Berlin:
The ecological remediation programme
Berlin:
| |
| Country: | a) Western Europe | ,b) Germany |
| Language: | |
| Type: | Project, Policy, 1 |
| Area: | City/Town, > 1 million |
| Actors: | Local government, Regional government, National government, Economic sector, Publ.-priv. partnership |
| Funding: | Local government, Regional government, National government, European Union, Economic Sector, Publ.-priv. partnership |
| Topics: | Business and industry |
| Employment | |
| Environmental education | |
| Information and public participation | |
| Objectives: | Increase green areas |
| Increase use of clean technology | |
| Increase use of renewable resources | |
| Waste avoidance | |
| Waste recycling | |
| Instruments: | Demonstration and pilot project |
In 1991 the Berlin Government established the Ecological Remediation Programme as a job creation scheme which is integrated into the process of the urban ecological modernisation. The programme combines various sources of funding in order to support environmental projects with human resources and to qualify the participants in specialised environmental sectors. The programme is an outstanding example for good practice for the following reasons:
In 1991 the Ministry of Urban Development and Environmental Protection initiated the Ecological Remediation Programme (Ökologisches Sanierungsprogramm für Berlin – Arbeitsplätze durch Umweltschutz / ÖSP) which was completed by 1999. The Ecological Remediation Programme aimed to serve the labour market and to improve the environmental situation in Berlin. It was the first programme of its kind exclusively targeted at East Berlin. The East Berlin districts of the former German Democratic Republic have been strongly affected by unemployment due to economic changes accompanying reunification. The Ecological Remediation Programme combined two major goals:
The areas of activity focused on a range of environmental fields:
The projects could be classified into four groups:
On the one hand the projects were to tap new areas of environmental protection and prevention, and on the other hand positive effects on the labour market were considered to be essential. The jobs were both permanent and temporary. In most cases projects with temporary employment were implemented in accordance with national regulations on employment promotion (249 Arbeitsförderungsgesetz). The projects were financed by Land Berlin with complementary-financing from other sources. In addition, a instrument of the so-called employment promotion companies (Arbeitsförderbetriebe) was established in 1994. These companies are set up as private enterprises. They provide specialised environmental services and can earn profit to support themselves. In some cases, these companies have stayed on the market after the end of the subsidising period, and as a consequence, some temporary employment has become permanent.
The Ecological Remediation Programme offers a range of different types of projects. Some of them are single projects in order to implement a set of measures; other projects include on-going monitoring or controlling, and innovative projects often push forward into new areas of environmental services.
1. Short-term environment improvement projects
Short-term single projects are mainly concerned with the ecological upgrading and remediation of urban renewal projects, public facilities or public green spaces. Such projects are implementated at kindergardens, schools, courtyards, parks, green areas near public transport stops etc. The projects include new planting measures, the ecological designing of areas near buildings, the removal of materials (e.g. asphalt), and the cleaning up of polluted areas.
2. Environment improvement projects and qualification
The environment improvement projects which include extensive qualification and training are concerned with measures in the building sector, in environmental consultancy, and in the area of monitoring and analysing environmental pollution. For example, the project on environmental data collection and documentation of waste areas is supporting the public authorities with its results. A special consultancy project has provided advice and concepts for trades like the paint and varnish companies. The Energy Teams, which previously worked out the Berlin Energy Concept, have planned and implemented various energy saving projects at district level. Another project on an information system for data on waste is drawing up waste concepts for municipalities. Some of these projects are organised as employment promotion companies and it is likely that they will continue after the end of the funded project.
3. Environment improvement projects and advanced investment
The projects, which implement measures in advance of forthcoming statutory requirements, are mainly situated in the waste management and energy saving sector. They are not only establishing new methods of recycling or of rational energy use but they are also involving large investments in technology. The installation of new combined heat and power facilities is a typical case from the energy sector.
4. Environment improvement projects with innovative technology and qualification
A similar approach has been chosen to innovative projects in the industrial and commercial sector. They are not directed towards the public sector but are acting in the private sector. In the recycling business there are many possibilities to step into new niches. The recycling of TV sets and computer monitors proved to be an outstanding example of a successful new business. Other projects are, for example, the pilot project on the recycling of oil filters or the demonstration project for the recycling of old cars.
