Baltic Cities Environmental bulletin 1/2013

ENVIRONMENTAL
www.ubc-environment.net
bulletin No 1, 2013
BalticCities
Focus: Free public
transport in Tallinn
Innovative cycling
initiatives in the Baltic
Sea Region page 9 and 12

Bal c Ci es Environmental bulle n 1/132
ENVIRONMENT 1/2013
BALTICCITIES
EDITORIAL
Clean fuels for the future: Powering European
transport to stay competitive
Transport is the largest oil consumer of all economic sectors in
the EU - the road sector most of all. We know oil will most likely
be more expensive to import in the future. So it makes sense to
develop and promote innova ve and cleaner alterna ves.
It is also an obvious way to make Europe’s economy more re-
source-efficient. Fuels such as electricity, hydrogen, natural
gas, biogas and liquid biofuels can help in the diversifica on of
Europe’s dependency on one type of fuel and significantly cut
transport’s carbon emissions. Energy-efficient technologies also
offer EU companies a large commercial opportunity.
Alterna ve fuels already exist, and in many cases the technology
is mature enough for market deployment. But there is s ll a gap
between successful demonstra on projects and deployment in
the real market, which the private sector does not yet bridge.
Their full-scale deployment has been held back by the high retail
cost of such vehicles, low levels of consumer acceptance and a
lack of infrastructure for recharging and refuelling.
Today, Europe’s network to supply electricity, hydrogen and
natural gas for transport is simply not sufficient to enable mar-
ket take-up, which is why I am proposing a comprehensive long-
term strategy for alterna ve fuels.
The idea is to provide a reliable legal environment to s mulate
private investment in a new market. To create EU-wide condi-
ons to boost customer acceptance, we need to set targets to
build the necessary infrastructure and make it compa ble eve-
rywhere.
The largest barrier to accelera ng the build-up of future trans-
port fuels is uncertain demands from manufacturers, investors
and consumers. It is now me to give clear signals to all of them
by crea ng condi ons to get these fuels and vehicles properly on
the EU market. The projects from the Bal c Sea Region shown in
this bulle n are thus crucial in order to show stakeholders, rang-
ing from the vehicle manufacturers to consumers that the future
of mobility does not depend on fossil fuels.
UBC member cities (as of May 2013)
Aalborg • Aarhus •Arendal • Bergen • Botkyrka • Chojnice • Cēsis • Elbląg • Elva • Espoo • Falun • Gargzdai • Gdańsk • Gdańsk
• Gdynia• Greifswald • Guldborgsund • Gävle • Haapsalu • Halmstad • Helsinki • Jelgava • Jurmala • Jyväskylä • Jõgeva • Jõhvi
• Jēkabpils• Kaliningrad • Kalmar • Karlskrona • Karlstad • Kaunas • Keila • Kemi • Kiel • Klaipėda • Kolding • Koszalin • Kotka
• Kristiansand• Kristianstad • Krynica • Kuressaare • Kärdla • Køge • Lahti • Łeba • Liepāja • Linköping • Luleå • Lübeck •
Maardu • Malbork• Malmö • Mariehamn • Międzyzdroje • Morska • Nacka • Narva • Norrtälje • Næstved • Oskarshamn • Paide
• Palanga • Paldiski• Panevėžys • St Petersburg • Pori • Porvoo • Pruszcz • Pärnu • Rakvere • Reda • Riga • Robertsfors •
Rostock • Siauliai • Sillamäe• Sopot • Sundsvall • Szczecin • Söderhamn • Słupsk • Tallinn • Tampere • Tartu • Tierp • Trelleborg
• Tukums • Turku • Umeå • Ustka• Vaasa • Viljandi • Vilnius • Visby • Vordingborg • Västervik • Växjö • Võru • Wismar • Örebro
Mr Siim Kallas
European Commissioner for Transport & Vice-president
for the European Commission
©PhotographicserviceoftheCounciloftheEUEuropeanUnion

3
20-21 Clean Water and Energy
Efficiency
UBC Energy Commission
2 Clean fuels for the future: powering
European transport to stay competitive–
Editorial by Siim Kallas, Vice president of
the European Commission
4 Exploring avenues towards sustainable
urban mobility solutions
5 UBC Joint meeting in Tallinn 10-12 April
7 Zero-fare public transport in Tallinn
and beyond
8 Quest supports cities towards
sustainable urban transport and mobility
10 CIVITAS DYN@MO promotes
sustainable mobility in cities
11 Trolleybus - innovative mode of
sustainable urban transport
14 Mobilizing commitment to address
water resources management in Belarus
18 Triple helix actors join forces for
Central Baltic maritime cluster
UBC EnvCom Member cities
Editorial informa on
Bal c Ci es Environmental bulle n 1/2013 is published by the Union of the Bal c Ci es Environment and Sustainable Development
Secretariat. Chief-Editor:Jeppe Mikel Jensen (firstname.surname@ubc.net) Address: Union of the Bal c Ci es Environment and Sustainable
Development Secretariat, Bal c Sea House, Vanha Suurtori 7, FIN-20500 Turku, FINLAND, Tel: +358 2 262 3171, Fax: +358 2 262 3425
More informa on: www.ubc-environment.net ISSN 1455-0903
Cover photo: Per Lundberg Layout: Moira Åkerman
Prin ng house: Newprint Oy, in May 2013 on 100 % recycled paper.
ENVIRONMENT1/2013
BALTICCITIES
CONTENTS
6 Free public transport - Tallinn green
initiative
9 Sustainable travel provides health,
economic and environmental benefits in
Halmstad
12 Innovative Bike Lanes in Örebro
13 Tartu is heading for developing
sustainable city transport
15 Umeå: One year challenge -
MAX500
16 Steps towards Sustainable Transport
in Panevėžys
17 Shared mobility approaches
Greifswald
19 Malmö demonstrates a sustainable
biogas system
24 Active Passengers in Klaipeda -
Sustainability Friends
25 Electric bicycles tested for
employees and inhabitants in Växjö
26 Short News
New Baltic Cities Environmental
Bulletin Format and New website for
UBC Commission on Environment
22 Mutual interest and trust in the heart
of cooperation
23 We act for the Baltic Sea - do you?

Exploring avenues towards
sustainable urban mobility
solutions
In our current pursuits to improve the quality of life in our cities, urban planners often turn to
the urban transport infrastructure for improvements of the life in the city. Urban planners are
wise to take it into consideration since it is not unusual that the total sum of land dedicated
to transport exceeds the quantity of land dedicated to buildings in modern cities. Again,
Los Angeles is representing the worst-case scenario with more than 60 % of the urban land
dedicated transport facilities such as road and parking. This space is primarily used up for
motorized transport and therefore excludes social activities that have proven to be vital for a
good urban life. At the same time private motorized transport also has a negative effect on our
environment, social cohesion, the urban economy and the general health of urban citizens.
Text: Jeppe Mikel Jensen Photos: Jeppe Mikel Jensen
There are clear environmental, social and economic incen ves
for increasing sustainability within the urban transport sector
and is therefore also high on poli cal agendas in ci es, regions
and na ons.
The efficient and sustainable solu ons
There are several opportuni es to improve mobility for our fel-
low urban ci zens and adhere to all three aspects of sustain-
ability. It is therefore not a one-size-fits-all solu on to alleviate
the current fossil fuel dependency, which is s ll the case in the
majority of our ci es today. The entry points for more sustain-
able urban mobility are o en a combina on of the five overall
measures shown below.
In brief:
►Environmental sustainable transport
requires a lowering of the CO2
emission for every kilometer travelled
►Social sustainable transport requires
access to travel for all segments of
society
►Economic sustainable transport
requires economically viable
infrastructure investments
Entry points for increasing sustainability within the transport
sector.
1. Implemen ng regulatory framework and mobility
management for integrated service solu ons
2. Linking transport and urban planning for shortened distances
3. Establishing effec ve public transport systems
4. Expanding non-motorized transport infrastructure
5. Facilita ng more efficient vehicle and fuel technology
The Bal c Sea Region has a vast variety of sustainable mobility
solu ons and UBC member-ci es are o en highlighted interna-
onally for their innova ve and sustainable solu ons. Across
the region we see good examples of how sustain-
able measures are adapted to suit the physical as
well as the poli cal landscape in our ci es. This
bulle n provides several good examples of how we
can mix and match sustainable mobility measures
for a more sustainable mobility. Since the start of
2013 one member-city has especially drawn in-
terna onal a en on in their efforts towards sus-
tainable transport. Their measures are manifold;
however, their specific focus is on establishing an
effec ve public transport system. At the start of
the year the city of Tallinn, Estonia, made all public
transport free for its ci zens, a bold poli cal deci-
sion that has a racted a lot of interest in the Bal c
Sea Region and beyond, which is also highlighted
in this bulle n.
4

