Young Energy Europe 2.0

Context

Energy efficiency measures and energy savings in companies pay off, especially in countries with high energy costs; that said, many countries in Central and Eastern Europe have historically had low energy costs. It is therefore necessary to carefully plan and justify investments, such as switching to LED lighting, optimising a compressed air system or installing a photovoltaic system on a company’s roof. That’s where the project comes in: Young Energy Europe trains mainly young employees to become what are known as Energy Scouts, who are tasked with identifying approaches to energy saving and implementing them as practical projects in their companies. The transfer of know-how through Young Energy Europe lays a building block on the way to the long-term goal of a climate-neutral European economy.

Energy Scouts looking for energy saving potentials; Photo: © DELTAPLAST Kft.

Project

In Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Serbia and Slovakia, Young Energy Europe trains mainly young professionals from a wide range of industries to qualify as Energy Scouts. Energy Scouts learn to analyse energy consumption in their company and to collaboratively develop practical projects to reduce energy and resource consumption. The Energy Scout training programme conveys the basic principles underlying how energy consumption affects the global climate and how energy efficiency measures can reduce environmental and climate impacts while saving costs in a company. Energy Scouts are skilled in identifying individual project approaches with high savings potential and driving the implementation of efficiency-improvement projects.

Both trainees and companies benefit equally from the programme: companies can use the professional know-how of their employees to become more sustainable and save costs. The young professionals benefit both personally and professionally from the development and introduction of new ideas and solutions for their companies.

Following the successful launch of the Energy Scout training programme Young Energy Europe 1.0, four more countries – Croatia, Poland, Serbia and Slovakia – have also been offering training in their local languages since April 2021. Local partners are the German chambers of commerce abroad with their diverse business networks and experience in training and further education. In the second term, by March 2024, the aim is to train at least 485 Energy Scouts to design practical projects and thus serve as change agents in their companies.