Altogether, the Ecological Remediation Programme resulted in a total of 220 projects and a total of 5,600 jobs. This comprised 5,100 temporary jobs and 500 permanent jobs.
27 employment promotion companies (Arbeitsförderbetriebe) were set up.
The Ecological Remediation Programme was administered by the environmental consulting agency "Beratung, Service & Umwelt" (B&SU) which has acted as a trustee for the environmental job creation scheme in Berlin. It has prepared organisational and financial concepts for individual projects and provided advice on funding possibilities. Besides the Ecological Remediation Programme the agency also assumed responsibilities for the programmes of environmental improvements in businesses.
The Ecological Remediation Programme was funded primarily by the Berlin Government, with complementary financing from various sources including the Federal Employment Agency, the Federal Ministry of Environmental Affairs, the German National Endowment for the Environment, the European Union as well as companies and private entities.
Between 1991 and 1997 the Ecological Remediation Programme supported 220 projects with a total investment of 420 million DM. Berlin’s Ministry of Urban Development and Environmental Protection contributed 43 million DM and other sources amounted to 420 million DM.
Personal communication with Annette Bastigkeit, B&SU; April 2000.
Senatsverwaltung für Stadtentwicklung und Umweltschutz / Senatsverwaltung für Arbeit und Frauen 1991: Ökologisches Sanierungsprogramm für Berlin ÖSP - Arbeitsplätze durch Umweltschutz -, 1.Stufe: Ökologisches Sofortprogramm, Berlin
Senatsverwaltung für Wirtschaft und Technologie, (Hg.) 1992: Auf dem Weg zur Wirtschaftsmetropole Berlin. Empfehlungen der Strukturpolitischen Expertenkommission, Berlin
Heinrichs, Dirk 1994: Neue Arbeitsplätze durch EU-Förderprogramme, in: Institut für ökologisches Recycling / Gesellschaft für präventiven Umweltschutz, (Hg.), Arbeitsplätze pro und contra Ökologie, Fachtagung am 1./2. Dezember in Berlin, Berlin, S. 67-72
Beratungs- und Service-Gesellschaft Umwelt mbH 1994: Jahresbericht 1993, Berlin
Beratungs- und Service-Gesellschaft Umwelt mbH 1995: Bericht 1994, Berlin
| Name | : | Bastigkeit |
| Firstname | : | Annette |
| Telefon | : | ++49 / 30 / 390 420 |
| Telefax | : | ++49 / 30 / 390 42 31 |
| Address | : | Beratung, Service & Umwelt |
| Cicerostraße 28 | ||
| D - 10709 Berlin | ||
Berlin has a population of almost 3.5 million of which approximately 11% are foreign citizens. The wider conurbation has an additional population of nearly one million. The city covers 889 square kilometres; 38 km from north to south and 45 km from east to west. 24 per cent of the city’s surface is water and navigable waterways are 197 km in length. In size it is almost as large as the densely populated Ruhr area in North Rhine Westphalia. Berlin is the largest city in Germany, and one of the sixteen regional States (Bundesländer) of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The unified municipality of Berlin is a decentralised body divided into 23 districts (Bezirke). The districts have between 50,000 and 300,000 inhabitants. They carry responsibility for local politics and their own administration. Unlike independent municipalities, however, they do not have financial autonomy but are allocated funds by the City Government, the Senate of Berlin. The main authority for the City as a whole is the Senate which is divided into different administrative departments (comparable to Ministries in other German Länder).
Although Berlin has experienced a steady decline in industry, there are still over 200,000 people working in the manufacturing sector. Approximately 230,000 of the 1.5 million citizens in the workforce are employed in trade and about 750,000 people have jobs in service, primarily in the public sector.
In addition, Berlin is a centre of environmental research as well as technology, and a great number of businesses are engaged in environment-related activities. According to a study by the ifo Institute in Munich and the IÖW (Institute for Ecological Economic Research) in Berlin, 400 companies with 13,000 employees are directly involved in environmental protection (engineering offices, and producers and distributors of environmental technology). This number has tripled within the last ten years, and half of the companies have started as new businesses since 1990. Furthermore, Berlin is a stronghold of scientific research with approx. 100 companies involved in measurement and analytical activities, approx. 80 eco-research institutes (including universities), and 45 public administrations and authorities in charge of environmental matters.
Project was added at 25.06.1996
Project was changed at 21.08.2001