Bal c Ci es Environmental bulle n 1/13 5
Text: Jeppe MIkel Jensen Photos: Jeppe Mikel Jensen and Eva Hjälmered
More informa on:
Jeppe Mikel Jensen, Communica on and Network Manager
Union of the Bal c Ci es Commission
on Environment Secretariat
jeppe.jensen@ubc.net
UBC Joint meeting in Tallinn
10-12 April - Saving energy and the environment
through sustainable transport solutions
Several topics were embraced and questioned at the Joint Commission meeting in Tallinn,
including optimizing cycling, public transport and maritime under the overall theme of
sustainable transport in the Baltic Sea Region. More than 100 stakeholders from 11 countries
discussed this increasingly important topic.
The great variety of planning tradi on from the region was on
display in Tallinn, where it was made clear that there is not on-
ly one but several ways to succeed in planning for sustainable
transport.
Tallinn opened the mee ng with a presenta on of the various
posi ve aspects that has entailed in their free public transport
ini a ve for Tallinn ci zens.
Deputy Mayor Taavi Aas and Deputy Mayor Arvo Sarapuu from
Tallinn presented the financial figures behind the ini a ve as
well as the unforeseen benefits of le ng the ci zens of Tallinn
use the public transport for free. Only three months a er imple-
menta on, it is clear that this ini a ve will be followed closely in
the future by the whole region and beyond.
UBC member ci es Gdynia, Ålborg and Halmstad also presented
their sustainable transport measures in rela on to EU funded
projects, including QUEST and CIVIT@S DYNAMO. The projects
proved that there are several ways to u lize Euro-
pean funding and projects to catalyse a transi on
towards sustainable urban mobility. The Bal c Sea
Region Covenant Club hosted a parallel discussion on
Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans and their poten al
synergies with the Covenant of Mayors’ Sustainable
Energy Ac on Plans.
As the Bal c Sea is a common denominator for all
UBC countries, also mari me transport was on the
agenda. Experts from all over the region were dis-
cussing policies affec ng the mari me industry and
the sector’s contribu on to CO2
emissions at the final
SNOOP (Shipping-Induced NOX and SOX Emissions – Opera onal
Monitoring Network) Policy Forum.
The two intensive days provided the par cipants with various
prac cal and theore cal aspects of sustainable transport from
the region and food for thought for their daily ac vi es within
their member ci es.
For agenda and presenta ons: www.ubc-environment.net
5

Since January 1, 2013, Tallinn started providing free public transport (FPT) to all residents of
the City.
Free public transport -
Tallinn Green Initiative
Text: Taavi Aas Photo: City of Tallinn
This major urban innova on has three dimensions for the city:
6
More informa on:
Mr Taavi Aas, Deputy Mayor of Tallinn
City of Tallinn, Estonia
Taavi.Aas@tallinnlv.ee
www.tallinn.ee/freepublictransport
►Green – decreasing the car traffic in the
centre of the city
►Social – providing better mobility to those
unemployed and with lower
incomes
►Economical – stimulates the consumption
of local goods and services
The first results of FPT implementa on are most encouraging.
According to a survey in January, 14% of the respondents and al-
ready 21% in March claimed that they use more public transport
compared to autumn 2012. At the same me traffic at major
crossroads has decreased by 15%.
Further research and a longer monitoring period is s ll required
for in depth evalua on, but the ini al success of FPT in Tallinn
is evident.
Regardless of the strong approval by a local referendum in
March 2012, the shi to FPT met strong opposi on in the City
Council even in the autumn 2012. However, a er a successful
implementa on of FPT a wide poli cal consensus emerged in
the Council and not a single party opposes FPT anymore.
European Network of Free Public Transport
In order to raise the FPT profile and awareness at the European
level, Tallinn is ini a ng The European Network of Free Public
Transport together with Aubagne (FR) and Hasselt (BE). The
objec ves of the network are to facilitate a comprehensive FPT
research, an exchange of the best prac ces and an improved
recogni on of FPT as effec ve measure for achieving European
sustainable development goals.
To learn from global experience and exper se in FPT, Tallinn
established contacts with the City of Chengdu in China with a
popula on over 14 million. The ini al results of the FPT test in
Chengdu, which started in October 2012, are promising and may
also help to bring FPT within the radars of bigger and smaller
European ci es.
Tallinn enjoyed the enthusias c support of the UBC for the Eu-
ropean Green Capital idea in 2006. We are grateful to the UBC
Transport and Environment commissions for also ge ng closely
involved in the innova ve FPT issues.
On August 22, 2013 Tallinn hosts the interna onal FPT
conference. The EU Transport Commissioner, Mr Siim Kallas, is
expected to make a keynote speech. For more informa on about
FPT in Tallinn please visit www.tallinn.ee/freepublictransport
For the city budget the annual extra cost of 12 million Euros is
mostly covered by the increase in the number of taxpayers. FPT
is for many a strong mo va on to register their place of living
in Tallinn. Since the beginning of 2012 un l April 2013, the reg-
istered number of the popula on increased by 9000. It is es -
mated that every 1000 residents give approx. 1 million Euros of
personal income tax to the municipal coffers annually.

Zero-fare public transport in
Tallinn and beyond
Cities worldwide are looking for new innovative transport systems, policies and technologies
designed to improve mobility and the City of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, has recently
introduces a zero-fare public transport (ZFPT) - also known as free public transport - in an
effort to improve accessibility and mobility for its residents. Since January 1 2013, all Tallinn
residents can use public transport services operated by city-run operators without having to
pay for their ride. This makes Tallinn, with approximately 420,000 residents, the first European
capital and the largest city in the world so far that offers ZFPT services to all of its inhabitants.
Text: Dr. Oded Cats Photo: Eva Hjälmered/UBC EnCom
While previous implementa ons of ZFPT shed some light on the
an cipated impacts of such a policy measure, there is a lack of
analysis which limits its validity. A team of researchers from the
Royal Ins tute of Technology KTH (Stockholm, Sweden) - Prof.
Jonas Eliasson, Dr. Yusak Susilo and the author - was appointed
by the City of Tallinn to conduct a careful analysis and to evalu-
ate ZFPT.
The case of Tallinn is a full-scale experiment that provides a
unique opportunity to empirically evaluate economic, social,
mobility and level-of-service aspects
Various key performance indicators concerning transport perfor-
mance and travel pa erns are currently analyzed.
Valuable inputs for the public debate on Zero Fare
Public Transport
The accumulated experience from Tallinn would be instrumental
in suppor ng the public debate concerned with the ZFPT policy.
It should be emphasized that ci es vary considerably in many
respects which are expected
to influence the ul mate im-
pact of ZFPT. This is true even
among ci es within the Bal c
Sea Region. Ci es within this
region face different chal-
lenges and opportuni es in
their efforts to develop more
a rac ve and efficient public
transport systems. Moreo-
ver, subsidy levels vary con-
siderably among ci es, with most ci es including Oslo, Stock-
holm, Copenhagen, Malmö, Aarhus and Turku having a subsidy
level between 30-60%. In Tallinn, ZFPT was the final stage in a se-
quence of steps aimed to make public transport in Tallinn more
a rac ve and affordable. The exis ng share of ckets revenues
in financing system opera on costs, the cost of alterna ve travel
modes - in par cular, the private car – and the current fare level
and the sensi vity to varia ons in it, are among the most impor-
tant factors influencing the prospect of introducing ZFPT.
7
More informa on:
Dr. Oded Cats
Royal Ins tute of Technology KTH
Stockholm, Sweden
oded.cats@abe.kth.se

