EKOenergy
Encyclopedia
EKOenergy label is an international ecolabel
for energy. It is managed by the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation (FANC) in cooperation with the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC). The primary objective of the ecolabelling system is to increase the sustainability of energy consumption and to improve public awareness of the environmental impact of energy production.
. The electricity market for EKOenergy ecolabelled electricity was opened on 1 September 1998. FANC, which is the biggest environmental organisation in Finland , has been managing the label since that. Until 2009 the label was known as Norppa label. The label was created to provide the end users with an impartial provement of sustainability of different electricity products. The EKOenergy label means that the supplier can provide energy and services satisfying the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation's (FANC) recommendations. Criteria were tightened from the beginning of the year 2000 and again in the beginning of the year 2009.
3,05 TWh electricity was sold under EKOenergy label in 2009. This is about 30 % of consumer electricity consumption in Finland. Heat produced under the label was 462 GWh (0,46 TWh) in 2008. 340.544 households and 29.697 companies were buying EKOenergy labeled electricity in 2009. That is 15% of Finnish households. EKOenergy remains the only ecolabel for energy in Finland. In Europe the label is the second biggest ecolabel for energy after Swedish Bra Miljöval. 10 companies were selling EKOenergy in July 2010.
, Finland, Norway
or Sweden
. Power generation facilities located in Denmark, Norway or Sweden must be licensees of the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (Svenska Naturskyddsföreningen, SNF) Bra Miljöval scheme.
The international Eugene Standard, which accredited that ecolabels for energy provide genuine environmental benefits, was dissolved in 2009. In May 2010 the Finnish Energy Industries released a piece of news that EKOenergy label intends to become an international brand and standard for ecolabels around the world.
In autumn 2010 EKOenergy made it public that Estonian Fund for Nature and Bellona Foundation
are preparing to launch the label in Russia
and Estonia
.
, solar-energy systems and services that promote energy conservation can apply for permission to use the label. FANC sets also sustainability criteria for renewable energy sources.
Special sustainability criteria applies for instance for hydropower and windpower. The hydropower facility must have been constructed before 1996. FANC may require that a fish pass be constructed at the hydropower facility. The EKOenergy label can be granted to electricity generated by windpower facilities provided that they are not located: In nature reserve
s, in landscapes that have national and/or provincial value, or which form part of Finland’s cultural heritage
, in important international and national sites used by birds (FINIBA areas).
Also district heating
and energy saving services are sold under the label.
the ecolabeled electricity has been 10-15% more expensive than mixed electricity in Finland and thus it has been creating competitive advantage to the renewables in the country.
The label has the biggest fund in Finland for drainage basin
refurbishments. The fund is financing attempts to conserve freshwater pearl mussel
, thick shelled river mussel
, wild atlantic salmon
and wild brown trout
populations in Finnish streams. Biggest projects funded by the fund were located in Mustionjoki, Isojoki-Lapväärtinjoki, Karvianjoki and Pielinen
.
Ecolabel
Ecolabels and Green Stickers are labelling systems for food and consumer products. Ecolabels are often voluntary, but Green Stickers are mandated by law in North America for major appliances and automobiles. They are a form of sustainability measurement directed at consumers, intended to make it...
for energy. It is managed by the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation (FANC) in cooperation with the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC). The primary objective of the ecolabelling system is to increase the sustainability of energy consumption and to improve public awareness of the environmental impact of energy production.
History
The FANC has operated the EKOenergy label since 1998. Through the new Electricity Market Act (1998) companies of all kinds, as well as private consumers, have been able to freely purchase their electricity from the power company of their choice in FinlandFinland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. The electricity market for EKOenergy ecolabelled electricity was opened on 1 September 1998. FANC, which is the biggest environmental organisation in Finland , has been managing the label since that. Until 2009 the label was known as Norppa label. The label was created to provide the end users with an impartial provement of sustainability of different electricity products. The EKOenergy label means that the supplier can provide energy and services satisfying the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation's (FANC) recommendations. Criteria were tightened from the beginning of the year 2000 and again in the beginning of the year 2009.
