FRESH Project
FRESH at the Interreg IVC Good Practice Fair - Krakow, Poland - 24th November 2011
The FRESH project was selected to present one of the project's good practices at the Interreg IVC Good Practice Fair in Krakow, Poland. FRESH will be presenting during the Energy Efficiency workshop on the 24th November 2011.
Over 122 projects have been financed by the Interreg IVC Programme and over 1,000 good practices have been identified by the project partners across a wide variety of themes. This event aims to be a platform for exchanging experiences and knowledge of these good practices among partners, policy-makers and other stakeholders.
For more information on the Good Practice Fair, please go to goodpractice.interreg4c.eu.
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FRESH Partners' Meeting - Lublin, Poland, 15th and 16th November 2011
The MWRA recently participated in the 5th meeting of the FRESH International Steering Committee which took place in Lublin, Poland on the 15th and 16th of November. The purpose of the meeting was to identify and discuss the final group of selected good practices and to discuss the next phase of the project: the impact on regional policies.
The MWRA presented a number of identified good practices as to how sustainable procurement can promote eco-innovation and eco-design in the construction sector. One of these project-specific good practices was the design, build and operation of the Visitor Interpretive Centre at the Cliffs of Moher, Co. Clare. To download the presentation please click here.
In the next phases of the project, the MWRA will be investigating the next steps for the FRESH project in the region and how the better practices identified by the partners can best be imported for the benefit of the Mid-West region. The overall objective will be to ensure that future regional planning and development policies provide the best possible environment for the promotion of eco-innovation in the built environment.
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The FRESH Project Partners launched a call for tender for the provision of external expertise to develop Policy Audit Tools. The full tender document is available for viewing here. The deadline for submission of tenders was Monday 14th November, and the call for tenders is now closed.
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FRESH Interregional Seminar, Cork - 5th October 2011
The FRESH partners in Ireland – the Mid-West Regional Authority (MWRA), the South-West Regional Authority (SWRA) and the University of Limerick (UL) – hosted an international seminar in Cork on the 5th October 2011. Mr. Willie Penrose TD, Minister for Housing & Planning opened this one day seminar to examine BREEAM and the Code for Sustainable Homes, which have been identified as “better practices” by the FRESH project partners.
Pictured from left to right, Mr Shane Winters, MWRA. Cllr Seamus Cosai Fitzgerald, Cathaoirleach SWRA. Mr Willie Penrose, T.D. Minister for Housing and Planning. Ms Sonya Quinn, SWRA. Ms Deirdre Byrne, MWRA, Dr. William Gaughran, UL, Mr John Forde, Director SWRA.
BREEAM is the Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method for buildings. It sets the standard for best practice in sustainable design, construction and operation and has become one of the most comprehensive and widely recognised measures of a building's performance.
The Code for Sustainable Homes (Code) is the UK’s national standard for the sustainable design and construction of new homes. The Code aims to reduce carbon emissions and create homes that are more sustainable. It is a means of driving continuous improvement, greater innovation and exemplary achievement in sustainable home building.
The seminar also considered the EU Sustainable Development Strategy, sustainable construction and how it can be delivered efficiently. The seminar was of particular interest to professional planners, policy makers, public representatives, engineers, architects and other technical staff. Students of post graduate courses in colleges were also welcomed.
Participants during the FRESH international seminar, held in Cork County Hall, October 2011
The FRESH project which is now at the mid way stage promoted this seminar as part of the process of good practice transfer into partner regions and indeed into the wider European arena.
Willie Penrose T.D., Minister for Housing and Planning opening the seminar said:
“While economic development and construction activity have environmental consequences they can be pursued in an environmentally sustainable manner. There is a clear cut choice here - either we change our ways and develop cleaner and more efficient ways of doing things or we risk causing irreparable environmental harm. We must place the environment centre stage in the design process by aiming to ‘design out’ the environmental impacts of our economic development. Enormous environmental benefits will accrue by moving towards more sustainable methods of construction- by making our buildings more energy efficient and by using waste or renewable materials in the construction process”
Mr. Willie Penrose, T.D., Minister for Housing and Planning opening the FRESH international seminar
The speakers’ presentations from the seminar are available to download here:
The EU’s Sustainable Development Strategy – Tuula Loikkanen, South Finland EU Office
FRESH & Sustainable Value Creation – Ninetta Chaniotou, FRESH Coordinator
Sustainability & the Irish Construction Sector – Rachel Woodward, CTC, Cork
Code for Sustainable Homes and BREEAM in FRESH – Dr. William Gaughran, UL
What Is Sustainable Construction & How Can We Deliver It – Dr. Vivienne Brophy, UCD
BREEAM Explained – Amanda Gallagher, BRE Ireland
What is the Code for Sustainable Homes – Leanne McMillan, BRE Scotland
Adopting the Code: Skills and Training - Laura Birrell, BRE Scotland
Case Study: Planning for Sustainable Buildings – Andrew Charles, Welsh Government
Case Study: Passive House - Art McCormack, MosArt
Further information on the next steps for the FRESH project can be found on the project website: www.freshproject.eu. Alternatively, please contact Deirdre Byrne, EU Projects Officer (dbyrne@mwra.ie).