Many European cities are facing challenges when it comes to setting up and implementing
truly sustainable mobility policies and measures. The aim of QUEST is to support cities in
making real progress towards more sustainable urban transport systems and help them to find
solutions to achieve excellence in sustainable mobility planning.
Quest supports cities towards
sustainable urban transport and
mobility
Text: Maija Rusanen Photo: Maija Rusanen
Energy savings, a more sustainable lifestyle
and a be er quality of life are becoming in-
creasingly important for EU ci es and local
authori es. Transport can make a big contri-
bu on to meet these goals and to ensure the
a rac veness of our ci es as places worth
living in - today and tomorrow. The QUEST
project (2011-2013) has developed a Quality
Management tool to help small and medium
sized ci es to set up and further develop their
sustainable mobility policies with the assis-
tance of an external expert - the QUEST audi-
tor.
QUEST is not a tool box with ready-to-use
sustainable mobility solu ons, nor is it a tradi-
onal transport engineering tool. Stakeholder
involvement is at the core of the QUEST tool.
It aims at crea ng an understanding of the
common problems among local stakeholders,
and to facilitate the development of viable policy ac ons and
improvements to internal processes in ci es that can be imple-
mented. QUEST helps ci es to iden fy what measures are fea-
sible and effec ve for achieving energy savings in transport. It
helps ci es to make the right choices.
QUEST is ready to offer exper se to help your city!
During the QUEST project nearly 50 ci es, with different levels
of experience and contexts, from 14 European countries went
through the QUEST process, demonstra ng that there is a high
level of demand for advice on sustainable urban mobility plan-
ning. The external QUEST auditor facilitated the process and
helped ci es to view the work from different points of view and
to find blank and weak spots in their own planning and policy
prac ces. Each city going through the QUEST process receives
a tailor-made Ac on Plan indica ng the steps they should take
next and a QUEST cer ficate which recognises their efforts in
sustainable urban mobility planning.
More informa on:
Maija Rusanen, Project Coordinator
maija.rusanen@ubc.net
www.quest-project.eu
The QUEST network seeks to expand and is therefore looking for
new ci es and auditors. If your city is interested in joining the
QUEST family, please contact the project team. QUEST believes
that every city has the poten al to make progress towards sus-
tainable mobility!
8

Text: Marianne Olovson Photo: Jesper Petersson
Sustainable travel provides health,
economic and environmental
benefits in Halmstad
The Municipality of Halmstad asked itself a question: what use do great cycle
paths and an excellent public transport have if people do not discover their
benefits? The answer was an investment to encourage people to cycle or use
public transport instead of taking their car.
A new organiza on called Sustainable Travel was introduced
with several ac vi es already underway in order to change the
mobility behaviour of the ci zens of Halmstad. Three of the
projects are ‘Dialogues with households’, ‘Cycling for health’
and ‘Winter cyclists’. These all build on personal contact with
the par cipants, providing advice, tes ng of ac vi es and some
fringe benefits.
Dialogues with households
In autumn 2012 commuters on three of Halmstad’s public trans-
port routes were given personal advice over the phone. In these
conversa ons they described their daily travel requirements and
in return received advice on alterna ves to taking their car, such
as bus routes and cycle paths.
Cycling for health
Seventy commi ed car users with at least two kilometres to
work have been offered the chance to “cycle for health” from
April to October 2013. They have agreed to cycle for 80 % of
their trips, keep a travel journal and take part in a survey with a
follow-up. In return, they will get a health check-up before and
a er the project, a cycle helmet, rainwear and a cycle computer.
Cycling for health was also carried out in 2012, with surprisingly
good results. Of the people who took part 60 % were in be er
condi on a erwards and felt healthier. In total the Cycling for
health par cipants cycled more than once around the world in-
stead of taking their cars.
Winter cyclists
Many people in Halmstad put their bikes in storage for the win-
ter. The municipality wants to change this unsustainable habit
and break the barriers for cycling throughout the winter. In Janu-
ary 2013, 70 cyclists unfamiliar to winter cycling were equipped
with studded tyres, lamps and reflec ve vests, with instruc ons
to cycle at least three kilometres three mes a week. The munic-
ipality had to ensure that pavements and cycle paths were kept
as snow-free as possible. The combina on of proper equipment
and a safe infrastructure were to show the great opportuni es
to use the bicycle also in the winter.
The aim of all the Sustainable Travel projects is for people to
leave their cars at home as much as possible. This reduces air
pollu on and people’s carbon footprints, plus benefits the in-
dividual with be er health and be er personal finances. The
projects will be followed up and evaluated and hopefully lead
to more ci zens of Halmstad discovering the benefits and pleas-
ures of travelling in a more eco-friendly way.
.
More informa on:
Marianne Olovson, Mobility Manager
City of Halmstad, Sweden
marianne.olovson@halmstad.se
www.halmstad.se/hallbartresande
9

CIVITAS DYN@MO promotes
sustainable mobility in cities
Text: Kirsi-Marja Lonkila Photo: Walter Eßer, ASEAG.
10
A new project on sustainable mobility issues has started at the UBC Commission on
Environment. CIVITAS DYN@MO (2012-2016) is an ambitious project with strategic importance
to sustainable mobility planning in four dynamic European cities.
During the DYN@MO project, a Bal c Sea Region Competence
Centre on Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans will be established.
The aim is to promote SUMP for ci es in the region and to sup-
port them in the process. The competence centre will be led by
the University of Gdansk and supported by the UBC Commis-
sions on Environment and Transporta on and the City of Gdynia.
The first event will be aimed at Polish ci es, currently developing
their new Public Transport Plans.
On the project Aachen (Germany), Gdynia (Poland), Koprivni-
ca (Croa a) and Palma (Spain) demonstrate their mission to
strengthen sustainable mobility. They will take new electric and
hybrid vehicles into use, engage in interac on and collabora on
with ci zens on the basis of the new media and implement inno-
va ve transport services in an integrated way for ac ve ci zens
of all ages.
The CIVITAS DYN@MO project is part of the CIVITAS ini a ve.
The UBC Commission on Environment is responsible for the Dis-
semina on and Learning on the project.
The core of the CIVITAS DYN@MO ac vi es in Gdynia, a UBC
member city taking part in the project, will be to develop a new
genera on of Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) and aim
at becoming a model case for Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan-
ning in Poland. To support the process, a range of community
project studies for priority ac ons will be conducted and a mo-
bility management concept will be applied to create pedestrian
areas. A Mobility 2.0 internet pla orm will be set up to conduct
consulta ons with the local community.
To increase the a rac veness of the beloved trolleybuses in
Gdynia, trolleybus lines will be extended into areas without
wired infrastructure. Ba ery hybrid trolleybuses will be con-
verted and tested in a residen al area without public transport
service. Furthermore, energy efficiency of the system will be in-
creased with innova ve supercapacitor technology.
Intelligent Transport Systems and ICT will be deployed in Gdynia
e.g. to create a three-level transport model, se ng up an auto-
ma c traffic incident detec on system and dedicated bus lanes.
More informa on:
Kirsi-Marja Lonkila, Project Coordinator
kirsi-marja.lonkila@ubc.net.
New hybrid bus in Aachen, Germany.

Text: Marcin Wolek Photo: T. Pytlak
Current European transport policies contribute to an increased
interest in trolleybuses, as they aim to reduce transport related
emissions by 60% by 2050, as stated in the EU White Paper on
Transport. In many European ci es, climate goals and the desire
to become independent of oil imports are the main reasons for
the increased popularity of trolleybuses. Numerous technologi-
cal innova ons further increase the a rac veness and incen-
ves for choosing the trolleybus.
Electro-mobility and trolleybuses
There is quan ta ve evidence for the rediscovering of the trol-
leybus but the energy efficiency, environmental, opera onal and
economic advantages are already common knowledge to the cit-
ies that already operate them.
Trolleybus - innovative mode of
The Trolleybus is a mature solution for sustainable public transport, developed already in
1882. It is a mode of public transport between “classic” diesel buses and high capacity
tramways. Trolleybuses operate in more than 300 cities around the world. Countries such as
Russia, Switzerland, Czech Republic and Italy still have a high number of cities with operational
trolleybus infrastructures.
More informa on:
Mr. Marcin Wolek Ph.D, Assistant Professor
Department of Transporta on Market
University of Gdansk, Poland
mwol@wp.pl
www.trolley-project.eu
A modern Solaris Trollino bus opera ng in the city of Gdynia,
Morska-Estakada trolleybus
Ar culated trolleybus Solaris Ganz in Tallinn (Estonia) operat-
ing in harsh weather condi ons, February 2007
The Bal c Sea Region has one of the biggest trolleybus systems
in the world. St. Petersburg operates an extensive huge trolley-
bus network with 823 vehicles. Among the UBC network there
are six other trolleybus ci es, including Kaliningrad (RU), Tallinn
(EE), Riga (LV), Vilnius and Kaunas (LT) and Gdynia (PL).
Trolleybus – pla orm for innova ons
One of the biggest advantages of the trolleybus is that it is in-
dependent of one source of energy only (i.e. diesel). If powered
by a renewable energy, the trolleybus is a real “zero-emission”
vehicle. Recent developments in ba ery technology allow ex-
tending trolleybus opera ons beyond the catenary. Such a test
will be carried in Gdynia in the framework of CIVITAS DYN@MO
project.
Other fields of innova ve solu ons include: improvement of ve-
hicles (low-floor, higher capacity, modern design), improvement
of energy efficiency (storage, auxiliary engines, recupera on),
and improvement of exploita on parameters (speed, frequency,
reliability, accessibility).
In order to make trolleybuses even more popular among Euro-
pean ci es there is a need for constant promo on and gaining
social and poli cal acceptance. Higher ini al costs due to net-
work infrastructure might be overcome when a clear vision for
sustainable public transport powered by flexible electric energy
is set up. Within the TROLLEY project, implemented under the
Opera onal Program Central Europe, trolleybus ci es created a
background for interna onal coopera on and exchange of expe-
riences to strengthen the arguments for a Trolleybus infrastruc-
ture further.

