This purpose of this project was to increase the knowledge base of energy efficient buildings for professionals within the building sector of the south of Sweden.

Objectives and target audience

Objective:-

• Increase the knowledge about energy efficient buildings for professionals in the building and property sector.

Financial Resources and Partners involved

When the first reactor of the Swedish nuclear power plant Barsebäck was closed down in 1999 the Swedish parliament decided to fund energy saving projects in the south of Sweden instead.  The Delegation for Energy Supply (DESS) was created to supervise projects and was in charge of over 40 M€.  The project “Revival meetings – Energy efficient buildings” had a budget of approximately 600 k€.

Process

Revival meetings:-

• 2 hour cost-free breakfast and lunch seminars, talking about energy efficient buildings with professionals;

Meeting issues included:-

• Energy use in buildings today and in the future;
• Directive of energy declaration;
• Lifecycle calculation;
• Importance of a good climate shell;
• Profitable, energy efficient installation;
• Results from research;
• How should energy matters be handled within a building project;
• The result from a selection of approximately 200 energy analyses’
• Presentation of courses to follow spring 2004.

• Companies had the possibility to have the seminars in their host buildings which was an option that many used.

Preparations:-

• A presentation for the revival meetings was arranged by the three energy agencies, an advertising agency, universities and DESS;

• Test seminars where performed to discover the relevant view-points about the structure of the seminar and to gather experience for the up and coming tour in autumn.

Promotions:-

• Before every revival meeting a dispatch was made by email and post to companies and organisations within the building and property sector in relevant municipalities.  The dispatch contained a folder with a short presentation of the campaign, information about the revival meetings and information about up and coming short courses.

Results

Revival meetings:-

• Over 2000 professionals attended the revival meetings;
• The revival meetings were held in over 70 different places;
• 18 of the meetings were hosted at participating companies;
• In Skåne, 70 – 80 % of meetings occurred within the private sector.

Courses:-

• 12 different courses were offered, at least 10 participants were required and a  maximum of 25 were allowed to attend each course;
• Each course was held at least once.
• In total 34 course days were carried out, with a total 614 participants.

Seminar:-
A total of 65 people attended the seminar which Skåne Energy Agency arranged with regards to energy efficient windows and sun protection for buildings.

Critical Success Factors / Challenges

Success factors:-

• Marketing is very important and a considerable amount of effort was committed to secure good marketing events;
• The presenting of short seminars (revival meetings) appeared to be successful in a business although in normal circumstances, these are do not normal occur;
• A variety of interesting and intellectual subjects were reviewed at these revival meetings;
• Good timing and there was excellent focus by the participants regarding the energy matters issues that were brought to the revival meetings;
• There was plenty of positive response from media i.e. there was approximately 20 articles presented in the local press including the professional press.

Oldham Council has a Carbon Management Action Plan to help manage its enviornmental impacts.

Objectives and target audience

The Carbon Management Strategy set out a long-term strategic vision: “To minimise Oldham MBC’s impact on climate change to improve our local and global environment.” The action plan and strategy set out how Oldham Council will reduce carbon emissions from its activities and operations over a five-year period. In order to provide a very clear focus for action planning and future policy decisions this strategy has two clear aims: To identify the tonnes of CO2 generated and released by Council activities and operations; and to monitor, manage and reduce the tonnes of CO2 released by Council activities and operations. The target audience is the employees of Oldham MBC and the borough as a whole.

Financial Resources and Partners involved

The implementation of the CMAP was paid for by Oldham MBC under its ‘Invest to Save’ policy. The Council worked closely with the Carbon Trust and Oldham Environment Partnership.

Process

Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council (OMBC) was one of the 24 authorities selected to participate in the second phase of the Carbon Trust’s Local Authority Carbon Management Programme which has provided OMBC with a comprehensive process for managing carbon emissions. The Trust worked with officers from the Council for six months, and many areas for improvement were identified. A base lining exercise was undertaken to discover the levels of carbon produced by different sources. Projections were also made for future emissions, both following the ‘Business As Usual’ model and if all the improvements identified by the Carbon Trust were identified. A Carbon Management Action Plan (CMAP) was drawn up, outlining the areas for investigation. The CMAP was the catalyst for many carbon reduction policies within the organisation.