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“Regions Meeting the Europe 20-20-20 Targets” Information Seminar - 3rd October 2011
The Mid-West Regional Authority invited the Welsh office of the Severn Wye Energy Agency (SWEA) to this information seminar to discuss how regions can learn from each other in order to meet the Europe 20-20-20 targets. SWEA represented Wales in the ENNEREG project, which is co-funded by the Intelligent Energy Europe programme, and is all about how regions of the EU are committed to achieving the Europe 20-20-20 targets (www.regions202020.eu). This seminar provides an opportunity for the Mid-West Region to learn from the experience of the Severn Wye Region and to present the steps that the Mid-West has taken towards meeting the challenges of reducing energy consumption, increasing energy efficiency and increasing the amount of renewable energy used.
The Regional Authority arranged an information seminar to introduce the topic and to seek input from relevant public and private stakeholders about what the next steps are for the Mid-West Region in terms of contributing to meeting Ireland’s energy targets and making the Mid-West a leader in renewable energy. Representatives from the SWEA as well as from the Limerick Clare Energy Agency and the Tipperary Energy Agency spoke at this seminar.
Click here to view the presentations from this Information Seminar
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FRESH Interregional Seminar, Lahti, Finland - 26th May, 2011
The Mid-West Regional Authority attended the interregional seminar organised through the FRESH project entitled "Embedding Eco-Innovation in the Regional Plan and Innovation Strategy".
The seminar was opened by Mr. Jyrki Myllyvirta, the Mayor of the City of Lahti and addresses were given in the policy themes of Sustainable Urban Planning and Sustainable Construction.
To see the presentations from the seminar, please go to: http://freshproject.eu/fresh-news/fresh-interregional.html
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Pre-selected Better Practices for SVC-based Development
The project partners from the FRESH regions have selected a number of good practices which are candidates for interregional transfer as ‘better practice’ in the concept of Sustainable Value Creation (SVC) in construction.
Policy Theme: |
Selected Good Practice |
Submitting Partner |
1: How to include SVC-based development in the regional development objectives and development priorities |
Mid-West Regional Planning Guidelines 2010-2022 |
Mid-West Regional Authority Ireland |
2: Measurements of SVC-based development at regional level |
Genuine Progress Indicator |
Regional Council of Päijät Häme & Joint Authority of Kainuu Region, Finland |
3: Industry specific measurements of SVC (sustainable construction case) |
Sustainable Design and Construction Supplementary Planning Guidance |
London Thames Gateway Development Corporation, UK |
4.1: Eco-innovation strategies (eco innovation & the regional innovation strategy) |
Regional Innovation Strategy for Lahti Region / Päijät-Häme |
Regional Council of Päijät Häme, Finland |
4.2: Eco-innovation solutions |
Passive Housing (MERA) |
Regional Council of Päijät Häme, Finland |
Veneto Eco-constraction cluster |
Regione Veneto, Italy |
|
Code for Sustainable Homes |
Institute for Sustainability, UK |
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5: Comprehensive Eco-innovation assessment tools |
Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) |
University of Limerick, Ireland |
At the next FRESH project meeting, all regions, including the Mid-West Region, will discuss the means by which they will adopt these better practices into their own regional policy. In addition, further good practices will be identified amongst the 6 remaining policy themes. The next FRESH project meeting will be held in Kajaani, Finland on 24-25th May 2011.
Further details on the better practices are available on the project website
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FRESH (Forwarding Regional Environmental Sustainable Hierarchies) is a project supported by the Interreg IVC Programme. The Mid-West Region is partnered with seven other regions in Europe – Kainuu in Finland, Päijät Häme in Finland, Lubelski in Poland, Veneto in Italy, Timis in Romania, East London in the UK and the South-West Region in Ireland. Technical support to the project is provided by the University of Limerick. In the Mid-West, the MWRA is working with the Planning Authorities of Clare County Council, Limerick City Council, Limerick County Council and North Tipperary County Council to deliver the project. Technical assistance is also provided by experts from the Cloughjordan Ecovillage project.
The aim of the FRESH project is to strengthen Sustainable Value Creation (SVC) – based development at regional level. Sustainable value creation occurs when economic growth is secured through sustainable actions. Sustainable value creation thus reconciles long term with short-term growth. It is therefore the key to sustainable development. Eco-innovation and eco-design are powerful tools for accessing sustainable value creation (SVC).
Project website: http://freshproject.eu/index.php
For further information, please contact Deirdre Byrne, EU Projects Officer, Mid-West Regional Authority (dbyrne@mwra.ie).
The FRESH project is co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund
