Ecolink Brochure Nov 2003

8/3/2019 Ecolink Brochure Nov 2003

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ECOLINK:Ecocentres as a tool

for local sustainable

development and for

environmental

research implementation

Project summary report

www.ecosites.net

Supported by the Fifth framework programme of the European Community

for resea rch, technologica l development and demonstration activities.

Project NEVG-2002-00509

Contents
http://www.ecosites.net/http://www.ecosites.net/


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Projec t supp orted by the Fifth fram ewo rk program me of the Europ ea n Com munity for resea rc h,tec hnologica l developme nt a nd dem onstration ac tivities

Referenc es: ECOLINK EVG-2002-00509

Dates: 1 January 30th September 2003

WorkPackages inventory of relevant research (lea d partner: Ba rc elona Auto nom ous University)

inventory of ecosites, ecocentres and co mpa rab le orga nisations and projec ts(lea d pa rtner: CAT, Wales)ca se studies of ec osites and of ec osite projec ts(lead pa rtner: Ec osite d u Pays de Tha u, Franc e)four thematic workshops (see table pages 6-7)conclusions and dissemination (lead pa rtner: Ec osite d u Pays de Tha u, Franc e)

Web site inc lud ing workshop rep orts, inventory results, c ase stud ies a nd overa ll p rojec t rep ort:www.ecosites.net

Foreword by the European Commission

The Ecolink project

What is an ec osite ? The d ifferent func tions of a n ec osite

Ecosites and research, demonstration, dissemination

Summary table: R&D capacities of ecosites

Conclusions of the four Ecolink workshops1-wha t are the roles of ec osites in facilitating the implementa tion of environmentalresearch and development ?2-wha t are the interac tions be tween ec osites, nature conservation and ap plied sc ientific resea rch ?3-how d o ec osites contribute to loca l sustainab le deve lopment, and what resea rch is need edto support this ?4-wha t are the roles of ec osites in the deve lopme nt and implementa tion of EU environme ntal andsustainab le de velopm ent p olic ies ?

Conclusions of the Ecolink inventory of ecosites

Conclusions of case studies

Data sheet of ecosites and ecocentres

Ecosite case studiesAustria (kop ark Hartberg) page 12

Colorado (RMI)pag e 13Denma rk (Folkece nter) pag e 14

England (HDRA)pag e 15France (Ecosite du Pays de Thau) pag e 16

Franc e (Terre Viva nte ) pag e 17Germany (Artefac t)pag e 18

Netherland s (De Kleine Aarde ) pag e 19Poland (ICPPC)pag e 20

Switzerland (kozentrum Lange bruck) pag e 21Swed en (Ekocentrum Gteb org)pag e 22

Wales (CAT)pag e 23

Projec t conclusions and rec omme ndations

Ecolink Project Overview:

European Commission :
http://www.ecosites.net/http://www.ecosites.net/


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ontents

1

With the adoption of the EU Strategy on Sustainable Development in Gotenburg in 2001, theEuropean Union added an environmental dimension to the Lisbon process, which set the ambition

of developing Europe as the most competitive knowledge based economy in the world within 2010.

The European Commission contributes actively to implementing this strategy and DG Research in

particular through the concept of the European Research Area and its current 6th Framework

Programme for Research and Technological Development.

The ECOLINK project has, through four workshops in 2003 which assembled some 200 experts

from a wide range of organisations and stakeholders, managed to develop a European network of

research institutions, environmental innovation and demonstration centres (Ecosites), contributing

to the implementation of sustainable development at local level. Ecosites have an important role toplay in implementing, demonstrating and disseminating results from environmental research and

innovation activities. In this context, their potential contribution to a better dissemination of

information to society, as well as their capacity to ensure training of industries and local authorities

for solving local environmental issues, could represent a promising support to the Environmental

Technology Action Plan (ETAP).

Through presentations and discussions on scientific, technological, economical and social subjects,

as well as practical demonstrations of well adapted solutions to local environmental problems, the

events have shown the success of this network, demonstrating the feasibility of local operations

relevant to sustainable development, with substantial impact and great local enthusiasm.

The Ecosite concept, which has already proved successful in Europe, as well as in some cases in

USA and Australia, has a great potential for further development in particular in the Associate

Candidate Countries, and every efforts to strengthen this should be encouraged. The ECOLINK

consortium, as well as other interested parties, should be encouraged to continue developing

Ecosites and their networking throughout Europe and worldwide.

Per Backe-Hansen

European Commission

DG Research, Directorate I - Environment

Policy aspects and strategy for sustainable development


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Ecosites

Ecosites are environm ent d emonstration c entres

de dica ted to innova tion and knowledge transfer, oftencombining a pp lied sustainab le d evelopment R&Dac tivities with a visitor centre and information, educa tionand training ac tivities, and thus generating ec onom icspin-off and contributing to loca l de velopment.

A sma ll number of ec osites have be en op erating forove r 25 yea rs, proving the via bility of suc h c ent res. Over

the last few years, there has been a considerablesp rea d of inte rest in these c entres, from NGOs

wishing to promo te e nvironm enta l protec tionand educ ation and from loc al authorities

wishing to d evelop a foc al point for loca lsustainab le develop me nt: a num be r of

new c entres have be en e stab lished ,not a lwa ys suc c essfully. Also

rec ently, the p otential of suc hc entres in providing prac tic alexperienc e in testing, a da pting,imp lementing, d emo nstratingand dissem inating susta inab ledevelopment research hasbe en identified by Europ ea ndecision makers andresea rchers. The Ec olinkprojec t a imed to b ringtog ether ec osite op erators,stakeholders and the

resea rc h c om munity tobe tter define the roles andinterac tions be twee n ec osites

and resea rc h, as we ll as toestablish operational networks

for further work, excha nge andexpe rienc e transfer.

Ecolink

The 9-mo nth Ec olink projec t involvedinventories of relevant research and of

existing ec osites and similar centres, shortc ase studies of a numb er of b est prac tic e

ecosites and ecosite projects, and four workshops(see bo x). The w orkshop s b roug ht to ge ther resea rc hersand ec osite op erators to d isc uss mod es of c oop erationin spe c ific a rea s. Eac h wo rkshop too k plac e a t one ofEurope s longe st sta nd ing a nd rec og nised ec osites, witha scientific research institute taking responsibility for thewo rkshop pa rtic ipa nt invitations and c ontent.

Som e 200 pe op le too k pa rt in the workshop s,representing c ount ries ac ross Europe and in som e c asesother continents and from a wide range oforga nisa tions (environm ent c entres and ec osites, NGOs,loc a l authorities, resea rch institutes, large and sma ll

c om panies). The wo rkshop s b roug ht tog ethe r ec ositeswho ha d never met be fore, and a llowed direc texcha nge with a numb er of promoters of ec ositep rojec ts. It was em phasised tha t there are a very widevariety of environment centres active in Europe, andthat it is important to de fine w hat spe c ific ally is mea ntby a n ecosite.

The b ringing to ge ther of d ifferent a c tors in theworkshops resulted in agreement on a definition of an

ec osite, and led to the estab lishment of the Europ ea nFed eration o f Ec osites. This will enab le a c larific a tion o fec osite status, throug h the future d evelop me nt of a lab el a nd a struct ured ec osite R&D o ffer t o resea rc hinstitutes and other sta keholders looking fo r ap p lied R&Dservic es, te sting, d issem ination, d em onstration or o therfacilities (see table page 5).

Contents

2

Folkece nter for Renew ab le Energy

The four Ecolink workshops:

1- wha t a re the roles of ec osites in fac ilitating theimplementa tion of environme ntal resea rc h anddevelopm ent ? (co ntent: Barcelona Autonomo usUniversity ; e c osite : De Kleine Aa rde, TheNetherlands)

2- what a re the interac tions be twee n ec osites,nature c onservation and resea rc h ? (conte nt:BOKU Vienna ; ec osite: CAT, Wales )

3- how do ec osites c ontribute to loca l sustainab le

development, and what research is needed tosupport this ? (content: Montpellier University ;ec osite: Folkec ente r, Denmark)

4- what a re the roles of ec osites in the de velopm entand implementa tion of EU environme ntal andsustainable development policies ? (content: ECJoint Research Centre, Isp ra ; ec osite : Ec osite duPays de Tha u, Franc e )

Ec osite du Pays de Thau


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Defining an ecositeThere exists ac ross Europe a wid e range o f diffe rent

environment centres, including nature interpretationcentres, regional natural parks, botanic gardens, naturalhistory museum s, resea rc h field c entres, field tea c hingcentres, environmental technology or enterprise parks.These all have c ertain ec osite a c tivities so w ha t is anec osite, a nd wha t a re the distinc tive fe atures whichma ke ec osites a releva nt and effec tive tool forsustainab le d evelop ment R&D impleme ntation ?Disc ussion a round the Ec olink wo rkshops took a s astarting point the 10 ecosite functions (see this page)ident ified by the stud ies c a rried out b y Ec osite du Paysde Tha u for the Europ ea n Co mm ission Joint Resea rchCentre (2000, pub lished at www.ecosites.net ).Partic ipants ag reed wha t ma kes an e c osite a n

ec osite is the c om bination, on o ne site, ofinnovation/research activities, demonstration andproa c tive d issem ination (visitor ce ntre, training ,outreach).

A key factor is the synergy between these differentfunc tions: the dem onstration, training o r visitors ac tivitiesena ble hand s-on testing, ad ap tation and monitoring ofR&D innovations, providing feedback to research. But atthe sam e time, the ong oing resea rc h and innova tionmea ns that training is state of the art (a ttrac tive totrainees or stakeholders) and tha t the re is a lwayssomething new to show visitors.The d efinition b elow wa s elab orate d in disc ussionsa round the first tw o Ec olink workshop s, and wa s then

ad op ted in the statute s of the Europ ea n Fed eration ofEc osite s (EF-Ec os seewww.ecosites.net ) created in anad -hoc mee ting along side the third workshop . Like a nydefinition, this is imperfect and destined, no doubt, toevolve, and the Fed eration has alrea dy set in mo tion ap roc ess of d efining mo re prec ise c riteria for an ec ositelabel.

ontents

The definition of an ecosite

As adopted in the European Federation of Ecositesstatutes

An ec osite is a de mo nstration site d ed ica ted toinnova tion a nd knowled ge transfer to p romo teenvironme ntal protec tion a nd eq uitab le sustainab lede velopm ent. An eco site is a c entre which:

Is a physical site (or local network of related sites),

Ac tively promote s and c ontribute s to

environme ntal p rotec tion, sustainab le de velopm ent

and soc ial eq uity

Develop s, on site, susta inab le de velop me ntrelated innovation (such as research,

experimentation, testing)

Proactively carries out actions for knowledge

transfer, suc h as aw arene ss c am paigns, educ at ion,

training, interpreta tion, and whe re rec eiving visitors

and demonstrating environmental

tec hnolog ies/ system s is a regular and integ ra l pa rt

of the site s ac tivities

The ten functions of an ec osite

The following ec osite funct ions have bee n ide ntified .Different func tions are d evelop ed at differentrhythms by g iven ec osites as a func tion o f existingactivities, local priorities, capacities and means, butthe ove rall set of functions provides a de velopm entob jective. The ba lance a nd synergy be twee ndifferent func tions ap pe ar to b e keys to e c ositeeffectiveness and viability.

