Report: ManagEnergy Reflection Document on a EU-wide Co-operation of Local Actors on Sustainable Energy Education

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Introduction

Local and Regional energy agencies play a key role in regional and urban energy management to improve energy efficiency, to make the most of local energy resources to foster the use of renewable energy sources and to address the issue of energy efficiency in the transport sector. In order to achieve these objectives, the agencies provide expertise, advisory services, and assistance on energy management in the geographic area of competence (municipality, province, or region). Local partners of the agencies are public authorities but also typically companies, consumer associations, chambers of commerce, utilities and universities.

Education is an effective means of achieving energy sustainability. Children - and even young adults from university - are the decision makers of the future, are more receptive to new concepts and new behaviours, can introduce new habits at home and later during their professional career. Professional formation can also be effective since it can be a means to introduce a sustainable energy component in a given activity, directly related to energy use, e.g. building managers, or less directly e.g. teachers. Also, schools are a privileged place for serving as leader by example, namely in using and promoting the use of energy in a sustainable way.

Local and regional energy agencies have an important role to play as schools are traditionally under the responsibility of local or regional administration. The agencies are therefore the natural actor to serve as a promoter of activities to incorporate sustainable use of energy in education.

A key area of activity of most of the energy agencies in Europe is targeted to education and schools. A lot of initiatives and tools have been developed at various levels by the agencies in recent years trying to respond to the important need of educating children (and indirectly parents and adults) towards energy saving behaviours. Most of the information on this activity is available in different languages and formats and requires a significant effort to be put at the disposal of schools all over Europe. However, most of the agencies lack material and expertise to develop their own activities and would certainly benefit from external contributions.

The ManagEnergy initiative, created by DG TREN, has been developing some activity on the area of education, through the publication of good practices for replication and organising events on the theme. However, it is our conviction that ManagEnergy could be more active in the field of education. In order to have a more targeted and professional approach, ManagEnergy would certainly benefit from developing common facilities and engage in horizontal activities in collaboration with DG EAC.

Conclusions and recommendations

The aim of this document is to provide preliminary recommendations on how ManagEnergy, as a tool to animate local and regional actors at EU level, could support activities on education as a means to promote end-use energy efficiency including in transport, and renewable energy sources.

For the purpose a questionnaire was launched and more than 60 answers from 23 countries were received. About 90% of the respondents have performed activities in the field of sustainable energy education, and two thirds of these have demonstrated success. Primary and secondary schools are the principal target for these activities. Teachers are mainly an intermediate target to better reach the students.

The main obstacle encountered by energy agencies and other local actors in carrying out educational activities is lack of funding and resources. Other obstacles mentioned are the lack of time in study plans and the lack of interest from school boards and teachers to adapt the curricula. Lack of credibility, often due to lack of continuity, is also pointed out. Interesting to note is that low interest from students is never mentioned!

Concerning the perceived most cost effective activities, the following recommendations are made:

• Priority focus should be given to energy savings, in particular end-use energy efficiency at home. Targets should be those of reduced consumption of energy, knowledge of energy efficiency measures (labelling, efficient lighting, etc) and awareness of the global impact and benefits of end-use energy efficiency;
• Targeting transport and mobility offers also significant potential advantages including: reduced traffic congestion; increased safety for children, environmental benefits as well as the socialising and health issues.
• The activities and in particular the education material should address specific fields, e.g. efficient lighting with specific practical efficiency measures, mentioning both technical and behavioural aspects.
• Active involvement of students through experimental or hands-on approach. Examples of activities that can stimulate the experimental aspects are: a) laboratory classes; energy efficiency measures in the school; simple installations using renewables in the school; energy audits and monitoring of energy consumption of the school; monitoring the results of the measures mentioned in b or c; and contests.
• Combine theoretical and experimental aspects. For example the "hands-on" approach mentioned above should be completed with quantification of effects like avoided greenhouse gas emissions. Involvement in monitoring energy consumption, and calculating greenhouse emissions of the schools themselves is important to get students and teachers involved and committed.
• Integration of energy in curricula to create room -or time - for energy issues. This requires co-operation with the education authorities, or at least with the school boards and teachers;
• Produce or adapt educational material in national languages. This aspect is particularly important for "smaller" countries (and not sharing languages).
• Training of teachers. Although this activity is not in the list of priority under this question, answers to other questions and experience show it can be an effective means to reach the students.

Some suggestions on how can ManagEnergy support local action are:

Professional training of teachers. The early paradigm was to visit classes by professionals directly. Teachers are the most effective multiplier to reach the students and a way of making the actions live in the school. Thus training teachers - or/and providing them with very good education toolkit - is very effective. The involvement of the energy agency - for example a visit of someone from the energy agency or a study visit organised by the energy agency - would provide a practical dimension to the activity.

Dissemination of information. Energy education should be delivered in a comprehensible way and in the children's National language since most of the students can not speak other languages. The preparation of educational material should take into account the cultural, social and teaching diversity of the countries concerned. Thus, it is recommended that it is of no use to develop a common set of tools to be used by all schools all over Europe. A first step could be to collect all existing educational material and make it available.

"Kids Corner" on www.managenergy.net. The establishment of a "Kids corner" would serve in the first place to create a common facilitator and a reference for agencies, schools, teachers, pupils, and citizens. The task of the agencies will be to support ManagEnergy in identifying and adapting material available and to promote it at local level. However, duplication of efforts should be avoided in Member States where such facilities exist.

EU-wide competitions with symbolic prizes is possible if the energy agencies are the contact point for the schools. The Comenius programme, DG EAC, Socrates, provide financial assistance for the development of trans-national partnerships which seek to implement a trans-national project between schools. ManagEnergy could contribute to a co-operation on energy education in European schools coordinating the involvement of energy agencies.

To find similar reports, click on a keyword below:
National Energy Agencies : Regional Energy Agencies : Local Energy Agencies : Education : Energy Efficiency : ManagEnergy : Renewable Energy Sources & Systems : SAVE Agencies : Schools & Colleges : Sustainable Transport : Training

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