Case Study

2025 award winner – Giovanna Speciale

19 November 2025

Community energy champion

On 17 November in Sheffield, Giovanna Speciale of South East London Community Energy (Selce) was presented with the Community energy champion award by Emma Bridge and 2024 champion Kate Meakin. During the ceremony, Emma Bridge shared warm and heartfelt words about Giovanna’s impact and leadership.

Emma explained how impressed she has been by Giovanna’s extraordinary vision and dedication over the past year. Giovanna has helped communities save money, use energy more efficiently, and increase their access to renewable energy. Most importantly, her work has made a real difference to people’s everyday lives.

Emma also highlighted Giovanna’s unique ability to inspire the people around her. Whether it’s staff, volunteers, or others across the wider community energy sector, Giovanna brings people together through her generosity, her mentoring, and her talent for making complex ideas easy to understand. She turns topics like energy efficiency and climate action into something interesting, accessible, and empowering for everyone.

Beyond her work at South East London Community Energy, Giovanna has taken her message even further. She has spoken at events, taken part in media interviews, and helped raise awareness of community energy on a much larger scale. Her approach combines strong practical results with genuine care for people and neighbourhoods. As Emma noted, Giovanna’s long-standing commitment to putting people and communities first is what truly sets her apart.