The SMHBP 2019 project focus on making the housing sector in the Baltic Sea region more sustainable through housing cooperatives. The long-term goal is to establish self-management in the sector.
A considerable part of the carbon dioxide emissions in the Baltic Sea region comes from the housing sector. Inefficient management of houses causes excessive use of energy. It is a problem that affects all participating countries of the project. This project emphasizes that lack of market mechanisms must be dealt with to solve the problem. If houses transfer to self-management, the economic incentives to proceed with energy saving measures would increase.
The project wants to make the house sector in the Baltic Sea region more energy efficient by institutionalising housing cooperatives in the region. It also aims to strengthen economic incentives and democracy. The argument is that housing cooperatives give people a chance for more responsibility, economically as well as democratically. It also creates market opportunities for small and medium-sized companies, as housing cooperatives support the de-monopolization of services. Some of the planned activities are seminars, focus group meetings and preparations for an application of a new, larger project.