1) Protection of the environment

2) Centre o f c omp etenc e for sustainab ledevelopment research and innovation

3) Equity and solidarity

4) Sustainab le loca l/regional de velopm ent,in partic ular job c rea tion

5) Territo ria l identity a nd c ulture

6) Environm enta l tec hnolog y or system sdevelopment, testing and implementation

7) Profe ssional training a nd knowled ge transfer

8) Demonstration site for environmental technologiesand know-how

9) Pub lic environmenta l aw arene ss, outrea c h, visitorcentre

10) International exchange and developmentVisito rs, CAT, Wale s

Sola r Panels, ko park Hartb erg, Austria

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http://www.ecosites.net/http://www.ecosites.net/http://www.ecosites.net/http://www.ecosites.net/http://www.ecosites.net/http://www.ecosites.net/


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Contents

The Ecolink workshop s broug ht to ge ther ac tors who donot usually mee t a nd e xc hang e (ec osite

practitioners and professional researchers),which p rovide d a fruitful forum for the

d isc ussion o f e nvironm enta l resea rch anddevelopment, and the c omp arison of

c onve ntional or institutiona l resea rc hwith R&D a c tivities in e c osites.

Resea rch a nd susta inab leinnovation are key func tions inec osites, yet the workshopshowed that there is animportant ga p betweenec osites and formal resea rch.The very applied R&D c arriedout by ecosites (through totesting and full-scalede monstration) is traditiona llynot c onsidered a s rea lresearch by ac ad emics,

and further, many areas ofap plied innovation d evelopedby ecosites are not, or havenot until rec ently, been

rec og nised as respe c tab le o rserious research domains (be it

home comp osting, green buildingtec hniques, natural waste wate r

treatment, organic gardening orcomm unity ec ology) de spite their

significant implications for sustainabledeve lopm ent. A lso, ecosites rarely pub lish

their work throug h peer-reviewed journals,preferring professiona l med ia, information

pam phlets or courses. Often, ec osites do notspeak the language of the research world andunderstand ing R&D p rogram me funding p roc esses can bean obstac le to p rep aring p rojects.

ImplementationBoth the EU 6th Framework Programme and nationa lresearch programmes now emphasise applied R&D andimplementation dissemination of research results. Ecositesoffer fast rea c ting, flexible, responsive and prob lem-drivenresearch, with the ability to ensure very practical appliedtesting, ad ap tation and implementa tion. Partic ipa ntstherefore c onc lude d tha t ec osites offer a po tentially

significant tool for transfer of resea rch through toimplementa tion, but tha t to a chieve this, imp rovedunderstanding and dialogue between ecosites and theresea rch c om munity is necessary. There is a need,how ever, for ec osites to d eve lop m ore structured resea rchprogramm e ma nage ment, in order to bettercommunicate with conventional research institutions.

Ecosites are p articularly expe rienced in environm enta l

technology demonstration and development, but are alsoincreasingly active in areas of applied social ecology R&D,such as eco-districts, community transport systems, eco-

c itizenship a nd consumer behaviour. Ecosites a lso play asignificant role in ensuring d ialogue b etw een R&D andsta keho lde rs, be it throug h p ublic visitors, NGO links,publica tions, or their range of on-site training c ourses forprofessiona ls, SMEs, stud ents and dec ision makers. Ecositesplay an imp ortant role in providing unbiased ad vice a ndpositions on R&D issues and on products, prototypes orsystems; for the longstanding ecosites this is reinforced bythe reputation developed as prac titioners of a range oftec hnolog ies. Finally, and by virtue of their generally highc red ibility among the p ublic and other stakeholde rs,ec oc entres can de velop new roles as mediato rs forenvironmental questions or can act as catalysts forenhancing p ublic pa rtic ipation in environme ntal ma tters.

How ever, this pote ntial of ec osites to c ontribute to R&Dimp leme ntation a nd dissemination is tod ay proba blylargely underused: a number of ecosites have poorlydeve loped R&D ac tivities and fe w links with resea rchinstitutes, other environment centres do not today haveinnovation/ R&D activities despite a clear stakeholderdemand. To a ddress this, a structured prog ramm e shouldbe initiate d to inventory ec osite R&D potential, to ne tworkwith releva nt resea rch institutes and to fa c ilitate thede velopment of joint programmes.

4

Water classroom , Earth C ent re, Eng land

Plastics rec yc ling , Ecosite du Pays de Tha u, France

What ecosites do for research implementation

* develop new sustainable technologies or systemsfrom the resea rc h stag e through to the p ilotde mo nstration stag e

* ad ap tation o f new tec hnologies or system s tospe c ific ap plic ations, loca l c ond itions, ma rkets

* ap prop riate system s de velopm ent through toec ono mic , c onsume r-friendly, o r SME-transferab leapplications

* dem onstration, with both the c red ibility of a hand s-on d em onstration system op erated in the field a t a necosite, and the recognised, independent opinion ofthe e c osite on its pe rforma nc e

* feed ba c k to resea rc hers, throug h mo nitoring andassessme nt o f p roto type/ dem onstration system s,includ ing m onitoring o f sta kehold er reac tions (visitors,trainees ) and inde pe nde nt expert op inion

* development of a nd feedb ac k concerning localsustainab le de velopm ent to ols and po licies

* capacity to directly involve stakeholders by on-siteinvolveme nt o f visitors or testing throug h me mb ers

* targeted dissemination through professional media


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ontents

5

Themes

covered

by ecosites

koparkHartbergAustria

RMIColorado

FolkecenterDenmark

HDRAEngland

EcositeduPaysdeThauFranc

e

TerreVivanteFrance

ArtefactGermany

PoDeltaEcositeItaly

ICPPCPoland

DeKleineAardeNetherlands

Ekocentrum

GteborgSweden

kozentrumSwitzerland

CATWales

energy savings and management

wind energy

thermal solar

solar elec tric ity (photo voltaic)

woo d burning

biogas (methane p rod uction)

other b iom ass

hydro

wave power

hydrogenplant oil for moto r vehic les

sewa ge treatm ent

wa ter supp ly a nd savings

solid wa ste/ c omp osting

solid waste/ recycling of plastics, paper, etc

reuse of ma terials flows

environmental technologies/ clean production

transport systems

glob al footp rint

eco-buildings (new buildings)

eco-rehabilitation of existing buildings

urba n c ommunity rede velopm ent

organic gardening

organic fa rming

sustainable and/or healthy food systems

nature p rotec tion/ biod iversity

nature/ landscape/ ecosytem interpretation

b row nfield site reha b ilitation

eco-tourism

co astal zone ma nage ment

stakeholde r proce sses and go vernanc e

Below is an o verview summa ry of the them atic R&D c ap ac ities offered by a numb er of ec osites. This do es not c laim to b e

c om prehensive or provide a n ac urate a ssessment b ut an indic ation of the se ec osites d ifferent thema tic a reas.

strong

R&D

co

mpetence

someR&Din

thisarea

limited

activitiesinthisarea


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1st Ecolink WorkshopEcosites and the implemention of environmental

resea rch a nd deve lopmentContent: Ba rc elona Auto nom ous UniversityHeld a t: De Kleine Aarde ec osite, The Netherlands13th-16th March 2003

The Workshop s ob jec tive was to exp lore thepotentialities and constraints of ecocentres as centresfor research, development and implementation of newtec hnologica l and b ehavioural ap proac hes for

sustainab le de velopm ent. The w orkshop proc eed edfrom general topics such as the state of

environmenta l R&D in the EU, and thepresenta tion of ec oc entres, to m ore

specific targets such as the interactionsbe twee n ec oc entres, resea rc hers and

funding organizations, and theimplementation of R&D as seen by

private companies, local andreg ional a utho rities and the EU.An imp ortant pa rt of theworkshop focused on specificc ase stud ies, bo th from thetec hnologica l andbehavioural fields.

Presenta tions, pa ne ls andgroup d isc ussionsem phasised simila rities anddifferenc es be twee nco nventional aca dem icresearch and researchpe rformed in ec oc entres.Environm enta l resea rc h w as

envisag ed as a c ontinuumwith one e xtreme be ing

represented by top scientificjournals and the o ther extreme b y

very p rac tic al informa tion leafletson a ny subjec t ma tter related to the

environm ent. There a re a numb er ofpossibilities for collaboration along this

c ontinuum if the virtues of resea rc hperformed at ecosites (problem-driven,

flexible, on site, reactive and keen to obtainquic k and useful results) find a wa y into the

ac ad emic sphe re. A final point worth com ment wa sthe interest in developing the links between ecocentresand soc ial sc ience resea rc h. For exam ple, ec oc entresma y help in bridg ing the g ap be twee n sc ientific andpo pula r c onc ep tions of environm enta l issues and thuscontribute to the solution of environmental conflicts.

2nd Ecolink WorkshopInteractions between ecocentres and nature

conservationCo nte nt: BOKU - Universitt fr Bod enkultur, Vienna ,AustriaHeld at : CAT Centre for Alternat ive Tec hnolog y, Wales28-29th April 2003

40 pa rtic ipants from 13 Europe an c ount ries, inc ludingEastern Europe an c ount ries, d isc ussed how ec osites c anc ontribute to integrating nature co nservation into loc alsustainab le deve lopme nt and wha t kind o f resea rc h isneed ed to a chieve this.

Unlike environmental technologies, nature conservationis unlikely to lead directly to commercially viablep roduc ts or sp in-offs. There are nonethe less imp orta nt

ec onom ic fa c tors at stake in p reserving naturalresource s (e.g. new o ppo rtunities for tourism) a nd theprotection of our natural heritage is increasinglyimportant in EU policies.

