Fossil Fuel Free Växjö, Bioenergy and sustainable development
The City of Växjö is now an internationally recognised frontrunner in the fight against pollution and climate change, undertaking an ambitious programme to become nature’s best friend and a fossil fuel free city!
In 1996, the executive committee of Växjö municipality unanimously decided to stop using fossil fuels in the activities of the municipality and decided the following goals:
1. The Municipality of Växjö shall stop using fossil fuels.
2. Emissions of carbon dioxide from fossil fuels in the whole municipality shall be reduced by 50 per cent per capita by the year 2010 compared with 1993.
To reach these goals, it is necessary to shift from fossil fuels to bioenergy in the heating and transport sector. We also need to be more energy efficiency. This shift is done in close co-operation with different stakeholders, such as university, industry and NGOs. By the year 2003 the emissions of fossil carbon dioxide had decreased by 21 % per capita from 1993. Each citizen of Växjö contributes to global warming with 3,7 tonnes fossil carbon dioxide, which is about the same as the average world citizen.
ecoBUDGET
Though Växjö has reached far with a wide selection of environmental work, the municipality felt a need for an environmental management system to better structure the management and follow-up of environmental issues. The solution was an EU-project funded within the LIFE-program.
In April 2002 the local work on ecoBUDGET started and in March 2003 Växjö City Council approved the first environmental budget for the municipality.
ecoBUDGET is an environmental management system especially designated to political organisations such as municipalities. The system includes the environmental work both within the municipal organisation as well as the municipality as a geographical area. The principal aim of ecoBUDGET is to manage natural resources with the same efficiency as the financial resources. With ecoBUDGET the traditional financial accounting system is complemented with an environmental accounting system, in which physical environmental quantities are measured instead of money.
Växjö University
Växjö University is the second largest university in southern Sweden with 14,000 students which is well known for its strong international profile.The range of degree courses and research subjects is great; economics, social studies, the humanities, mathematics, statistics, computing as well as medical care and social work. The ambitions of Växjö community to abate global warming are of course also a strong issue for the University. This is also a matter of global importance, and Växjö University offers an applied, distance-learning course in Bioenergy Technology and Bioenergy Business. The course aims to give local politicians, planners, policy-makers and business people a common basis to start new business in the sector of local, sustainable and profitable energy production.