ÖKOPROFIT München 2003/2004 - Referat für Arbeit und Wirtschaft

ÖKOPROFIT Munich: profit with environmental protection
As a pioneer in Germany, the City of
Munich started ÖKOPROFIT at the end
of 1998, following the example set by
the city of Graz, Austria where the
programme was developed.
This project for integrated environmental
technology is a joint contribution
of municipalities, industry and
commerce towards sustainable development.
The aim of ÖKOPROFIT is
to improve environmental protection
in companies and to save costs at the
same time through the implementation
of specific measures, e.g. reduction in
waste production, emissions, and the
consumption of resources and energy.
The initiative for the introduction of the
project came from within the local
agenda 21 process.
ÖKOPROFIT is now in its fifth year and
meanwhile 99 companies have successfully
participated in it. Following the
example set by the companies that
took part in the beginners’ programmes
of the past years, 27 new companies
joined ÖKOPROFIT in 2003.
The City´s Department of Labour and
Economic Development and the Department
of Health and Environment are
the patrons of the project and have
secured basic financing. They have cooperated
closely with the Munich and
Upper Bavaria Chamber of Industry,
environmental consultants, the City’s
Department of Works, and the Municipal
Waste Management Company.
In workshops the participating companies
dealt with environmentally relevant
subjects and were instructed and
supported by environmental consultants.
They have collected data on the
consumption of energy and resources,
as well as on the production of waste
and emissions in their companies.
Environmental protection teams, which
involved some of the companies’ staff
members, have developed measures
for further improvement of environmental
protection.
The 52 companies which took part in
the programme implemented a great
number of measures. For this report
every company was asked to list the
annual benefits of their measures.
All in all those measures save 9.38
million kWh of electricity and heat and
almost 150,000 litres of fuel, which
result in an annual avoidance of 3.3
tons of CO 2 . Waste production is reduced
by 1,000 tons, and 139 million
litres of water are saved. As a result,
the companies expect savings of more
than 1.2 million Euro.
ÖKOPROFIT offers many benefits to
the participating companies. Apart from
producing economic savings and enhancing
the integration of environmental
protection, ÖKOPROFIT investigates
the legal requirements of the companies,
which ensures compliance with
environmental legislation.
Participating companies will be examined
and honoured by the city at the
end of the project year. The award may
be used for public relations. Support of
the companies through the City of
Munich and consultants continues after
completion of the first phase of the
project.
In the meantime, ÖKOPROFIT Munich
has become a successful model. More
than 1,000 companies in 70 German
cities and counties have participated in
ÖKOPROFIT. Many more cities have
expressed their interest.
For further information, please contact:
Ulfried Müller
Referat für Arbeit und Wirtschaft
Tel. +49 89 233 – 2 76 68
ulfried.mueller@muenchen.de
Petra Ritson
Referat für Gesundheit und Umwelt
Tel. +49 89 233 – 4 77 46
petra.ritson@muenchen.de
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