News
24.04.2012
The Berlin Action Plan for sustainable energy was approved!
On April the 5th 2012 the Joint Research Center of the European Commission verified the Berlin Action Plan for sustainable energy (SEAP). Thus, Berlin is one of 30 German cities and municipalities whose action plans were officially recognised.
Berlin has already joined the „Covenant of Mayors", an initiative of the European Commission, in summer 2010. The members of the Covenant of Mayors commit themselves to develop an action plan for sustainable energy within one year after their accession. Furthermore they have to reach the target of saving at least 20% CO2 until 2020. B.&S.U. Beratungs- und Service-Gesellschaft Umwelt mbH supported the Land of Berlin in developing the action plan within the frame of the EU-Project come2CoM. The action plan is based on the Berlin Energy Concept 2020. In this concept, Berlin undertakes the commitment to a much more ambitious target than required by the Covenant of Mayors: the City of Berlin wants to save 40% CO2 until 2020.
For further information about the EU-Project come2CoM and the Covenant of Mayors, please visit the following link
01.03.2012
Halfway through the energy saving competition EnergyNeighbourhoods – leading team saves 20%
.jpg "Meeting in Wrangelschlösschen, Berlin-Steglitz")
In February the teams of the energy saving bet EnergyNeighbourhoods, consisting of 5 to 12 households, met nationwide at regional half time events. The almost 50 participants from Berlin and Potsdam gathered at Wrangelschlösschen in Berlin-Steglitz to learn even more about how to save energy, to share their experiences and to find out the current energy saving results.
The participants contributed several "field reports". Ms Monika Götze for example, energy master of the "SparWatt-Team" from the district Berlin Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, shared her experiences regarding success and challenges of her households. The "SparWatt-Team" saved 15% energy and is currently ranked fourth in Germany.
Best national team at the moment is the EnergyNeighbourhood "Die Gewinner" from the Berlin district Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf with energy savings of 20, 47%. Many households discovered a high potential for saving energy in their homes, yet there is still room for further savings regarding electricity and heat without compromising living standards. The five best households in the competition demonstrate this impressively: Already half way through the competition they are above the overall reduction objective of 9% compared to their climate-adjusted last year´s energy use.
The first round of the competition is now reaching its final and most exiting stage. Who will be the best energy saving neighbourhood in Germany on March 30th?
More information: amerziger@bsu-berlin.de
30.01.2012
EnergyNeighbourhoods: the climate protection competition between municipalities and their citizens – Reduce your energy consumption by 9 %
Neighbourhoods from Berlin, Elmshorn and Potsdam take on the challenge in a competition with 16 European cities – Who will save the most energy?
The European energy saving competition started on December 1st. Since then cities from 16 European countries take on the challenge and compete against each other in reducing their energy consumption in their households. Who will make the highest energy savings just by small behavioral changes?
The EnergyNeighbourhoods from Germany not only take on the challenge of saving 9% of energy but also compete against neighbourhoods from 16 European countries, eager to become the European energy saving champion.
More than 7000 households from all over Europe joined together in EnergyNeighbourhoods to save at least 9% energy compared to the previous year. To achieve its energy saving goals each neighbourhood is led by its own Energy Master, who provides information and useful tips on energy to support and encourage his neighbourhood.
The EnergyNeighbourhoods run over a period of four months and end on March 31st .The competition will be repeated in December 2012 for those who want to go on and save yet another 9%.to reduce their CO2 emissions and to contribute to climate protection.
The project is being funded by the Intelligent Energy Programme of the European Union und is coordinated by the Beratungs- und Service-Gesellschaft Umwelt mbH.
01.12.2011
Handbook on energy efficiency good practices with contribution from B.&S.U. mbH
As a result of interregional exchange of experience between the partner regions of the INTERREG IVC project EnercitEE a good practice catalogue has been developed. This handbook can help regions and cities to identify their potential and to improve regional and local energy efficiency policy in the EU. B.&S.U. mbH helped the Saxon State Ministry for Environment and Agriculture in the preparation of this handbook. B.&S.U. mbH provided a draft structure, coordinated the text contributions from partners and wrote parts of the related articles on their own. Good practices from the participating regions Saxony (DE), Smaland (Kalmar und Kronoberg)/Blekinge (SE), Emilia-Romagna (IT), Haute-Savoie (FR) and Lower Silesia (PL) are presented that cover the following topics:
- Energy efficient buildings
- Energy efficient heat/power generation and distribution
- Energy efficient and sustainable transport
- Emerging energy efficient innovations and technologies
- Increasing Energy efficiency through good communication and motivation
12.10.2011
Kick-off event for the new funding programme Design Transfer Bonus
On 12th October 2011, the new funding programme from the Senate Department for Economics, Technology and Women's Issues called the “Design Transfer Bonus” was introduced at an event at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Berlin. This funding programme is part of a package of measures that should help to put Berlin’s design strategy into practice. Under the heading “Building SMEs’ design skills”, companies in Berlin will be able to receive up to 15,000 Euros financial support in a one year pilot phase.
The aim of this funding is to integrate application-orientated design skills at the earliest possible stage in the innovation process of SMEs. Cooperation between designers and SMEs will help to strengthen the regional skills and knowledge base, initiating and supporting Berlin’s presence on the international market.
B.&S.U. mbH is responsible for the management of the funding programme.
Further information is available on the programme’s homepage.
