Language: English
Sustainable public procurement (SPP) is the act of purchasing products and services with the lowest environmental and highest positive social impacts, throughout the life-cycle of products and services. [1][3] This includes considering a wide range of characteristics of the products and services procured, such as: the use of non-toxic substances, renewable materials, energy and water consumption during use, as well as disposal, reuse and recycling options at the end of life.
This Solution provides guidance on the integration of renewable energy (RE) sources into district energy. It can be of interest to both established and growing cities. For new district energy systems (DES), cities should explore opportunities to integrate local RE sources from the early planning stages. For pre-existing systems, the integration of renewables can be coordinated with system expansion and/or the retrofitting plans for the network as well as energy production. Decentralized production using multiple RE sources and technologies can offer several benefits as well.
The RethinkAction Platform supports local and regional stakeholders in addressing climate change through land-use-based Adaptation and Mitigation Solutions (LAMS). It enables users to assess climate risks, explore science-based climate strategies, and simulate future scenarios at local, European, and global scales. The platform offers different tools categorised under 3 main analysis paths: 1) LAMS Catalogue, 2) Local Analysis Tool, 3) EU/Global Analysis Tool.
This Solution is tailored to Local Governments who have ownership and/or regulatory authority over the municipal water supply system. In this Solution, the Local Government takes a comprehensive approach to increase its energy-efficiency throughout the different phases of the system`s project and useful life, from policy setting, planning, project design, and project evaluation to operation, maintenance and monitoring.
Water is a vital, limited and variable resource which is under increasing demand. Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) (glossary) is a process which seeks to secure access to clean water, to satisfy current and future needs, in an economically efficient, equitable, and environmentally sustainable way. It includes: good governance principles and taking advantage of scientific knowledge to support policy and decision-making; coordination of the different LG departments and engagement of a wide range of stakeholders; integration of different water uses within the watershed, upstream and downstream (including with wastewater management); the integration of future needs into current planning processes; and as a next generation of integration the water – energy nexus. This Solution focuses on the processes which the Local Governments (LGs) can implement to contribute to IWRM, within their territory and beyond.
District energy systems (DES) deliver heating or cooling to customers through a pipe network filled with hot or cold water, circulated by pumps. As the character of the built environment greatly determines project feasibility, consideration of DES in energy and urban planning processes can significantly contribute to achieving the heat load density necessary to ensure network cost effectiveness. Urban planning can also mitigate load uncertainty for DES by enabling phased development that balances generation and demand.
Over 80% of Local Governments (LGs) worldwide are responsible for residential solid waste collection within their territory [1]. However, solid waste management is a great challenge from an organizational, technical, and financial perspective, and municipalities are often overburdened by the task. This solution focuses on the processes which the LGs can undertake to promote sustainable waste management in their communities through a long-term approach.
Waste incineration with energy recovery, usually named Waste-to-Energy (WtE) is a widely applied technique in developed countries – especially in the European Union, Japan, and the USA. WtE plants process the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) and similar wastes that remains after waste prevention, re-use and recycling. WtE plants treat waste hygienically, reduce its volume by about 90%, and enable the recovery of energy contained in the waste through the generation of electricity and /or thermal energy (steam or hot water). The electricity is fed into the power grid to supply the end-users; depending on local infrastructure, the hot water can be used for District Energy network to heat (or cool) homes, hospitals, offices etc.; and the steam can be used by nearby industries for their production processes.
The Local Government implements a set of integrated measures to deploy solar hot water in private buildings and facilities in the community within its jurisdiction. The local government uses its regulatory power as the main leverage to approve or amend a municipal building code that requires (new) buildings to use solar hot water (SHW) systems – Solar Ordinance.
Solar water heaters use solar energy to heat water. In this Solution, the Local Government takes leadership. It acts as a role model for the community by implementing measures to deliver solar hot water (SHW) systems in government buildings and facilities it owns and/or operates.
District cooling is a system in which chilled water (typically at 4 to 7 degree Celsius) is distributed in pipes (usually underground) from a central cooling plant to several buildings for space cooling and process cooling. By replacing individual cooling systems in each building, the district cooling system can deliver economies of scale in terms of capital, energy and maintenance costs.
This solution is tailored to local governments that have a mandate to approve and enforce municipal building regulations or bylaws that require and/or incentivize the use of SUDS and rain water harvest in private buildings and facilities in the city. It is applicable to new settlements as well as existing residential, commercial and institutional buildings and facilities.