Text: Anna Åhlgren Photos: City of Örebro
Örebro is a city with a high number of cyclists. Every fourth trip in the municipality is made
by bicycle. The proportion of cyclists in the inner city is even higher and can be compared to
Copenhagen. Örebro is a city with a growing population and the goal of the City Council is to
have a city more densely-populated. To meet the demands of the growing population and at
the same time make the transport system more sustainable, Örebro constantly implementing
measures to facilitate cycling in the city. Örebro has developed an innovative cycling network
plan that focuses on four different layers to optimize the cycling network and to meet the
needs of different target groups.
Örebro is the first city in Sweden to invest in these types of high-
quality cycling corridors (i.e. cycle lanes). An extensive and inno-
va ve GIS-analysis is the basis for the network plan. The analysis
consists of travel surveys and sta s cs presen ng the loca on of
residents and workplaces. The result shows the paths with the
most commuters.
The cycling corridors have a uniform design with special signage
and orange road marking lines, which separate the cycle path
from the pedestrian path. Taken together, the fi een corridors
will connect the most important loca ons and provide fast and
comfortable cycling, especially for commuters. Two of the main
cycling corridors have already been completed and five more are
in the pipeline. Evalua ons show that the cyclists are pleased
with these new corridors.
In addi on to the work to provide the city with a good cycling in-
frastructure we are also working on other measures to increase
the number of cyclists. A cycling strategy including several plans
of ac on has been developed and will be adopted in 2013. This
work is part of the EU-funded project CHAMP, which brings to-
gether champion ci es in the field of cycling.
Innovative Bike Lanes in Örebro
►15 main high-quality cycling corridors
– mainly for commuters travelling at high
speed.
►City network and regional routes – high
availability and secure travelling between
different parts of the city.
►Local network – designed for safe transfer
to local destinations. Children and the
elderly are important groups.
►Recreational routes – leisure cycling for
the citizens and visitors.
12
Reference material:
Örebro cycling account
Örebro cycling strategy
Fact sheet cycling in Örebro
More informa on:
Anna Åhlgren, Project Manager
City of Örebro, Sweden
anna.ahlgren@orebro.se

Tartu is heading for developing
Text: Helle Tolmoff Photo: Mihkel Lendok
In recent years, Tartu has held a firm course on environment friendly and sustainable
development. The city’s 30 social workers move from client to client by electric cars and city
officials drive electric and also gas-powered cars. One of city’s goals is to raise the overall
percentage of gas buses in the public transport significantly.
“In decisions about public transport, our main goals are environ-
mental protec on and economical management,” says Raimond
Tamm, Vice-Mayor of Tartu. “I’m glad that as a result of imple-
men ng electric and gas cars, our city government has been tak-
en as a model, and the number of electric and gas-powered cars
in the city has grown constantly. We have developed an electric
car charging network and thanks to the gas buses, one of the
first CNG sta ons in Estonia has also been based in Tartu.”
When Estonia bought 500 electric cars from Mitsubishi i-MiEV
two years ago from the funds generated from the emission trad-
ing scheme, the Ministry of Social Affairs gave those for free use
to municipal social workers. Nowadays, the 30 compact cars
Tartu city government applied for are used by the city’s social
workers.
Bal c Sea Programme support
Lately, Tartu has also led intensive interna onal coopera on
for implemen ng biogas-powered buses in public transport. In
2009, our city joined the Bal c Biogas Bus project. This year,
Tartu par cipates in its follow-up project ’More Biogas Buses’
funded by the Bal c Sea programme. For Tartu, the main result
of the project will be the wider implementa on of biogas buses.
Currently, there are five gas-powered buses in the city. By 2017,
when the next round of public transport procurement will take
place, the plan is to increase this number to a minimum of 25
(half of the bus fleet), fuelling them with biogas. Addi onally, a
biogas plant is planned for Tartu that would also help develop
environmentally sustainable (public) transport. By current es -
ma ons, the biogas plant should be ready by 2016 for provid-
ing Tartu’s gas powered vehicle fleet with an even more green
transport solu on.
For the city officials of the department of communal services
and the city office, city government has bought 4 Nissan Leaf
electric cars and this year, Tartu is going to buy 3 gas-powered
Opel Zafiras. Financially speaking, maintaining a gas-powered
car is about 15% cheaper than a petrol-powered car, but its fuel
consump on can be even 60% lower. The difference in ecologi-
cal footprints is also significant: the amount of CO2
, CO, NOx and
PM in its exhaust emissions is smaller by 20-80%.
1313
More informa on:
Helle Tolmoff, Specialist of Informa on Service
Tartu City Government, Estonia
Helle.Tolmoff@raad.tartu.ee

More informa on:
Pekka Salminen, Project Manager
e-mail: pekka.salminen@ubc.net
Mobilizing commitment to
address water resources
management in Belarus
”Joint actions for clean water” was the theme of the Water Management Policy Forum that
was organized on March 27 2013 in Minsk, Belarus. This was the third public, bilingual forum
organized by the international technical assistance project PRESTO (Project on Reduction of
the Eutrophication of the Baltic Sea Today) led by the UBC Commission on Environment.
Previous forums were Environmental and Technological
forums concentra ng on eutrophica on of water bodies
and efficient means to prevent it. The PRESTO project de-
velops joint ac ons between the EU and Belarus to com-
bat transna onal pollu on risk and eutrophica on of the
Bal c Sea. It also supports the goals of the EU Strategy
for the Bal c Sea Region, the Na onal strategy for sus-
tainable development and Water strategy of the Republic
of Belarus for the period to 2020. Moreover, the project
helps Belarusian ci es in their a empt to reach the Bal c
Marine Environment Protec on Commission (HELCOM)
recommenda on on nutrient removal from their waste-
waters.
crease the cost effec veness of our common ac ons to-
wards be er water management and a be er state of the
environment.” said Björn Grönholm, Head of Secretariat,
UBC Commission on Environment.
“Much has been done recently in the field of water re-
sources management in Belarus but much more is ahead.
We are ac vely working on the implementa on of the ob-
jec ves of the Water Strategy for the period up to 2020”
said Mr. Sergei V. Zavyalov, Ministry of Natural Resources
and Environmental Protec on of the Republic of Belarus.
The Forum concluded with a panel discussion facilitated
by Ma hias Barjenbruch from the Berlin Technical Univer-
sity, leader of the capacity building part of PRESTO. In the
final panel discussion it was noted that in addi on to an
adequate wastewater treatment infrastructure and water
tariffs, training and exchange of experiences at different
levels as well as environmentally sustainable regulatory
policies are necessary for a posi ve development of the
water environment.
Experiencing innova ons and new coopera on
perspec ves
Ac ve collabora on under the framework of PRESTO re-
sulted in organising an addi onal public event, the Bela-
rusian Country Forum at the world-leading Trade Fair and
Congress for Water and Wastewater “Wasser Berlin Inter-
na onal”, on March 23 2013 in Berlin (Germany). This bi-
ennial exhibi on of innova ve technology in watersupply
and treatment was a ended by some 28 000 visitors and
showcased the cu ng-edge products of more than 660
exhibitors from 34 countries.
Using this opportunity, and with official representa on
from the Ministry of Housing and the Communal Services
of the Republic of Belarus, PRESTO partners had a chance
to develop coopera on possibili es and discuss future
trends in water management.
14
”It is impossible to solve the Bal c Sea’s challenges with-
out a holis c approach to its en re basin. The EU cannot
achieve a healthy status of the Bal c Sea alone and thus
coopera on with Russia and Belarus are of great impor-
tance” said Mikhail Durkin from HELCOM.
The Water Management Policy Forum was a ended by
over 100 invited guests from Belarus and other Bal c Sea
Region countries, including representa ves of Ministries,
research organisa ons, funding ins -tu ons and NGO’s.
The inten on of the Policy Forum in Minsk was to intensi-
fy coopera on between EU member states and Belarus by
bringing together experts across the water management
sector. The Forum provided a pla orm for policy dialogue
and promoted best prac ces in sustainable management
of water resources.
The ming of the forum was apt, as the interna onal fi-
nancing ins tu ons had signed contracts with the Be-
larusian partners concerning investments in municipal
wastewater treatment the previous day. A combina on of
loan and grant money has been given to Brest, Grodno
and Vitebsk water u li es for the moderniza on of their
wastewater treatment plants. Investments for enhanced
nutrient removal are realized within PURE and PRESTO
projects in these plants during 2013 and 2014, and these
investments have been planned so that they support the
forthcoming large-scale reconstruc on projects.
“Sustainable water management is essen al for our fu-
ture and requires interna onal coopera on. The year
2013 is officially recognized by the UN General Assembly
as Interna onal Year of Water Coopera on. We hope to
intensify the coopera on in the Bal c Sea region to in-
Text: Agnieszka Ilola

