Countryside Display

The European countryside Display® is an initiative carried out by experts coming from 20 European cities and municipalities. The purpose of it is to encourage the local authorities to post the energy and environmental performances their public buildings by the means of a label similar to that used for the apparatuses electric household appliances. A visit on Internet site will enable you to take note of the current number of participants and buildings concerned with this posting.

Display® gives the opportunity to the communities into practice to put an European directive by on the occasion to contribute to the development of a tool to European dimensions but applying locally.

Cities such as Durham (GB), Charleroi (BE), Rennes (FR), Helsinki (FI), Lausanne (CH) and of many others joined the Countryside right now. All profit from economic advantages and social gravitational resulting from their participation in this Countryside.

Context

The municipal buildings of all Europe see a quantity of energy and wasted water without reason with an obvious cost with the taxpayer and the environment. There are two primary reasons which are in the middle of the problem and which are also dependant between them:

A inadequate energy management of the municipalities and/or a lack of concern vis-a-vis the spending patterns of the users of these buildings .

Since January 2006, the Directive on the Performances Energetics of Building industries (DPEB) forces the municipalities to measure and “to post” the energy performances publicly their buildings . It is within this framework that the Display® countryside east is created in order to help the municipalities to benefit as of these requirements by developing strategies to sensitize the public and to increase the benefit of a better environmental management of the municipal buildings. That makes it possible to accelerate the implementation of the DPEB and also makes it possible the European municipalities to have a length in advance.

History of the Display® Countryside

the Countryside launched in 2003 by Energy-Cities, the association of the European local authorities for a durable local energy policy, is the first of the kind in Europe and ambitionne to work at least a decade. the first phase of the project (financed by Management ENV of the European commission) implied the effort combined of 20 pilot cities in 18 countries and of 4 scientific and technical experts . After one period of co-financing in first half of 2005, it is now financed by the European commission (DG TREN) under the program of Intelligent Energy - Europe (EIE).

How the participants profit from it

The original intention of the Display® countryside is to assist the municipalities to improve the performances of their most ineffective buildings.

Energy remains a field where the realizable economies are significant. A European municipality of 100.000 inhabitants can spend more than 1,5 million euros for the energy needs of its public buildings. By reducing only 1% energy consumptions it are close to 15.000€ per annum which can be saved. With a reduction of 10% that relates to 150.000€ per annum.

Moreover, the Countryside offers many additional advantages allowing each authority room:

To have the possibility of communicating with the citizens by presenting the initiative publicly.
To post a poster gravitational and accessible to all in order to collect the attention of the general public.
to be able to increase the attention of the users and the managers about their consumption in energy and water.
To obtain an instantaneous access to a tool in line effective, pragmatic and easy to take in hand.
To become a member of a innovating European campaign to fight the climate change.

To go towards the class “has”

Each year, the public authorities which have the best results for their communication campaign will see rewarded by the price “Towards “Class has”. This price is opened with all the municipalities and local authorities through Europe members of the Display® Countryside. This price offers a motivation to the municipalities to improve or to compare their communication strategies finally carrying out to improve the performances of their buildings to reach the “Class has” or to become “Examples To be followed”. The candidates at the price are evaluated by an independent jury composed of experts.

the first rewarded

In 2006, the handing-over of the rewards take place with Riga (Latvia) and the first with being rewarded were Bristol (the U.K.). It was selected for its original and creative approach by developing excellent supports of communication. Inspired of the tool proposed by Display®, Bristol developed indeed:

a gigantic poster of 6m ², wide on the wall external of environmental center CREATE
a weekly survey accessible on network Intranet from the Municipal council being used to evaluate the reaction of the public on an aspect of the poster.
Four types of poster intended to increase sensitizing with the energy saving on the work place
Two various types of Display® postcards sent to each employee of the building of the Council.

The countryside in the future

Recently, the decision was made to make Display® accessible to a larger audience. The companies of the private sector are now the welcome to take part in the Display® Countryside (for more information, visit the banner page of the site). This thus will widen our network of action and from new experiments could be exchanged.

See too

External bonds and documents

Internet site of the countryside Display®
Directive Banner page of Energy-Cities
on the Performances Energetics of Building industries (DPEB)

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