10.10.2011
10 years European Energy Award® - Celebrations in the historic city hall in Wuppertal
TheEuropean Energy Award® (eea) started 10 years ago in 2001 with four pilotmunicipalities in Germany - Bielefeld, Solingen, Wuppertal and Lörrach - andhas grown today to 230 participating municipalities in Germany with apopulation of 15 million inhabitants. Across Europe, a total of 852 municipalities are currently participating in the European Energy Award®. This successful outcome, which is largely thanks to the commitment of the people and institutions involved in the eea, will be celebrated in the historic city hallin Wuppertal on the 13th October 2011.
The history of the eea dates back to the 1990s. An evaluation of over 50 municipalenergy concepts in North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria came up with the shocking result that only about 5 percent of the concepts were actually implemented. Asa result of this, and based on experience from Switzerland and Austria, the B.&S.U. mbH developed the European Energy Award® using funds from Europe and North Rhine-Westphalia and in cooperation with European partners. Thelaunch event for the quality management system and certification process washeld in Wuppertal exactly ten years ago. Following the successful completion of a three-year pilot phase, the Federal State Government of North Rhine-Westphalia took the opportunity to make the eea accessible to all municipalities.
The eea is an efficient management instrument for local climate protection concepts in conjunction with the CO2 monitoring tool ECORegion. There are strong synergies between the eea and climate protection concepts. While the eea establishes and safeguards a permanent management system, the climate protection concept extends the perspective and the action fields that are taken into consideration. The eea is an instrument recognised by the European Commission to create the "SEAP - Sustainable Action Plan", which municipalities that have joined the Covenant of Mayors have to submit every 2 years in Brussels.
In the last two years, 13 counties have joined the cities and towns as eea members. An eea catalogue of measures was developed for this, which includes the specific areas of responsibility and decision-making relevant for the counties. The first five counties have already been awarded with the European Energy Award®.
The next target is to have 300 municipalities from the Federal Republic of Germany participatingin the European Energy Award® by the beginning of 2012. This optimism is based, on the one hand, on the generally stronger commitment of the municipalities in the area of climate protection and, on the other hand, on the link ages withother tools which the eea enables.
The celebration will be followed by an awards ceremony for the eea municipalities and will take place in the historic city hall in the city of Wupperthal on 13th October 2011, 5-8 pm. The address is: Johannisberg 40, 42103 Wuppertal.
Programme
| 17:15 | Introduction - Manfred Breuckmann |
| 17:20 | Welcome Lothar Schneider Chief Executive of the Energie Agentur.NRW Dr. Armand Dütz Managing Director of the B.&.S.U. mbH and meber of the Forum of the eea |
| 17:30 | Johannes Remmel - Minister for Climate Protection in NRW |
| 17:40 | "Tour de eea" - Experts discussion |
| 18:00 | Honouring the pilot municipalities Bielefeld, Lörrach, Solingen und Wuppertal |
| 18:15 | "People in the European Energy Award" |
| 18:30 | Awarding of 15 municipalities with the European Energy Award® |
| 19:30 | Buffet and "come together" |
If you require further information or would like to register to attend the ceremony, please register
on EnergieAgentur.NRW.
20.09.2011
German-French consortium wins Twinning project to improve energy efficiency policy framework in Ukraine
On 1st September 2011, the proposal submitted by Germany in consortium with France was selected to implement the Twinning project “Improvement of the policy framework in the sphere of energy efficiency and its approximation to the EU legislation” in Ukraine. This is particularly good news for B.&S.U. mbH, who prepared the proposal on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology.
The objective of the Twinning project is to establish effective legislation and policy for energy efficiency in Ukraine, aligned to the requirements of EU legislation. This will lead to an overall reduction of energy consumption and a decrease in consumption of primary energy resources.
The Project Leader Mr Harald Höflich from the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Energy Baden-Württemberg will work alongside French administrations (Junior Partner) to support the beneficiary, the Ukrainian State Agency for Energy Efficiency and Conservation (SAEEEC) to implement the project successfully.
B.&S.U. mbH has been requested by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology to develop the contract including the detailed work plan for the project in cooperation with the Twinning partners.
13.08.2011
Closing event Energy Cup Hessen
The energy teams had one year to convince their colleagues in 41 properties of the State of Hesse to save energy and water. According to the slogan „We will be the masters of energy saving in Hesse “a lot creativity and commitment have shaped the energy saving competition, the Energie Cup Hessen.
Mr. Dankert, Hessisches Immobilienmanagement
The results show that the efforts are worth it: Altogether, the properties have been saving 4 % of electricity, 6 % heat and 9 % of water compared to the prior year.
The winners gained bicycles or e-bikes for their offices. The first prize was a CO2-neutral trip to the Klimahaus® Bremerhaven for the energy teams as well as 25 Euro for every employee working in the awarded office.
At the closing event at Schloss Biebrich, the Hessian Minister of Finance, Dr. Thomas Schäfer, and the State Secretary, Prof. Dr. Luise Hölscher, congratulated the champions. State Secretary Hölscher underlined in her speech of thanks: „In the end it comes down to the commitment of every single employee and we realised that there are actually no losers: with their energy savings everyone has contributed to reducing the CO2-emissions in the State of Hesse.“
The B.&.S.U. mbH has been responsible for the conception and organisation of the energy saving competition by order of the Hessian Ministry of Finance.
