The conclusions of the third climate accounts for the island of Fur in the sound of Limfjorden speak for themselves: Fur is undergoing a huge green conversion.

Compared to 2010, the figures show that CO₂ emissions on Fur have dropped from 6.8 tons to 5.1 tons per citizen; a 25 percent decrease.

The total energy consumption (electricity, heating and transportation) for homes and summer houses has dropped by 18 percent. Electricity consumption for homes and summer houses has dropped by 23 percent. At the same time, the share of renewable energy on Fur has grown from 4.1 percent to 5.4 percent over the same period; a 24 percent increase.

Named one of Denmark's best green conversion projects

The climate accounts were prepared by the Innovation Fur development project whose vision is to develop Fur into a miniature model of the energy-friendly and sustainable society of the future. In 2013, European Commissioner for Climate Action Connie Hedegaard participated in naming Innovation Fur one of Denmark's best green conversion projects in the "Vores omstilling" (Our conversion) competition arranged by DR (the Danish broadcasting corporation) and the daily paper Information.

– Among other things, we have offered free energy consultancy for the citizens on Fur. Around 40 percent of all homes accepted the offer. We have run information campaigns and focused on green behaviour. These climate accounts prove that our efforts have borne fruit: Green behaviour has quite simply become second nature to the citizens on Fur who consider it perfectly natural to think and act in an energy-friendly manner, says Gitte Wad Thybo, project manager of Innovation Fur. 

Private-public partnership

The mayor of Skive municipality, Peder Christian Kirkegaard, is also very happy with the green figures:

– It is a notable result that the citizens of Fur have every right to be proud of. It shows beyond any shadow of doubt that a private-public partnership such as Innovation Fur, a cooperation between the island of Fur, Skive municipality and EnergiMidt, can create strong results. I am confident that some of the methods and lessons learned will prove invaluable during our conversion to a greener and more sustainable society.

Facts

Innovation Fur has just published the 2012 climate accounts for Fur. The first climate accounts for Fur were prepared in 2010, and comparing the two accounts leads to the following conclusions:

* CO₂ emissions for homes and summer houses on Fur have dropped from 6.8 to 5.1 tons per citizen. This is a 25 percent reduction.

* Energy consumption (electricity, heating and transportation) for homes and summer houses has dropped from 13,439 MWh to 11,250 MWh. This is a 16 percent reduction.

* The share of renewable energy on Fur has grown from 4.1 to 5.4 percent. This is a 24 percent increase.

The climate accounts may be accessed in electronic form at www.innovation-fur.dk