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Eco-support activity - working together for a better environment (Eco-support Activity)
Start date: Mar 31, 2009, End date: Nov 30, 2011 PROJECT  FINISHED 

The objective of the project is to increase environmental awareness by implementing the eco-support activity in the municipalities of the partner organisations, Helsinki, Kotka, Hämeenlinna, Tallinn, Tartu and Rakvere. Implementing the activity reduces the direct and indirect environmental loads of the organisations. Helsinki and Tallinn have just started the activity in a previous cross-border co-operation project. The other municipalities are adapting the activity and joining into the development work. The eco-support activity is implemented by nominating and training eco-supporters to working units. These motivated persons are acting as changing agents in creating a new sustainable organisational culture. Employees become aware of the environmental impacts of their work and create a new responsible culture. The activity is integrating environmental issues to all activities in the municipalities, promoting responsible everyday practices and saving natural resources. Improved environmental attitudes will be seen as environmental friendly practical actions e.g. in waste management and recycling, decrease on paper consumption, energy and water saving, green procurement and sustainable mobility. Later on the change may even be verifiable as more environmental responsible services. Strengthening eco-supporters knowledge and role in motivating environmental change at work is one basis for the project as well as the importance of life long learning when directing towards sustainability. The support of the eco-supporters is including expertise consultation and guidance, updated handbooks and production of materials and types of common campaigns. As the eco-supporters network is growing a lot of experience is enhanced. The project aims to produce and support learning, co-operative and innovative networks in order to share the good practises and knowledge. Resource, peer-to-peer and information networks are actively stimulated. By describing and modelling the activity as an environmental management system, this project is producing a new public sector tailored tool into environmental management. An assessment system for the activity is created. This is verifying the ecological and economical impacts of the eco-support activity and its direct and indirect positive effects on environment and its improvement. The positive change will be made comparable and verifiable. Achievements: "The Eco-Support Activity project was filling the gap between practical everyday actions and the environmental policies of the project partner organisations. Environmental responsibility was increased by implementing “eco-support activity” in the participating municipalities. The activity was integrated into environmental management and focused on environmentally friendly practical actions in waste management and recycling, energy and water, green procurement and mobility and decreasing paper consumption." All municipalities nominated and trained ecosupporters in working units, who acted as “change agents”. They seeked to integrate environmental issues into all their activities by promoting responsible everyday practices. As a result, employees became aware of the environmental impacts of their work and developed a new more responsible working culture.
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  • 77%   758 830,00
  • 2007 - 2013 Central Baltic (FI-SE-EE-LA)
  • Project on KEEP Platform
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