Results

Under the umbrella of the CMAP, there have been many initiatives aimed at reducing our Carbon emissions.
•    A 1% reduction in car travel as the main mode of commuting;
•    A 6% reduction in the car being used for commuting on 5 or more days a week; and
•    An 11% reduction in the car being used for business travel

Other areas of saving eg. fleet, street lighting and building energy are to be calculated.

Critical Success Factors / Challenges

Critical success factors included ensuring that all staff are aware of the aims of the CMAP and their roles within the plan. This involves the need for awareness raising exercises and ensuring that staff are fully trained to carry out their tasks within the Plan. The lessons learnt by Oldham could easily be transferred to other organisations in the form of case studies or consulatancy support.

A mock carbon trading scheme with other participating organisations

Objectives and target audience

What was the project trying to achieve? Who was the project targeted at (if applicable)?
The aim of the scheme is for Councils to reduce their energy usage. All organisations are given a carbon reduction target, and must lower their emissions to this level. If they do not reach the level, they must buy ‘credits’ from other organisations. As this is a pilot scheme, real money won’t change hands. The scheme leads to economically efficient carbon savings, by putting a price on carbon. The program will also help Councils prepare for the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC), which is a mandatory trading scheme which is scheduled to begin in 2010. The target audience is the employees of the Council, but once completed the experiences gained can be shared with other Councils or organisations.

Financial Resources and Partners involved

Please give an overview of the budget, and an outline of the funders.
Which organisations were involved in shaping and delivering the project.
The Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) manages and administrates the scheme. The annual membership fee is £1,000. This was provided by Oldham Council. In order to help deliver carbon savings, we have been working with representatives from the Carbon Trust and colleagues from The Unity Partnership, who manage the Council’s Energy Conservation section.

Process

Individual organisations can define the scope of their involvement in the scheme. Three of our Council buildings were chosen that represented the Councils operations. Baseline energy usage information was sought from the Unity Partnership’s Energy Conservation Section. Half-hourly metered data was used to calculate carbon emissions. The LGIU then provided a carbon reduction target for the year. The Council has been working hard to reduce its energy usage in these key buildings, by schemes such as awareness raising and improving technologies. Carbon trading takes place quarterly, over an internet platform. Carbon emissions are also reported quarterly to ensure fair play. At the end of the year, there will be a league table of the best performing authorities.

Results

The project is still ongoing, but thus far we have been able to identify many potential energy saving projects, which would benefit not only the environment, but would help the Council save money. The scheme has helped raise awareness within the Council, not only about energy conservation, but also about the forthcoming Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC), which will affect the Council. The project has helped enforce the idea of considering environmentalism in economic ways. There has been improved communication links with the Unity Partnership, who manages the Council’s energy contracts. Through the LGIU, we have made links with other authorities, and have been able to share ideas for energy management.

Critical Success Factors / Challenges

To belong to this scheme an organisation must have well managed half-hourly metered data. This is needed to report to the LGIU and to discover the changes in energy usage. For membership of the scheme to be successful, there needs to be forward thinking with regard to energy usage. For example, if an organisation believes that energy usage is due to increase, they must buy credits from other organisations. Taking part in this process has provided a valuable learning experience which could be shared with other organisations. Case studies could be prepared for other Authorities and organisations which would fall under the support of the Carbon Reduction Commitment.

A green business standard for Manchester, realising raw material and energy savings.

Objectives and target audience

The Environmental Business Pledge is a unique initiative developed solely for Manchester businesses. The Pledge was launched through Manchester City Council’s 2004 campaign – “Challenge Manchester: 100 Days to a Clean City”, where over 250 businesses pledged to improve their local environment. Manchester City Council, Groundwork, Mersey Basin Campaign, Encams and the Environment Agency joined forces to deliver the Pledge and offer services to support local business in their quest to improve environmental performance, achieve major cost savings and increase competitiveness.

