2011
Friday
April
29

New responsibilities, new terminology: Covenant of Mayors Supporting Structures re-baptized!

Provinces, regions and groupings of local authorities have played an increasingly important role since the early stages of the Covenant of Mayors initiative. Previously referred to as "Supporting Structures", the activities developed by these public authorities are going far beyond their original mandate.

From the onset, their intended role was to promote the initiative in their territory and assist local authorities with the preparation and implementation of their Sustainable Energy Action Plans. The scope of their actions has however become much wider, as they are now responsible of the overall coordination of the Covenant in their territory, not only helping municipalities to join the initiative and honour their commitments, but also developing a comprehensive sustainable energy strategy for the entire territory or region in question. In light of these encouraging developments, and to better reflect their roles, said Supporting Structures will thus now be referred to as "Covenant Coordinators."

The support of networks and associations of local and regional authorities, hitherto known as a second type of Supporting Structures, has also proven essential to the success of the Covenant. By leveraging their networking and promotion activities, these associations have managed to get more signatories on board, convey crucial information to existing ones and provide platforms for best practice exchanges. As they play a crucial part in sustaining and accelerating the Covenant of Mayors momentum, these organisations will from this point on be dubbed "Covenant Supporters".