12.07.2011
Reducing energy consumption of elevators at the Charité hospital
The Senate Department for Health, Environment and Consumer Protection is supporting a pilot project to reduce the energy consumption of elevators at the Charité hospital with funds from the Berlin Environmental Relief Programme II (ERP II). The funding has been made possible thanks to the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), which has contributed approximately 302,000 Euros to the project. The energy performance of four elevators has been improved at the Campus Virchow-Klinikum and seven elevators at the Campus Benjamin Franklin.
There is a huge potential to save energy through using energy efficient technology in elevators: According to a study from the Fraunhofer Institute, through using new technology and the reduction of standby energy use, energy consumption can be cut by more than half. The project at the Charité aims to go beyond this and achieve around 70 percent energy savings, which is equal to a reduction of CO2 of around 134 tonnes per year.
As part of the ERP II, a further three to four pilot projects like this can be funded this year. The Senator for the Environment, Katrin Lompscher explained, “I would greatly welcome it if other institutions were to recognise the potential to save energy in their buildings and follow suit. The Environmental Relief Programme has proved itself to be an important driving force in the energy-efficient renovation of buildings. The focus of the future funding will be on activities to protect the climate.”
The funding is mainly directed at public and non-profit institutions in Berlin. It is possible that the funding will be extended to small and medium-sized businesses in 2012. If you are interested in the programme, please contact B.&S.U. Beratungs- und Service-Gesellschaft Umwelt mbH.
Tel. +49 (0)30-3904276, Email: info@uep-berlin.de
For more information on ERP II, please visit: www.uep-berlin.de
09.06.2011
B.&S.U.mbH arranges kick-off-meeting for the 100th Twinning Project in line with the European Neighbourhood Policy in Rabat, Morocco.
The official beginning of the 100th Twinning Project in line with the European Neighbourhood Policy has been on May the 12th 2011: “We are glad that, after intensive preparations, the task schedule of the Twinning Project is complete and we can now start to work with the authority for public enterprises and privatisation in Rabat” Mr. Dr. Hammann, the German project leader, states. The B.&S.U. mbH has developed the task schedule and project budget on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology together with the project participants and is going to supervise it during its 2-year contract period as a project and financial manager.
In cooperation with Mr. Kurt Brüss (BMWi), the long-term consultant in Rabat, the B.&S.U.mbH has organised the kick-off event together with high-ranking representatives of both partner ministries (the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology as well as the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Morocco), the EU delegation in Rabat, the EU Commission and the German and British Ambassador.
Supported by the B.&S.U. mbH, German and British experts will consult the authority for public enterprises and privatisation for two years concerning leading and monitoring public enterprises as well as the opening up of the market for Public Private Partnership Projects (PPP). Due to the project the basic conditions for PPP in Morocco shall be developed and pilot projects in the fields of health, justice and education shall be initiated. Furthermore the quality and transparency of financial information of partly state-owned enterprises shall be improved and the Public Corporate Governance codex shall benefit from good EU-experience.
„We have chosen the proposal of Germany with Northern Irish participation, because so we can benefit from the long-term experiences of the Federal Republic and Great Britain concerning the use of private know-how and capital for purchasing and providing public infrastructure. Another reason for this decision has been the exemplary standards in corporate governance”, a representative of the authority for public enterprises and privatisation in Morocco states.
26.04.2011
Hot off the press – “10 Years Berlin Environmental Relief Programme” brochure now available
On 13th April 2011, the new brochure from the Berlin Environmental Relief Programme (ERP) was officially presented by Ms Katrin Lompscher, the Senator for Health, Environment and Consumer Protection, at a press conference at the children’s daycare centre on Wolgaster Street. The brochure was developed by the B.&S.U. mbH on behalf of the Senate Department and contains information on the various projects that were funded in the areas of climate protection, rainwater management, research and development, nature conservation and landscape protection. It shows the ERP’s fantastic track record over the last ten years.
The printed brochure is available from the Senate Department for Health, Environment and Consumer Protection in German and English and will also be available to download.
01.04.2011
German counties awarded the European Energy Award® in Berlin
On 14th March 2011, the first counties were presented with an award for their achievements in energy efficiency and climate protection at the German Counties Association
The National Coordinator of the European Energy Award®, in cooperation with representatives from the environmental Ministries in Baden-Württemberg, North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony, the German Counties Association and representatives from the European Energy Award Forum e.V., presented the counties Böblingen, Ravensburg, Görlitz, Gütersloh and Warendorf with an award for their outstanding achievements in energy and climate protection policies.
The award ceremony was part of a meeting to exchange the experience of counties participating in the European Energy Award® (eea) pilot scheme, to enable interested counties in Germany to directly benefit from past experience. Representatives from the counties Görlitz, Ravensburg and Gütersloh gave presentations about their experience with the eea and shared examples of projects that were initiated due to the eea.
These pilot counties have contributed actively and successfully to the development of a set of measures for eea counties as part of the pilot project. As the pilot project was successfully completed, the eea will now be offered to counties across Germany.
Dr Ralf Bleicher, member of the board responsible for the environment at the German Counties Association, invited all of the German counties to the German Counties Association for the event and, in cooperation with Dr Armand Dütz (member of the board of the European Energy Award Forum e.V.), Mr Andreas Schmitz (Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation and Transport in Baden-Württemberg), Mr Werner Sommer (Saxon State Ministry of the Environment and Agriculture) and Mr Leonard Meyer (National Coordinator of the European Energy Award®) presented the awards. The counties Böblingen, Ravensburg, Görlitz, Gütersloh and Warendorf are some of the first counties in Germany that have been presented with the European Energy Award®.