The wo rkshop c onc luded tha t promoting integ rativena ture conservation is an important ta sk for eco sites:a holistic a pp roa c h which integrate s and harmonisesnature conservation with other uses of the landscape ina multifunctional w ay. The t ask is ec ologica l, ec onom icbut also cultural: a well planned (and so sustainable)utilisation of biotic and abiotic resources, includinglandsc ap es, to me et huma n need s now a nd in future.

Imp ortan t t asks for ec osites a re:

- promote holistic resea rch ap proac hes that inc lude

huma n ac tivities, attitudes and emotions- promote a system ap proac h to ec osystem sustainab ility

(not for instance just the preservation of Red Data Bookspecies)

- provide med iation platforms be tween the a dvoc ates ofnature and those of human nee ds

- demonstrate integrated huma n use a nd p reservation ofnature a nd bioc ultural d iversity, comb ined o n one site

- demonstrate regional solutions for regional problems.

In c oo perat ion w ith Universities and resea rch institutes,ec osites can:

- develop practical approaches for sustainablede velop ment b ased o n ag reed ba sic p rinciples

- develop and evaluate p rac tic al method s and tools forsusta inab ility a ssessme nt and c onflict resolution

- deve lop p rac tica l exam ples of their use in pa rticipa torydec ision p rocesses involving many stakeho lders.

Contents

6

Workshop:CAT

Workshop:deK

leineAarde


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3rd Ecolink Workshop

Ecosites and sustainable local development

Co ntent: Lame ta Montp ellier I University, Franc eHeld at: Folkecenter for Renewable Energy, Denmark23-24th June 2003

60 ac tors of susta inable d eve lopm ent a dd ressed threedifferent a pp roa che s to e c osites and loc alde velopment (Ec onomic Imp ac ts, Other imp ac ts andQue stions for resea rch) a nd a final pa nel d isc ussion oninnovation a nd e c osites. The w orkshop c onc luded that :

- eco sites ac tually c ontribute to the loc al d evelopme nt

where the y are estab lished , with ec onom ic, soc ial,c ultural, environm enta l and po litica l impa c ts.

- the economic stability of ecosites supposes a largediversity of resources. External financial support isgenerally necessary, with a balance between publicand private, loc al and international.

- the a c tivity of e c osites should b e b ased on seve raldurab le functions (outreac h, de mo nstrat ion, training,innovation). Ecosites based around thedeve lop ment of only one tec hnology risk dying out a tthe e nd of this de velopm ent. The key-function of a llecosites is doubtless permanent inno-vation, which isnec essary for and c ontribute s to the o ther functions.

- eco sites are strat eg ic p lac es for the ac hieveme nt of

pub lic po lic ies for sustainab le loc al de velop me nt, asmeeting po ints between bottom-up a nd top-downapproaches of this development, and first placeswhere all nec essary d irec t c onta c ts are po ssiblebetw ee n its ac tors suc h a s p rojec t lea ders, investors,politic ians, bankers, administra tions, insurers

- the links be twe en existing e c osites, de velop ed throughthe Ec olink p rojec t, should be multiplied and valorisedthroug h a d yna mic netwo rking p roc ess. The EU migh tsupport this c onsidering the netwo rk of Ec osites as aninstrument fo r Europe an p olicies for loc a l susta inab ledeve lop ment, ba sed on research a nd innovation.

- resea rc hers should app ly me tho ds for the assessme ntof projects and of public policies to the evaluation of

indirect and induced effects of ecosites onemp loyment a nd e nvironment, and for ca lc ulation ofindica to rs of effic ienc y a nd susta in-ab ility. Work is a lsoneeded concerning the modelling and thecharacterisation of ecosites, as well as theirnetworking.

4th and final Ecolink Workshop

Ecosites and the implementation of European Union

Environment and Sustainable Development policiesContent: EC Joint Research Centre, Institute forEnvironment a nd Susta inab ility, IspraHeld a t: Ec osite du Pays de Tha u, Mze, (Mo ntp ellier,Franc e) 18th & 19th Sep temb er 2003

Over 100 pa rticipa nts from ac ross the wo rld c ove redec osite involveme nt in top ics including: renew ab leenergies, the eco-renovation of industrial buildings,exposure to air pollution, water quality monitoring inc oa sta l lago ons, loc al soc io-ec ono mic p olic ies,valorisation of natural and cultural heritage, barriers tothe implementation of new tec hnologies and pub licaw areness raising a nd ed uc ation.

- The wo rkshop showed that a network of c ontac ts hasbe en esta blished be twe en on o ne side ec osites andon the other side universities and resea rc h institutions.

- Although a numbe r of eco sites have p artic ipa ted onan ad-hoc basis in LIFE Environment or local structuralfund projects, the insertion of the Ecosites/Ecocentresinto p rogram me s of EC DG Environm ent or EU regiona lfunding p rogramm es ap pe ared a s a w ea k point.

- The futu re suc c ess of the new ly c reated Europea nFed eration of Ec osites will dep end upo n its c ap ac ity toprovide an ad ditional a nd spe cific co ntribution withreg ard to existing w ell-esta b lished netwo rks suc h a s forexam ple Loc al Age nda 21 c ountry networks, theCopernicus Cam pus University Netwo rk for

Susta inab ility and the Glob a l Ec ov illag e Netw ork.This see ms fea sible in tha t ec osites of fer spec ificsynergy of func tions.

- Energy is the sta rting point o f ma ny initiatives of loc a lsustainab le deve lopm ent a nd e c osites play a uniquerole in the field o f renew ab le energies and energysavings in activities such as education, awarenessraising, applied research, innovation, field testing ofnew system s, diffusion of new tec hnologies to loc alcommunities. Ecosites are also active in wider areas ofed uc a tion, suc h a s The Sma ll Ea rth (De Kleine Aa rde)in the Netherlands with local application of the GlobalFoo tprint (ec olog ica l foo tprint).

- Ec osites/ Ec oc entres often have a c tive links with SMEs.How eve r, the ap proa c h of Roc ky Mo unta in InstituteUSA (a nd its sp in-off Natural Ca p ita lism G roup ) shouldbe explored for experienc e transfer pote ntial.

- Ec osites are a c tive in experienc e transfer to d eve lopingc ountries, but the re is nee d fo r further wo rk to d eve lopec osites in Europe an Union Enlargem ent c ount ries andthe Mediterranean Area.

ontents

7

Workshop : Folkecenter

Workshop : Ecosite du Pays de Tha u


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Contents

8

The inventory of ec osites and environme nta l centres inEurope took as a starting point the working definition ofan ec osite given p ag e 3. Two inventory tools have been

created and m ade available atwww.ecosites.net :- sp rea dshee t ve rsion ea sily transmitted by e-ma il and

printab le, c urrently listing nea rly 200 ce ntres andprojects

- data ba se version that c an b e searched ac c ording toa wide range of keywords. It contains richer informationtha n the sp rea dshee t version, arrange d in sec tions toc luster fea tures tha t d ifferent users might wish to find.

Both these versions are provisional, based on theinforma tion ob tainab le to da te. It is assumed all

fields in the database will eventually bec om pleted and verified , and it will be

co ntinually upd ated a nd extended,throug h the Europ ea n Fed eration of

Ec osites. The data base will alsoinclude illustrations, and it is

intended that it be available in theform of a CD-ROM along with theEc olink ca se studies, a photoba nk, and other relevantmaterial.In the sprea dshee t, a na lysishas be en ma de in order to tryto ide ntify pa tterns and helpprospec tive users find wha tthey need. Entries aretherefo re c lassified intosevera l cla sses:

Core ecosites tha t fullysatisfy all the criteria, andab out which reliab leinforma tion has be enobtained.

Potential ecosites for which wehave insufficient information, or

which stretch the definitionslightly. Further research and

discussion is needed to better definethese sites.

Question sites that app ear not tosatisfy all the criteria, but exhibit

interesting features that might provokerede finition in the future.

Projected European ecosites, at the planningstage that self-identify with the ec osite co nc ep t, but

as yet have no op erational centre, or have notesta blished physica l ac tivity on the site. Active e cosites outside Europe inc lude d fo r the sake o fc om parison. Their we b sites give a go od indica tion oftheir rang e o f them es and ac tivities.

Other types of centre or mem bers of siste r netw orks a resites tha t c learly do not sat isfy all the c riteria, but whic hneve rtheless sha re importan t fe atures with e c osites, andfrom which useful information c an b e d erived . Sister networks form a concep t introduced to indicate theconc ep tual and organisat ional territory in which ec osites aresituated. Ecosites themselves have established a network withthe European Federation, and there are ma ny other suchnetworks with similar aims, to which the inventory points.

Within som e of these c lasses, useful, if p rovisiona l,comparative data has been obtainable concerning

incom e streams, sta ffing levels and turnover. There is alsoan a ttempt to indicate the p rincipal c lient base for theec osites. This reveals two importa nt c lasses. Som e sites areprincipa lly oriented to a professional c liente le the b usiness,research a nd government communities. Others areoriented more to a lay or c ivil c lientele the generalpub lic , the media and the educ ational community.

This can have a strong b ea ring o n their internal culture, andhas given rise to an informal terminology of ecosites (sensustric to) ba sed on resea rch and business ac tivities, in co ntrastto ecocentres based on education and tourism. It isprobably fair to say that this distinction is the one mostnoticed by b oth a c tors and external observers of the worldof ecosites. Occasionally it seems sharp enough to suggest

we m ight have been mistaken in trying to emb rac e b othwithin the same conceptual and organisational framework,but it does seem , over time, that there is a tendenc y for sitesto incorpo rate further ac tivities that m ake them effect ive inbo th mod es. Synergy, the mutua l reinforcement o f d ifferentactivities and modes, thus appears as a key quality sharedby a ll ec osites.

Ce ntre Pro Natu ra Cha mp Pittet, Switzerland

Earth C ent re, Eng land

Heeley C ity Farm , Eng land
http://www.ecosites.net/http://www.ecosites.net/http://www.ecosites.net/http://www.ecosites.net/


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ontents

The c ase stud ies of e c osites and ec osite p rojec ts show

the variety of d ifferent typ es of ec osites, with differentorigins, and operated by different types of organisations(local authority public bodies, NGOs, non profitc om pa nies). How eve r, looking at tho se c entres whic hhave op erated for a numb er of years, it is ap pa rent tha tthere is a strong t end enc y for ce ntres to estab lish, ove rtime, a range of different ecosite functions, in order tobene fit from the p ossible synergies betw een these.

