Concept for Specific Lines of Business, Energy Saving Tourism

In the spirit of the objectives of the Energy Plan 1995 in order to make more efficient use of energy and thus to reduce energy requirements, to promote the use of renewable energies, and to attach maximum importance to the ecological compatibility of the energy systems, among other project the provincial government of Styria is pursuing the option of consulting small and medium-sized enterprises in a target manner. Three years after being launched, this Ecological Company Consulting scheme for various lines of business is now producing successful results, demonstrating that energy saving, business profit and ecology can go hand in hand by example of numerous pilot projects. Trade-specific concepts have been elaborated for foodstuffs, carpenters and car repair and sales firms, bakeries and hairdressers and, most recently, for tourist industry business /hotels, bars, restaurants, etc.). The province of Styria, represented by the Energy Commissioner and the department of waste management, is co-operating closely in the Ecological Company Consulting scheme with the Styrian Chamber of Commerce and the Economy Promotion Institute (Wirtschaftsfoerderungsinstitut). In several cases, other provinces, the Federal Ministry of Environmental, Youth and Family Affairs, and the Federal Chamber of Commerce have adopted the results of this co-operation, while in some cases subsidy schemes are linked to these trade-specific concepts. In the course of the scheme, the aim is to investigate energy requirements, saving potentials and questions of waste management. (author)