As a quality management system, the European Energy Award enables administrations to monitor and evaluate their success in energy and climate policy in their municipality on a regular basis. Opportunities to increase energy efficiency and use renewable energy can be identified and made accessible. The energy and climate protection policies will be improved on a continual basis through the implementation of the energy policy work programme
The National Coordinator of the European Energy Award® is available to assist all municipalities in Germany. Please contact:
National Coordinator of the European Energy Award® in Germany
c/o B.&S.U. Beratungs- und Service-Gesellschaft Umwelt mbH
Saarbrücker Str. 38A, 10405 Berlin
Telephone: +49 (0) 30 / 390 42 0
Fax: +49 (0) 30 / 390 42 31
Email: eea@bsu-berlin.de
Internet: www.european-energy-award.de
Press photos of the award ceremony can be viewed here:
07.03.2011
Environment Ministers from North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg present the European Energy Award® to successful municipalities and districts
On 13th January 2011, the progress made by cities, towns, municipalities and districts in North Rhine-Westphalia, participating in the European Energy Award®, in energy and climate protection was acknowledged in Bottrop. The Climate Protection Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Johannes Remmel, presented the European Energy Award® to 28 Lord Mayors and Heads of the District Authorities.
It was the first time that rural districts successfully participated in the European Energy Award ®. Two districts in North Rhine-Westphalia, Gütersloh and Warendorf, were presented with the Award, alongside 26 municipalities.
Bottrop, the host city, received the European Energy Award ® in Gold.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBxeXJyOecg
On 20th January 2011, the Environment Minister of Baden-Württemberg, Tanja Gönner, also presented a rural district, the district of Ravensburg, with the Award for the first time. A further 14 towns and municipalities in Baden-Württemberg were presented with the European Energy Award® due to their excellent energy management. Many towns and cities were even presented the Award for a second time.
The City of Lörrach received the European Energy Award ® in Gold for the second time.
Representatives of the City Lörrach, Environment Minister of Baden-Württemberg and Dr. Dütz from B.&S.U. mbH
(Resource: Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Transport Baden-Württemberg)
The Environment Minister, Ms Gönner, praised the successful participation of municipalities in Baden-Württemberg in the European certification scheme and acknowledged it as an indicator for an increase in energy awareness. “It’s a good start and we have achieved the first milestone. I am confident that in the future, towns, cities, municipalities and districts will recognize the improvement of energy efficiency and the development of renewable energies as topics of future relevance,” emphasized the Environment Minister.
For more information, please visit: www.european-energy-award.de
10.01.2011
4. “Municipalities actively tackling climate change” – a Conference from the German Association of Towns and Municipalities
On 15.02.11 the fourth conference of the German Association of Towns and Municipalities will take place under the title “Municipalities actively tackling climate change”.
The speakers at the conference will include the German Environment Minister, Norbert Röttgen, the Minister for Climate Protection, Environment, Agriculture, Nature and Consumer Protection of the German Federal State of North Rhine Westphalia, Joachim Remmel and Dr. Walter Steinmann from the Swiss Federal Office of Energy.
Dr. Walter Steinmann will introduce the European Energy Award® to the conference participants.
Four forums will be held in the afternoon on the following topics:
- Energy efficiency – concepts for the future
- Using renewable energy in municipalities
- Prevention concepts
- Addressing the impact of climate change and financial models.
B.&S.U. Beratungs- und Service-Gesellschaft Umwelt mbH and the European Forum European Energy Award e.V. will be present at the conference with a stand and will be available to answer any questions and provide you with information.
For more information about the conference, please click here.
14.12.2010
Preparing and carrying out energy and CO2 balances are an important element in a sound local climate protection policy. This is underlined by the fact that the establishment of an energy and CO2 balance is a fundamental component of climate protection concepts, climate protection action plans and the European Energy Award ®.
Software ECORegion
In 2011, B.&S.U. mbH arranged several one day CO2 balancing seminars in Berlin and Bonn and also in other cities such as Munich. The seminars covered the necessary basics for preparing an energy and CO2 balance, gave an introduction to the ECORegion software and shared lessons learned from practical experience. The aim of the practical seminars was to provide the participants with the necessary instruments to be able to develop an energy and CO2 balance for a region/city independently and efficiently.
The seminars were aimed at eea consultants as well as employees of municipalities, engineering companies and energy agencies. The seminar participants gained confidence in dealing with ECORegion, especially as the seminar focused on practice and experience. Employees from B.&S.U. mbH shared their many years of experience with energy and CO2 balances with the participants. In addition, the participants were given comprehensive training materials, which were specifically created for the ECORegion seminars. The response to the seminars has been very positive, especially "because the theory and practical examples that are taught are well coordinated and balanced".
Are you interested in taking part in an energy and CO2 balancing seminar? Would you like to find out the dates of upcoming seminars, to register or just to find out some more information? Please contact us at:
Beratungs-und Service-Gesellschaft Umwelt mbH
Frau Gudrun Gaal
Saarbrücker Str: 38A
10405 Berlin
Germany
030-39042-71
A flyer with further information on the seminars can be downloaded here.
