Over 60 persons joined the NatureBeST cross-border webinar on energy and material efficiency

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Screenshot from presentations of the presenters in the webinar

NatureBeST project partners from Russia and Finland organized together a successful cross-border webinar that took place on 23.3.2021. The webinar gathered over 70 persons, among other tourism accommodation sector entrepreneurs, representatives of educational and government institutions from both sides of the border. The weminar focused on sustainable energy and material use in small and medium-sized enterprises. On the Russian side before the webinar the participants had a chance to visit one of the pilot sites.

Participants got to hear about opportunities and challenges in relation to sustainable tourism development from both sides of the Finnish-Russian border. These were presented by Visit Karelia from Finland, and Tourist Information Center of the Republic of Karelia from Russia. Opportunities for energy efficiency use were also presented by NGO “Energy Efficiency Centre”, Russia, and Karelia University of Applied Sciences, Finland. The energy case studies as examples during presentation offered real statistics on opportunities and barriers concerning different energy systems. This gave listeners some thoughts on things to keep in mind when considering renewable energy technologies e.g., quality, and long-term savings over initial investment costs.

Participants also got to listen to Innotek Oy’s presentation on how to save clean water, wastewater, and electricity costs in buildings without compromising on comfort. Real case studies showing the implementations, and follow-up tracking of cost and material savings were also presented. These offered participants insights on how small changes in buildings can help save both costs and environment without compromising on comfort. The lead partner also presented the recently published guidebooks (in Russian and Finnish) under the NatureBeST project. The guidebooks can be found from North Karelia Biosphere Reserve website.

NatureBeST project thanks the participants of the project. We also give special thanks to the webinar moderator, the presenters, the Oulu technical support team, and our translators for making this event a success!