DRUSTVO ZA OBLIKOVANJE ODRZIVOG RAZVOJA

Their core work

Society for Sustainable Development Design is a Croatian NGO focused on tackling energy poverty through community engagement, policy advocacy, and capacity building. They design and implement support programmes that help vulnerable households — particularly women and low-income families — reduce energy costs and improve living conditions. Their work bridges social services and energy policy, connecting municipalities, health professionals, and social workers to deliver practical energy efficiency actions at the local level.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their early work (2017–2019) centered on community-level energy management and the social dimensions of energy poverty — women's empowerment, health impacts, and Mediterranean-specific challenges. From 2020 onward, the focus shifted toward scalable mechanisms: energy cooperatives, crowdfunding, ICT tools, and financial instruments like energy savings insurance. This signals a maturation from awareness and advocacy toward designing replicable support systems and investment-grade solutions for energy poverty.

Moving from community advocacy toward financial and digital tools that can scale energy poverty programmes across cities and regions.

How they like to work

Exclusively a participant — they have never coordinated an H2020 project, which is typical for NGOs that contribute domain expertise and local implementation rather than project management. With 43 unique partners across 20 countries, they are well-networked across European energy poverty initiatives. Their consistent participation in Coordination and Support Actions (CSA) suggests they are valued for stakeholder engagement, dissemination, and on-the-ground community work rather than technical research.

Broad European network spanning 43 partners in 20 countries, built entirely through energy poverty and energy efficiency projects. Their geographic spread suggests strong connections to both Mediterranean and Central/Eastern European energy poverty communities.

What sets them apart

They occupy a rare niche at the intersection of social work and energy policy — most energy organizations approach poverty from a technical or economic angle, while this NGO brings community organizing, gender sensitivity, and health expertise. Based in Croatia, they offer a Southeast European perspective often missing from Western-dominated consortia. For any project needing genuine grassroots engagement with energy-poor communities, they bring tested methods and local trust that technical partners cannot replicate.

Highlights from their portfolio

• EmpowerMed
  Their largest project (EUR 308,619) with a distinctive focus on women and health impacts of energy poverty in the Mediterranean — a rare gender-energy intersection.
• ESI Europe 2.0
  Marks a strategic shift toward financial mechanisms (energy savings insurance), signaling evolution beyond social advocacy into investment-oriented solutions.
• POWERPOOR
  Combines energy cooperatives, crowdfunding, and ICT tools for energy-poor citizens — their most comprehensive programme design effort.