Thus ce ntres initially esta b lished as NGO ac tivistec o-co mmunities have de velope d R&D and trainingac tivities, and c entres initially estab lished by loc alauthorities to p rovide environm enta l servic es havedeve lope d visitor ce ntres. These d ifferent func tions feed one ano ther, proving o pe rationa l synergies, and

also providing a spread of different income streams.

SynergyEnsuring a ba lance of several independent incom e streams(visitors, subsidies, trad ing, R&D, consulting o r tec hnologyservices, training, conferenc es) appea rs as essent ial for thecentres survival. Public visitors, in particular, clearly appearas a generally inadequate and unreliable income source.The p ublic is not w illing to pay entranc e fee s forenvironment c entres ad equa te to cover the highmaintenance and staff costs they generate (the publicmaybe feels that like museums or nature, access should besubsidised or free). Schoo ls are an imp ortant educationa l

target, but often have little or no funds to p ay entranc efees. Visitor numbers also fluctuate with tourism trends, or theweather. Income sources such as shop s and restaurants aredep end ent on visitor numbers. For this reason, a numb er ofcentres initially established as visitors centres, havedeveloped R&D and training activities, with the visitorsproviding an important potential for feedback or testing forR&D, but not the c entres core income.

This c onve rge nc e show s the p ertinenc e a nd inte rest ofthe ec osite conc ep t, as de velope d in the 10 ec ositefunctions (see pa ge 3) and by the Europ ea n Fed eration

of Ec osites.

All of the more longstanding ecosites studied (establishedin the 70s and 80s) prove to be , in fac t, the work of onema n , a visionary c rea tor, capa ble of not only having a nidea , but also of m otivating the men a nd w omennec essary to ena ble it to hap pe n. A numbe r of theselongstand ing ce ntres have survived and d evelop edbe c ause o f their flat wa ge struc ture , with all staff b eingpa id similar or even identica l wag es, at a levelexceptionally low for research and management work.Except ions are RMI in the USA, and cent res which we redirec t loc al authority initiatives or which received ong oingstructural public core funding.

Local demand

This situat ion has, how eve r, cha nged c onsiderab ly ove rthe last five years, with strong d em and from loca lauthorities for ec osite establishment a s a foc us for loca lsusta inab le de velop ment. This has led to a numb er ofecosites and ecocentres being established over recentyears (some of which have survived and are developinghea lthily, others of whic h c losed afte r only a c oup le ofyears or are currently going through restructuringproc esses). The c ase stud ies of suc c essful ec osites showthe va lidity of the ec osite c onc ep t and functions,indica ting the nee d to extend this c onc ep t towa rds aprac tica l metho do logy fo r assisting p rojec ts in the field,and to a structured e c osites lab el.

The stud ies of a numb er of p rojec ts show tha t keyc halleng es in imp leme nting ec osite projects, onc eap propriate loca l co mpe tence, motivation andresource s have b ee n mo bilised , is to integrateenvironmental R&D into the project, in particular appliedenvironmental innovation which can lead to incomesources and sp in-off a c tivities and job s. This is particula rlytrue for ec osite p rojec ts ba sed around nature p rotec tion/ biodiversity themes, because these are areas whereR&D ma y not rea dily lead to ec onom ically self-fundingac tivities. Pub lic visitors and sc hoo l educ at ion, excep t inspecific circumstances, are unlikely to enable an ecositeto b e ec onom ically viab le. Ec o-tourism a nd c onferencehosting are areas of increasingly fierce competitionbetween actors across Europe.

The European Fed eration of Ecosites netw ork should provide

a key tool in structuring links be tween e cosites and R&D,and thus fac ilitating the implementa tion of innova tion anddemonstration activities in ecosite projects.

The c ase stud ies of e xisting e c osites c a rried out w ithinthe Ec olink projec t a re summ arised in the followingpa ge s. More d eta il, and also a numb er of studies ofec osite projects, are ava ilable a twww.ecosites.net

9

ICPPC Ecoc ent re, Poland

Ekoce ntrum Gteb org, Swed en

CAT,Wales
http://www.ecosites.net/http://www.ecosites.net/http://www.ecosites.net/


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Contents

10

Tourism

Education/tra

ining

Publicfunds

Research

Trading/services

Membership/

journal

Rents

Charities/do

nations

Corporatespon

sorship

Volunteerwork

/co-op

Centre for Alternat ive Tec hnolog y www.cat.org.uk Wales 1974

De Kleine Aa rde www.dekleineaarde.nl Ne the rla nd s 1973

Ecosite du Pays de Thau www.ecosite.fr France 1981

Folkecenter www.folkecenter.dk Denmark 1983

Artefact - International Centrefor Sustainable Development www.artefact.de Germany 1995/2001*

De Twaa lf Ambac hten - centrefor ecological technology www.de12ambachten.nl Ne the rla nd s 1978

Centrum Duurzaa mbo uwencentre for sustainable building www.cedubo.be Belg ium 1999

CERESCommunity Environment Park www.ceres.org.au Austra lia 1980

Cultivate Centre forSustaina ble Living www.sustainable.ie Ireland 1999

Den kolog iske Haveorganic gardens www.ecogarden.dk Denmark 1994

Earth Balanc e www.earthbalance.org En gla nd , UK 2001

Earth Centre www.earthcentre.org.uk England 1990/1998**

Ecotech www.ecotech.org.uk Eng la nd UK 1999

EHA Eco -House http://ecohuis.antwerpen.be Belg ium 2003

Ekocentrum Gothenburg www.ekocentrum.nu Sweden 1993

Ekop ark Stromsta d www.stromstad.se/mn/ekoparken Sweden 2002

Elm Farm Research Centre www.efrc.com Eng la nd UK 1984

Energie und Umw eltzentrum www.e-u-z.de Germany 1981

Gaia Energy Centre www.gaiaenergy.co.uk Eng la nd UK 2001

Gent s Eco logisch Cent rum www.gec.be Belg ium 2002

HDRA Ryton Gardens www.hdra.org.uk England 1954/1985**

Hebden Bridge AlternativeTec h. C entre

www.alternativetechnology.org.uk En gla nd , UK 1998

ICPPC EcoCentre www.sfo.pl Poland 1999/2002*

ITER Instituto Tec hno log ico y d eEnergias Reno vab les www.iter.es Ca narias, Spa in 1998KampC - centre for sustainablebuilding and living www.provant.be/kampC Belg ium 2003

Kerry A lternative Tec hnolog y www.kerryat.com Ireland 2003

La C asita Verde Ecolog y Centre www.ibiza-ecologic.com Ib iza , Sp ain 1996

Naturgut Ophoven www.naturgut-ophoven.de Germany 1986

hns Grd www.ohnsgard.se Sweden

kozentrum Langenbruck www.oekozentrum.ch Sw itze rla nd 1979

kopark Hartberg www.oekopark.at Austria 1998

Po Delta Ecosite [email protected] Italy underway

Roc ky Mo unta in Institute www.rmi.org Colorado 1982

The Sola r Living C ent er www.solarliving.org USA 1995

Sonairte National Ecology Centre www.sonairte.com Eire 1989

Sunsee d Trust/ Sunsee dDesert Tec hnolog ies www.sunseed.org.uk Spa in/ UK 1986

Terre Vivan te www.terrevivante.org France 1979/1993**

Other ecosites and similar environment centres

Ecosite partners of the ECOLINK project

Showing indicative breakdown of income sources.

This presentat ion is only indic a tive, on the ba sis of the information

ava ilab le. It should b e no ted that the inco me sec tors are shown as apropo rtion of ea c h c entre's inc om e, to illustrate whethe r ce ntres arespe c ialised or have a wider rang e o f ac tivities, and are not intend edfor c omp arison b etwe en c entres.

* = date s of op ening of centre/ cha nge in legal entily operating c entre.

** = da tes of estab lishment o f NGO/ ope ning o f ce ntre.
http://www.cat.org.uk/http://www.dekleineaarde.nl/http://www.ecosite.fr/http://www.folkecenter.dk/http://www.artefact.de/http://www.de12ambachten.nl/http://www.cedubo.be/http://www.ceres.org.au/http://www.sustainable.ie/http://www.ecogarden.dk/http://www.earthbalance.org/http://www.earthcentre.org.uk/http://www.ecotech.org.uk/http://ecohuis.antwerpen.be/http://www.ekocentrum.nu/http://www.stromstad.se/mn/ekoparkenhttp://www.efrc.com/http://www.e-u-z.de/http://www.gaiaenergy.co.uk/http://www.gec.be/http://www.hdra.org.uk/http://www.alternativetechnology.org.uk/http://www.sfo.pl/http://www.iter.es/http://www.provant.be/kampChttp://www.provant.be/kampChttp://www.kerryat.com/http://www.ibiza-ecologic.com/http://www.naturgut-ophoven.de/http://www.ohnsgard.se/http://www.oekozentrum.ch/http://www.oekopark.at/mailto:[email protected]://www.rmi.org/http://www.solarliving.org/http://www.sonairte.com/http://www.sunseed.org.uk/http://www.terrevivante.org/http://www.provant.be/kampChttp://www.terrevivante.org/http://www.sunseed.org.uk/http://www.sonairte.com/http://www.solarliving.org/http://www.rmi.org/mailto:[email protected]://www.oekopark.at/http://www.oekozentrum.ch/http://www.ohnsgard.se/http://www.naturgut-ophoven.de/http://www.ibiza-ecologic.com/http://www.kerryat.com/http://www.iter.es/http://www.sfo.pl/http://www.alternativetechnology.org.uk/http://www.hdra.org.uk/http://www.gec.be/http://www.gaiaenergy.co.uk/http://www.e-u-z.de/http://www.efrc.com/http://www.stromstad.se/mn/ekoparkenhttp://www.ekocentrum.nu/http://ecohuis.antwerpen.be/http://www.ecotech.org.uk/http://www.earthcentre.org.uk/http://www.earthbalance.org/http://www.ecogarden.dk/http://www.sustainable.ie/http://www.ceres.org.au/http://www.cedubo.be/http://www.de12ambachten.nl/http://www.artefact.de/http://www.folkecenter.dk/http://www.ecosite.fr/http://www.dekleineaarde.nl/http://www.cat.org.uk/