08.12.2010
The number of certified eea municipalities in Germany is still on the rise
André Butz, B.&S.U. mbH, presented the award trophy.
A total of 11 municipalities in Schleswig-Holstein and Saxony were awarded the European Energy Award® (eea) in November 2010 for their activity in energy efficiency and climate protection. In Germany a total of 208 cities, towns and municipalities and 11 rural districts participate in the European Energy Award This means that 14,5 million citizens are involved in Germany alone.
The regional capital Kiel, being the first and, to date, only eea municipality in Schleswig-Holstein, is clearly leading the way for other municipalities in the Federal State to follow suit. Given the short time period between joining the programme and the current certification, it becomes clear how determinedly Kiel is working towards achieving is goals to increase energy efficiency and to implement measures to protect the climate. Having implemented 62 % of the possible points, Kiel has clearly exceeded the 50% threshold which is the target for municipalities to obtain the European Energy Award®. The award, which certifies that the city is implementing their energy and climate protection policy sustainably, was handed over at the “Stadt-Land-Umwelt” trade fair. The Mayor of Kiel, Mr. Todeskino, accepted the trophy from Dr. Euler from the Ministry of Agriculture, the Environment and Rural Areas. In addition, the award certificate was presented by Mr. André Butz from B.&S.U. Beratungs- und Service-Gesellschaft Umwelt mbH (National Coordinator of the eea in Germany) as a representative of the European Energy Award Forum e.V.
In Saxony more can be achieved in the field of local and municipal climate protection. Ten municipalities have proved that they have carried on implementing their previous activities in the fields of energy efficiency and climate protection and have reached the 50% threshold for the eea. As part of the third annual conference “Kommunaler Energie-Dialog Sachsen” (Municipal Energy Dialogue Saxony), the municipalities Delitzsch, Görlitz, Hohendubrau, Zschadraß, Großhartau, Heidenau, Markrandstädt, Pirna, Rothenburg and the rural district Görlitz were awarded, with the last six being awarded for the first time. Mr. Leonard Meyer (B.&S.U. mbH) from the National Coordinator of the European Energy Award®, as representative of the European Energy Award Forum e.V. took part in the award ceremony where the Saxon Minister for the Environment Frank Kupfer presented the awards to the municipalities.
For further information on the award ceremony in Saxony and to see photos and videos, please click here.
In January 2011, the award will be presented to successful municipalities in other Federal States.
26.11.2010
The new funding application period for Integrated Climate Protection Concepts starts in January 2011
As part of the National Climate Protection Initiative, the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety is funding the development of integrated climate protection concepts and partial concepts. As the funding is in high demand, only applications from 2009/beginning of 2010 were approved in 2010. The amended directive on the “funding of climate protection projects in social, cultural and public establishments” is expected to take effect on 1st January 2011. New applications can be submitted between 1st January 2011 and 31st March 2011. More information can be found at: http://www.bmu-klimaschutzinitiative.de/de/projekte_nki?p=1&d=450 .
B.&S.U. mbH has experience in developing several integrated communal climate protection concepts, for example for Emden, Elmshorn, Mönchengladbach and for the Berlin district of Lichtenberg, which meet the requirements and provisions of the Climate Protection Initiative of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety.
We will provide you with support in submitting your application for funding to Projektträger Jülich in the upcoming application phase and in developing your communal climate protection concept.
Contact: Katja Dinges, Tel.: 030 39042-92, Email: kdinges@bsu-berlin.de
21.10.2010
The European Energy Award and ECORegion – efficiently supporting towns and municipalities in the Covenant of Mayors
Mr Dr Armand Dütz, B.&S.U. mbH and Mr Hans Gulliksson, Energikontor Sydost
As part of the "Role of Regions in the Covenant of Mayors" thematic workshop hosted by the Covenant of Mayors which took place on 14th September 2010 in Brussels, Dr. Armand Dütz, the managing director of B.&S.U. mbH gave a presentation titled "The European Energy Award and ECORegion - efficiently supporting towns and municipalities in the Covenant of Mayors".
He highlighted the parallels between the European Energy Award and the Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP) which all municipalities have to develop on entry to the Covenant of Mayors. The European Energy Award guarantees the municipal structures that are needed by the Covenant of Mayors. By using the European Energy Award, municipalities are able to fulfill the requirements of the Covenant of Mayors with little additional effort. The ECORegion tool is integrated into the European Energy Award as an instrument for calculating CO2-balances and delivers the data needed for the creation of an SEAP.
The Come2CoM project is now up and running and is coordinated by B.&S.U. mbH as part of the Intelligent Energy Europe Programme of the EU. The project will enhance the linkages between the instruments to an even higher level and therefore enable municipalities to become members of the Covenant of Mayors more easily. Dr. Dütz urged the over 120 participants at the event to use the European Energy Award and ECORegion instruments and the Come2CoM project to motivate more towns, cities and municipalities to join the Covenant of Mayors.
For more information about the workshop please visit:
http://www.news-com.eu/Events/2010-09_Thematic_workshop/2010-09-14.htm
26.08.2010
B.&S.U. mbH developed a climate protection concept for the Berlin district Lichtenberg
Between November 2009 and July 2010 the B.&S.U. has developed an integrated climate protection concept for the Berlin district Lichtenberg, which was adopted by the borough on July 20th, 2010. Until 2020 the energy consumption shall be reduced by around 12 % and the carbon dioxide emission by almost 15 % in comparison to 2007. With the integrated concept the borough wants to take a big step towards its goal of becoming an energetic and environmental friendly model district. The concept was funded within the scope of the climate protection initiative by means of the Federal Environment Ministry.
