Turning waste into climate-friendly energy

Doing something for the climate is
not just idle words in the Municipality
of Syddjurs in Jutland. The aim is
ambitious but the way to achieve it is
based on common sense.
Mayor Kirstine Bille has a pair of bird-watching
binoculars in her office, because Ebeltoft
Town Hall is located amid beautiful scenery
with an abundance of bird life.
The mayor has great interest in safeguarding
the environment, as well as ensuring that
the municipality’s ambitious climate plan is
more than just noble intentions.
“Empty words achieve nothing. We seek
results and have described what our actions
as a municipality need to be,” says Kirstine
www.syddjurs.dk
Bille.
One example is that the municipality’s own
buildings must become as energy efficient as
possible.
“In all our administration buildings, we have
set up screens so that staff can monitor energy
consumption. This helps us all remember
small things such as switching off lights and
computers. And it works. We can see it clearly
in our energy consumption. It demands an
Kirstine Bille, Mayor of the Municipality
of Syddjurs in Jutland.
“We set climate goals
we know we can reach”
www.syddjurs.dk
effort too, because our aim is to save two
percent on electricity, water and heating consumption
annually up to 2025,” she says.
Energy efficient solutions are also being
incorporated whenever the municipality renovates
or constructs new buildings – and the
same applies to citizens.
Kirstine Bille emphasises that the climate
plan must help create growth:
“We have many small and medium-sized
enterprises in the municipality, including carpentry
firms, blacksmiths and engineering
companies. Many of them are implementing
energy efficiency initiatives, and we need to
support them so that we can safeguard the
climate and create jobs for our citizens.”
Syddjurs has many villages, open countryside
and around 8,000 holiday homes. In order
to achieve the objective for energy saving
and the introduction of renewable energy for
these areas, the municipality needs collaboration
partners.
“We have many district heating stations
which use locally produced biomass. But
we have a challenge with our holiday homes
which are typically heated by electricity and
wood-burning stoves. So we will enter cli-
mate agreements with businesses, associations
and organisations which can help us
reach the objective.”
It is important to the mayor that citizens
and businesses see the sense of the climate
plan.
“We must avoid a them-and-us situation,
and achieve results together,” says Bille.
FacTS:
• The Municipality of Syddjurs is one of
the Danish Conservation of Nature Association’s
climate municipalities, which
have committed themselves to reduce
Hovedgaden 77 · 8410 Rønde · tlf. 87 53 50 00
CO
²
emissions by at least two percent
syddjurs@syddjurs.dk · www.syddjurs.dk
annually until 2025
• The municipality has also joined the EU
Covenant of Mayors, where the municipalities
commit themselves to higher ambitions
than the EU’s own climate objectives
Hovedgaden 77 · 8410 Rønde · tlf. 87 53 50 00
syddjurs@syddjurs.dk · www.syddjurs.dk