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ontents

11

Tourism

Education/tra

ining

Publicfunds

Research

Trading/services

Membership/

journal

Rents

Charities/do

nations

Corporatespon

sorship

Volunteerwork

/co-op

Allerton Trust Dem onstratio n Farm www.allertontrust.org.uk Eng la nd , UK 1993

Arktikum www.arktikum.fi Finland

Centre for Maximum PotentialBuilding System s

www .cmpb s.org USA 1978

Centre of Alpine Eco logy www.cealp.it Italy

Centre Pro-Natura Champ-Pittet,Lake Neuch tel

www.pronatura.ch/champ-pittet/ Sw itze rla nd 1979

Fab ric a d el Sol pe pp [email protected] Spa in 2003

Findhorn Foundation www.findhorn.org Sc o tla nd UK 1963

Kalundb org Ec o-Industrial Park www.symbiosis.dk Denmark

LIPOR waste treatm ent a ndeduca tion centre

www.lipor.pt Portuga l 2002

Lond on Rema de Eco -Indu strial Sites www.londonremade.com Eng la nd UK 2000

National Botanic Garden of Wales www.gardenofwales.org.uk Wales UK 1999

Natural History Museum of Ferrera www.comune.fe.it/storianaturale/ Italy

The Ede n Projec t www.edenproject.com Eng la nd UK 2001

Heeley C ity Farm www.heeleyfarm.org.uk Eng land 1981

Turin Environme nt Park www.envipark.com Ita ly 2002

Ufa-Fab rik internation alculture centre

www.ufafabrik.de Germa ny 1999

Algarve Ec osite p ro jec ts Portuga l

Bang Khun Thien Tha iland

Borgo d i Meana [email protected] Italy

Bruxe lles IBGE www.ibge.be Belgium

Curuma , Medoc Franc e

CWMre Ekopark www.walesenvtrust.org.uk Wale s, UK

Ec op lis Pub lic Ec ologic a l Fund Russia

Ec osite d e Castres-Mazamet Franc e

Ec osite Labruguiere Franc e

Energy Centre Ga lati zam fir@sisne t.ro Romania

Gha jn Tuffieha Ec osite p rojec t Terenc e.Ca lnan@psc-tea m.co m Malta

Gozo Ma lta Ec osite p ro jec t Ma lta

IFEED www.ifeed.de Germany

Maison Foncin (Cavalaire-Var)mairie.cavalaire.environnement@wana doo .fr

France

Mas Dieu Franc e

Meilland France

NERI Cork http://eri.ucc.ie/pages/ecosite.htm Ireland

Port Autonome de Ma rseille Franc e

Progetto Montagna Energia, ene rcon sult@ene rco nsult.co m Italy

Project Carrot www.projectcarrot.org Eng land , UK

Sierra Ne va da juanque mad [email protected] m Spa in

Val de Drome lcarlini@val-de-drome .com France

Current ecosite projects

princ ipa l source o f inc om e

significant source

minor source

Aroma projec t, kopark Hartberg, Austria

Examples of other types of centre with some ecosite functions
http://www.allertontrust.org.uk/http://www.arktikum.fi/http://www.cmpbs.org/http://www.cealp.it/http://www.pronatura.ch/champ-pittet/mailto:[email protected]://www.findhorn.org/http://www.symbiosis.dk/http://www.lipor.pt/http://www.londonremade.com/http://www.gardenofwales.org.uk/http://www.comune.fe.it/storianaturale/http://www.edenproject.com/http://www.heeleyfarm.org.uk/http://www.envipark.com/http://www.ufafabrik.de/mailto:[email protected]://www.ibge.be/http://www.walesenvtrust.org.uk/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.ifeed.de/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://eri.ucc.ie/pages/ecosite.htmhttp://eri.ucc.ie/pages/ecosite.htmmailto:[email protected]://www.projectcarrot.org/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.projectcarrot.org/mailto:[email protected]://eri.ucc.ie/pages/ecosite.htmhttp://eri.ucc.ie/pages/ecosite.htmmailto:[email protected]://www.ifeed.de/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.walesenvtrust.org.uk/http://www.ibge.be/mailto:[email protected]://www.ufafabrik.de/http://www.envipark.com/http://www.heeleyfarm.org.uk/http://www.edenproject.com/http://www.comune.fe.it/storianaturale/http://www.gardenofwales.org.uk/http://www.londonremade.com/http://www.lipor.pt/http://www.symbiosis.dk/http://www.findhorn.org/mailto:[email protected]://www.pronatura.ch/champ-pittet/http://www.cealp.it/http://www.cmpbs.org/http://www.arktikum.fi/http://www.allertontrust.org.uk/


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koPark, Hartberg, Austria. Eco-business andresearch park, including local authority waste

manag ement and rec ycling a ctivities, public exhibition ha ll

Maxoom Cinema. Loc a l c ity initiative 1998, app rox. 50job s onsite to d ate . Onsite loc ation of a branc h of theInstitute for Susta inab le Tec hniques and Systems ofJOANNEUM RESEARCHwww.joanneum.at/nts providingap plied R&D servic e to c om pa nies on site andregiona lly. The R&D foc us is c hem ica l and tec hnica l useof p lants. Resea rc h a reas a re strongly linked with loc a ldevelopment issues, in particular upland agriculture,

forestry (biomass) a nd the loc al w ellness (spa )c entres, inc luding p rod uc tion of aroma tic p lants,

extraction and commercialisation ofinnova tive health prod uc ts ba sed on

essentia l oils from these; woo d biom assfor energy; g rass fibre uses and

applications; waste minimisation;renewable resins.

Facts and figuresContact: Josef Hirt, OekoplanUmweltdienst-leistungenGmbH, Garteng asse 6, A-8230Hartberg,[email protected]

Location of site:On the ed ge of the sma ll c ityof Hartberg, 110 km bymotorway South of Vienna

and 70 km moto rwa y fromGraz, South-East Styria, Austria(2 hours train from either city).

Date of establishment: 1998.

Number of visitors per year:50,000 in 2003.

Number of full time job equivalentson site: 50, in bo th pub lic and private

organisations.

Environmental themes addressed: renewable

energies, ed uc ation-information, loc al autho ritywa ste ma nag em ent, valorisation of loc alagricultural/forestry products.

Conference/ on-site course facilities: for up to 100pe op le op ening Feb . 2004.

AROMA - innovative utilisationof local plants for new localproducts/markets for agriculture

The area of South East Styria has a moderate c lima te(sunny summers and mild winters), suitable for growing

herbs and aromatic p lants. Agriculture in this region islargely ba sed on sma ll farms, with a sign ifica nt p rop ortionof organic o r bio-dynam ic farms, com pa tible with lab our-intensive c rops suc h a s herbs. The region ha s also anumber o f thermal spring resorts (spas). Wellness tourismhas be come a p rospe ring a nd g rowing sec tor, with overa million guests annually.

AROMA is a loc ally integrated R&D project co-deve lop edby the kopark and by Joanneum Researchwww.joanneum.at/nts It estab lishes a va lue c ha in from

herb cultivation on regional farms, through extraction ofessentia l oils, to their targeted commerc ialisat ion, inresponse to the local d emand for essentia l oils in wellnesstourism, and for the food industry. A p riority is p lac ed onde veloping ap propriate harvesting, ha ndling, transpo rt,storag e a nd proc essing (drying, shredd ing etc .) routines,since the quality of the oils extracted is highly dependenton pre-extrac tion t rea tme nt. This involves c lose work withfarmers.

The projec t is deve loping d istillation know -how, w ith theimprovement a nd a da pta tion of stea m d istillationprocesses for specific individual herbs. This is closely linkedwith q uality ana lysis of the e xtrac ted oils, in order toop timise the quality of the essentia l oils prod uc ed . Amo bile pilot d istillation p lant is now op erationa l, de signedto b e transpo rtab le to the field, in order to extrac t

essential o ils from freshly harvested plants, thus avo idingtransport and storage of plants.

Spray-on cellulose insulationmaterial for the House of theFuture

Processes exist for using cellulose materials (from paperrec ycling or ag ricultural b y-produc ts), shred de d andmixed with w ater, as sp ray-on insulation ma teria ls forbuilding s. How eve r, current p roc esses high w a terc ontent require several weeks drying a nd do not o ffersuffic ient mec hanica l prop erties to b e left unexposed .

With Graz Tec hnica l University and the c om pa ny CPH(onsite p rod uc tion o f c ellulose insulation m aterials),Joanneum Research is developing a process toma nufac ture c ellulose insulation m aterials fromrec ycled pa per to enab le spray-on a pp lic ation withoutwa ter ad dition, c om bined with a spray-on ha rd finishingsurface , to give a m ate rial which c an b e used for non-enc losed surfac es and eve n house exteriors, inrep lac em ent o f ha rd foa m insulation p ane ls. The p rojec tinvolves de veloping effec tive a nd e c ologica l binde rs tomix with the cellulose materials, and includesdevelopment of a specific application process for thec overing surfac e. Develop ing a user-friendly ap plic ationsystem and red uc ing drying times are impo rtant for

upta ke by builde rs and architec ts.The o b jec tive of this p rojec t is to e nsure a loc al ma rketfor rec ycled pa pe r ma terials and to fa c ilitate, throug hthe ecosite demonstration activities and links with localc omp anies, testing of the new proc ess and upta ke byusers.

Contents12

www.oekopark.at
http://www.joanneum.at/ntshttp://www.joanneum.at/ntshttp://www.joanneum.at/ntsmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.joanneum.at/ntshttp://www.joanneum.at/ntshttp://www.oekopark.at/http://www.joanneum.at/ntsmailto:[email protected]://www.joanneum.at/ntshttp://www.oekopark.at/


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Rocky Mountain Institute, Co lorad o, USA,is an entrepreneurial non-profit NGO d ed ic ate d to

the resea rc h, dem onstration, and promo tion o f

prac tic al ene rgy a nd resource effic iency. The c entreinc ludes an e nergy effic ient home a nd o ffic e b uilding,a research a nd co nsultanc y c entre, a co mmunica tionsde pa rtment, and the 957-ac re Windstar LandConservanc y, protec ted for wildlife, and ag riculture.The Institute c arries out resea rc h a nd c rafts po lic yprescriptions in energy, water, climate protection,buildings and land development, business innovations,c om munity ec onom ic d evelop ment. Dissemination ofresea rc h and polic y find ings is via c onsultanc y withpublic bodies and private companies, including manywo rld g ove rnments, various internationa l bod ies (suc has the UN), large and small corporations, and localauthorities and go vernme nts. The Institute s ap proa c h is

ba sed on integrating environme ntal ap proac hes intoente rprise ob jec tives and op erations. The Institutelaunche d Natural Cap italism www.natcap.org in 2000to a c c elerate the d issem ination o f its ph ilosop hies.

