European Prisons Case Study

The Problem:  Energy Efficiency in European Prisons

Prison sites along with many large institutions such as hospitals, universities and military establishments. consume a great deal of energy due to  their size, building stock and constant usage pattern. 

The level of energy usage combined with the increasing cost of energy and focus on cost-effective services point to a real need to use energy as efficiently as possible in the large public sector institutions.

The Solution: A Detailed Prison Sustainability Energy Audit

Occupli was invited to participate in an European Sustainable Energy Project (E-SEAP)  on energy management in prisons across the EU.  The project was  developed and managed by Severn Wye Energy Agency, a not for profit, registered UK charity and the objective was  not only to address technical and practical energy issues in order to achieve savings but also to raise awareness, increase skills and improve access to support. 

There are approximately 800 prisons across Europe and 15 prisons were selected in the UK, Malta, Croatia, Latvia, Greece, Slovenia and Ireland. Occupli were honored to be a contributing partner on this project which also included other leading EHS experts and opinion leaders such as:

• Projects in Motion Ltd – Malta
• University of Zagreb, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture – Croatia
• Ekodoma – Latvia
• University Of Thessaloniki – Greece
• Building and Civil Engineering Institute ZRMK – Slovenia

The Benefits That Accrued from Working with Occupli

As part of the E-SEAP project each participating prison  received an award to show what level they were at.  Internationally recognized awards were  leveled at bronze, silver and gold. These E-SEAP awards  were  offered to prison services free of charge thanks to funding provided by the European Commission’s Intelligent Energy Europe programme. The project confirmed the value of working closely with prison services to achieve significant cost savings. 

The project also gave participants transferable skills and knowledge . Prison management, staff and offenders  all received training . This knowledge was in turn passed on to the participants’ families encouraging better energy efficiency in the home and community. 

The longer term benefits also include the fact that E-SEAP has now become a model for energy saving  referenced by various institutions in the development of their own strategies. These institutions include prisons, hospitals, universities, military establishments and other major public sector institutions across the EU.

Environmental Services Provided By Occupli

Occupli is a leading provider of environmental and energy consultancy for a wide range of Public Sector clients. Services include Climate Change and Carbon Emissions, EU ETS, Waste Management, IPC IED Licensing and EMAS & ISO 14001 Environmental Management.

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