After extensive data research the B.&S.U. mbH provided an energy and CO₂-balance for the district and based on this we analyzed the potential of CO₂-reduction in the respective consumption sectors private households, economy, traffic and communal buildings. Supported by numerous interviews with housing societies, special interest groups of the economy and of associations and a so-called "future workshop", which was carried out with around 80 citizens of Lichtenberg, a measure catalogue was developed. The catalogue contains suggestions such as solar power plants, the establishment of climate protection housing estates, energy-checks in crafts enterprises or the establishment of a district climate protection council.
Further information: Katja Dinges, Phone: 030 / 39042-92, E-mail: kdinges(at)bsu-berlin.de
09.08.2010
A visit from the EU-Commission
On 28th of June 2010 Mr. Elholm from the EU-Commission (DG Regional Policy) as well as representatives of Berlin's ERDF administrative authority, of Berlin's environment administration (Senate Department for Health, Environment and Consumer Protection) and of B.&S.U. mbH visited the Lise-Meitner-school in order to inform themselves about the Berlin Environmental Relief Programme (ERP II) research project of the HTW Berlin that is dealing with the "Utilization of small wind power stations on buildings in urban areas using the example of Berlin". This project is 100 % funded by the Berlin Environmental Relief Programme (ERP II). Prof. Dr. Jochen Twele (HTW Berlin), who is responsible for the project, presented it to the guests: The aim is to analyse the technical and ecologic potential of the utilisation of small wind power stations on Berlin roofs. During the data collection phase, the flow conditions on exposed roofs as well as the general technical and legal regulations for the use of small wind power stations on roofs will be examined. Metered will be the flow conditions, the capacity and the acoustic emission of the wind power stations as well as the impact on the roof. Common testing criteria and permits shall be developed for Berlin, Germany and eventually for the EU.
It was possible to inspect a prototype of a small wind power station on the roof of the Lise-Meitner-school. As precursor in the matter of small wind power stations, the Lise-Meitner-school is using the machine already since January 2010. Related to the research project five other machines will be installed in city of Berlin. Mr. Elholm and the representatives of the ERDF administrative authority received a very positive impression about the project. They were able to assure themselves that the EU-means are used in a reasonable and visionary way, since the ERP II project is 50 % co-financed by the ERDF.
19.07.2010
Kick-off-meeting for the IEE project come2CoM at B.&S.U. mbH in Berlin
The goal of the European project come2CoM is to support cities and local authorities to become a member of the European initiative "Covenant of Mayors" and to fulfil their commitment to curb their CO2-emissions by at least 20 % by 2020. To get come2CoM up and running, the project partners consisting of 12 committed energy agencies and energy consulting agencies as well as energy institutes from 11 EU countries have recently met in Berlin at the B.&S.U. offices for the kick-off-meeting.
Local authorities play a key role in mitigating climate change as 80 % of the population lives and works in cities, where up to 8 % of energy is consumed. The main concept of the "Covenant of Mayors" initiative, which was launched by the European Commission, is to make cities the leading actors for implementing sustainable energy policies and to recognise and support their efforts. The strength of come2CoM is in the local and regional networks in the 11 countries participating in the initiative: Germany, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Belgium, Austria, UK and Portugal. The networks allow the partners to get in touch with local authorities and cities, to help them sign up for the Covenant of Mayors and to implement the requested Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAP). The partner consortium of come2CoM has set itself some very ambitious objectives, as one of the partner pointed out: "At the end of the 2 years that the project will be running, we will have assisted up to 300 cities in our 11 partner countries in joining the Covenant of Mayors. Accompanied by a big promotional campaign for the CoM, we are a contact point for every city or local authority that is interested in this fantastic initiative. We will inform cities about the CoM and provide assistance for cities that are interested to sign up. As it is crucial for the success of the CoM that each one of its signatories is able to implement an intelligent local sustainable energy policy, we offer support in developing a Sustainable Energy Action Plan and to network with other cities in Europe that want to take action to reduce CO2. By doing so, we are helping cities to become Europe's leading pioneers in mitigating climate change". come2CoM is partly funded by the European Programme "Intelligent Energy Europe".
B.&S.U. mbH is the German branch of the European Energy Award® which recently received a letter of recognition by DG Energy as an effective tool for the Sustainable Energy Action Plans of the Covenant of Mayors (http://www.eumayors.eu/articles/show_en.htm?id=143).
Further contact:
B.&S.U. Beratungs- und Service Gesellschaft Umwelt mbH
Katrin Jullien
Phone: +49 (30) 390 42-56
kjullien(at)bsu-berlin.de
04.05.2010
Roman Doubrava, DG Energie (re.) mit Bürgermeistern und Vertretern des Forums European Energy Award anlässlich der Überreichung des Anerkennungsschreiben der Europäischen Kommission im Europäischen Parlament in Brüssel. (Quelle: Europäisches Forum European Energy Award)
European Commission recognizes the European Energy Award® (eea) as an effective tool for the Sustainable Energy Action Plan of the Covenant of Mayors
Following the second Covenant of Mayors ceremony which took place on 4th May 2010 at the European Parliament in Brussels, a letter of recognition was handed over from Mr Roman Doubrava, DG Energy to a delegation of members from the Forum European Energy Award® and mayors from eea cities that signed up to the Covenant of Mayors on that day.
