The German-Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry honoured the first generation of Energy Scouts in Sofia at an event on November 19. About 30 new Energy Scouts presented their efficiency projects in Muzeiko, a sustainable museum in the heart of Sofia.
At the top on the winners’ podium was Pirin Tex Production EOOD. At Pirin Tex, the Energy Scouts will implement a project aimed at recycling various petroleum derivatives. This will save approximately 44 tons of CO2 emissions annually. The payback period is only five months. The category “Motivation” price went to the Energy Scouts of Muzeiko EOOD, who will increase energy efficiency through energy savings in the areas of air conditioning and lighting. Uphold Ltd. OOD contributed a project for IT solutions in the office, in which company-owned servers will be replaced by a cloud solution: This project in the category “Feasibility” will save 4,500 kWh of electricity and thus up to 3.3 tons of CO2 per year. The Herti AD team received the prize in the category “Commitment” for the optimization of the compressors that run the company’s compressed air system. As a result of the project, the company will consume 190,000 kWh less electricity annually and reduce its CO2 emissions by up to 151.5 tons.
“The main goal of the initiative is to support cross-border dialogue and the exchange of knowledge and experience across the EU in order to jointly promote the implementation of the Paris Agreement,” said Tim Kurth, President of the German-Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The award-winning Energy Scouts will visit the upcoming Hannover Messe and meet teams from the other project countries. The winning teams from Bulgaria, Greece, the Czech Republic and Hungary will also attend an international awards ceremony in Berlin in 2019 to foster the dialogue with German Energy Scouts.