Sending Emissions on Holiday

On 18 and 19 July 2019, Vassilis Sakas, Programme Coordinator of the German-Greek Chamber of Industry and Commerce (AHK Greece), visited Energy Scouts on the Mediterranean island of Crete. The young employees from the tourism industry explained to him the challenges and opportunities of saving energy in their hotels and resorts. In May, during a four-day training session run by the EUKI project Young Energy Europe, they had learned how to identify and utilise energy efficiency potential.

Published: 05 August 2019
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During Mr Sakas’ visit, they shared their ideas. The maintenance technicians, Evengelos Kambourakis and Charalambos Xenakis from the SRESORTS Hotel Group, for example, are investigating how to generate energy in the hotel’s sewage treatment plants. Other energy scouts are planning to reuse waste products and reduce use of synthetic materials such as plastic.

Training in Heraklion

The Energy Scouts learned the basics for their projects at a training session in May. The Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Heraklion trained 25 young employees from various sectors. They received an introduction to topics such as corporate climate protection, resource efficiency and corporate mobility. At the same time, they learned practical skills, such as how to use measuring instruments and how to communicate project proposals internally within their own company. Based on the knowledge gained, the Energy Scouts will prepare further proposals for future projects by the end of September.

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Konstantin Aivaliotis is a chef at Arina Beach Resort and knows that hot food and cold drinks require a lot of energy. Photo: AHK Greece
Konstantin Aivaliotis is a chef at Arina Beach Resort and knows that hot food and cold drinks require a lot of energy. Photo: AHK Greece

Work at the hotels and resorts is in full swing during the holiday season. While many people are currently relaxing, CO2 emissions do not take a break. This is reason enough to at least make the holiday resorts as energy-efficient and environmentally friendly as possible. The work of the Energy Scouts of the Young Energy Europe Project run by the European Climate Initiative (EUKI) is helping ensure that Crete continues to be a popular tourist destination.

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The modern technology in the Village High Golf Resorts offers Marinos Papadakis and Michael Pavlidis many opportunities to save energy. Photo: AHK Greece

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