The STEP partnership consists of 9 ambitious partners from 8 regions wishing to improve their local sustainable energy policies and support the deployment of regional policies at local level. In order to achieve the EU 20-20 by 20 targets national and regional policies have to be deployed more efficiently at local authorities level, which are the key of successful policy implementation. The EU strategy is based on subsidiarity, giving priority to local initiatives, promoting cooperation between the different levels of decision-making. The project follows this approach by fostering local level policies supporting energy efficiency and energy self-sufficiency derived from national/regional policies. The policy exchange happens among experienced and learning regions with different state of the art. Overall objectives: •Reduction of energy consumption and CO2 emissions and increase the rate of renewable energy sources in the partner regions and foster the implementationof policies contributing to the EU 20-20 by 20 targets• To support the territorial cohesion between the partner regions in line with the EU climate and energy policies by promoting regional energy self-sufficiency and energy diversification Specific objectives: •Improve the effectiveness of national and regional and local sustainable energy policies •Exchange and transfer of policy practices and elaboration of a comprehensive interregional policy practice guide on local sustainable energy concepts and energy management systems•To support the implementation of sustainable energy actions by identifying adequate financing possibilities•Successful transfer of the developed interregional policy practices by elaboration of implementation plans in each partner regions•Networking and interregional capacity building of local authorities staff in the field of sustainable energy planning and implementation •Fostering subsidiarity and the cooperation between the different levels ofdecision making (loc., reg., nat.)Main outputs and results:STEP partners will elaborate 8 policy good practices resulting in 3 thematic policy practice guides with recommendations: 1. Better implementation of sustainable energy policies at local level; 2. Development of sustainable energy management systems and 3. Financing tools for sustainable energy investments. The policy practice guides will serve as base of the 8 regional implementation plans, which ensure the regional and local transfer of the policy tools and the durability of project results.STEP partners involve local authorities in the whole project implementation via regional policy exploitation actions. Capacities will be developed at interregional level in 3 joint thematic seminars and 2 study visits. The main result of STEP will be the improved knowledge about local sustainable energy policies, the intensified cooperation between local & regional policy actors and at least 3 successful transferred policy practices. Achievements: The work in STEP project began in January 2012. with the discussoins with the JTS about the finalization of the Application Form. Then to define the responsibilities of the 9 partners, the Subsidy Contract and the Partnership Agreement were signed. The project managers did the day-to-day implementation of the first activities and monitor the financial status of the project during the whole half year. The project managers of the Lead Partner participated on the Lead Partner Seminar in January in Copenhagen and on the Financial Seminar in June in Wien, organized by the JTS. In this first periode the main focus was on the start up of the project, Kick-off events and the project design. To ensure the effective project- and financial-management the lead partner elaborated the Project management and financial management manual. Professional work started with a successful Kick-off Meeting and Conference, organized by the South-Transdanubian Regional Innovation Agency (STRIA) as lead partner in May, in Pécs, Hungary. This was the first time when all the partners meet each other personally and start to work on the project implementation. On the first day the partnership hold an internal meeting where the aims, activities of the project and the plan for the next months were discussed in details. There were presentations about the management and financial issues, dissemination and communication activities and the professional contents of the project. Steering Commitee and International management Group was set up. On the second day there was the international kick-off conference in the topic of sustainable energy policies where beside the partnership the relevant stakeholders and wider public were invited. The communication manager prepaired the Communication and dissemination plan of the project and design the main project elements. The website is under development, the first press release is prepared. Elaboration of the joint methodology on policy practice collection and benchmarking has started. The cooperation of the partnership and the development of the project is appropriate and comply with the plans.