Smart Schools is an EU-supported project aimed at making the heating and insulation of schools in Bosnia-Herzogovina sustainable and environmentally-friendly. Smart Regions reports on what has been achieved so far.
Raising awareness on the issue of sustainable growth starts at school and involves everyone from parents and students to stakeholders - and the general public.
There were several contests, competitions and cross-border events within the Smart Schools project's first phase, which is aimed at doing just that.
Adi Tanović, the Smart School Project Officer, explains:
"Smart Schools is the name of the cross-border cooperation project concerning the energy reconstruction of seven school buildings in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia.
"It's included placing thermal insulation on outside walls, replacing the carpentry work and also the replacement of coal-fired boilers with boilers using wood pellets as fuel.
"AIso, within the project, a school competition was organised concerning energy-saving based on behavioural changes involving 105 primary and high schools from project area.
"In fact, 29,000 students participated in it - and more than 40 Energy Managers were trained up and completed the energy management training.
"19 young innovators were supported and the Young Innovators Project was held; they had the opportunity to further develop their innovations.
"The project’s results are outstanding: there were annual savings of €80,000.
"In addition to the financial savings, environmental and energy savings were made, with reductions in CO2 emission and a decrease in energy consumption."