3,05 TWh electricity was sold under EKOenergy label in 2009. This is about 30 % of consumer electricity consumption in Finland. Heat produced under the label was 462 GWh (0,46 TWh) in 2008. 340.544 households and 29.697 companies were buying EKOenergy labeled electricity in 2009. That is 15% of Finnish households. EKOenergy remains the only ecolabel for energy in Finland. In Europe the label is the second biggest ecolabel for energy after Swedish Bra Miljöval. 10 companies were selling EKOenergy in July 2010.
Internationalisation
The EKOenergy label can be granted to electricity generated in DenmarkDenmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Finland, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
or Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. Power generation facilities located in Denmark, Norway or Sweden must be licensees of the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (Svenska Naturskyddsföreningen, SNF) Bra Miljöval scheme.
The international Eugene Standard, which accredited that ecolabels for energy provide genuine environmental benefits, was dissolved in 2009. In May 2010 the Finnish Energy Industries released a piece of news that EKOenergy label intends to become an international brand and standard for ecolabels around the world.
In autumn 2010 EKOenergy made it public that Estonian Fund for Nature and Bellona Foundation
Bellona Foundation
The Bellona Foundation is a multi-disciplinary international environmental NGO based in Oslo, Norway. Founded in 1986 by Frederic Hauge and Rune Haaland as a direct action protest group, it has since blossomed into a recognized technology and solution-oriented environmental champion with offices on...
are preparing to launch the label in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
.
EKOenergy criteria
Companies that generate energy using windpower, biofuels, existing sources of hydropowerHydropower
Hydropower, hydraulic power, hydrokinetic power or water power is power that is derived from the force or energy of falling water, which may be harnessed for useful purposes. Since ancient times, hydropower has been used for irrigation and the operation of various mechanical devices, such as...
, solar-energy systems and services that promote energy conservation can apply for permission to use the label. FANC sets also sustainability criteria for renewable energy sources.
Special sustainability criteria applies for instance for hydropower and windpower. The hydropower facility must have been constructed before 1996. FANC may require that a fish pass be constructed at the hydropower facility. The EKOenergy label can be granted to electricity generated by windpower facilities provided that they are not located: In nature reserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
s, in landscapes that have national and/or provincial value, or which form part of Finland’s cultural heritage
Cultural heritage
Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations...
, in important international and national sites used by birds (FINIBA areas).
Also district heating
District heating
District heating is a system for distributing heat generated in a centralized location for residential and commercial heating requirements such as space heating and water heating...
and energy saving services are sold under the label.
EKOenergy impact studies
In a research done by the University of VaasaUniversity of Vaasa
The University of Vaasa is a multidisciplinary, business-oriented university in Vaasa, Finland. The campus of the university is situated by the Gulf of Bothnia adjacent to downtown Vaasa. The university has evolved from a school of economics founded in 1968 to a university consisting of three...
the ecolabeled electricity has been 10-15% more expensive than mixed electricity in Finland and thus it has been creating competitive advantage to the renewables in the country.
The label has the biggest fund in Finland for drainage basin
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
refurbishments. The fund is financing attempts to conserve freshwater pearl mussel
Freshwater pearl mussel
The freshwater pearl mussel, scientific name Margaritifera margaritifera, is an endangered species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusc in the family Margaritiferidae....
, thick shelled river mussel
Thick shelled river mussel
The thick shelled river mussel, scientific name Unio crassus, is a species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Unionidae, the river mussels.-Ecology:...
, wild atlantic salmon
Atlantic salmon
The Atlantic salmon is a species of fish in the family Salmonidae, which is found in the northern Atlantic Ocean and in rivers that flow into the north Atlantic and the north Pacific....
and wild brown trout
Brown trout
The brown trout and the sea trout are fish of the same species....
populations in Finnish streams. Biggest projects funded by the fund were located in Mustionjoki, Isojoki-Lapväärtinjoki, Karvianjoki and Pielinen
Pielinen
Pielinen is the fourth largest lake of Finland, with a drainage basin area of that is equally distributed between eastern Finland and Russia. The creation of the lake and its outlet is attributed to a post-glacial isostatic rebound, which resulted in uplift of the land...
.