In the letter, the Commission praised the practicality of the quality management system and the professional certification standards. The European Commission stated its intention to recognize the steps taken by the eea in connection with a CO2-balance emission inventory as a joint package to meet the requirements for the Covenant of Mayors' Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP). This will encourage eea cities to sign up to the Covenant of Mayors, to reduce CO2-emissions, as well as the time and effort which is required to set up an SEAP.
Mr Heimo Bürbaumer, board member of the Forum European Energy Award® expressed his thanks to the Commission and emphasized that the harmonisation of the eea to SEAP requirements is currently underway and that all adjustment steps are closely communicated with DG Energy and the Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC). With last year's increase to 750 participating eea communities across Europe, he pointed out the huge potential of this strategic partnership.
Mr Roger Dubach from the Swiss Mission to the EU in Brussels expressed his thanks on behalf of Mr Walter Steinmann, President of the Forum European Energy Award®. In addition, Mr Dubach announced that in the future, he will act as an ‘eea ambassador' based in Brussels and in this role will help to introduce the eea to new countries.
Further contact:
B.&S.U. Beratungs- und Service Gesellschaft Umwelt mbH
Christian Borchard
Phone: +49 (30) 390 42-67
cborchard(at)bsu-berlin.de
13.04.2010
Positive Results from the Event, "Structural Funds - an Important Instrument for Promoting Climate Protection in Cities, Municipalities and Regions" at the European Sustainable Energy Week 2010 in Brussels
The event, organised by B.&S.U. mbH in cooperation with the Senate Department for Health, the Environment and Consumer Protection and the European Federation of Regional Energy and Environment Agencies, on the topic "Structural Funds - an Important Instrument for Promoting Climate Protection in Cities, Municipalities and Regions" was met with an extremely positive response .
EU Commissionner Ms Connie Hedegaard, Facilitator Dr. Armand Dütz, B.&S.U. mbH and Member of the European Parliament, Ms Danuta Hübner
In the meeting facilitated by Dr Armand Dütz of B.&S.U. mbH, Ms Connie Hedegaard, the European Commissioner for Climate Action and Ms Danuta Hübner, the former European Commissioner for Regional Policy and current Member of the European Parliament, presented their approaches and strategies in relation to the connection between Cohesion Policy and climate change to an audience of more than 100 participants. Ms Hedegaard said that in the future, the Structural Funds will have to focus more strongly on the important policy objectives of the EU and that climate change will naturally play a prominent role in this. Commissioner Hübner highlighted that climate change is a shared challenge that also requires a common strategy because it does not stop at any administrative or political boundaries. She also emphasised the special role of the regions in combating climate change.
Ms Venelina Varbova, Regional Environmental Center
In her speech, Ms Venelina Varbova from the Regional Environmental Centre presented the results of the study "Improving the Climate Resilience of Cohesion Policy Funding Programmes: Results and Strategies for the Future", which deals with the experience and results from using the Structural Funds in the field of climate change prevention in the Member States of the EU.
Mr Lothar Stock of the Senate Department for Health, the
Environment and Consumer Protection and Mr Dieter Hainbach, B.&S.U. mbH
At the conference, Mr Lothar Stock of the Senate Department for Health, the Environment and Consumer Protection and Mr Dieter Hainbach, B.&S.U. mbH presented their many years of experience and achievements in the field of the renovation of public infrastructure and green space restoration measures in the Environmental Relief Programme to the international audience. A number of practical project examples were provided to support this and to clearly demonstrate the successes that can be achieved through funding programmes co-financed by Structural Funds in terms of climate protection.
Ms Ludmila Wach from the Office of the Marshall of the Pomorskie
Voivodeship and Ms Katarzyna Grecka from the Baltic Energy Conservation Agency
The presentation of Ms Ludmila Wach from the Office of the Marshall of the Pomorskie Voivodeship was very orientated towards practical experience and Ms Katarzyna Grecka from the Baltic Energy Conservation Agency in Poland presented the strategy for the financing of energy efficiency in the Pomorskie Voivodeship and in particular, a specific programme for energy efficiency in buildings called the Project Service Facility.
Mr Paul Beeckmans, Advisor to the Green Party and the European Free Alliance in the European Parliament
The conference concluded with a contribution from Mr Paul Beeckmans, an to the Green Party and the European Free Alliance in the European Parliament. In his speech, he spoke about the role of the Structural Funds in achieving the European objectives in the area of mobility.
The aim of the conference was, through the presentations and the ensuing discussion, to stimulate the future development of Operational Programmes for the new funding period in the Member States of the European Union. The lively participation in the event and the discussions show that this issue is currently of particular importance and that the conference could contribute to future debate.
Further information and the presentations are available at: http://www.fedarene.org/
01.04.2010
Project "Energy Neighbourhoods" wins ManagEnergy Local Energy Action Award
At this year's annual conference of the ManagEnergy initiative the project "Energy Neighbourhoods" was awarded with the ManagEnergy Local Energy Action Award.
