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Sustainable Rural Development in West Iceland

Meeting 3 Borgarnes, Iceland, 21-22 Sept 2011. Sustainable Rural Development in West Iceland. Stefán Gíslason MSc Environmental Management and Policy Owner and Managing Director Environice, Borgarnes http://www.environice.is / stefan@environice.is. Contents. About Environice

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Sustainable Rural Development in West Iceland

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  1. Meeting 3 Borgarnes, Iceland, 21-22 Sept 2011 Sustainable Rural Development in West Iceland Stefán Gíslason MSc Environmental Management and Policy Owner and Managing Director Environice, Borgarnes http://www.environice.is / stefan@environice.is

  2. Contents • About Environice • Problems and challenges in West Iceland • A few solutions • How can RIBS contribute? • Opportunities • What if we do not act? • General observations

  3. What is ? • Environmental Consulting Iceland = UMÍS ehf. Environice: • A consultancy, serving companies, organisations and public authorities in the fields of environment, management and sustainable development • Established in 2000 • Today: 2-4 employees • Tasks e.g.: • Sustainable tourism, (for local governments, companies and organisations (mainly related to Earth Check)) • Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) • Education for sust.dev., course material, courses, presentations, etc. • Project management for The Nordic Council of Ministers • Environmental management (e.g. Ecoalabelling, ISO 14001 etc.) • Evaluations, reviews, etc. • Green economy • Environice: • Emphasises the human part rather than the technical www.environice.is (and on Facebook)

  4. West Iceland

  5. Main problems and challenges • Hard-hit by the economic downturn/crisis • Dependent on construction industries • Lack of education ??? • Guess so, but haven’t seen recent data...... • Lack of pioneers ??? • Success of a community/region may rely on one individual! • If you don’t believe me, think of Apple and Steve Jobs! • And this is the only problem without an easy-to-design solution • Basically we don’t have any problems! • Or at least: ”There is no problem without a solution associated to it”!

  6. A few solutions • Promising ways out of crisis: • Small-scale solutions (SME’s leading the way) • Cultural heritage (sagas included) • Natural heritage • Local production (food etc.) • Organic production (food etc.) • Sustainable, innovative tourism, such as.....: • Geological tourism • Bike tourism • Extreme sports • Sustainability certification (for reliability) • We can be the first (competive andvantage) • “Problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them”

  7. How can RIBS contribute? • RIBS = Rural Innovation and Business Systems! • By creating tools? • Tools are necessary • But they all have one thing in common: • They do not do the job by themselves!

  8. A lot of tools • EMS • ISO 14001 • EMAS • EMS-light Nordic • Ecolabels • Type I (third party) (Nordic Swan, EU-label, Bra Miljöval, TCO, ....) • Type II (first party) (Producer’s claim) • Type III (EPD (Environmental Product Declarations)) • Standards, guidelines, Codes of Conduct, ……. • Policies, strategies, action plans, .......

  9. EMS-light Nordic • One of the tools mentioned above • A specific Excel-worksheet created during a Nordic project(Iceland, Åland, The Faroe Islands) • Companies paid up to 1000 EUR for being a part of the development team • Some 15 companies in Iceland • Turned out to be a useful tool for those few who ever used it • Several just paid, and then didn’t even have time to accept free guidance on how to use the tool • Would they have paid 1000 EUR for education/consulting? • Do we believe in tools as quick-fixes? www. ems-light.net

  10. A simple fact Systems make it possible, People make it happen!

  11. What is a real success? • To have a strategy in place? • Or having implemented it? “Jeg HAR lagt en plan, men jeg husker ikke hvor jeg lagt den” • It’s not enough to lay down a strategy (policy or plan) if you don’t remember WHERE it is laying!

  12. Is a key translator missing - to translate rhetoric into action?

  13. How can RIBS contribute? • Assist in THE translation  • Identify the needs and the differeneces, there is no “one size fit all”! • Tailor made solution instead of ready-to-go packages • Identify/contact the “ambassadors” of change (Pioneers?) • Understand their situation • Not easy to be the “ambassador” of change within a company • Understand the inherit resistance to change • Sort of a defense mechanism! • Exchange knowledge and experiences

  14. How can RIBS contribute? • Co- • I guess it’s not mainly about tools, it’s about…..: { nfidence mpetence operation ordination • It’s about education ……for sustainable development • Building the capacity to ACT • Fostering diversity • Teaching critical thinking • Creating the courage to saynot only “YES” but also “NO”

  15. Opportunities* • The opportunities do not lie in the situation today,but in tomorrow’s demand • What will „tomorrow“ be like? • Hard to predict, especially about the future, but anyway: • Number of tourists will be increasing • Growing demand for cultural tourism • Longer stay at each destination • More emphasis on local products and services • Growing demand for quality and unique experiences • Growing knowledge/awareness about the dark sidesof food production • More questions about content • More demand on tracability (knowing the origin) • Growing demand for organic food

  16. What if we don’t? Those companies which lack the energy or the commitment to meet the demands of sustainable development will lose … • Their customers • Their reputations • Their investors • Their best employees to better performers, not in any particular order, but all at the same time. Bob Pickard, Shell Canada (sometime in the 90’s)

  17. General observations/comments • The following slides contain a list of things that came to my mind during the day • But: I haven’t seen the original project description / application for RIBS • So, I’m an alien in this respect 

  18. General observations/comments • You have done a very interesting inventory • However, comparison between countries may be tricky • The assessment being done is really a valuable base!! • RIBS is about systems, not about individual companies • But I assume the companies have limited interest in systems  • But IF you need/decide to address individual companies • You could provide them with tools, guidelines, etc. • But face-to-face communication is still the most effective way • Keep in mind that some of the companies found it hard even to “fill in the form” (Oulu) • “SMEs need consulting/education + advice on how to make use of (EU-)funds”. (Oulu)

  19. General observations/comments (cont…) • Can tool-making easily be financed through EU-funds, but consulting/competence building/awareness raising/education not? • My company (Environice) has been participating in a similar survey annually for a few years (University of Reykjavík) • Benchmarking is what has turned out be valuable for me • Benchmarking may be a good “selling argument” when addressing the companies • Thanks and good luck!

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