FUNDACION ECOLOGIA Y DESARROLLO

Their core work

ECODES is a Spanish environmental NGO based in Zaragoza that translates EU climate and energy policy into tangible consumer behavior change. Their H2020 work sits at the intersection of civil society advocacy and market transformation: they help ordinary consumers, retailers, and suppliers understand and act on energy efficiency information — not just know it exists. In LABEL 2020 they supported the rollout of the revamped EU energy label by developing consumer information tools, e-learning modules, and retailer training programs. In HACKS they took on the harder challenge of heating and cooling systems, working to shift consumer decisions toward efficient boilers and ventilators by making the financial, comfort, and environmental benefits concrete and accessible.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

ECODES entered H2020 in 2019 through two simultaneous projects, so the evolution is thematic rather than chronological: LABEL 2020 focused on the mechanics of consumer information delivery — new energy labels, QR codes, market surveillance, e-learning, and retailer training, all tightly coupled to a specific EU regulatory instrument. HACKS then extended this into a more complex behavioral domain — heating and cooling systems, where purchase decisions are infrequent, high-stakes, and driven by non-energy factors like comfort and cost savings as much as efficiency ratings. The trajectory points toward tackling harder consumer decisions, not just product label awareness, with growing emphasis on the financial and comfort motivations that actually drive behavior.

ECODES is moving from label-driven information campaigns toward persuasion-based market transformation that emphasizes non-energy benefits — a direction relevant to any project needing to move consumers beyond awareness into actual purchase decisions for efficient heating, cooling, or building technology.

How they like to work

ECODES joins as a participant rather than leading projects — they have not coordinated any H2020 project in this dataset. Their consortia are large: 30 unique partners across 20 countries from just two projects, which is typical of CSA-type actions that require broad European coverage and civil society representation. Working with them means engaging a specialist NGO contributor who brings the consumer and advocacy angle to a consortium dominated by research institutions and industry.

ECODES has worked with 30 distinct consortium partners across 20 countries from only two projects, reflecting the pan-European reach required by Coordination and Support Actions. No single geographic cluster dominates, suggesting they are experienced at operating in diverse, multi-country project environments.

What sets them apart

ECODES occupies a rare slot in energy efficiency consortia: a credible civil society organization with hands-on experience in consumer behavior, not just policy analysis. Most energy H2020 partners are universities or technology companies; ECODES brings the NGO legitimacy needed when projects must demonstrate real uptake by households, retailers, or installers. For any project that needs to show the Commission that research results actually reach citizens and change market behavior, ECODES provides a track record and a communication infrastructure that academic partners typically cannot replicate.

Highlights from their portfolio

• LABEL 2020
  Largest funded project (EUR 137,709) and most policy-connected, directly supporting the rollout of the revised EU energy label — one of the Commission's flagship consumer energy instruments.
• HACKS
  Longest-running project (2019-2023) tackling the harder behavioral challenge of heating and cooling system adoption, where consumer inertia and installer influence make market transformation significantly more complex than appliance labeling.