The Nordic Council of Ministers' Office in Estonia is one of 11 offices in the country which has taken the decision to make its everyday operations more environmentally aware and its use of resources more economical – all part of Ökomeedia's new 'Green Programme'.|
In addition to specific savings on resources, the concept of the 'green office' is also being promoted in the organisations that have joined the programme. This raises the environmental awareness of staff and helps them be even more economical in regard to nature. But this is not the only goal of the green office – it is also designed to bring about a change in the way people think and boost how much people know about the environment.
We will shortly obtain the initial results of use of electricity in our office, which will show whether we are able to change anything in this area or whether we should be focussing on other areas. This way we hope to identify the area which will prove to be the most effective for our office in terms of taking green steps. In spreading the green message we have previously tried to generate knowledge which everyone is able to make use of. At the end of 2009 we conducted an energy-saving experiment with two families in association with the Energy Discovery Centre. Our aim was to monitor how simple or complicated it is for ordinary Estonian families to reorganise their lives primarily in terms of their use of electricity. The experiment highlighted a number of obstacles, the most serious of which were the time involved and limited competence in services. The fact that modern energy-saving technology has not been integrated into other product groups was also a problem. For example, there are no lamps for which energy-saving light bulbs would be suitable. The organisations and partners that have joined the green programme are: Swedbank, the State Forest Management Centre, the Radisson Blu Hotel, the Port of Tallinn, Teater NO99, Nordic Council of Ministers' Office in Estonia, Restor, Keila municipality, Reet Aus fashion house, the Recycling Centre and the Network of Estonian Non-Profit Organisations. Ökomeedia's partners in supporting the green programme are the Estonian Fund for Nature, Futuren, Eesti Energia, Ecoprint, Tallinna Vesi and the Maailm creative agency. |
Green team operating in Norden office in Estonia
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Recently launched, the programme is a perfect example of the implementation of proactive environmental policy. 'Proactive', which is to say 'preventive', means that all of the organisations that have joined the programme have decided to do more than they are required to by law. This way Ökomeedia – a non-profit organisation – hopes to achieve up to 10% savings in the use of at least one resource in every office. Companies and organisations making the decision to follow a more sustainable path is bold, but at the same time inescapable. No company can 'turn green' overnight, and it will only achieve true green status once it is having a neutral or positive effect on the ecosystem, says Ökomeedia. |
A programme website should be ready by the start of April on which organisations interested in sustainable development and green marketing will find a lot of useful information. The website will also provide an overview of the project's progress.