highlights effective public control, affordability mechanisms, and social inclusion safeguards. Key transferable elements include long-term infrastructure planning, integration with just transition policies, stakeholder coordination, and phased diversification of heat sources. While local energy mixes differ, the planning approach, regulatory arrangements, and transition management lessons are highly relevant to other carbon-intensive regions seeking resilient, low-emission heating solutions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n

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About this good practice EcoZani addresses the structural socio-economic decline of Kozani and the wider Western Macedonia region following decades of lignite mining and the ongoing de-lignitisation process. The transition has led to high unemployment, youth outmigration, skills mismatch, environmental degradation, and a mono-sectoral economy. The practice responds to the \u2026 \u03a3\u03c5\u03bd\u03ad\u03c7\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1 \u03b1\u03bd\u03ac\u03b3\u03bd\u03c9\u03c3\u03b7 → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-6121","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peddm.gov.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6121","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peddm.gov.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peddm.gov.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peddm.gov.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peddm.gov.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6121"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/www.peddm.gov.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6121\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6152,"href":"https:\/\/www.peddm.gov.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6121\/revisions\/6152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peddm.gov.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}