IMPROVING THE ECO-COMPETITIVENESS IN THE MID NORDIC REGION - final reportThe main goal in this work was to develop Mid Nordic Region as a pilot region of environmentally responsible business activities, to increase cooperation and marketing between enterprises of environmental technology, to increase eco- and energy-efficiency in tourism and industry, to raise the level of co-operation of post graduate and polytechnics education in organic food and farming.
FINAL REPORT.
Final seminar:
The VIII Finnish Conference of Environmental Sciences on May 10 -11, 2007, Mikkeli ,Finland
Programme for the theme Competitiveness from eco-efficiency
10.5.
Plenary speech
Peter Hennicke, President of Wuppertal Institute, Germany Dematerialisation and energy efficiency inEurope
Session 1B: Competitiveness from eco-efficiency
Aage Stori, SINTEF, Norway :Material Efficiency Research in Norway
Heikki Sundquist, Sitra ,Finland:Rapidly growing environmental business needs monitoring
Minna Halme, Helsinki School of Economics: Best Practices Examples of Eco-Efficiency in Finland
Timo J. Lehtonen, Regional Council of South Savo: Improving Eco-Competitiveness in MidNordic Region
11.5.
Plenary speech
Ryoichi Yamamoto, Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo:
Resource-Efficient R&D and Technologies in Japan
WP2 - work consisted following sub-projects:
1) ENRES -network - improving environmental responsible business activities
Producing a database of ENRES-participants
(companies, research institutes, faculties/departments of universities, science and technology parks etc) working in the branch of environmental & energy technology and R & D)
-Dissemination of the know-how by different web-pages
Brochure in English, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish is published in February 2007
Promoting the cooperation and organizing meetings between different stakeholders on the following branches:
- Use of renewable energy resources and energy efficiency (together with WP 3); especially decentralized energy production and wood chips delivery chain management.
- University and high school level education in industrial ecology and cleaner production
- Environmental education
- Material efficiency - light materials and composites (Mikkeli, Trondheim)
Information of the best practices projects (EMS, eco-efficiency, sustainable development, Agenda 21, environmental education, environmental. technology etc)
Determining and comparing the sustainability of cities in MidNordic
A report was published in November 2006. Report is written by Laura Saikku, South Savo Regional Council.
Whole publication (Finnish; English and Swedish summary)
English summary
An aim of this report was to collect information on recent environmental programs, environmental strategies, Local Agenda 21 processes and environmental monitoring in the main cities of Mid Nordic region. The cities that are included in the study are Mikkeli, Jyväskylä, Seinäjoki jaVaasa from Finland ; Härnösand, Sundsvall and Östersund from Sweden ; Trondheim and Steinkjer from Norway.
In addition, an aim was to find examples of best practices in municipal environmental reporting. The environmental performance of cities was compared with the help of a set of indicators. An aim was also to produce preliminary information for MidNordic Strategy and for the network of Mid Nordic capital cities (URBNET).
Five indicators were used in comparing the Mid Nordic cities. Indicators were chosen based on the availability of data and according to the compatibility with the set of indicators developed earlier in different international and national projects. Indicators were: emissions of greenhouse gases, particle emissions of PM10, household wastes to landfill, nature protection areas and length of cycling routes.
The greenhouse gas emissions varied between 3,1 and 7,8 tn/CO2 -ekv. in the cities where data was available. In Trondheim, the emissions were the lowest. The city uses a lot of electricity produced with hydro power. Wood is widely used in Finnish cities as well as in Östersund and Härnösand, but the use of peat e.g. Mikkeli, increases the emissions. For example, in Härnösand and Östersund ground heating and heating pumps are used as one solution to household heating. District heating is commonly used in all the Mid Nordic cities.
The air quality is in generally good or very good in the Mid Nordic cities. However, inTrondheimand Sundsvall the air quality can be occasionally bad and the limit of allowed overflows (35 times/year) of 50 µg PM10 particles/m3/day is exceeded. The total threshold value was exceeded inTrondheim48 and in Sundsvall 38 times.
The amount of household wastes to landfill varied between 17-317 kg/capita, beeing lowest in Sundsvall. Also in Östersund, Steinkjer andTrondheimthe waste ending up to the landfills is fairly low, less than 100kg/capita/yr. InSweden , as well as in Norway household wastes are mainly used as energy. In Trondheim and Steinkjer, however, the material recycling shares are also significant, 48% and 38% respectively.
The officially founded nature reserves cover 19% of surface area in Vaasa. In other cities, the number varies between 0,3-2%. In Vaasa, most of the area is water. Anyhow, the protected land area compared to the total surface area is fairly big (1,4%) compared to the other Mid Nordic cities.
The length of cycling tracks varies between 1,1-3,2 m/inhabitant. Of the Mid Nordic cities, Seinäjoki has most tracks per capita.