The award was handed over by the EU Commissioner for Energy, Mr Günther Öttinger, and the vice-mayoress of Zagreb, Ms Jelena Pavičić Vukičević, to the B.&S.U. mbH, who received the prize as representative of all other project partners. On the one hand the project was awarded because very good results were achieved in the area of energy saving during the competition, and on the other hand because the project has great potential with regard to its applicability and continuance in new projects and activities.
In the framework of the project "Energy Neighbourhoods" teams from 6000 households of nine European countries bet with their communes that they will reduce their energy consumption (electricity and heat energy) in six months by 8 %.
The citizens won this bet - more than 60 % of the participating neighbourhoods exceeded the goal of saving 8 %. The average saving of all participating households was at 10 %.
In this way 9,150,000 kWh, and accordingly 3320 t CO2, were saved, respectively avoided. This is a remarkable reduction, which is comparable to the average annual energy consumption of around 2033 4-person households.
The committed participants demonstrated that through simple behavioral changes it is possible to save energy and in this way to reduce costs and protect the climate.
ManagEnergy is an initiative of the European Commission, which aims to support local and regional protagonists in the field of renewable energy and sustainable usage of energy.
25.03.2010
Energie Cup Hessen: Energy-Saving Competition is launched for 40 properties belonging to the Federal State of Hesse
On 16th March, the Finance Minister of Hesse, Karlheinz Weimar, launched the energy-saving competition "Energie Cup Hessen".
Kick-off is on the 1st May 2010: 40 properties belonging to the Federal State of Hesse, including the Offices of Finance and Forestry, ministries and secondary schools, will compete against each other to become the Hesse energy-saving champion. As part of the launch event, Dr Dütz from B.&S.U. mbH presented the concept and idea of the "Energie Cup Hessen" and prepared the properties for the competition.
Through energy-conscious behaviour, the employees can reduce their consumption of electricity, energy for heating and water. "With changes in people's awareness and behaviour, we can achieve a significant reduction," said Mr. Weimar.
On behalf of the Ministry of Finance of the State of Hesse, B.&S.U. mbH are organising the energy-saving competition, the "Energie Cup Hessen".
09.03.2010
INTERREG IV C Projects EnercitEE will be carried out with assistance by B.&S.U. mbH
The Saxon State Ministry for the Environment and Agriculture has commissioned B.&S.U. mbH to assist with the implementation of an INTERREG project. In the next four years, B.&S.U. mbH will support the Saxon Lead Partner in setting up the INTERREG IVC project EnercitEE. EnercitEE strengthens and develops both new and existing energy efficiency policies in six European regions.
EnercitEE builds on the experience of the forerunner project enercy'regio (2005-2007), which also dealt with industrial and commercial enterprises, however now focusing exclusively on citizens and local authorities as a target group. At the core of the project are best practice examples from citizens and cities in the participating European regions that demonstrate outstanding energy efficiency. These will be documented, exchanged, publicised and developed during the course of the project and will contribute towards improving the general requirements for local and regional policies in energy efficiency.
The six European regions of Saxony (Germany), Smaland (Sweden), Emilia-Romagna (Italy), Haute-Savoie (France), Crete (Greece) and Lower Silesia (Poland) hope to create new incentives and to strengthen interregional networks.
B.&S.U. mbH is entering a third round of successful cooperation with the Saxon State Ministry for the Environment and Agriculture. Following on from providing support in the enercy'regio project and the introduction of the eea in Saxony, B.&S.U. mbH set up and coordinated the new project application with an extended group of partners. The application was successful against some serious competition and was accepted by the INTERREG IV C Monitoring Committee in November 2009.
As part of the European Territorial Co-operation objective, INTERREG IVC should strengthen the Regional Policy of the EU through interregional co-operation and will be funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
The partners will have access to up to four million Euros of ERDF funding through the new project EnercitEE, which will be used in the implementation of up to 12 subprojects. The kick-off meeting for the six participating regions will take place in Dresden in March. The project's website will be available in the next few months.
For further information, please contact: Christian Borchard, cborchard(at)bsu-berlin.de
26.01.2010
The Berlin Programme to Reduce Environmental Damages at the European Sustainable Energy Week 2010 in Brussels
In cooperation with the Berlin Senate Department for Health, the Environment and Consumer Protection and the European Federation of Regional Energy and Environment Agencies, B.&S.U. mbH is organising an event called "Structural Funds - an Important Instrument for Promoting Climate Protection in Cities, Municipalities and Regions" at the European Sustainable Energy Week 2010 in Brussels.
Extensive experience of the implementation of the Structural Funds in the European Member States has been gathered from previous funding periods in regards to the use of this instrument for the promotion of climate protection in cities, municipalities and regions. This experience will be presented at the event, in particular focusing on the development of Operational programmes for the forthcoming funding period from 2014.
The Berlin "Senatsverwaltung für Gesundheit, Umwelt- und Verbraucherschutz" will present its long-standing experience and success in the renovation of public infrastructure and the restoration of open spaces in the Programme to Reduce Environmental Damages to the audience of international specialists. The partners are aiming to offer motivation and suggestions for the other Member States to take climate protection and the environment into account when compiling their own Operational programmes.
The event is aimed primarily at representatives from cities, municipalities and regions that are active in the field of Structural Funds, and also at potential applicants and other interested parties. It will take place on 25.03.2010 in the A. Borchette Centre in Brussels.
More information and registration at:
http://www.eusew.eu/page.cfm?page=event_content&sby=3&sval=0&sd=40260&id=399