Berlin:
Linking energy saving policy and green employment scheme
Berlin:
| |
| Country: | a) Western Europe | ,b) Germany |
| Language: | |
| Type: | Project, Policy, 1 |
| Area: | City/Town, > 1 million |
| Actors: | Local government, Regional government, European Union, Publ.-priv. partnership |
| Funding: | Local government, Regional government, National government, European Union, Publ.-priv. partnership |
| Topics: | Air-quality |
| Business and industry | |
| Employment | |
| Energy | |
| Housing (and new settlements) | |
| Information and public participation | |
| Renewable resources | |
| Objectives: | Improve access to information |
| Improve intersectoral cooperation | |
| Increase cogeneration | |
| Increase use of clean technology | |
| Reduce energy consumption | |
| Instruments: | Demonstration and pilot project |
| New environmental institutions / Institutional reorganisation |
Implementing an energy saving policy in a conurbation like Berlin is a major task. In 1991 the Berlin Ministries for Urban Development and Environmental Protection and for Labour and Women, in co-operation with local district authorities and experts from various energy associations, set up an Energy Team project which examined the energy saving potentials in public buildings and, at the same time, offered a training scheme for unemployed engineers. For the following reasons the project is a remarkable initiative:
In the context of elaborating the Berlin Energy Concept the idea of setting up an Energy Team project had been initiated by the Environmental Ministry, the Ministry of Labour, the local government authorities and environmental interest groups. On the one hand the project was expected to create future oriented-employment, and on the other hand contribute to the identification of energy saving potentials in public buildings. The preconditions for the project were as follows:
In 1991 the Berlin Environment Improvement Programme, which was designed to provide temporary employment schemes in the environmental sector, was implemented. The schemes were mainly situated in East Berlin and examined the feasibility of a project for the management of energy saving measures on the local government level and in the context of energy-related activities. Finally, the Energy & Work Association was chosen as project manager (see the actors and structures section for detailed information).
The publicly funded job creation schemes are temporary positions for previously unemployed people. The schemes must be in the public interest and aim to create permanent employment. They are sponsored by the Federal Labour Office under the Labour Promotion Law. In Berlin they are administered by the Ministry for Labour and Women.
Further education in the field of energy saving has been provided by the Department of Energy Engineering and Resource Economics at the Technical University of Berlin. In a programme on energy consultancy and energy management, the members of the Energy Teams had the opportunity to acquire and update knowledge on energy saving methods. In total 20 % of the working time was allocated to the acquisition of vocational qualifications. The basic elements of the courses have included theoretical qualifications, practical training and training in market economics. The following goals were to be reached by this:
Furthermore, the vocational part of the employment includes workshops on rhetoric, negotiation techniques, and future employment possibilities.
The Energy Teams investigated buildings in ten of the eleven East Berlin districts. A typical Energy Team investigation involved:
Analysis of energy use and implementation of optimisation measures were the main tasks of the Energy Teams. Such investigations normally involved the calculation and audit of heat demand and heat insulation as well as the assessment of the condition of the buildings, the assessment of existing heating installations from an energy saving perspective, the calculation of investments costs in energy efficient technology, and finally weak point analysis and recommendations for suitable energy saving measures. The range of targeted buildings includes municipal administration buildings, schools, nurseries, youth clubs, old people’s homes, sport facilities, swimming centres, and libraries.
The 242 energy reports proposed a range of measures for reducing energy consumption. Some examples of inexpensive measures from the case studies are the reduction of heating levels during the night, on weekends, and during holidays, the replacement of the hot-water supply for cloakrooms, and the removal of wooden masking from around radiators. Limited investment is necessary for measures like the replacement of oversized boilers, the purchase of energy saving bulbs, the installation of thermostat valves on the radiators, the replacement of old electrical equipment like freezers, washing machines or electrical cookers in canteen kitchens. Measures with high costs in investment include the replacement of single-glazed windows, or the installation of cogeneration heat and power plants at highly frequented institutions such as schools, swimming pools, or hospitals.
In particular, Energy Teams submitted energy audits for over 80 public buildings that revealed energy saving measures with a short pay-back on investment. A total investment of 3.8 million DM would lead to possible annual savings of 1.6 million DM. Thus the expenditure would amortise in 2.5 years. Other detected investments would have a pay back period of up to ten years. The measures would correspond to a 34% reduction of heating consumption. Technically, the measures can be classified into 50% usage of different energy sources (especially the switch from lignite-fired plants to district heating or gas), 30% modernisation of the heating plants, 10% improvements in the control systems, 5% building measures (e.g. thermal insulation), and 5% other saving measures.
However, so far the recommended measures have not been fully implemented due to the following reasons:
The Energy Teams investigated buildings in ten of the eleven East Berlin districts. A typical Energy Team investigation involved:
Analysis of energy use and implementation of optimisation measures were the main tasks of the Energy Teams. Such investigations normally involved the calculation and audit of heat demand and heat insulation as well as the assessment of the condition of the buildings, the assessment of existing heating installations from an energy saving perspective, the calculation of investments costs in energy efficient technology, and finally weak point analysis and recommendations for suitable energy saving measures. The range of targeted buildings includes municipal administration buildings, schools, nurseries, youth clubs, old people’s homes, sport facilities, swimming centres, and libraries.
