A parish cuts back on its environmental consumption
Neulußheim, population 6600, is located in the south of Germany (Baden-Wuerttemberg); the Protestant parish belongs to the Baden Landeskirche. As early as 2002 the town made its first important decision to protect the environment. The newly-built community centre was equipped with two groundwater heat pumps and 18 photo-voltaic modules, as well as a rainwater harvesting system. In just two years heating costs were cut by more than half. The required electric power is obtained from the Schönau power plant.
Since November 2005 the community has been establishing an environmental management system within the framework of the "Green Rooster" programme. In three working groups an environmental team consisting of twelve women and men addresses the topics transportation/water/waste/energy, fair trade/nutrition, and environmental awareness/ public relations. A comprehensive initial survey pointed out the weak points, such as adjusting heat engineering in the church. In 2007 this became an environmental programme with specific goals for reducing such factors as the consumption of electricity and paper. In 2007 the environmental statement was validated according to EMAS regulations by an independent external audit. By now activities have spread to the municipality, with events hosted by the environmental team providing interested house-owners insight into the engineering of the heat pumps and solar battery. With obvious success, since their activities have spawned first imitators. The next big project is to initiate a solar energy plant owned by the citizens.