Umeå: MAX500 - A one year
challenge
Be Green Umeå is Umeå municipality’s project office for hosting a variety of projects oriented
towards sustainable development. In one of the projects called Green Citizens of Europe, Umeå
municipality aims, together with several local, regional, national and international partners, to
find new solutions for sustainable travelling and living. The overall objective of the project is
to demonstrate how environmental policy can be interpreted and implemented into concrete
citizen-oriented actions, which motivate and help citizens to change their behaviour towards
more sustainable lifestyles.
Decreasing the number of trips done by private
vehicles
Traffic pollu on is the main reason for the poor air quality in
Umeå. By decreasing the number of cars emissions are reduced,
air quality is improved and traffic flows faster. Many car trips in
the urban area are short, unnecessary and have o en only one
or two people in the car.
To approach this problem Be Green Umeå has started a new ini-
a ve. The inten on is for par cipants to reduce their car use.
Text: Johanna Lundgren Photo: City of Umeå
15
More informa on:
Johanna Lundgren, Communica on Officer
Be Green Umeå, Sweden
e-mail: johanna.lundgren@umea.se
The cars involved are not to exceed 5000 kilometers
(500 Swedish Miles) during one year.
Par cipa ng households will instead increase the share of trips
by more sustainable transport alterna ves such as bus, bicycle,
walking, carpooling and car sharing.
In this year’s edi on, seven people from Umeå and the surround-
ing municipality started the challenge. Each person involved
has a completely different condi on and is therefore offered a
personalized method of travel in order to find the best solu on
for each individual. The brave seven have
set about a real challenge as the average
mileage for the group is 13420 kilometers
a year, based on their es mated kilome-
tres driven during 2012.
The group started the challenge Febru-
ary 25, 2013 and hopefully all will reach
the goal by February 25, 2014. About a
month into the challenge, the par cipants
received a free 30 day bus card and their
mission is to evaluate bus travel in order
to see how the bus works as an alterna ve
for them.
In the upcoming months the par cipants
will get further coaching and since sum-
mer is arriving the par cipants will get
their bikes serviced and all will get the
opportunity to try out an electrical bicycle. The project displays
the sustainable alterna ves for the ci zens of Umeå in order to
change their travel behaviour and improve their own and the
general health of the city by choosing sustainable transport so-
lu ons.

Steps towards Sustainable
Transport in Panevėžys
Text: Rūta Taučikienė Photo: Rūta Taučikienė and City of Panevėžys.
Since May 2012 new ecological buses produced in Poland have been operating in the City of
Panevėžys.
Panevėžys City Municipality and Panevėžys Bus Company start-
ed a project en tled “Purchase of Ecological Public Transport in
Panevėžys City (1st stage)”, which is included on the list of the
state objec ves for the EU structural support for 2007-2013.
The es mated cost of the project is over 6,8 million Litas (1.96m
Euros), where the EU provides financial support for 85 % of the
total costs and Panevėžys Bus Company contribute with 15 %.
Showing the way with a new sustainable bus fleet
The project aims to modernise public transport services in
Panevėžys, improve the quality of services and decrease air pol-
lu on. Ecological buses in Panevėžys City will make the level of
passenger transport services similar to those in advanced EU
countries. The last me Panevėžys Bus Company purchased new
buses was in 1996. By implemen ng the project the Bus Com-
pany has been renewed for the first me in sixteen years. Cur-
rently, six hybrid buses (Combined diesel and electric driven) are
opera ng in the city of Panevėžys. The buses were produced by
SOLIARIS Bus & Coach S.A.
These buses possess the highest ecological standard, Euro
5+EEV, and use about 20 – 25 % less fuel than the usual bus-
es. European countries like Switzerland, the United Kingdom,
France, Sweden, and Germany have such buses and Lithuania is
the first Eastern European country to implement this standard.
According to the representa ve of Solaris Bus and Coach S.A. in
Lithuania, Jonas Bagdonavičius, Panevėžys is the European city
with the highest number of this par cular kind of bus. The pro-
totype of the Polish bus was created only in 2008.
Recently, the fleet of Panevėžys Bus Company consisted of six-
ty-two vehicles. On a daily basis forty-seven buses operate in
Panevėžys. The usual prac ce is that the company purchases
twelve-year-old used buses with an average age of eighteen
years for the fleet . The emission of CO2
from old buses equals
1018 g/km, while hybrid ones have just 824, 5 g/km and thus
provide a considerable decrease of CO2
on a daily basis.
One bus drives on average 5600 km in a month and emits 1086
kg less of CO2
than the old buses, which provides a decrease of
approx. 13000 kg CO2
annually.
Nine addi onal new buses were purchased for the alloca ons
received for selling pollu on permits. They are driven by com-
pressed gas. With this new investment, twenty-five buses from
Panevėžys Bus Company’s total fleet have been replaced with
cleaner vehicles since 2007.
More informa on:
Rūta Taučikienė, Head of Ecology Department
City of Panevėžys, Lithuania
ruta.taucikiene@panevezys.lt
16

17
Shared mobility approaches
Greifswald
From the climate protection perspective in Greifswald, individual car traffic is an issue as 31%
of the city’s greenhouse gases derive from the transport sector. Furthermore, private cars
consume a lot of public space, especially when not in use. The average German car is used not
more than half an hour per day!
Text: Oliver Reif-Dietzel Photo: City of Greifswald
More informa on:
Oliver Reif-Dietzel, Climate Protec on Officer
park management for specialists of the municipali es.
City of Greifswald, Germany
reif-dietzel@greifswald.de
www.soziale-stadt-mobil-gemacht.de
17Bal c Ci es Environmental bulle n 1/13
Hence, vehicles congest public streets,
green spaces and inner courtyards,
which might be alterna vely used as
boulevards, park areas and playgrounds.
Finally, individual car traffic has become
more and more expensive. Costs for fuels,
insurance and maintenance have risen
more than the average costs of living. In
Mecklenburg-West Pomerania 24% of
all households do not own a car. 55% of
them state that it would be too costly.
Thus, innova ve shared mobility
services like car and bike sharing might
help to alleviate the aforemen oned problems and, if well in-
tegrated, foster the whole eco-mobility. These quite new trans-
port services have recently become a great success throughout
Europe, however, it remains unclear whether even small ci es
like Greifswald with its 60,000 inhabitants would provide a suf-
ficient market poten al.
Exploring the poten al for shared mobility op ons
in smaller ci es
To answer the ques on about smaller ci es and to find out more
about the mobility needs, the municipality is currently running a
project called “Soziale Stadt mobil gemacht”. This project is not
only intended to survey the local market poten al but also to
integrate the ci zens’ opinions towards the par cular realisa on
of mobility services, the localisa on of vehicles and the linkage
to other modes of transport. Hence, three open councils and
workshops with external and regional experts have been carried
out, a comprehensive opinion survey was conducted and an ac-
companying project website was launched.
The results are encouraging: the survey has shown a significant
demand for both car and bike sharing.
37% of the par cipa ng households stated a general interest for
car sharing. 69% of them expressed that they would not buy a
(further) car, if car sharing was available, while 31% would re-
duce the number of cars. Considering the me aspect, private
car demand would be concentrated in the a ernoons, evenings
and at weekends, while business demand would be concentrat-
ed in the day me on weekdays – a good fit.
When it comes to bike sharing the survey revealed that it would
be mainly an op on for tourists and local business customers, as
the private bike availability is very high.
While conduc ng the project a car sharing and a bike sharing
provider have announced their market entrance in late 2013.
Gained knowledge from the project will be included. So next
me you are visi ng Greifswald, you may choose a shared and
eco-friendly vehicle to explore the city!
Project details
Project period: 12/2011 – 09/2013
Co-funding: Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban
Development
Project partners: University and Hansea c City of Greifswald,
Verkehrsbetrieb Greifswald, University of Greifswald, Quar ers-
büro Fleischervorstadt, Wohnungsbau-Genossenscha Greif-
swald, Wohnungsbau- und Verwaltungsgesellscha Greifswald,
Technologiezentrum Vorpommern, City of Osnabrück, City of
Lund