Financial Resources and Partners involved

The programme was developed by Manchester City Council, Groundwork, Environment Agency, Encams and the Mersey Basin Campaign, with Manchester City Council and Groundwork being the lead delivery partners. The programme has grown to include over 1300 Manchester businesses and is funded by the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund, with average running costs of £80,000 per annum. This has realised nearly £500’000 in cost savings to businesses through environmental improvements and £5.8 million worth of increased sales.

Process

The Environmental Business Pledge is a free scheme, which works in partnership with local businesses to identify and implement changes that reduce their environmental impact and improve their business’s efficiency.  This is done through on-site consultations, which provide information and sign posting to other environmentally focused business-support organisations, such as the Carbon Trust and Envirowise.  The scheme encourages and supports businesses to work through Bronze, Silver and Gold award criteria, thereby improving their environmental performance and demonstrating their environmental credentials.  Once awards have been achieved, regular contact with the businesses is maintained in order to track progress improvements and capture the details of improvements with the hope of monitoring and improving the success of the scheme.

Results

(February 2004 – December 2007):
Business signed up to the scheme:  1313
Business achieving Bronze award: 427
Business achieving Silver award: 59
Business achieving Gold award: 42
These businesses, in the process of achieving the awards, have achieved the following benefits to their business and the environment:
Tonnes of CO2 saved         = 2042 tonnes
Tonnes of materials saved = 1381tonnes
Water saved                       = 51441m3
Cost savings made            = £447,000
by businesses
Sales safeguarded             = £13.26 million
Sales increased                  = £5.8 million
Jobs created                       = 28
Jobs safeguarded               = 71

Critical Success Factors / Challenges

The success of the scheme is largely a result of the high level of relevance to all businesses, regardless of sector or size. A comprehensive marketing strategy, coupled with the quality and range of advice offered to businesses has led driven this success. The independent auditing process has enabled benefits to be captured, helping ensure momentum and growth of the scheme. As increasing number of businesses are engaged, staff resources have had to be reviewed to ensure the maintenance of the excellent level of support the businesses have come to expect.
The scheme could easily be transferred and introduced into other municipalities, as the resource packs available for each award level contain information that applies to organisations throughout the country (some adaptation may need to be made regarding applicable legislation if being used outside of England, but the criteria for the awards can be addressed by any organisation regardless of location).

Solar City Malmö has put focus on Malmös work to become Scandinavia’s leading area for solar energy.

Objectives and target audience

Solar City Malmö is a non-profit association dedicated to raise awareness of solar energy technologies in a balanced and professional way in order to increase interest and skills amongst different parties in the solar market and general public.  The association therefore organises training, seminars, exhibitions, study visits, theme days, conferences, technology competitions, information meetings for businesses, installers and councils, education for students, and advisory and dissemination services.  The association is also working at a national level for a functioning solar electricity market in Sweden and for continued support in the field of solar thermal and photovoltaic energy.  Solar City Malmö will build up a network and knowledge centre for solar energy.

Financial Resources and Partners involved

Resources for the personnel (one co-ordinator) come from the City of Malmö. Investments are often co-financed by governmental subsidies. Members pay a membership fee (from 25 € per person per year to 250 € per year for private companies.
10) Process
The crucial step in the development of solar energy demonstrations in Malmö was to focus on this area by forming the association in 2007.  Before this, there were already existing solar energy installations.  The Solar City Malmö helped to brand the work and create a much larger interest.

Results

The results so far are a number of large solar energy installations.  There are at least five larger solar thermal installations that partly are connected to the district heating system. There are also at least six larger photovoltaic installations, from smaller demonstrations to large-scale power production.

Solar energy has been marketed by a number of seminars, solar energy expos and participation in conferences.  Also, Solar City Malmö is receiving an increasing number of study visits each year.

Critical Success Factors / Challenges

A success factor that has been significantly critical is the will of the municipality to work in the field of solar energy, and the co-operation with other key actors in the region. Governmental support for photovoltaics has also been very advantageous towards the project, but there are other solutions like feed in tariffs that have been used successfully in other countries.