2) Eco-efficiency in tourism
Pilot projects to promote the eco-efficiency in spa/swimming pools and ski resort
The final report
Finland : AaltoAlvari Watersport Centre as the main target; other participants municipal swimming pools in Mikkeli (Rantakeidas), Seinäjoki and Vaasa
Sweden : Åre SkiStar and Holiday Club Spa
Results
FINLAND
The energy efficiency of the partner swimming pools has been audited in two different methods. In the AaltoAlvari Jyväskylä, Finnish official energy audit has been done. Audit contains energy consumption measurements and proposals to decrease energy consumption. In the other three targets (Rantakeidas in Mikkeli, swimming and sports hall of Seinäjoki and swimming pool of Vaasa), a combination of so called Walk-Through-Audit and energy work shop of EcoStart environmental management system has been done. Possibilities to decrease energy consumption were searched by discussions and brainstorm methods, but no measurements were done.
For all four swimming pools EcoStart environmental audits and EcoStart environmental management system have been carried out - this is like a brief ISO envi-ronmental management system. It contains environmental audits, policies and programmes.
In the AaltoAlvari Jyväskylä and in the Rantakeidas Mikkeli the environmental policies and programmes were finished in August - September 2006.
The environmental and energy audits were done in Seinäjoki and Vaasa in September 2006. For these two targets the environmental policies and programmes will be made at the beginning of 2007.
SWEDEN
HolidayClub Spa in Åre
Holiday Club in Åre has been in operation since 2004.In the building there are pools, hotel, restaurants and conference facilities. At the opening the hotel had 155 rooms. The first period was av success and during 2005 another 50 rooms were built.
During the construction of the building initiatives were taken to reduce the use of heating energy. The ventilation systems were equipped with units for heat recovery from used air. The system for heating tap water was equipped with units for heat recovery from the damp of the pool air.
During the past two years some complications have occurred. It is not possible to heat the air enough in some of the ventilation systems during extremely cold weather. One cause for the low temperature of the ventilation air is the sequence in which the components are placed in the ventilation units. The supply air fan is the first component. As cold air has higher density than warm air, the air flow is higher during winter conditions than during summer conditions. The ventilation batteries are dimensioned for the lower air flow and are therefore too small during winter conditions. The temperature of the hot tap water varies a lot.When the hotel is fully booked the hot tap water capacity is too small.During winter conditions it is not possible to heat the entrance area enough.
During this project the possibilities to solve the problems and to reduce energy use further have been studied.The complication with low air temperature in the ventilation systems will be solved by adding components to the control systems. With these components it is possible to make the air flow constant independent of out door temperature. It is even possible to reduce air flow during extremely cold weather. This will eliminate the problem and substantially reduce the energy used for heating.The problem with hot tap water will be solved by taking measures in the existing control system. By lowering the temperature of hot water for accumulation it is possible to get the temperature of hot tap water more constant. The accumulation volume will be used more efficently by small changes of the control system. The energy used for heating the water will be reduced at the same time.The low temperature of the entrance area during cold weather will be further studied.
Costs and savings
The cost for reducing air flow during winter conditions by adding components to the control systems is calculated to 40.000 euro. The energy used for heating will be reduced by 200 MWh per pear. The energy cost will be reduced by 12.000 euro per year.
The cost for changes in the control system for hot tap water is calculated to 2.000 euro. The energy used for heating will be reduced by 10 MWh per year.
The energy cost will be reduced by 600 euro per year.
Bräckebäckstjärnarna
Background
Åre is one of the most popular holiday resorts in Sweden, especially during the winter due to a vast selection of ski-slopes with a diverse degree of difficulty. By making snow with snow cannons the area has secured the access of snow which in recent years has been a question of increasing importance. To be able to meet the more and more harshening competition of the tourists, access to a sufficiently amount of snow is a must.
The mountain in Åre, Åreskutan, reaches from the village at the mountain-foot and to the top about1000 mhigher up. To protect the nature in the area Åreskutan is, together with the rest of the Swedish mountain chain, a part of a national protected territory where the nature and outdoor life has priority to exploitation of any kind. A similar protection embodies the lake beneath the mountain and this is one of the reasons to why the project of Bräckebäckstjärnarna started. Since several years the skiing-company Skistar had been taken water to the snow cannons from the lake but as the demand increased the county administrative board put up a restriction due to maximum flow that could be taken from the lake. According to the increased demand in artificial snow the increase in energy-costs were proportional. To save energy and reduce the impact on the lake, and its sensitive species of fish and otter, Skistar started to investigate the possibility to utilise the small ponds Bräckebäckstjärnarna and take part of the water to the cannons from them.
