Actions in Hartberg include improvements of the energy efficiency in buildings with 70% energy savings; construction of new commercial buildings with energy performance of a passive house standard as exemplary pilot projects; decentralised district heating systems and polygeneration; large-scaled implementation of small/medium RES applications; symbiotic integration of novel electricity storage units and improvements of the framework for potential private investors and promotion of the innovative integration aspects of renewables. Over the five years of this project, it is expected that there will be energy savings of at least 33%, the share of renewables in the energy mix will be increased by about 44%, and that there will be Zero carbon emissions achieved in 2015. The foreseen model area includes two dimensions of integration: i) the light house projects and related work packages as well as ii) the early adapting follow-up communities encouraged by target group specific dissemination activities.