C4E Champion Award
C4E Champions 2025
Celebrating public officials and local leaders advancing energy efficiency across Central and Eastern Europe.
2025 laureates
National champions
CEE region
2025 champions
Recognising the people turning energy efficiency policy into practical progress
The C4E Champion Award recognises the extraordinary contribution of public officials and elected local officials in Central and Eastern Europe to progressing energy efficiency policies in their country or region.
Regional Champion
In 2025, Anca Ginavar was named both C4E Regional Champion and Romanian National Champion, standing alongside national champions from Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia.
C4E Regional Champion and Romanian National Champion
Anca Ginavar
General Director of the Urban Planning and Construction Directorate, Ministry of Development, Public Works and Administration
During her long, dedicated service within the technical departments of the Ministry of Development, Public Works and Administration, Anca Ginavar stands out as an inspiration to other public officials both within Romania and beyond. She was directly responsible for the transposition of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive into Romanian legislation and has frequently taken steps to improve the legislation over the years.
Faced with very limited human resources, she has succeeded in leading extensive exchanges with affected stakeholders in the development of Romanian regulations and its Long-Term Renovation Strategy. She has also positively influenced generations of urban planners and architects through her lecturing work at the Ion Mincu University and has been recognised by her peers for her work as a national expert within European Commission and Council of Europe expert working groups on urban development and planning issues.
Bulgarian National Champion
Todor Nikolov Popov
Head of Directorate, Administrative, Legal and Information Services, Gabrovo Municipality
Recognised for his pioneering spirit and tenacity in pursuing the creation of energy communities against strong bureaucratic headwinds, and for his openness to share his experience with others and inspire them to establish energy communities in their cities.
He has also brought substantial support to many families upgrading their multi-family buildings, helped establish Gabrovo’s first one-stop shop for renovation and renewables, and demonstrated leadership through his work with the EU Mission for 100 Climate-Neutral Cities.
Croatian National Champion
Irena Križ Šelendić
Director of Directorate for Energy Efficiency in the Buildings Sector, European Union Projects and Programmes, Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets
Recognised for her outstanding dedication to energy efficiency within the Ministry of Construction and for her steady leadership as Director of the Directorate for Energy Efficiency in the Buildings Sector.
She played an influential role after the 2020 earthquakes in preparing Croatia’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan, which channelled about EUR 2 billion in EU funds into seismic reinforcement and energy efficiency improvements for buildings in Croatia. She has also shown strong willingness to engage and listen to stakeholders during the preparatory phases of Croatian regulations and legislation.
Czech National Champion
Nathalie Marková
Director of the Energy Efficiency and Savings Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade
Recognised as an influencer who inspires through outstanding leadership and an innovative approach to advancing energy efficiency policies in Czechia.
She has consistently demonstrated integrity, openness, and dedication to the public interest. She was the Czech negotiator for the recast Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and is now engaging a broad range of stakeholders in the implementation phase, where EU rules must be transposed into national and local regulations. She has also spearheaded strategic initiatives that align industrial and commercial sectors with Czechia’s broader energy transition goals.
Hungarian National Champion
Dr. Tamás Csoknyai
Head of Department, Associate Professor at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Recognised as a long-standing expert in the provisions of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, having developed Hungarian energy performance of buildings regulations with colleagues for all iterations of the Directive since 2002.
He is renowned for precise work in developing a reliable methodology for creating an overview of the Hungarian residential building stock. Through his lecturing at the Hungarian Chamber of Engineers, training energy engineers and certifiers, he has helped generations of engineers understand the complexity of strong energy certification procedures and processes.
Polish National Champion
Dorota Zawadzka-Stępniak
President of the Management Board, National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management
Recently appointed in 2024 as President of the Management Board, Dorota Zawadzka-Stępniak is bringing a new dynamic to Poland’s National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management through clear, courageous, and forward-looking leadership.
She has led the reform of the flagship Clean Air Programme, which began with a challenging five-month suspension, to improve the quality of works, reduce fraud, and secure the Programme’s energy efficiency foundations. The new NFEP strategy now dedicates 80% of the institution’s budget to energy efficiency and low-emissions technologies. Her work at Warsaw City Hall also included responsibility for an effective air quality monitoring system and bringing Warsaw into the EU Mission for 100 Climate-Neutral Cities.
Slovakian National Champion
Team of the Renovate Your House program
Under the recent leadership of Juraj Moravčík, General Director, Slovak Environment Agency
The Slovak Environment Agency support scheme Renovate Your House was non-existent when the COVID-19 epidemic struck. Today, under the leadership of its General Director, it is managing the Renovate Your House subsidy scheme, which will deeply energy renovate 25,000 family homes between 2022 and 2026.
The scheme is funded by the EU Recovery and Resilience Fund and amounts to EUR 500 million. The team at the Slovak Environment Agency has managed this amidst changing ministers, a persistent energy crisis, geopolitical and security turmoil, while achieving national outreach, an emphasis on deep renovations, and improved awareness and public perception.
Explore the C4E Champion Award
Learn more about the award tradition and previous editions of the C4E Champion Award.