Building a dam
Bräckebäckstjärnarna consist of three smaller ponds that are located at a level of about100 mbelow the top of the mountain. The snow cannons, that provide the slopes with snow, are located at a lower altitude and by using water from the ponds the water can be led there through gravity, instead of pumping as before, and reduce the energy usage. By building a dam in the main pond (the uppermost of the three ponds in the water system) the drainage water can be gathered up and stored until the winter. The dam-construction was made by steel-sheet-piles and filled with crushed rock material that was extracted by blasting nearby the ponds. To fix the dam-body to the bedrock the contact surface was sealed by contact grouting. The final result was a6 mtall and100 mlong wall that encloses the water and enables storage. Since there was a “pass-like" formation at the outlet of the pond the length of the dam-construction could be minimized.
The drainage area to the main pond was calculated to290 000 m2and the volume in the pond to140 000 m3(the amplitude of the dam was built to be about9 m , the ground is approximately4 mbelow the original bottom and the surface is5 mabove) which is half the amount needed for artificial snow in one season. This means that the first volume of water in the pond is loaded naturally during spring and summer. The second volume is refilled from the lake (below the mountain) and instead of pumping the water directly to the snow cannons, when needed, the pond can be used to store water and therefore allows pumping during periods with high-water levels in the lake.
Profits
After running the establishment for two seasons it has been obvious that140 000 m3was more than could actually be extracted from the pond. The real figure of the volume in each fill was130 000 m3and this resulted in a profit of about 170 000 SEK (18 440 EUR) in savings in energy.
Since most of the water from the pond could be led by force of gravity to the snow cannons, the maintenance of the pumps could be reduced. This resulted in an additional profit of roughly 75 000 SEK (8 130 EUR).
The snow cannons are made to make snow from water and energy when the surrounding temperature is -3 or colder. If the temperature is steady during the period November-December and the cannons can be working continuously, the time for making and put out enough snow for the first set would be about 14 days ( 130 000 m3water and a flow of 400 m3/h). Since the water in the ponds, on top of the mountain, is cooler than in the lake below; artificial snow can be spread out on the slopes approximately one week earlier than before. This means tourists can be received one week earlier and the season can be extended. The profit from this extension is difficult to calculate and it has not been done, but it should definitely be mentioned.
Environmental Profile of the Swimming Pool Customers
Master´s Thesis by Ewa Josko from the JyväskyläUniversity , SchoolofBusiness and Economics, April 2006 - The whole report
The general purpose of the research was to elaborate a specific environmental profile of the Aalto Alvari swimming pool´s customers. The study is based on information collected from 279 customers. The obtained results provided information enabling to examine the level of customers´ environmental knowledge, attitude and behavior patterns.
The survey results reveal the level of general environmental knowledge among swimming pool customers is quite high level, nearly 40% of survey participants were able to answer correctly all the environmental knowledge questions, and over 30% missed only one correct answer which shows that over half of the respondents have very good knowledge of environmental issues.
As for the overall level of environmental attitude it is also quite high. Although the most abundant group of respondents scored 19 out of 24 possible environmental attitude analyzing points, looking at the cumulative percentage, little over 40% of respondents received 20 points or more in that category. Hence, from the holistic perspective customers environmental attitudes seem to be positive and rather strong.
The results are less positive with regard to behavior patterns. First of all none of the 279 respondents received the full amount of points possible for the behavior examining questions. The highest achieved score was 12 points out of 14 possible, and was achieved by 2,5% of the sample´s population The most abundant group constituted people who received 7 points. But again, looking at the cumulative percentage for the behavior points' allocation within the entire sample, one can see that nearly 40% of the respondents fall in on of the groups that received between 8 and 12 points in this category. Thus, the conclusion that overall behavior patterns of swimming pool customers could be described as moderate with positive tendency. The most common from examined behavior aspects was the recycling of different wastes and house equipment.
According the results the swimming pool customers could be described as ecological activable. Ecological activable group is characterized by people who value environment to some extent, but it is not the only criteria for them when for example, making decisions about good or services purchases or performing some activity. Moreover they consider the environmental superiority of products or services as an additional value to the products, meaning that they consider other criteria than eco-friendliness while evaluating some product or service. Finally, people belong to the described group are hardly willing to accept less benefits of higher costs. The critical function of price was found also in this research as according to the survey results almost 40% of the respondents refused to pay more for the tickets price to promote swimming pool´s environmental superiority. On the other hand, the mean calculation between the sum of environmental attitude and willingness to pay showed that individuals with the highest reported level of attitude were willing to pay up to 1 euro more for the ticket prices.
In addition to the above the research examined customers knowledge, attitudes particularly with regard to the environmental impacts of swimming pool. According to the survey results almost half of the respondents did not attribute any environmental issues to the swimming pool´s activities or reported associations that were not correct with regard from the research perspective. However, it is important to mention here that knowledge and attitude towards swimming pool´s environmental issues was measured with open form questions, which many of the respondents left blank. Over one third of the respondents were able to answer partly correct and the remaining 15% was able to at least associate the presence of any kind of environmental impact to the swimming pool´s activities could be considered optimistic.