Triple helix actors join forces for
Central Baltic maritime cluster
The SmartComp project aims at supporting smart, environmentally sustainable growth and co-
operation of the Central Baltic Region marine cluster. The central project tool is a triple helix
co-operation, which encourages maritime cluster businesses, the public sector and universities
to work together. The project is managed by the UBC Commission on Environment and includes
eight project partners in Finland, Estonia and Latvia.
Text: Terhi Luukkainen Photo: Shutterstock.com/Nils Prause.
In the SmartComp project the different actors cooperate in sev-
eral ways. Member of the SmartComp Research Group and Pro-
ject Researcher from Turku School of Economics, Eini Laaksonen,
states that:
“Our first SmartComp Research Report was published in Decem-
ber 2012. The report highlighted the need for increased cooper-
a on against common challenges amongst the mari me clusters
in the Central Bal c region”
In the beginning of this year the research con nued with a
survey focusing on the mari me cluster companies in Estonia,
Finland and Latvia. The aim of this survey is to gain a company-
level insight on the sector’s future developments. The study will
con nue with case company interviews to further focus on the
state of networking between these companies. “A er that, the
research consor um is to take a look at the big picture of the
mari me sector and analyse the business links and develop-
ments in other strong mari me clusters, such as booming China
and the ambi ously developing Russia”, Eini concludes.
The Bal c Sea is a common treasure
The work of the Research Group makes the founda on for the
na onal and interna onal SmartComp Consulta on Days that
are targeted for relevant mari me companies. During the Con-
sulta on Days the companies can benefit from the findings of
the research. Tallinn University and Tallinn University of Technol-
ogy arranged the na onal Consulta on Day in Estonia in coop-
era on with Junior Chamber Inter-na onal Estonia. “It became
clear that the SmartComp project and annual JCI Bal c Confer-
ence have similar goals and target audiences”, highlighted Com-
munica on Expert Esta Kaal from Tallinn University. “There are
a lot of people, organisa ons and companies who really care
about the future of our common treasure, the Bal c Sea. Among
the key words from the presenta ons are e.g. sea protec on,
sulphur EU direc ve and transporta on.”
SmartComp creates policy recommenda ons for suppor ng
the region’s mari me clusters. This is where the public sector,
the third part of triple helix coopera on, comes in. The policy
development work is based on the combina on of studies of
the current mari me policies in the Central Bal c Region and
on the research carried out during the project. The SmartComp
project also organises two policy development roundtables that
generate opportuni es to engage in developing integrated ap-
proaches to mari me policy in the region. A triple helix contact
database will also be established to help regional networking
between different actors.
The next SmartComp Policy Development Roundtable is to be
organised in Turku on 22nd of May.
I N V E S T I N G I N Y O U R F U T U R E
EUROPEAN UNION
EUROPEAN REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT FUND
More informa on:
Terhi Luukkainen, Project Coordinator
terhi.luukkainen@ubc.net
www.cb-smartcomp.eu
1818

More informa on:
Daniel Skog, Communica on Officer
City of Malmö, Sweden
daniel.skog@malmo.se
www.biogassys.se
In Malmö every third trip is done on a bicycle. Also, the local railways and the forthcoming
trams are experiencing increased business but still there is a need for sustainable solutions for
buses and cars in the city and the region.
While electric vehicles are foreseen to have a bright future in
ci es such as Malmö, the biogas powered vehicles have a clear
benefit so far – their mileage is unrivalled. The small biogas pow-
ered cars being purchased for the City of Malmö right now have
an impressive capacity of 600 kilometers.
Locally produced vehicle fuel
Another beau ful feature of biogas is that we can produce it
from our waste. Malmö is now introducing mandatory food
waste recycling for all ci zens and businesses. This is of course a
great resource for biogas produc on. In the region of Skåne we
see biogas replacing fossil fuels in the vehicle sector as a great
opportunity for reaching a fossil free energy mix. The region
therefore intends to upgrade as much of the biogas produced as
possible to a quality suitable for vehicle consump on.
In Malmö, 177 city buses have been gas powered since the 80’s.
During the later years the share of biogas, replacing fossil natural
gas, has increased and last year reached 62,7 %. In 2015 it will
be 100% biogas.
Already today the dust carts, a large por on of the private taxi
fleet and the municipal vehicle fleet are powered by CNG/bi-
ogas. And the interest in private and corporate gas powered cars
is increasing.
Text: Daniel Skog Photo: Christiaan Dirksen
The next step is to introduce 24-metre-long biogas hybrid city
buses in Malmö. Several of the city bus lines in Malmö have
reached their top capacity and we need to find a public trans-
port for a larger number of passengers. In the short term biogas
hybrid buses will be the first of their kind, and in the long term
trams will also be included in the CNG powered fleet. Biogas
powered buses and cars not only almost eliminate the climate
change net effect their fossil cousins have, but they also de-
crease the emissions of NOx and par cles in the city air which is
a very welcome relief.
The system of gathering food waste, producing biogas, upgrad-
ing it to vehicle quality and not forge ng distribu ng the nutri-
ous bio sludge back on farm land, is a remarkable achievement
Skåne is proud of and wants to share with the world. Through
the BIOGASSYS project, the City of Malmö, together with its
neighbouring ci es and actors on the biogas market, therefore
exports this knowledge to the rest of Europe.
Malmö demonstrates a
sustainable biogas system

20
BCB Environment 1/13- UBC Energy Commission
UBCEnergyCommission
Text and photos: Eva Hjälmered
News from the Energy
Commission
The know-how of actions to reduce
energy consumption and greenhouse
gas emissions are the main objectives of
the EU Climate-Energy Package, which
are essential for improving energy ef-
ficiency and reducing greenhouse gas
emissions in the atmosphere. In this
respect, the strategic documents of the
European Union emphasise the im-
portance of the public authorities at all
levels, particularly local authorities, and
the role they have to play, as they are
directly involved in the planning and
implementation of management ac-
tions to improve energy efficiency. The
need to acquire the knowledge from
the representatives of local authorities
and public sector workers, and to share
information, experiences and best prac-
tices on measures to improve energy
efficiency is needed due to the different
levels of advancement of individual EU
countries and regions.
We hereby present the activities of
two of the partners in the project: the
French municipality of Cluses and the
Swedish municipality of Oskarshamn.
The EU Climate and Energy Package are considered to be the key to an energy efficient
and low-carbon Europe. The three overall objectives have become generally known as 20-
20-20 targets: a 20% cut in emissions of greenhouse gases by 2020, compared with 1990
levels; a 20% share of renewables; and a 20% cut in energy consumption. The UBC Energy
Commission and the municipality of Oskarshamn are two of the participants in the project
EEMTE (Energy Efficiency in Municipality – Training and Exchange of Experience). The
aim of the EEMTE project is to jointly develop and improve training instruments and
tools for authorities and public administration staff. This project is a sub-project to the
major project EnercitEE. EnercitEE seeks to implement the EU targets on energy efficiency
practically. The project and the sub-projects build upon experiences and existing networks.
Cluses and their education for
festival volunteers
Cluses is located in France, Haute-
Savoie, at the doors of the Alps. For 12
years the municipality has been organ-
izing a festival of contemporary music
in the city centre called “Musiques
en Stock”. Each summer, more than
30,000 festival-goers come to attend
many concerts scheduled over 4 days.
The Mayor, Jean-Claude Léger, has al-
ways wanted to make culture accessible
to all: “We started this festival in 2000
and it has always been free to people.
We handle the budget of the event so
that the festival-goers can gain new
musical experiences and discover non-
commercial French and foreign groups”.
The municipality also launched in paral-
lel a campaign to reduce its water and
electricity consumption. The internal
staff was trained on eco behaviour to
limit their consumption at work. The
city urban planning largely promotes
renewable energy, energy efficient build-
ing and renovation. Cluses raises the
awareness of its citizens via communica-
tion support. Therefore, organizing eco
events are in the local policy continually.
3 years ago, Musiques en Stock became
an eco-festival. 300 volunteers have
been trained, as well as the municipal
staff and subcontractors, to reduce the
carbon footprint of the event. Volun-
teers are educating people on festival
waste sorting and are dealing with send-
ing waste to the good sectors .
Electricity consumption, including the
two scenes, was measured in order to
be reduced. It is the same for the water
consumption on site. Free shuttles are
available to festival late into the night,
which reduces CO2
emissions and pre-
vent accidents linked to alcohol. Con-
sumption of soft drinks are available to
those who car-share or car-pool, or use
alternative transportation. Restaurants
that are located on the site only use
compostable dishes. Half of them offer
local and/or organic food.
“Our focus was on all components
of the event,” explains Bruno Giazzi,
Festival Director. “We have halved the
communication support through de-
materialization (emails, Facebook). The
entire textile merchandising is certified
organic and fair trade. We also greatly
expanded the prevention of noise risks,
STDs and drugs because it is an integral
part of sustainable development. Our
goal is to reduce our carbon footprint
in each edition . Like all festivals we still
have room for manoeuvre.”
A logo for the commitment of the
festival was created: a “tree guitar”
symbolizing eco-festival.
The national media are now looking
closely at this festival in a province that
has reduced its consumption of more
than 3 % each year, who says what it

