Regione Lombardia

The development of an unitary vision in the reorganization of Public Utilities in Lombardy Region reached a culmination with the Regional Law 26/2003, that governs local services of general economic interest through the introduction of innovative tools, such as Services Guarantor, Charters of Services and the Regional Resources and Services Observatory.

The Lombard approach to these issues is structured on three levels:

• territorial, through the development of infrastructure and the consequent increase of the attractive power of the areas;
• environmental, where the protection of natural resources is incorporated with efficient systems of governance and relationships with local bodies and the community;
• protection of the citizen, the “customer” of Public Administration activity

Areas of activities of the Directorate:

Energy Resources

• planning, programming and regulating activities related to energy resources (Regional Energy Plan, Energy Action Plan, Development Plan of the hydrogen vehicle);
• introducing incentives to use renewable energy resources;
• promoting initiatives of excellence and high tech pilot projects to sustain the competitive growth of the industry of new energy technologies and health protections of citizens:
• performing actions for buildings energy certification and providing incentives to eco-friendly construction projects;
• executing actions to reduce pollution and GHG emissions, including the promotion of use of vehicles and fuels with low-environmental impact.

Water Resources

• planning uses and protecting water resources;
• approval and support for funding plans and programmes for water infrastructures;
• coordination of water policy actions to protect and develop the public water supply.

Waste

• planning, programming and regulating activities related to waste management;
• promoting initiatives of excellence to increase the use of segregated collection, recycling, energy recovery and development, cogeneration and remote heating technologies.

Networks and Public Utilities

• providing incentives to development of services among local administrations and promoting forms of aggregation among public and private operators to improve efficiency and competition and to raise the level of innovation and efficiency;
• supporting local bodies in contract-awarding procedures, monitoring and controlling quality;
• increasing initiatives to promote rational use of subsoil through the innovative “Subsoil Laboratory”, which brings together operators and local authorities.