With regard to the reported willingness to participate in the improvement of swimming pool´s environmental performance, results show that little over 50% percent of respondents gave negative answer to that notion. However, also in this case the blank answers were considered as negative, thus it is hard to determine the actual attitudes of respondents who left out this particular question. Also in this example looking at the cumulative percent gives more promising picture, as it reveals that the other half of the respondents is willing to do some pro-environmental contribution and over 20% of the examined customers reported on some to already perform some pro-environmental behavior patterns while being at the swimming pool.
The summary results of the pilot projects and good practises will be published in a report (Finnish and English) in February 2007.
3) Eco-industrial parks
To establish Finland´s first EIP in Etelä-Savo and an EIP in Jämtland ,Sweden
Etelä-Savo: A group of wood manufacturing companies at Rantasalmi station and Pursiala industry area in Mikkeli (inventory of interest). See the brochure.
Rantasalmi eco-industrial park web-site: www.ekoteollisuuspuisto.fi
Jämtland: A group of companies in Odenskog industry area
Dissemination of the results of the pilot projects and good practises - Finnish and English report. Workshops, seminars.
Results
FINLAND
Eco-Industrial Park in Rantasalmi
A charter of foundation and collective environmental policy for the Rantasalmi eco-industrial park was signed in a seminar arranged in March at Rantasalmi. A management body of the first phase has been set up: an eco-industrial park committee that works under Real Estate Rantasalmen Silva Oy.
A common environmental program for years 2006 - 2008 has been approved for the EIP Rantasalmi. A vision was created for the Park: “Eco-Industrial Park of Rantasalmi is the leading company and know-how centre of wood and timber sector taking ecological and social values into account."
Environmental audits and the energy reviews by EcoStart-system have been done in every company. On the basis of these audits and reviews an own environmental policy and program has been prepared for the companies. These policies and programs are also based on the environmental policy and program on the Eco-IndustrialPark.
The follow-up application was prepared during the autumn. The application was accepted in December by the Regional Council of Etelä-Savo - the project worth of 99.800 € will start at the beginning of 2007.
The aims of the follow-up project are :
· improving of the operational environment of the EIP
· developing and marketing the area
· intensifying the co-operation of the companies in the park
· making the material use more efficient and reducing the amount of landfill waste
· starting international co-operation and also transferring experiences and education.
Pursiala eco-industrial park
Based on the company interviews (15) made in Pursiala industry area (in Mikkeli), a project application called Development of Eco-Pursiala was prepared.
Three main themes of the project are:
· increasing the co-operation between the companies
· improving environmental responsible business activities
· ecologically produced energy and improving energy efficiency
The project plan of Pursiala eco-industrial park was accepted in November by the Regional Council of Etelä-Savo - the project worth of 87.500 € will start at the beginning of 2007.
The results of eco-industrial park projects have been spread into the regional developing organisations in Jyväskylä, Jämsä, Seinäjoki, Härmanmaa, Äänekoski and Vaasa region.
SWEDEN
Eco-industrialPark - Odenskog in Östersund
The work in Odenskog was concluded by an evaluation of the environmental work in the area. The evaluation was made of SWECO together with the interest group in Odenskog and had two purposes; partly to forward experiences and learnings to other eco-industrial parks within the EU but also to evaluate whole project in Odenskog and the work of the interest group. The information achieved from the evaluations will also be forwarded to the membership companies in Odenskog and assist the decision of how to continue the work after the EU financed project is over.
The method used for the evaluation was workshops in small groups and the participants were some of the environmental coordinators in the area, representatives for companies that have committed to the VETA-model and the board of directors for the interest group.
Down below are some of the aspects of the environmental work in Odenskog that were discussed.
The inspiration lists with concrete ideas of things to do for the environment, supplied by the interest group, have been very good.
The most appreciated events kept, have been the meetings between environmental coordinators in the area together with the breakfast meetings (open meetings where different environmental issues have been discussed).
It has been good to have the interest group as a uniting and neutral part for the environmental work instead of, for example, one of the environmental coordinators from any of the businesses in the area.
Getting financing from EU sometimes controls too much. It gives the chance to do a lot of good things but it can also prevent from doing the right priorities.
A network organisation for the environmental coordinators in the area is very important for exchange of experience.
The big challenge for Odenskog in the future is to get a uniting, neutral part that survives on its own and doesn´t depend on external financing.
4) Eco Studies Cooperation
The main focus areas of the post graduate course-planning activities were:
- Agro ecology as a base of organic farming and food systems
- Organic crop production
- Welfare of animals
WP2 -projectmanager:
Timo J. Lehtonen
Tlf. +358 40 733 8624
E-mail: timo.lehtonen@esavo.fi
