| | | 1. How ecolabels empower energy consumers |
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 A wide range of energy consumers, from large industrial consumers to households, can benefit from the existence of ecolabels. Developed by expert organisations, ecolabels help consumers find renewable energy that fulfils specific criteria and thus save consumers' efforts and time. Here at EKOenergy's Secretariat, we get many questions regarding the use of ecolabels. So, we've compiled some of our answers regarding how ecolabels empower consumers and help speed the energy transition in a recent article. Read more on our website about ecolabels and what they bring to the renewable energy market. |
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| 2. More than 400,000 € raised for river restoration projects |
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 For each MWh of EKOenergy-labelled hydropower sales, 0.10 € goes to our Environmental Fund. With these contributions, we finance river restoration projects. Between 2015 and 2020, we have financed 24 projects with a total sum of 419,057.00 €. Our new YouTube video EKOenergy's Environmental Fund gives a short overview of our Environmental Fund and some of the financed projects. To learn more about what the EKOenergy ecolabel means for hydropower installations, see a recent article on our website: Let's talk about hydropower. |
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| "BLC Telecom and Lumme Energia cooperate to make telecommunication more environmentally friendly. BLC's services now run ecologically with Lumme Energia's EKOenergy-labelled electricity." |
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| 3. Solar energy for rural schools in China |
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 Encouraged by the concrete demand and suggestions from several of our larger partners, we shared our latest Call for Climate Fund Projects (January-February 2020) with NGOs in China too. We are now proud to announce that we have decided to grant 24,000 € to a solar energy project organised by the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation. Together with their partners, they will install solar energy in 2 primary schools in poor rural areas of the Gansu Province, China. Looking forward to the results! For an overview of all the renewable energy projects we have financed so far, see our Climate Fund webpage. |
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| 4. Recent EKOenergy materials |
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 We continue to publish new materials for our outreach, which also helps our licensees and sustainability professionals in various countries communicate about EKOenergy. See for example our new one-pager, explaining good reasons to choose EKOenergy. You can also watch new 5-minute presentation videos on our YouTube channel, explaining how EKOenergy works in French, Italian, Spanish and Russian. Our general EKOenergy presentation video now has subtitles added in other languages too. Other media platforms publish EKOenergy-related material as well. Many thanks to the Russian sustainability magazine Recycle for the recent article about ecolabels and EKOenergy: Что такое экомаркировки для возобновляемой энергии. |
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| "Buy electricity from renewable sources. Many companies offer electricity with the EKOenergy label, which guarantees a sustainable origin not just in terms of emissions, but also in terms of biodiversity." |
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| 5. EKOenergy's brand book in French and Italian |
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 Users of EKOenergy-labelled energy, companies in particular, can increase the positive impact of their climate action by communicating about their choice. Using the EKOenergy logo shows that the energy they use comes from environmentally friendly installations and encourages others to switch to 100% renewable and sustainable energy too. The EKOenergy brand book is a guide for consumers detailing how best to communicate when using the EKOenergy logo. Our brand book is now available in French and Italian too. Stay tuned for other language versions! |
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| 6. Keep peat in the ground! |
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 Peatlands constitute major carbon storage and habitats for many species. The use of peat for energy production causes emissions comparable to those of brown coal (lignite), destroys nature's potential to absorb more carbon and is a direct threat to local biodiversity. The Finnish Association for Nature Conservation, the initiative-taker and host of the EKOenergy label, has a long tradition of opposing peat extraction. The promotion of alternatives to the use of peat was one of the reasons to launch the EKOenergy ecolabel. Last week, volunteers of EKOenergy joined the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation in the launch of their new campaign to end the use of peat for energy production in Finland. Finnish citizens can sign the 'kansalaisaloite' via the campaign website: www.irtiturpeesta.fi. |
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| "Are you already using EKOenergy-labelled energy? Tell it to the world and inspire other organisations to join too!" |
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| 7. An alarming series of temperature records |
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 With the data now in for the first half of the year, 2020 is most likely to be either the warmest or second warmest year on record, depending on the approach used to calculate global temperatures. Global surface temperatures have been exceptionally warm over the first half of 2020, tying with the record temperatures seen in 2016. This is particularly remarkable because El Niño conditions have been largely “neutral” in 2020 to-date, unlike 2016 in which temperatures were considerably boosted by an extremely strong El Niño event in the tropical Pacific. Global temperature is now running well above the linear trend that has existed for decades, in other words, global warming is seemingly speeding up. Texts copied from an article on the website of the World Economic Forum and from the newsletter Monthly Global Temperature Updates. |
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We at EKOenergy are always enthusiastic to collaborate with new partners.
For further information, please do not hesitate to get in touch. |
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