New program to make energy use of communities more sustainable

17 June 2008

Photo: Sitra

New program to make energy use of communities more sustainable

Sitra, the Finnish Innovation Fund, has launched a five-year energy program that focuses on energy saving and energy efficiency of communities. The aim is to reverse the trend in energy consumption and simultaneously to increase welfare and create new business - in terms of sustainable development.

In Finland, the communities consume almost as much energy as industry, and consumption is increasing year after year. Thus, energy saving poses a major challenge for companies, the public sector and consumers.

According to Jukka Noponen, Executive Director of the Energy Program, the program is exploring the entire energy chain and looking for suitable targets to improve the energy efficiency within the built environment including the community structure, land use and traffic infrastructure and buildings.

Photo: Sitra

"Reversing the trend in energy consumption requires activating consumers to action, as well as the rapid renewal of the service sector and the entire building and real-estate sector," says Jukka Noponen, Executive Director of the Energy Program.

"These changes will also provide a significant opportunity for innovation, business and social change," he stresses.

For this work, the program is deploying the best domestic and international practices, initiating strategy processes and experimental projects in terms of energy consumers. In , developing new business and making venture-capital investments in the energy sector.

"We are, for instance, promoting the adoption of best practices and expediting their commercialization by taking calculated risks," he notes.

Main goals of the Energy Program for the years 2008-2012

* Promoting the rapid transformation of Finland into an energy-efficient society and reversing the trend in energy consumption;

* Encouraging Finnish people to save energy;

* Creating opportunities for consumers to adopt sensible and energy-efficient solutions;

* Creating new successful business in the field of energy efficiency and sustainable energy production;

* Attainment of Finland's goals pertaining to the climate as well as the improvement of competitiveness.

Partnerships - the keys to proceed

The program is building partnerships with energy sector organizations, industry, companies, ministries, municipalities and research institutions in order to find new solutions and reverse the trend in energy consumption.

At the same time, the program is also committing the various parties to change their operating models, and providing opportunities for changes that challenge the current operating models

"These are necessary for achieving a breakthrough in energy management and low-energy building, a rapid increase in renovation and lifestyle changes," Noponen stresses.

Towards energy self-sufficient zones

In addition to measures aimed at accelerating current energy development, the program focuses on projects aimed at creating leaps in the improvement of the energy efficiency of the built environment. These will make energy-consumption rapidly more effective and challenge normal development.

Photo: Sitra

The measures could include transforming properties into energy producers and developing residential areas into energy self-sufficient zones.

Other key perspectives include encouraging reconstruction companies to take part in an energy bee, placing the municipal sector in the limelight as a key facilitator and motivating service companies to become providers of energy services for consumers.

"Through these measures, we encourage companies, individuals and municipalities to boldly take the initiative and demand that society provides a clear framework within which they can voluntarily implement the measures needed to attain the energy and climate objectives," Noponen describes.

Creating changes in lifestyle

By creating opportunities and enthusiasm to implement sensible and energy-saving solutions, the program aims to increase the demand for energy-efficient products and services.

Photo: Sitra

The aim also is to create changes in lifestyle as well as to make energy-saving and a low-emission lifestyle attractive. Sitra sees the challenges and risks posed by climate change as an opportunity to re-think and change a number of issues in the activities of both communities and individuals.

"Our goal is that by the end of the Energy Program the energy consumption of consumers will have taken a downward turn and that our activities have accelerated the introduction of energy-saving measures," Noponen concludes.

Capital investments in companies

The Energy Program makes venture capital investments in the establishment and growth phase of companies alone and as a co-investor with individual investors and funds.

The focus of the investment activities is energy technologies and services in the fields of energy efficiency, clean energy production, and energy transfer, distribution and storage.

Sitra's Energy company portal offers private investors and funds a vantage point to energy sector companies seeking venture capital investments and competence.

Sitra co-operates in developing cross-border investments throughout Europe. Energy sector companies are an important focus group of EASY investment forum events.

The Energy Program works in close co-operation with Sustainable community technology program, a technology program of Tekes, National Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation.

Source and more information:

Sitra

Energy Program Venture Capital Investments