Facts and figuresContact: Pub lic Informa tion, RMI - 1739 Snowm ass CreekRoad, Snowmass, CO 81654-9199, [email protected] Tel: +1 (970) 927-3851.

Location of site:In the Roc ky Mount ains of C olorad o, a t just over 2,000m a ltitud e, approx 20 km from Aspen, 250 km West o fDenver.


Number of visitors per year: Physic a l visitors: severa lhundred; virtual (Internet) visitors 800,000 - 950,000.

Number of full time job equivalents on site: 4550emp loyee s in Colorad o, Washingto n DC, a nd Haw aii.

Environmental themes addressed: green b uilding, energyma nag ement (inc luding ene rgy p olicy, energy savings,power utility planning), hydrogen economy, localdevelopment and local economic renewal, waterefficiency a nd m ana gem ent, nature c onservation andcountryside management, sustainable businessma nag ement, greening public a uthority manag ement,environmental economics, waste minimisation, distancelearning, who le system s thinking, and eng ineering design.

Conference/ on-site course facilities: limited conferencespace, onsite teleconference capability.

R&D spin-off E-SOURCEIn 1992, COMPETITEK was RMIs first formal sp in o ff, a ndone o f the USA s first fo r-profit sp in-offs from a non-profitorganisa tion. Since 1985, RMI had bee n b riefing BusinessWeek a nd financ ial analysts c onc erning the ec onom icfuture of power utilities, many of which were in gravefinanc ial straits be c ause the y c ould no long er afford to

pay for and run big centralised power stations that RMIhad be en a dvising a ga inst b uilding.

E-SOURCE wa s developed as an information service tohelp b oth p owe r utilities and pub lic autho rities find wa ysout o f their diffic ulties by promo ting effic iency a ndsensible economics, rather than expensive generationand transmission inve stment s.

The spin-o ff firm was suc c essful, and its sa le by RMI tothe Financial Times in 1999 provided the Institute withfund s for its develop me nt. The spin-off a lso free d RMI

staff from the time taken to guide the subsidiary,ena bling the launch of new intellec tual projects, inpa rticular the Hype rc arsm project.

R&D spin-off Hypercarsm Inc.The idea of the Hyperca rsm conc ept c ame from AmoryLovins p artic ipation at a National Aca de my ofSc iences c onfe renc e o n efficient vehic les in 1991.Bec ause c urrent c ars only use a bout 1% of their fuel toactually move the driver, the rest being wasted, RMIde c ide d in 1991 to disc ard all current c ar d esign, andima gine wha t an e ffic ient vehic le wo uld b e if designedfrom sc ratc h. This led to the Hyperc a rsm concept, an

ultra-aerodynamic a nd low d rag autob od y, pow eredby a highly-integ rate d and highly-intelligent elec trichybrid eng ine. In 1993, the Hyperc ar wo n the NissanPrize.

In order to ensure that this concept was notc op yrighte d by b ig c om pa nies wishing to simplyprevent its de velopm ent in orde r to p rotec t vestedinterests, RMI de c ide d tha t the c onc ep t wo uld b e p utinto the public domain, and this was done in 1993. Afea sibility stud y w ith Lotus Eng ineering UK led in 1999 tothe spin-off of the d evelop me nt tea m into Hyperca r Inc,which raised som e US$ 5 million o f p rivate eq uity ca p italwith RMI bec om ing a minority sha reholde r.The c omp any de velope d a n uncomp romised,

manufac turab le vehicle prototype, and has ga inedrespe c t a nd atte ntion in the auto mo bile industry, withplans to lic ense prop rieta ry designs(seewww.hypercar.com ). The Hyperc a r design won thename sake firm the 2003 World Tec hnolog y Awa rd forthe Environm ent.

The Hyperca r c onc ep t has led to wide spread ad op tionof the e lectric hybrid c onc ep t in the ca r industry, andthe Hypercar work at RMI is now being followed byresea rc h on hydrogen as an a utomo tive fuel, inc ludingan investigation o f the te c hnologica l, supp lyc hain/log istics and ec onom ic a spe c ts.

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www.rmi.org
http://www.natcap.org/http://www.natcap.org/mailto:[email protected]://www.hypercar.com/http://www.hypercar.com/http://www.hypercar.com/http://www.hypercar.com/http://www.rmi.org/http://www.hypercar.com/mailto:[email protected]://www.natcap.org/http://www.rmi.org/


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Folkecenter for Renewable Energy: non-profit NGOproviding research, development of technology,training and information for the feasibility, manufacture

and implementa tion of signific ant renew ab le resourcetec hnologies, in Denma rk and throug hout the w orld.3,800m2 of b uildings on 8 ha of land . Renew ab leenergies including solar photo voltaic a nd thermal,wave, wind, methane production from agriculturalwa stes, fuel crops, co nversion of eng ines to renewa b leenergies, and wind-hydrog en. Ac tive in internationa lrenew ab le energy netw orks. Coo rdinato r of the

Europ ea n Sola r Prize. Inte rnat iona l exp erienc e transfer(eg . esta b lishme nt o f Ma li Folkec ente r). Varied

applied R&D and test facilities for renewableenergies technologies, technology transfer

to SMEs and sta keholder take -up a ndinteg ra tion. Folkec ente r has c lose

wo rking a nd resea rc h relat ionshipswith dynam ic sma ll and med ium

size industries, institu tes andorganisations both in Denmarkand abroa d . This provides aprima ry ave nue for direc timp lementa tion of renewa bleresource technologies.

Facts and figuresContact name: Jane Kruse,Folkecenter for RenewableEnergy, Kamm ersga ardsvej

16, DK-7760 Hurup Thy,[email protected]

Location of site:In West Jutland , in the

commune o f Sydthy,ove rloo king the Limfjord, nea r

Hurup Thy.Approx 45 km North of Holstebro

and 35 km South o f Thisted.Billund airport 2 hours by car,

Cop enha ge n 5 hours by train.


Number of visitors per year: 8,000.

Number of full time job equivalents on site: 8

Environmental themes addressed: renewable energies(wind, solar, biom ass, me tha ne, hyd roge n, plant o ils,wave energy, integrated systems), in particulartec hnology d evelopment, testing and imp lementa tion,transfer to SMEs, c onsulting to c om pa nies andauthorities, demonstration, promotion and

dissemination, transfer of appropriate technologies tode veloping c ountries.

Conference/ on-site course facilities: fully eq uipp edc onference room s for 150 and for 40 peo ple ininnova tive grass-roof ec o-building, eq uipp ed withkitc hen to fac ilitate c ate ring o nsite. 9 bed roo maccommodation onsite, plus rooms in straw-bale houseand in nea rby inns and an o ld farm hote l by the fjord.

Best practice examples on siteFolkecenter has initiated locally the Village for GreenResea rc h , group ing d em onstration insta llat ions withprac tica l exam ples of integration of several energysolutions, solar housing, water recycling systems etc. asan e xperimenta l and functional examp le of a futureec olog ica l soc iety. This involves ac tive c onsultanc y tolocal authorities and local consumer groups, working onrenewa ble energy, together with d evelopment,implementa tion, po litic al fram ewo rk and

dem onstration. This lead s to a c tive participa tion in theloca l Agend a 21 proc ess.

The farm b ioga s (methane) tec hnology d eveloped byFolkecenter is now commercialised by a Danishmanufacturer, has been transferred to Lithuania, and isma nufac tured in Japa n on lic ense b y Kaw asaki Hea vyIndustries.

Wind te c hnology d evelop ments and de rivatives arenow commercialised by several Danish wind turbinema nufac turers. Wind ene rgy is now used extensively inWest Jutland , la rge ly with loca lly ow ned turbines (130%of loca l elect ricity need s are produc ed by windenergy). Wind energy pilot projec ts have be en

c ond uc ted in Poland, Russia, Brazil, Cub a , etc .Decentralised cogeneration technologies have beende velope d d eveloped since 1988 and are now de ployedboth nationally with the Association of DecentralisedCog eneration, and loc ally (30% of elec tric ity prod uct ionin Jutland / Funen no w comes from de centralisedc omb ined heat a nd po wer - co generation).

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Ryton Organic Gardens is a 9 ha national demonstration fororganic ga rdening method s. It is also the headq uarters ofEurope s largest organic memb ership organisat ion HDRA(The Henry Doubleda y Resea rch Assoc iation) which w asfound ed in 1958. Also a t the site is a c ommercial organicvegetable p roduct ion unit which supp lies fresh veg etables tothe visitor centre and a lso ac ts as a resea rch ground . In 2003a ma jor3 million development, The Vegeta ble Kingdom,opened to the public, largely funded by the EuropeanRegional Development Fund and the Heritage Lottery Fund.It ha s a dua l purpose, p roviding new fac ilities for HDRA sHeritage Seed Library of over 800 historic vege table varieties,and telling the public all about vegetables their history,impo rtanc e in health and nut rition, soc ial history, etc . Thevisitor centre and exhibition make use of green

tec hnologies inc luding a living sedum roof.Also a t Ryton is a fully organic restaurant, and one of the beststoc ked shops of organic food and other produc ts in thereg ion. Current resea rch top ics inc lude the developm ent oforganic stand ards for amenity horticulture a nd land scap ing.HDRA is hea vily involved w ith comp osting p rojec ts andad vises a number of UK local authorities.

Facts and figuresContact : Susan Kay-Williams, HDRA Ryton Organic Ga rdens,Coventry Warwickshire, CV8 3LG [email protected]

Location of site: 10km south east of Coventry, The Midland s,

England. 30 minutes from Birmingha m Interna tiona l Airport bytrain and car.


Number of visitors per year: 35,000 to gardens, 100,000total to centre facilities.

Number of full time job equivalents on site:over 100Around 75 jobs working for the Centre itself, 25 in on-sitecommerc ial subsidiaries, 2 in independent orga nisat ionson-site.

Environmental themes addressed:central themes areorganic gardening and farming and sustainable and healthyfood; but also water, composting, recycling, biodiversity andgreen build ings.

