Energy and Environment Office Activities
Local Connection
It is common for the energy and environment offices to have a local association with a board standing behind them. One of the most important tasks for the board is to give inspiration to, and initiate, local work. The energy advisers, who are easily buried in the extensive day-to-day work, need visionary partners. Furthermore the board has some more formal tasks, which are described in chapter 3.
Many offices have a background group or activists who support the daily work. They may give technical assistance to solve different problems, be responsible for the newsletter from the energy and environment office, etc. If this high degree of local involvement did not exist, it would be difficult to keep the energy and environmer t offices alive.
The energy and environment offižes are strongly connected to other activities on energy and environment in their local area. For example West Zealand Environment and Energy Office is located nearby an experimental Greern City area. The area contains different buildings and other initiatives in the field of greer planning, and shows how building and energy designs can be made with regard to' future generations. The office has been involved in some of the projects in the area. Another office is neighbouring the Folkcenter for Renewable Energy. This location enables them to show demonstration plants and test plants, that are built at the place.
The energy and environment offices cooperate with other environmental groups in the neighbourhood. Likewise cooperation with local firms and tradesmen (e.g. plumbers who install solar heaters) is a natural part of the offices' włork. Another important task is the cooperation with local politicians and authorities; and of course political work at local level to promote environmentally friendly energy solutions. - It is unfortunately not always the case that local politicians agree with us.