Activities

The project partners have engaged with a wide variety of communities each at different levels of involvement in the climate change debate. These engagement activities have been wide-ranging and diverse: from simple home visits to discuss energy efficiency to national competitions aimed at encouraging pro-environmental behaviours.

It is from these core activities that the partnership has identified good practices - Find out more

Measuring Energy Use

tEC piloted an energy monitor loan scheme for households across Hampshire. These monitors show how much electricity is being used, how much it is costing and how much CO₂ is being generated. The scheme has been very successful in raising awareness of energy use in the home.

ACER Reggio Emilia initiated the Condomini Virtuosi project based on the premise that citizens must understand their use of energy and behaviour in and the home to effectively reduce their CO₂ emissions. A key stage in the project was calculating the carbon footprint of residents’ apartments using the simple CO₂ assessment tool questionnaire.

Under the leadership of the University of Seville the partnership has developed a Simple CO2 Assessment Tool aimed at enabling individuals to calculate the energy efficiency of their home. As well as calculating CO₂ emissions, the tool suggests energy saving measures that can be implemented.

School Education Programmes

BMF developed a three tiered training programme on sustainable energy for primary school children, involving secondary school students and students from Fontys Teacher Training Institute (FLOT) in Tilburg.Secondary school sutdents became ‘Teachers for the Day’ at De Klimop Primary School in Haaren. They taught 8-10 year old children about energy use, energy reduction and the sources of sustainable energy.

tEC has built upon its environmental education programmes by developing new and interactive materials, activities and lesson plans which have been linked to existing initiatives within communities; bringing relevance and a local dimension to the students’ learning.

Viimsi developed a programme for students on the island of Prangli and Püünsi (on the mainland) which focused on:water conservation, waste reduction and segregation and energy conservation

The University of Seville has recently embarked upon a new Building and Engineering degree course and identified the opportunity to incorporate a sustainable construction module into the curriculum. The TrIsCo project presented practical examples and case studies for the students.

Training Programmes

KlimaTeams, a project developed by BMF, aimed to stimulate awareness on energy and energy saving measures for immigrant populations in two major cities in North Brabant: Breda and Eindhoven.

The project used a train-the-trainer model where people within an immigrant community were trained to become a KlimaTeam coach. These coaches in term formed KlimaTeam of 8 to 10 immigrants within their own communities to discuss energy use and energy saving measures in the home.

tEC developed a training programme targeted at staff and volunteers who as part of their daily work would be likely to visit residents in their homes, or who would otherwise come into contact with potentially fuel poor. The programmes was designed to equip staff with the knowledge to be able to identify someone who may be fuel poor and subsequently signpost them to an appropriate source of help.