Bright Green Island is a partnership between Bornholm Regional Municipality, local industry and other authorities that aims to make Bornholm Island sustainable, renewable and environmentally responsible by 2025. The actors behind the Bright Green Island strategy want to show the world that technology, design and creativity are not just for big cities. The strategy takes a holistic approach by including sustainable business, good living, smart island (i.e. energy technology) and green destination elements (i.e. tourism) in its vision.
A strengths-based approach
The conception of what was to eventually become the Bright Green Island strategy began in 2007 in response to an economic downturn resulting from the decline of traditional industries in Bornholm, such as fisheries, farming and heavy industry (Worldwatch Institute Europe, nd.). Local actors came together with a common goal: to go beyond simply addressing the challenges associated with being a small island community and instead turn these challenges into a competitive advantage. The result was a bold strategy that turned Bornholm into a testing ground for renewable energy, green business ideas, behaviour change programs and sustainable tourism strategies.
EcoGrid
A central element of the Bright Green Island strategy is the 2025 target for an island run entirely on renewable energy. Bornholm’s power grid has only a single point of connection to the rest of the world and thus can be easily isolated. This, along with its geographically favourable position, small population (40,000 people) and already high share of renewables, make it an ideal testing ground for new energy technologies. One such project is EcoGrid, an EU Consortium initiated by Energinet, a non-profit enterprise owned by the Danish Climate and Energy Ministry. EcoGrid uses real-time price information to encourage regulation of electricity use based on peak and off-peak rates of supply. The pilot project involved 2,000 (approximately 10%) of Bornholm’s households who were encouraged to adjust their energy consumption based on a real-time energy price provided by “smart” meters installed in their homes. The first phase of the EcoGrid project is now complete and a second phase, EcoGrid 2.0, commenced on January 1, 2016 (EcoGrid, nd.).
One strategy, many innovations
Bright Green Island is underpinned by a clear strategy that was developed through a transparent and collaborative process. The Regional Municipality of Bornholm and the Bornholm Growth Forum have been key actors driving the implementation of the strategy; however, the collective commitment of public and private sector actors across the island have also been vital to its success. The holistic approach, incorporating the four dimensions, ensures that responsibility is shared across a range of sectors. The strategy has a strong focus on innovation; examples include the construction of a “green solution house”, a conference and knowledge centre built almost entirely of biodegradable material, and creation of a consolidated food brand that allows many local producers to sell their goods on the international market under a single brand. Initiatives under the strategy have attracted considerable funding from a range of EU programmes.
Regional dimension
Bornholm’s strategic decision to turn its regional challenges into a competitive advantage appears to be a winning one. Since conception of the strategy, Bornholm has become the site of many pilot activities across a range of sectors and is attracting considerable international attention. Overall, activities in green technology and construction are increasing on the island and an assessment by the regional development authority found that there is great potential for further growth in this area (Hestbæk 2012).
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