Conference/ on-site course facilities:120 sea t c onferenceroom plus 3 seminar rooms (30 seats). On-site flagship organicrestaurant.Large on-site shop selling seeds, plants, publications, organicfood (including 2,500 fresh, frozen a nd dried foods, from freshba ked bread to baby food) and other garden produc ts.Also o pe rates Yalding Orga nic Garde ns, Kent, England.

The Heritage Seed LibraryThe Heritage Seed Library (HSL) aims to conserve a nd ma ke

ava ilable vegetable varieties that a re not widely availab leand maintains a collection of mainly European varieties.

Over the dec ad es many vegetable varieties have b eendropped from popular seed ca talogues and riskdisap pearing altogether. HDRAs collec tion conta ins ma nyof these but also some landraces and a large number offam ily heirloom va rieties that have never be en in acata logue. The Library however is not a gene bank. Onceenoug h seed is ava ilable, the objec tive is to m ake thevarieties ava ilable to ga rde ners through the Assoc iat ionsseed catalogue, availab le only to members of HSL.

The Heritage Seed Library ensures conservation of varieties,by g rowing a selec tion of the plants annually in rotation,

and collecting and conserving their seeds, cataloguing ofthese va riet ies, resea rch into lost va rieties and into thecultiva tion c ond itions for varieties in the Library.

Current ly HSL has around 700 accessions of op en-pollinatedvarieties, of which a bout 200 are in the c urrent HDRA SeedCa ta logue . There is also a n informa l Seed Swa p section runbe tween me mb ers themselves.

An extreme ly important and highly valued c ontribution to thework is ma de by volunteer Seed Guardians: HDRA memberswho ha ve dec ided to ta ke on the extra responsibility ofgrowing seed for HSL ea ch yea r. Of the 45,000 or morepa ckets of seed sent out each yea r, 40-50% is supplied byGuardians. These p eople are thus essentia l to m aintaining asufficient a mount of stoc k as we ll as safegua rding rare

varieties. These partic ipants also p rovide feedbac kco nce rning the g rowing c ond itions for each variety.

As we ll as the HSL Ca talogue , produced in Dec ember, anewsletter (Seed News) is prod uced three t imes per year,covering a wide rang e o f top ics inc luding a Lost & Foundsection to try to trace lost vegetable varieties. Members arethus active not only in maintaining the varieties currently inthe Seed Library, but a lso in identifying and finding othervarieties which a re o n the verge o f being lost.

The orga nisat ion is alwa ys actively seeking to increase theamount o f ac cessions held a nd, between 1997 and 2000,a p rojec t called the Seed Sea rch wa s carried out. This wa sfunded by the UK Government and aimed to seek out a ndsave regional, family, and historic varieties which had beensaved ove r many generat ions. As a result, over 80 newvarieties were added to the collection.

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www.hdra.org.uk
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Ecosite du Pays de Thau, Mze, is a loc al a utho rityinitiative operating as a company majority owned byMze c ity co unc il. The Ec osite was esta b lished a t the

initiative o f Yves Pietrasanta , then M ayor of M ze to wn(now a Europe an MP) who wa s a lso a Professor a tMo ntp ellier University (c hem istry). It ha s deve lope daround servic es provided to loc al c ounc ils, and relatedR&D ac tivities, in four area s: lago on trea tme nt of w astewa ters, pla stics rec yc ling , shellfish w aste treatm ent andrec ycling, loc al d evelop ment c onsulting. Spin-offsinclude valorisation of biomass from the sewagetreatme nt lag oo ns, extrac tion o f essentia l oils from

marine algae, development of innovativelow-energy water treatment systems,

valorisation of recycled oyster shells (forag ricultural and pha rmac eutica l

applications). Development of modelsand c riteria for cha rac terising Ec osite

func tions and transfer of Ec ositeknow-how. Tec hnica l and sc ientific

training c entre for environme nt.Public visitor centreand exhibitions andactivities for schools.

Comp anies developedaround the Ec osite include:AQUASEM, p roduc ingde c orative fish for aq uaria,fed on the lago on plankton;AQUAMER, producingma rine a nd soft-wate rmicro-algae a nd e xtrac ts for

fish fa rming, c osme tics,health foods and thewellne ss ind ustry; ENTECH,

consulting engineersspecialised in waste water and

waste treatment; CEREMAP(Centre for Research into Plastic

Ma te ria ls); GEFOSAT, companyspecialised in renewable energies;

BIOTOPE, c onsulta nts spec ialised inenvironme nta l imp ac t a ssessme nts.

Facts and figures

Contact: Philipp e Brire, Ec osite du Pays deTha u, route des Sa lins, BP118, 34140 M ze, Franc [email protected]

Location of site:On the Thau c oa stal lago on, just b ehind theMediterranean coast, 35km West of MontpellierHigh Spe ed Tra in (TGV) a nd airport a t Mo ntp ellier



Number of full time job equivalents on site: 16080 job s in the Ec osite organisation, 30 in on-sitesubsidiaries, 50 in independent companies on-site. Plusaround 150 job s in related c omp anies situate d nea rby(not on-site bec ause of lac k of spa c e).

Environmental themes addressed: wa ste wa tertreatment, shellfish waste management, plasticsrec ycling, loc al sustainab le de velopm ent po lic ies.

Conference/ on-site course facilities: fully eq uipp edc onference room (co nferenc e thea tres 120 and 50sea ts, 2 la rge and 3 sma ll me eting rooms). Hote ls andholida y villag e a cc omm oda tion in Mze town a nd onthe Thau lake shore 2-3 km a wa y.

R&D spin-off AQUAMER valorisation of algae

Research into the biological processes of algae in theec osites lag ooning sewa ge trea tment spe c ies, led tothe la unc h of AQ UAMER 1988 to c ulture m icro-alga e inhighly co ntrolled c ond itions, and p rod uce from the mextracts for uses in cosmetics, food, aquaculture andmed ica l a pp lica tions.

AQUAMER extracts fluorescent pigments, used torep lace rad ioac tive trac ers in med ica l ap plic ations; arang e o f dieta ry supp lem ent p rod uc ts, providing na turalmineral supplements, including calcium, iron andselenium; the anti-oxidant and anti-seborrheicPorphyzinc ; and the a nti-oxida nt Porphyrol withap plic ations in c osme tic s, foo d a dd itives and me dicine.

R&D process development relatedto local authority needs

The Ec osite du Pays de Thau approa c h to plasticsrec ycling is ba sed around the c entral objective ofkeep ing the p lastic rec overed from bo th do mesticwastes and from industry, and the plastic recyclingproc ess, within the regional ec onom y, and to p rod uc eappropriate manufactured products for local markets.

This is sup po rted by tec hnolog ies de velop ed by theonsite e c osite sub sidia ry CEREMAP, in c on junc tion withother ind ustria l pa rtners and with the po lymer che mistry

dep artme nt o f Mo ntp ellier University. Fixed or mo bileunits allow t ransforma tion o f reco vered p lastics intogranules and pressing of (m ixed recyc led) p lasticgranules to manufacture selected finished plasticproduc ts (which ca n be mad e using such a rawma terial and are ad ap ted for reg iona l ma rkets, eg.pa lettes, bo xes, outd oo r furniture, building ma terials,outdoor floor and fencing boards).

The finished prod uc ts ma nufac tured from the rec overedp lastic sorted from do me stic refuse (ne ver entirely pureor unsoiled) offer, in theory, a relatively low addedvalue c om pa red to re-use o f plastics in the p lasticindustry for spe c ific ap plic ations, ac c ording to e ac hpo lymer. In p rac tice, how ever, this red uc ed but rea l

ad de d va lue (for a finished produc t with a rea l reg iona lap plic ation a nd ma rket), is likely to offer a ne teconomic return (after transport costs) higher andmuch less volatile than that from export to distantre-processors of specialist plastics, whose purchasepric es de pe nd strong ly and unpredict ab ly on (world)plastic rec overy rate s and c ond itions.

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19/28

Terre Vivante, NGO, wa s estab lished in 1979 to p romoteorganic ga rde ning and pub lishes the b imonthly organicga rde ning review " Les Qua tre Sa isons du Jardinage "(21,000 Sub sc ribe rs).

In 1993, the a ssoc iation d ec ided to move itshea dq uarters from Paris to the Frenc h Alps, and toestab lish a d em onstrat ion and v isitor ce ntre, the TerreVivante Ec ology Centre.

The site is situate d at 750m a ltitud e, in the be au tiful,wo od ed Trive s up land rural area of the French Alps.The Ce ntre ha s be c ome the na tional reference inFranc e for prac tices in organic g ardening, ec ologica lbuilding a nd ho me e nergy saving.

The Centre d em onstrate s ec ology in ac tion: orga nicveg eta bles, fruit a nd de c orative ga rde ns, restaurant fo rhea lthy gastronom ic food , rec ipe and c ookery bo oks,buildings using original architec ture o f wo od and c lay,pe rmanent e xhibition of ec ologica l building m ate rials

and metho ds for bo th new b uildings andinsulation/ renova tion o f existing b uildings, anima tedwa ter c ycle e duc ation e xhibitions, energy savinginformation with the Nega -Watt House exhibition,landsc ap e ma nag em ent illustrate d b y nature walks anda wild rose m ead ow.

Facts and figuresContact name: Claud e Fournier, Terre Vivante , Domainede Raud , 38710 Me ns, Franc eterrevivante@wa nad oo .fr

Location of site:

Nea r the village o f Mens (Isre), 50 km South o fGrenoble, France. Clelles-Mens train station 10 km.Two hours from Lyon or Grenob le a irports.

Date of establishment of Centre: 1993.


Number of full time job equivalents on site: 24.

Environmental themes addressed: organic ga rdening,ec ologica l building a nd b uilding m ate rials, waterma nag eme nt, dom estic energy savings, pub lic

education, local sustainable development.

Conference/ on-site course facilities: mee ting room s forup to 50 pe op le, restaurant. Hotel and c otta ge renta lac com moda tion nearby.

Developing and communicatingorganic gardening techniques

Terre Vivan te deve lops and tests onsite new tec hniques,inc luding testing o f new orga nic plant a nd p esttrea tment produc ts, for aspe c ts of orga nic ga rde ningincluding: domestic composting (which can make ama jor contribution to do me stic refuse volumered uct ion), pe st c ontrol and plant disea se p revention,wee d p revention, prod uction of organic fruit andvege tab les. The te c hnique s de velope d are testedfull-scale and demonstrated to visitors at the Centre,including supplying the Centres own restaurant, but arealso d issem inated through the Qua tre Sa isons duJardinage ma ga zine, a nd throug h Terre Vivante spublications.

Structuring a market forecological building materials

The Terre Vivante Centre uses innova tive straw andea rth, passive solar bu ild ings for the m a in ce ntre, officesand restaurants, with attrac tive vaulted architec ture.The c entre a lso uses ec olog ica l bu ild ing tec hniques(wood in pa rticula r) for simpler c onstructions onsite,such as sheds and hangars (for outside exhibitions),demonstrating that industrial buildings do not have tobe built of steel and c onc rete, but c an use ma terialswhich a re bo th more a esthetic and have a much lowerintrinsic energy content.

The c entre a lso ha s a p erma nent e xhib ition o f differentinsulation m ate rials which c an be used for upg rad ingexisting ho uses and othe r buildings, inc luding c avity wa llinjection, internal and external coverings.The m ate rials de mo nstrate d inc lude natural produc tssuc h a s hem p fibres, straw ma terials, wood , c lay p ellets,which offer ad vanta ge s suc h as loc al farm produc tion,use of farm b y-products, and a voida nce of chem ica lreleases into indoor air from artificial materials.In 1999, Terre Viva nte and a number of p rofessiona lsinitiate d a joint netwo rk of ec olog ica l builde rs. In 2003Terre Vivante pub lished the only Direc tory of ec olog ica lbuilding p rofessionals currently a va ilab le in French .

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20/28

The Artefact Centre for Sustainable Development,Glcksburg, is run b y the non-profit c om pa ny Artefac tgG mb H for Glob al Lea rning a nd Loc a l Ac tion. Six

hectare-site with guesthouse (32 beds, conferencerooms, tra ining fac ilities) bu ilt in internationa l ad ob earc hitec ture, ow n rene wa b le energy supp ly (wind, solar,bioma ss) and wa stew ate r trea tment p lant, energyinfota inment site Powerpa rk a nd na ture infotainmentsite. Ma in ac tivities a re training c ourses for inte rnationa lorganisations, technicians and decision makers on(renew ab le) energies and ma nag eme nt (e.g. solar

school), global learning activities for youth and pupils,guide d tours and soft tourism for 10-15.000 visitors

per yea r. Sp in-offs include ec olog ica l housingsites as we ll as p rivate c om panies on e a rth

co nstruction and energy ma nag ement.

Facts and figuresContact: Werner Kiwitt, Artefa c t,

Bremsberga llee 35 D- 24960Glcksburg, G [email protected]

Location of site:10 km northeast of Flensburg,on the Ba ltic Sea , nea r theGermany/Denmark border.Flensburg railway station(10 km) with connections toHamburg 2 hrs,

Cop enha ge n (5 hrs) andFredericshavn ; Billund a irport(Denmark) 1.5 hrs by car.



Number of full time job equivalentson site: 6.

Environmental themes addressed:sustainable energy (solar, wind,

biomass/wood, appropriate technologies),

susta inab le housing, e c olog ica l tourism,educ ation a nd training, wa ter treatm ent.

Conference/ on-site course facilities: me eting rooms for20, 40, 70 pe op le,180m2 exhibition area.Onsite resta urant in sea son/ by reservat ion. 32 be dsonsite accommodation (8 rooms as singles).Hotels and other acc omm oda tion nearby.

Professional training

Artefacts innovative solar building and the PowerParkInfotainment a rea provide a unique setting a ndma terial for ha nds-on p rofe ssional t raining c ourses.These involve e xperts from loc al c om pa nies anduniversities, as well as Artefa c t s ow n sta ff. Co urses aredeveloped for schools and youth classes, training fororga nisa tions (comp an ies, a utho rities, NGO s),professional training for energy technicians, practicalexpe rienc e c ourses for resea rc hers and stud ents.

Them es include renewa ble ene rgies, app rop riate

housing, wa ter manag ement, local d evelopment.

Artefa c t hosts Sola r Sc hool professiona l training

courses for builders and heating craftsmen and

insta llers, orga nised by the Ge rman Union of Energy

Consumers to imp rove upta ke of renewa ble ene rgies

by these p rofe ssions. Past p articipa nts have p rove n the ir

ab ility to the n d evelop renew ab le energies in their

day-to-da y b usiness ac tivities. Tra ining tec hnicians and

ma nag ers c entres on d efining need s and identifying

tec hnologies ap propriate to loca l c irc umstanc es (issues

of reliability, maintenance, availability of spare parts,

com petence of maintenance and manage ment staff

and users) rathe r than on the latest high-tec h .

Spec ific training c ourses ta rget sma ll businesses, wa ter

supply and sanitation for rural areas, appropriate

renew ab le energies for de veloping c ountries.

The Centre is also a c tive in c urriculum a nd tea c hingtoo l de velopm ent for teac her training a nd in ide ntifying

nee ds for tec hnica l tra ining to support ene rgy system s.

These training c ourses thus p rovide a n imp ortant too l forad ap ting new technologies develope d b y R&D toeffec tive upta ke in the field, as a function o f user andinstaller competence.

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De Kleine Aa rde / The Small Earth, The Nethe rland s is anon-profit NGO which a ims to c rea te a wide interest ina sustainab le wa y of life, b ased on ag ricultural

methods, nutritional habits, and use of energy andresources that, taken together, spare the environmentand supp ort sustainab le d evelop ment in othe r countriesas we ll as in our ow n. The visitor centre, ma inly built outof na tural ma terials, is based on p assive and a c tivesolar energy. Eco-park including Global footprintexhibition in the Greenhouse, Natural ornamentalga rde n, Herb ga rde n, Cut flower garden, Veg eta blegarden, Edible ornamentals garden, Helophytic filter,Bee shed & Insec t c orne r, The g lob e house, The BikeExperience where visitors can try and buy new typesof cycle.

De Kleine Aarde has facilities for business (conferences),ed uc at ion (exc ursions and c ourses) and leisure

(room reservations, meals). De Kleine Aarde is a leadingexpert in renewable building and urban development,with a 300 house e xem plary deve lopme nt(The G oo d Earth) and 9 new innova tive de monstrationhouses (The Gree nland ) bo th now planned in Boxtela long side the c entre s site. This wo rk is done w ith anetwo rk of sustainab le architec ts and the m unic ipalityas coordinator.

Facts and figuresContac t : Ma rijke Kuipe rs, De Kleine Aa rde, HetKlave rbla d 1, Postb us 151, 5280 AD Boxtel, TheNetherlandsinfo@dekleineaa rde.nl

Location of site:De Kleine Aarde is situated in the town of Boxtel (30.000inhab itants), around 20km North of Eindhoven.Boxtel station is around 2 hours from Amsterdaminternationa l airport (Sc hipol) b y train, or 20 minutesfrom Eindhoven a irport, o r around 2 hours from Brusselsinternationa l airport by c ar, or 3 hours by train.



Number of full time job equivalents on site: 23.

Environmental themes addressed: the c entre is ac tive inthe full range of susta inab le de velop me nt issues, butoffers pa rticular expe rtise in: g lob al foo tprint c onc ep t

and c om munica tion, renew ab le ene rgies (espe c iallywind, photo voltaic, solar thermal), organic ga rde ning,water supply and savings, solid waste/composting, ecobuildings (new and rehabilitation), sustainable menu,nature p rotec tion a nd co untryside ma nage ment.

Conference/ on-site course facilities: fully eq uipp edc onfe rence rooms (solar ha ll 80 peo ple, p lus rooms for35, 10), onsite resta urant, onsite a c c om mo dat ion for 20(or 14 as singles), plus nea rby hotel and bed andbreakfast c ap ac ity in Boxtel.

Interactive Global Footprint:

De Kleine Aarde is very active in pilot projects about theGloba l Footp rint. a Cana dian c omm unic ations too l andsimplified susta inab ility ind ica tor, develop ed on the b asisof research that relates resource, energy consumptionand environme ntal imp ac t, to consumer choic es orinstitutiona l dec isions. The Foo tp rint estima tes thenumb er of hec tares need ed to supp ort thec onsump tion of an individua l, organisation, co mp any o rmunicipa lity, using land surfac e a rea as a c om monproxy for energy consumption, land and resource use,greenhouse g as emissions, etc , with pee r-ag reedsta ndard c onve rsion fac tors. The Foo tp rint d oe s notclaim to b e a n ac curate mo nitoring too l, but rather anindicative educ ation and c ommunication tool whic h

c an show o verall environme ntal imp ac t, flag up keyissues in lifestyles or c ho ice s, and so indic a te priorityareas for ac tion.

In The Nethe rland s, deve lope d w ith De Kleine Aa rde ssupport, the NGOwww.voetenbank.nl enables internetusers to calculate their own individual footprint online.This ta kes 5-10 minute s, and enab les the user to ide ntifykey lifestyle issues. The syste m w as launc hed inc ollaboration w ith eight Dutc h municipa lities. In six ofthem the first Footprint campaigns were held, to find outthe possibilities of the model. A large set of campaignma teria ls is now a va ilab le for other munic ipa lities. Todate, data from some 20,000 individual footprints havebe en ente red . The system alrea dy e nab les da ta to be

sorted b y post co de and to b e visualised o n a ma p .The ob jective is to p rovide c onvincing feed ba c k toconsumers and decision makers, based on real dataand be haviours, to p rom ote c hang e in lifestyles tow ardssustainable development. Recently pilot projects werealso carried out for church communities and the firstGloba l Footp rint of a Dutch co mp any.

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www.dekleineaarde.nl
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.voetenbank.nl/http://www.voetenbank.nl/http://www.dekleineaarde.nl/http://www.voetenbank.nl/mailto:[email protected]://www.dekleineaarde.nl/


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ICPPC Ecocentre (International Coalition to Protect thePolish Countryside ) was sta rted as Sunflow er Fa rm Centre of A lternative Tec hnolog y in 1999, on the

initiative of the o wne r of Sunflowe r Fa rm Com pa nyKrzysztof Wietrzny, a R&D company in the areas ofrenew ab le energies and alternative tec hnologies. In2002, the c entre w as taken over by the NGO ICPPC.Further develop me nt is und erwa y, inc luding finishing thereb uilding o f a c ountry ba rn as an e duc ationa l buildingwith c onference fac ilities.

The Centres main ob jectives are d em onstrating how,on a sma ll sc ale, one c an ha rness solar ene r

Ecolink Brochure Nov 2003

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