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Case study: Project ECOPROFIT

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CASE STUDY: PROJECT ÖKOPROFIT

"Saving money and helping the environment by combining financial gain and ecological benefit"

The city of Graz, the capital of Styria, is the second largest city in Austria and the economic heart of the province of Styria. About 40% of Styria's GDP is produced in Graz and its surroundings. The Styrian capital is nowadays increasingly renowned for its examplary efforts for sustainable development but in the early 1990s the city of Graz experienced serious problems with its air quality and the environmental situation reached a critical point.

In response, the Environmental Agency of the city of Graz and the University of Graz cooperated in developing a local initiative. The result in 1991 was the ÖKOPROFIT (ÖKOlogistics PROjekt Für Integriete Umwelt-Technik), the ECOPROFIT (ECOlogical PROject For Integrated environmental Technology), an environmental program that aims to help local communities achieve sustainable economic development through improving the eco-efficiency of enterprises. ÖKOPROFIT was developed by STENUM from 1992 to 1993 on behalf of the city of Graz. The model developed in Graz has been adopted by towns and municipalities all over Austria and abroad, and, for instance, it was implemented for the first time in Germany as part of the Munich Agenda 21.

Ještě pokračujeme...

Comparison of the Czech and Austrian approach to SD with a focus on stakeholders in the Ústí Region and Styria

Introduction

In the week from 10th to 15th September a group of fifteen Czech students attended a sustainability field trip to the province of Styria in Austria organized by the Charles University Environment Centre as part of its MOSUR project. The field trip focused on sustainable development in Austria, especially in the city of Graz and on the province of Styria. The students met different stakeholders of sustainable development in this region. They had opportunities to compare the Czech and Austrian approach to sustainable development. The focus of this presentation is on a comparison of stakeholders in the Ústí Region (Ústecký kraj) and in the province of Styria. Some approaches from Styria can be applied to the Czech region.

Facts

Ústí region

  • Population (2011): 826 000
  • Area (sq. km): 5335
  • Economic growth (%, 2011): 6,63

Styria

  • Population (2011): 1,21 mil.,
  • Area (sq. km): 16 400
  • Economic growth (%, 2011): 3,9

Stakeholders in both regions

Ústí region

The Ústí region has a thin economic base. The regional raw-material base includes the largest national deposits of brown coal. The region has one of the most highly developed industrial production networks in the Czech Republic. The most important sectors are, for example, the chemical industry, brown coal mining and power generation. Key stakeholders are mining companies (Czech Coal a.s., Severočeské Doly a.s.), energy companies (CEZ Group) and chemical companies (Unipetrol, Spolchemie, Setuza).


Styria

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In Ústecký kraj we can use local sources. This area is known mainly for its coal mining. Tourism in Ústecký kraj is one of the lowest in the Czech republic. Therefore, in our project, we expect an increase in tourism. The first step is to not to breach the coal mining limits and to revitalize the damaged areas. The question of breaching of mining limits and of damaging the surrounding villages brings uncertainty with it. People in towns do not renovate their houses and houses become delapidated.

The second step will be to improve the lack of marketing for the Ústí region – there are many beautiful castles (Střekov in Ústí nad Labem, Hasištejn near Prunéřov, Děčín, Libočany near Žatec, Jezeří and Červený Hrádek near Most), the Bohemian Schwitzerland National Park, the Central Bohemian Uplands Landscape Park, the Ore Mountains Nature Park, the interesting lookout towers (Děčínský Sněžník, Klínovec) and many other sights. As a model, we can use the Austrian Zotter chocolate factory, and Gölles – a producer of bio-vinegar and schnapps or a private hotel with a microbrewery.

To improve sustainable develepement in our region we propose several solutions:

1) PR Unfortunately many people don´t know about our national parks and protected areas. We propose the model of the Austrian national parks promotion through workshops, fairs and exhibitions in all major cities in the region.

2) Local resources In the Czech Republic there are several well-known producers of vinegar - the best known is vinegar from Bzenec which was founded in 1921 (South Moravia). The second is vinegar from Úsobí (from region Vysočina), which was founded in 1994, and third is vinegar from Jindřichův Hradec - Fruko Schulz (South Bohemia). But these producers don´t offer organic vinegar. Many people want to buy and consume products made in the Czech Republic, but the market is glutted with products from abroad. The question is ´Why?´. Climatic and geographic conditions offer a wide variety of food that we can grow and produce. Our project is based on local materials. For example, in the district of Žernoseky near Litomerice we can find sprawling vineyards. So in this area it would be appropriate to build family hotels. Hotels (or guesthouses) would offer products from local sources, such as wine, home-made honey products, bio-vinegar. A similar situation is found near the city of Most (there are vineyards on recultivated mining areas – primarily the hills of Špičák and Hněvín). Products from those areas would be available only for the Czech market.


Another option is to build eco-farms with sales of home-made ecological products. In the Ústí region we can find several eco-farms, but there is no marketing. There is an absence of cooperation between farms, so they could start to cooperate and create a network with eco-products. In the Ore Mountains there are good conditions to found new eco-farms. Most hotels and guesthouses offer modern facillites with modern comfort. Hotels can be built in an unusual style to attract tourists. For example, in the region of Žatecko there could be a hotel with a microbrewery, and the interior of the hotel could correspond to a village cottage from the 19th century.

Sources

  • [1] Basic trends of demographic, economic, social, and economic development in the Ústí Region 2011, Czech statistical office (CZSO), Regional Administration CZSO in Usti nad Labem, link [In czech:
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