Business Ideas in Romania

Followup from the Green Cafe

• Posted by John on September 12th, 2007 filed in Education, Energy, Environment, Financial services, Homes and housing, Services

Following up from Clarisa’s post on the recent Green Cafe on ETAP, and from Anca’s post on the previous event, many interesting points are coming out of our Green Cafes, and perhaps one of the most interesting aspects is just the simple networking and interface of representatives from many viewpoints. Pictures from the event can be found here.
Of course, many suggestions were raised for the upcoming Environmental Roadmap document for Romania, and it is so exciting to see that comments from our events are reaching policy-makers and being both considered and incorporated into policy. The outcome of our event, however, is not just a set of suggestions, but a document that we can send to policy-makers and representatives from involved Ministries, addressing numerous issues altogether in a cohesive way. The goal is to join with others to make a long-term difference for our community and for our quality of life.
As Clarisa pointed out, there are a number of issues we focused on which are unique, but when combined form a set of issues for sustainable development. A few include:

• Incentive Programs

Many countries have successful examples of incentive programs offered by various organizations: National Governments, Local Authorities, Local Utility-providers, Special agencies for specific issues. UK for example has a multi-level incentive program for energy efficiency, as well as incentives by special agencies for waste management and recycling, and most interestingly an incentive program for a Symbiosis Programme helping businesses to partner with each other so that one company’s waste is another company’s resource. Incentives encourage green practices by a range of consumer groups: businesses, individuals, organizations, industries, municipalities. Incentives can take the form of VAT reductions, tax credits, tax holidays, property tax reductions, direct grants, monetary cost offsets, and financing. The value of incentives is ultimately to encourage the public and business to incorporate green practices into processes and projects and to overcome the initial hurdle of learning and development. However, incentives are also a way of building public awareness, and driving policy with real rewards.
One kind of incentive that has recently been increasingly published is the better ROI and relatively minimal up-front costs for green, as published by the USGBC and the World GBC. These surveys note the result that green does not necessarily equate to higher cost, or is not necessarily as higher-cost as some may think, but when analyzed over time, the ROI for the building investment increases with green, and continues to increase over time, based on lower operating costs and increased value in the market.

• PassivHaus standards

Germany, UK, and other countries are incorporating PassivHaus (super energy-efficient) standards into their building standards. However, PassivHaus is not just for Houses. And PassivHaus buildings do not have to appear differently from other buildings. PassivHaus buildings (based on careful planning and management) simply function better than other buildings.

In addition, reports from various organizations often report that buildings complying with PassivHaus or other green programs function superior to other buildings in general weathering or durability. Because of the attention paid to energy efficiency or design, the buildings tend to have tighter construction and more attention paid to detailing and execution.

• Energy Efficiency

Energy efficiency is an immediate problem in Romania, and there are a number of ways of improving energy efficiency. Some of the obvious solutions include: better insulation for buildings, renewable energy usage, and buildings which use tighter construction assemblies and high-performing materials. One very effective way of reducing energy usage for cooling is simply to shade the building’s windows from direct sunlight and even to shade the buildings walls (particularly massive walls) from absorbing the sun’s heat. However, a more subtle form of energy efficiency is to do two things: change the light bulbs to compact-fluorescent or LED, and install a photocell system that automatically turns off the lights in periods of enough daylighting in spaces. An even more subtle (but highly effective) solution for both small and large buildings is to provide good daylighting for spaces. Daylight is different from sunlight because it is the light without the direct rays of the sun to generate heat. In large buildings, daylighting (and turning off lights) can reduce cooling energy for the building significantly by reducing the amount of heat generated by artificial lights. By reducing this heat, the air conditioning and heating equipment usage can be reduced (even in winter), increasing cost savings.

But energy efficiency is not just an interior issue. Energy efficiency city-wide can be attributed to the “heat-island” effect. By simply reducing the amount of impermeable surfacing (asphalt and concrete) in cities, providing more green spaces, increasing the reflectance (light color) of paving materials, and shading the land, the entire city (or a project) can reduce the amount of heat generated around the building in the summer. This difference is noticeable.
Also, energy efficiency is not just a single improvement project…it’s a long term issue. The best way to maintain energy efficiency……..is to maintain it. Environmental Management Systems are a way to monitor, maintain, and manage energy usage, equipment function, and performance.

• Research

All of these improvements cant happen without research, innovation, and development. And research cant be effective without means of being transferred from research organizations to business organizations and the general public. Government’s role in encouraging, supporting, and incentivizing research, innovation, and development is critical to a sustainable environment and culture.

• Business Idea………..??

Of course, out of all of these points (and the basic point of this blog), there are a number of exciting, creative, and profitable business ideas related to these issues………for services related to incentive programs, services and products related to PassivHaus Standards (and other standards), services and products related to energy efficiency, and services or products related to (or generated by) research. And the most exciting part: Romania is on the cusp of instituting phenomenal policies and leap-frogging to a position of high competition and leadership for sustainable practices, a beautiful environment, and a culture of creativity.

What business ideas might you consider related to any one of these issues?