Managed to save at work - The Ombudsman's Office in the national competiton of public buildings to reduce energy consumption

Under the patronage of Gyula Bándi, Ombudsman for Future Generations, the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights has finished third in two categories in the domestic competition of the international project “Save@Work”, aimed at reducing energy consumption. In nine countries, 180 public buildings and some 17 thousand employees joined the project.

In Hungary, in the period of one year, from March 01, 2016, through February 28, 2017, some 2,000 employees in 19 public buildings participated in the competition, organized by the GreenDependent Institute, trying to reduce energy consumption to the highest possible extent, mainly through changing their daily routines.  The competition was held in three categories: the greatest reduction, the best campaign, and the best and most sustainable action plan. Due to the characteristics of its listed building, in dire need of renovation from several aspects,  the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights could be successful in the last two categories.
The greatest reduction was reached by the Mayor’s Office of Pázmánd, the best campaign was run by two buildings managed by the Mayor’s Office of Miskolc, and the best and most sustainable action plan was prepared by the Mayor’s Office of Miskolc.
As part of the project, the domestic organizer took care of ensuring that the competition itself placed the least possible burden on the environment, i.e., it had the smallest environmental footprint. The GreenDependent Institute has calculated the carbon footprint of all related events and, in order to counterbalance the environmental burden, distributed one hundred and seventy native fruit saplings among the participating Energy Neighborhoods at Work.