21BCB Environment 1/13 - UBC Energy Commission
load is still there when they get back.
The sessions were not seen as something
positive, rather as an extra chore on top
of the busy schedule.
The educational management at Nova
in Oskarshamn decided to rethink
the structure and think of new ways
to educate both politicians and civil
servants, but on their conditions. The
solution became web-tutorials, videos
of maximum 15 minutes for each sub-
ject that can be downloaded wherever
or whenever, a sort of “grab-and-go”-
style. Both Nova and the Linköping
University have experience of e-learning
and flexible teaching.
6 tutorials were filmed: one general
that is available both in Swedish and in
English, and 4 theme specific tutorials.
Björn Karlsson, professor at the Depart-
ment of Management and Engineering
at Linköping University was the tutor
along with Patrik Thollander, assistant
professor. The films were uploaded at
the partner website and promoted via
several networks, such as the Regional
Counties network of energy and climate
advisors, the regional EnercitEE partner
Energy Agency of Southeast Sweden
and to politicians in all municipalities
in the region of Småland and Blekinge .
More information:
Eva Hjälmered
UBC Energy Commission
eva.hjelmered@ubcenergy.org
www.ubcenergy.org
The UBC Energy Commission
is part of the Union of Baltic
Cities, for more information
please visit: www.ubc.net.
does and does what it says in order to
reduce its emissions of greenhouse gas
emissions, without reducing the quality
of its programming and organization!
Oskarshamn and their tutori-
als towards politicians and
civil servants.
Oskarshamn aimed at having joint sem-
inars for politicians and civil servants in
order to raise the awareness of energy
efficiency of buildings and of each
other’s parts in making these actions.
The common understanding of life-
cycle costs, investments and pay-off and
the know-how and experience was on
the agenda. The Linköping University,
with vast experience in energy systems
and working with both industries and
municipalities, was hired to plan and
give the sessions. The first session was
planned and promoted. The focus on
the first session was:
“With increased energy prices and
increased awareness about the ongoing
climate change, it becomes all more
important to find measures that lead to
sustainable energy systems in a sustain-
able society as a whole. There are many
measures that both give economic prof-
its and reduced climatic impact. But all
measures do not become implemented,
despite the fact that they are profitable.
How does one go from potential pro-
posals to implemented measures? What
is the mystery with driving spirits?
How do we create sustainable energy
systems?”
The interest was lower than expected
and therefore the first session was post-
poned. A new date was set and this was
promoted. The interest was once again
low and the comments from the politi-
cians were that the topic is interesting
and important, but it is very difficult
to find the time for a day-long session.
The comments from the civil servants
were also about the time. It is a very
important topic, but if they take a day
off from the core business, the work
Lessons learnt / Recommen-
dations
When planning for the sessions and ar-
ranging the web tutorials the following
issues became noticeable:
• Top-down or bottom up
Who decided about the action?
Has the issue been carried
through and implemented
throughout the organization?
Is there a common agenda?
• Managerial preferences
Are the activities mandatory or vol
untary? Are the activities/issues on
top of the agenda? Or maybe “a lot
of talk, but no actions”.
• Flexibility
The message needs to be delivered/
available according to the audience.
For us a “grab-and-go”-style was
the answer.
• Resources
Time!! Will the civil servants have
substitutes during the training?
A Grab-and-go online tutorial

22 Bal c Ci es Environmental bulle n 1/13
Mutual interest and trust in the
heart of cooperation
Text: Stella Aaltonen Photo: Environment Committee, St Petersburg
8 years of coopera on for air quality improvements
Co-opera on on air quality has increased knowledge and skills
of personnel and improved methodologies and data quality on
ambient air monitoring and modelling in St Petersburg. During
the project the monitoring of 5 new pollutants (e.g. fine par -
cles) has been started, the overall amount of analyses has in-
creased from 32 to 94 and the data captured has improved from
70 % to 93 %. By following the Finnish examples in the opening
of the environmental informa on to the public, local ambient
air quality informa on has been made available on the infoeco.
ru website and for the Finnish Meteorological Ins tute. A joint
evalua on report on the air monitoring has been developed.
Mutual interests in hazardous wastes and
environmental permi ng
The coopera on in rela on to hazardous waste was focused on
two issues: on solvent treatment and recycling and treatment
and recycling of the ba eries and accumulators. The measures
undertaken over the last year enabled a systema c under-
standing of the solvent treatment to be implemented and also
increased the coopera on between St Petersburg and Finnish
companies in the field.
The environmental control project increased the mutual sharing
of the prac cal measures in rela on to environmental control,
preven on of viola ons and legisla on changes. The side visits
The longstanding Environmental cooperation between the city of St Petersburg and the Finnish
Ministry of Environment has resulted in much advancement. The latest year of 20 years of
cooperation has been focused not only on developing the ground for new openings but also on
looking back and reflecting on the outcomes of cooperation.
More informa on
www.infoeco.ru,
www.stp-fi-envco.net/www.ubc-environment.net
22
on the project increased further understanding of the current
situa on and enabled a deeper discussion of the difficul es in
rela on to the environmental control.
Environmental awareness raising ac vi es
The UBC Environment Commi ee has been involved in develop-
ing the environmental awareness by raising ac vi es together
with the city of the Commi ee for Nature Use, Environmental
Protec on and Ecological Safety of the city of St. Petersburg over
the past six years. The coopera on has resulted in several out-
comes, one of the biggest being the official status for the www.
infoeco.ru environmental portal in the year 2011. The portal was
jointly developed and is now serving as a good example of rais-
ing awareness for different target groups.
Over the years the different projects have also created several
games, tools, materials and training programmes which can also
be used by all the members of the UBC. The outcomes of the
last project, Bal c Sea Needs Ac ons, can be read in the follow-
ing ar cle.
Joint seminars have increased the mutual understanding and
lead to prac cal ac ons.

Bal c Ci es Environmental bulle n 1/13 23Bal c Ci es Environmental bulle n 1/13 23Bal c Ci es Environmental bulle n 1/13 23
Text: Stella Aaltonen Graphics: Sari Sariola
We act for the Baltic Sea
– do you?
Baltic Sea Needs Actions – project (2012-2013) focused on creating usable, practical
materials in Russian and English for teachers and educators. The materials focused on
creating actions towards improving the state of the Baltic Sea. The city of St Petersburg
together with the UBC Commission on Environment Secretariat welcomes everyone to use the
materials and join efforts in acting for the Baltic Sea.
O y the O er mobile game
There was a need to create a mobile game which had a learn-
ing goal, was fun to play, a rac ve and would be interes ng for
7-12 year olds. The idea behind the game is based on the water
foot print, as it was discovered that the level of understanding of
what water foot print means is very low at the moment.
The aim of O y the O er game is to travel from Turku to St Pe-
tersburg using as li le water as possible. In the game O y the
O er has 3000 litres of water for use. O y can trade his water
for food items in order to keep up his energy. He saves his water
supply by trying to eat food with a small water footprint.
Interviews on Youtube
Five expert interviews in Finland and five interviews with famous
people in Russia were created. They aim to raise the importance
of personal ac on in order to improve the state of the sea from
different points of views. The interviews are available on You-
Tube in English, Russian and Finnish, with a tag #WAFTBS you can
More informa on:
Stella Aaltonen, Project Manager
stella.aaltonen@ubc.net
www.ubc-environment.net/index.php/main:bsna
www.infoeco.ru
see all of the videos as a playlist. Everyone is encouraged to cre-
ate their own interviews and place them with the tag #WAFTBS
on YouTube.
Bal c Sea Needs Ac ons
There was a need to create a presenta on that could be freely
used by everyone. The presenta on is focused on younger tar-
get groups. It has five topics: vulnerability of the Bal c Sea, the
use of the sea, most urgent problems, what is done to protect
the sea and what you can do yourself. The interviews created
are linked to the ppt-presenta on with symbols. Also, a role-play
game based on the form of a courtroom was created for 13-16
year olds.