The 242 energy reports proposed a range of measures for reducing energy consumption. Some examples of inexpensive measures from the case studies are the reduction of heating levels during the night, on weekends, and during holidays, the replacement of the hot-water supply for cloakrooms, and the removal of wooden masking from around radiators. Limited investment is necessary for measures like the replacement of oversized boilers, the purchase of energy saving bulbs, the installation of thermostat valves on the radiators, the replacement of old electrical equipment like freezers, washing machines or electrical cookers in canteen kitchens. Measures with high costs in investment include the replacement of single-glazed windows, or the installation of cogeneration heat and power plants at highly frequented institutions such as schools, swimming pools, or hospitals.
In particular, Energy Teams submitted energy audits for over 80 public buildings that revealed energy saving measures with a short pay-back on investment. A total investment of 3.8 million DM would lead to possible annual savings of 1.6 million DM. Thus the expenditure would amortise in 2.5 years. Other detected investments would have a pay back period of up to ten years. The measures would correspond to a 34% reduction of heating consumption. Technically, the measures can be classified into 50% usage of different energy sources (especially the switch from lignite-fired plants to district heating or gas), 30% modernisation of the heating plants, 10% improvements in the control systems, 5% building measures (e.g. thermal insulation), and 5% other saving measures.
However, so far the recommended measures have not been fully implemented due to the following reasons:
Amongst other measures the Energy Teams carried out a major modernisation project at a primary school in the district of Prenzlauer Berg. This case has to be regarded as a model for an energy saving and ecological improvement scheme. An investment of 2 million DM was made for individual room regulation and centralised control technology, the conversion of the heating system to two gas-fired boilers, the insulation of the gable walls, and the introductory advice service for the energy-conscious handling of the new installations.
In the Energy Team Project more than 150 unemployed university graduates from East Berlin gained energy sector qualifications. 61% of the participants were male. The demographic pattern underlines that the Energy Team project was mainly directed to the aspects of further education and participants’ introduction to the Western market economy. Only 4% of the staff was under 30 years old, whereas the proportion of people aged 30 to 50 years was 54%. The share of over 50 year old members was at a remarkably high level at 42%. During the two years of the project 40 members succeeded in finding other permanent employment.
When the hope for the creation of energy adviser jobs at the district level did not materialise, the members set up an engineering, service and research company (Energy Team ISG mbH). 80% of the 50,000 DM starting capital was provided by the participating project members. In addition, the start-up of the company was supported by three years of financial support by the Ministry for Labour and Women, which gave it the status of a labour promotion company (Arbeitsförderbetrieb). This helped the company to continue its energy saving work on the district level.
Furthermore, eighteen former Energy Team members worked as energy service providers in five districts of East Berlin. In the beginning the Energy Task Force of the Ministry of Urban Development and Environmental Protection was responsible for these energy services and the technical support was provided by the KEBAB organisation (see the actors and structures section). The KEBAB later assumed management.
The Energy Team project had the following organisational structure:
The co-ordination office was responsible for the strategic planning, development, implementation and monitoring of the work as well as for further education. Furthermore, it was the contact for other institutions and it fulfilled the basic tasks of public relations, documentation of the project, and financial planning.
The three job creation associations had responsibilities for the application and administration of funds, the recruitment of Energy Team personnel, and the signing of programme contracts with district building authorities.
The decentralised Energy Teams operated as independent organisational units of 15 to 20 members. Co-operation between the Energy Teams and the district authorities was regulated by employment contracts between the job creation associations and the districts’ building associations which are responsible for the pre-planning of construction projects and the supervision of building sites.
West Berlin based Energy and Work (Energie und Arbeit) is an organisation of architects, engineers and social scientists which was founded in 1983. The goals of the association are to promote practical projects to protect the environment, support rational energy use, and to create jobs in the field of environmental protection. As a supporting organisation, KEBAB, a combined energy saving and job creation association, was set up in order to provide job integration schemes for young, unemployed and unskilled people. Its activities are mainly concerned with training and working on insulation projects in residential areas.
The total costs of the Energy Team project were 14,600,000 DM of which a share of 73% went towards labour costs and 23% towards material and management costs. The labour costs were covered by the Federal Labour Office, whereas most of the material costs and the vocational training was financed by the Senat of Berlin and the European Social Fund.
Although the work of the Energy Teams has been regarded as a worthwhile project, the potential effects have not fully paid off due to the worsening of the economic situation in the mid 1990s:
Senatsverwaltung für Stadtentwicklung und Umweltschutz 1995: Energiekonzept Berlin. Materialien zur Energiepolitik in Berlin H.14, Berlin
Senatsverwaltung für Stadtentwicklung und Umweltschutz 1995: Energy Teams for Berlin. Energy Savings and Employment. A Local Contribution to Climate Protection, Materialien zur Energiepolitik in Berlin H.16, Berlin
Senatsverwaltung für Stadtentwicklung und Umweltschutz, (Hg.) 1995: Neue Wege im Energiesparmarketing, Materialien zur Energiepolitik in Berlin H.16, Berlin
Senatsverwaltung für Stadtentwicklung und Umweltschutz 1995: Umweltschutzbericht 1995, Berlin
| Name | : | Müschen |
| Firstname | : | Klaus |
| Telefon | : | ++49 / 30 /90 25 21 45 |
| Telefax | : | ++49 / 30 /90 25 25 09 |
| Address | : | Senatsverwaltung für |
| Stadtentwicklung | ||
| Brückenstraße 6 | ||
| D-10179 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 28.06.1996
Project was changed at 21.08.2001