After many successful practical projects, the fifth round of trainings started in the participating Young Energy Europe countries this May. A particularly high demand can be observed in the foreign chambers of commerce (AHKs) Poland, Slovakia and Croatia, which take part in the Young Energy Europe program since 2021. Here, a total of 107 motivated and curious professionals took part. Taking a closer look into the individual countries discloses how diverse the training courses are, as well as the wide range of industries and age profiles of the Energy Scouts who participate.
Hungary
In Hungary, the month of May was dominated by the launch of the Energy Scouts training program, in which a total of 18 young professionals from both manufacturing companies and municipal stakeholders participated. Due to the hybrid event format, participants were able to attend the workshops either on-site or online, taking into account existing work commitments. This year the main focus laid on compressed air, awareness and lighting. The final part of the qualification for the Scouts consists of the presentation and communication workshops.
From theory directly into practice – the Energy Scouts are already eagerly working on the selection of topics for their practical projects, representing a balanced mix of the topics lighting, green energy, compressed air systems and building energy. Based on this selection, promising initial concepts can be expected during the second part of the communication and presentation workshop in September.
Croatia
32 Energy Scouts from 13 companies were also trained in Croatia online mid-May and in early June in person. In addition to the “traditional topics” such as climate protection, optimization and savings opportunities, renewable energy sources and communication techniques, the participants were given a tour of the production facilities at the location of the course – the metal processing company HF Belišće. Directly on site, the participants learned more about the modernized production processes which achieve to neutralize CO₂ emissions. In addition, the Energy Scouts were taught the correct application of TESTO measuring devices, which currently can be borrowed during the conceptualization phase of their energy efficiency projects.
High participation throughout the entire training process reflected the enthusiasm of the intergenerational teams from craft schools, municipal companies, and manufacturing companies (chemical and food industries, electrical component manufacturers, automotive suppliers, and cement factory). The practical projects are now being actively worked on until the beginning of August, so that the Scouts can present them in the following month.
Slovakia
In the greenest building in Slovakia, the Einpark Offices, three training days with 28 participants were held in June. During this first module, the future Energy Scouts were sensitized to the overarching topics of climate protection and resource efficiency with a focus on water management, circular economy, and waste and zero waste. The training series also includes an online training session and two online Q&A rounds, where participants can clarify open questions concerning their practical projects.
Insightful issues such as green washing and project accounting are also addressed in online workshops, in which Energy Scouts from 2021 as well as from the current year can participate. Given the different Energy Scout years and the age structure of the participants, this provided a cross-generational exchange between the Scouts. Likewise, the business sectors of the participants reflect the variety of fields of where trained Energy Scouts apply their knowledge: from producers and suppliers in the automotive and electrical industries to service providers in the energy, gas and electricity sectors to representatives of the food and drugstore retail trade as well as tax consulting and auditing – the level of interest in potential savings is high and exists in many sectors.
Czech Republic
The kick-off of the new training round took place in the representative premises of the dome of the German-Czech Chamber of Industry and Commerce on May 18-19, 2022. During the two training days, the 32 intergenerational course participants from a total of 15 different companies were informed about existing practical projects. One of these showcase projects was a photovoltaic project from 2021, which was presented by Alumni Energy Scout Jan Liška from EUROVIA CS, a.s.. After a short round of introductions, lecturers Mr. Arne Springorum and Ms. Andrea Lančová from Deloitte Legal s.r.o. conducted a workshop on climate protection and taxonomy correspondingly. Subsequently, the topics of project management and communication were examined with two lecturers from the MgC Group. In addition to individual consulting services and the possibility of borrowing TESTO measuring devices and testing them directly within their own projects, specialist workshops were held on the topics of lighting and compressed air, energy basics, energy management and data analysis. In June, the program continued with the third training session in the facilities of the Prague National Technical Library. The energy-saving design of the building itself already served as a source of inspiration for the Scouts. A fourth training session was held online.
Poland
The challenging situation on the energy market affects many Polish companies also. The second round of Young Energy Europe therefore aroused great interest in Poland – expressed in the high number of 47 participants from various sectors such as metal processing, food production, industrial product manufacturing as well as recycling and mobile communications, among others. For the aspiring Polish Energy Scouts the current training cycle began in May, initially online with lectures and workshops on the topic of climate-neutrality in companies. In early June, the participants met live in Warsaw at the modern Browary Warszawskie office and business complex, a former brewery that already provided ecological impetus with 100 trees planted and a flower meadow on the roofs. While lecturers from Ellipsis Energy presented various ways of optimizing and saving energy, Mirosław Bachorz, an eco-efficiency expert, explained solutions for reducing the consumption of commodities, materials, waste and emissions.
The Energy Scouts were educated on sustainable water management during a presentation of Professor Monika Żubrowska-Sudoł, and together with Albert Kania from PSPA and Marcin Kryśiński, they led a lively discussion about the future of electric mobility in Poland and how to implement electric mobility solutions in a company. Participants were also able to take part in training sessions on calculating the CO₂ footprint and design thinking workshops.
The event also included a networking evening with finger food and drinks, during which open questions and topics could be clarified directly on site with the lecturers present. Having come from different regions of Poland, this was an ideal opportunity for the participants for networking and to get to know the lecturers better outside of the common training setting. Driven by the newly acquired knowledge and fruitful exchanges, the Scouts will present their projects – bringing both financial and environmental benefits to their companies – in fall.
Further training sessions are being planned in Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia. Information as well as contact persons of the foreign chambers of commerce can be found here
©AHK Ungarn