Text: Gintaras Neniskis Photo: City of Klaipeda
On a daily basis Klaipeda Passenger Transport moves up to
100 000 passengers from A to B. The passengers thus provide
valuable knowledge about the daily proceedings in the public
transport system. When entering the website, (the accumulated
number of the site visits is 3 million – more than the Lithuanian
popula on) it is possible to leave a message in the “Guest Book”
and thereby provide direct informa on to the transport authori-
es of Klaipeda. In the ”Guest Book” visitors can also see all the
comments and answers from other local u lity companies, and
learn about other people’s concerns as well. The principle of an
interac ve and open ques on and answer applica on creates a
solid and open community of service providers and customers,
which is a top priority in Klaipeda.
A wri en e-le er automa cally gets sent to “the wai ng room”
on the web page. This discussion forum is operated with pre-
modera on, which allows us to safeguard a respec ul and busi-
ness-like environment in the “Guest Book”. The e-comments
are given rapid and efficient answers avoiding such wordings as
“perhaps” and “maybe”. Though it takes a lot of me, it provides
the “results of the clients’ daily audit”, in order to maintain qual-
ity in the opera on of the public transport system.
Dozens of free-line telephone calls reach the city every day.
The public par cipa on process also includes internet surveys
on the website asking to evaluate changes in the transport sys-
Active Passengers in Klaipeda
- Sustainability Friends
tem, as well as sharing opinions about the planned novel es or
altera ons. Such surveys help to monitor the level of support
ci zens give to ongoing and future projects. Passengers perceive
that public transport works for them and their opinions are truly
important to the mobility organizers. The analysis of the surveys
and internet comments help to arrange the metables and bus
stops in the most sustainable way.
Thanks to the “Guest Book”, good interconnec on tradi ons
have been formed. There are lots of public transport fellows.
Several acknowledgements and recommenda ons are being
received through the “Guest Book” applica on. People ask for
the promos to demonstrate them, which signals that the ci -
zens clearly support this type of par cipatory improvement of
the public transport services. Today, it is clear that the feed-back
and the passengers – Company ‘interrela on’ are among the
best tools to improve the quality of services and the sustainable
mobility in Klaipeda.
Among the major goals of Public Institution Klaipeda Passenger Transport was to form a feed-
back relationship with the final recipients of our services – the passengers. It was essential to
truly know how well the transport system functions and what can be improved. For this reason
a flexible feed-back internet communication system was established, which allowed problems
to be solved.
More informa on:
Gintaras Neniskis, Director
Klaipeda Public Transport
City of Klaipeda, Lithuania
gintaras.neniskis@klaipedatransport.lt

Ramzi Nammas will test riding on an electric bicycle for 3
weeks. The municipality of Växjö lent out 28 pedelecs to em-
ployees and inhabitants from the municipality on March 22nd.
Text: Mats Persson and Camille Delepierre Photo: Mats Persson
Electric bicycles tested for
employees and inhabitants in
Växjö
Within the EU South-Baltic project ELMOS
the municipalities of Växjö and Karlskrona
in Sweden, Rostock in Germany and
Trabki Wielkie and Malbork in Poland are
introducing electric mobility through the
lending out of electric bicycles as well as the
elaboration of electric mobility strategies.
Let’s zoom on how the municipality of Växjö is
reaching these goals.
2500 people will try an electric bicycle in the city of
Växjö during 2013 and 2014!
People who live or work in Växjö who would explore alterna ve
ways of their usual means of transporta on are offered the op-
portunity to borrow a pedelec (electric bicycle) for three weeks.
The lending out of the 25 pedelecs happened on 22 March.
About 2500 people will try a pedelec in 2013 and 2014. “A er
the term of the loan we will evaluate how pedelecs was per-
ceived, how much the travel pa ern has changed, possibili es
to purchase an own pedelec etc.”, says Mats Persson – project
leader on the Traffic department in Växjö municipality.
Why pedelecs?
The reason for the municipality to lend out pedelecs is that if
more people discover how fast, easy and convenient it is to
travel with pedelecs in Växjö, most likely more will choose that
mode of transporta on in the future. There are several advan-
tages with a pedelec. The cost for charging the electric ba ery
amounts to no more than 0.03 Euros per 10 kilometres. Also for
the environment and health there are major advantages. Ac-
cording to Greenpeace, the environmental impact of pedelecs is
only a 1/60th of a regular car. [textbox] As you need to pedal to
get help of the electric motor, both fitness and fresh air are pro-
vided in the bargain. However the difference between a regular
bicycle and a pedelec is that you don´t arrive sweaty at work or
mee ngs, the electric motor allows you to easily manage both
inclines and headwinds, effortlessly.
A pedelec garage
A survey of 1000 commuters who regularly travels to and from
Växjö sta on shows that a secure bike storage probably would
increase the number of cyclists to and from the sta on area by
more than 40%.
In order to s mulate the use of public transporta on combined
with electric and conven onal bicycles a pedelec garage is being
built at Växjö’s train sta on. It is expected to be in use i June
2013, it will hold 62 bicycles and be equipped with charging fa-
cili es for pedelecs and storage cabinet for bicycle helmets.
5 electric mobility strategies
In order to create future condi ons for planning and develop-
ment of electric mobility, an e-mobility strategy will be adopted
in all 5 partner ci es of the ELMOS project. The strategy is ex-
pected to be completed in the spring/fall of 2014.
Find more about the project on www.elmos-project.eu
More informa on:
Mats Persson, Project Manager
City of Växjö, Sweden
mats.persson@vaxjo.se
www.elmos-project.eu

26 Bal c Ci es Environmental bulle n 1/13
New Baltic Cities Environmental Bulletin Format and
New website for UBC Commission on Environment
The UBC and its commissions are changing gradually in or-
der to meet the changing requirements from member ci es.
It is therefore me also to change the outlook of the prod-
ucts the Commission on Environment is providing to mem-
ber ci es and project partners.
New UBC EnvCom Website
The website of the UBC Commission on Environment has in
recent years been overloaded with informa on as a result
of an expanding project por olio. This is a posi ve sign for
the UBC and the Commission on Environment. However, it
calls for a thorough update and a structure where all this
informa on can be easily accessed for member ci es as well
as other relevant stakeholders. The outlook and the struc-
ture are therefore intended to be renewed in the summer of
2013 and as shown on, the design has already been dra ed.
New bulle n Format
In line with the new website, the Bal c Ci es Environmental
Bulle n is also set to change in 2013. This edi on is there-
fore the last one of its kind. In the name of the Commis-
sion on Environment the prin ng will be minimized to save
paper. Instead of having the current printed edi ons bian-
nually, the format is focused on smaller, so -copy edi ons
that will be summed up in one annual edi on once a year. A
number of online edi ons will be made ready for download
and a selected number of ar cles will be collected for thean-
nual printed edi on.
The bulle n does not exist without the contribu ons from
the UBC member-ci es. All member-ci es are therefore re-
quested to con nue the ﬁne support and contribu on of ar-
cles. The UBC Commission on Environment is looking for-
ward to renew the outlook of both the website and bulle n
and is always interested in hearing your ideas to improve our
service for its member-ci es.
More informa on:
Jeppe Mikel Jensen, Communica on and Network Manager
Jeppe.jensen@ubc.net
Short News
26

Bal c Ci es Environmental bulle n 1/13 27s Environmental bulle n 1/13 27
UBC ENVIRONMENT AND
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
SECRETARIAT
Union of the Bal c Ci es (UBC) is a network of 107 ci es from all
ten Bal c Sea countries, with an overriding goal of contribu ng
to the democra c, social, cultural and environmentally
sustainable development in the Bal c Sea Region. UBC
Commission on Environment (UBC EnvCom) is one of the 13
commissions of the UBC.
Prac cal work of the Commission is carried out by UBC
Environment and Sustainable Development Secretariat. Its
services for the ci es include for example organising mee ngs
and policy work, preparing documents and publica ons,
ini a ng and running projects, and consul ng and training. The
Secretariat carries out Bal c Ci es Sustainable Development
Surveys biannually, publishes Bal c Ci es Environmental
bulle n, and oﬀers Good Prac ce Database for local authori es
at www.ubcwheel.eu.
The current staﬀ of Environment and Sustainable Development
Secretariat consists of 16 professionals working full me for
the UBC.
Our address is:
UBC Environment and Sustainable
Development Secretariat
Bal c Sea House
Vanha Suurtori 7
FIN -20500 Turku, Finland
Tel: +358 2 262 3172
Fax: +358 2 262 3425
Contact
us
Our
aims
Projects
PRESTO - PURE - CHAMP - CIVITAS DYNAMO - BaltCICA - Eltis+
- QUEST - NETCOM - SMARTCOMP... just to mention a few.
UBCWheel
www.ubcwheel.eu
UBC Good Prac ce Database (UBC
Wheel) is a database full of prac ces
that cover sustainable development
in Bal c Sea ci es including all topics
from transport to health and from social
aspects to economic instruments; all di-
mensions of the Aalborg Commitments.
At the moment, there are 500 cases in-
serted in the database.
EnvCom,
Turku

Baltic Cities Environmental bulletin 1/2013

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