SISF 2015 was organised 5 – 7 october, this year in content collaboration with the Swedish Energy Agency. The theme of the year was ‘Energy is social’.
Close to 50 high-profile experts and leaders from the energy sectors of 14 countries gathered in Lidingö, on the outskirts of Stockholm, to discuss global energy issues in urban and rural contexts.
During SISF 2015, 17 specified actionable ideas were generated and 4 initiatives were further developed, polished and structured:
The Campaign
The Campaign – #Icooledtheplanet was initiated with the primary aim to raise awareness of individual impacts on climate change and thus to encourage people to adapt new behaviours that are more sustainable. The Campaign also hopes to raise awareness of the relationship between the goals and consequences of the COP21 and individuals’ daily lives. As a consequence of a successful awareness-raising campaign, this initiative hopes to reach out to policymakers and revitalise commitments to combat climate change. The campaign will use existing social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter and WeChat. In a simple message, an individual is encouraged to share an action on sustainable behaviour.
The Cash Box
The Cash Box is a collective savings fund for local rural communities with the goal to increase accessibility to affordable and clean energy. The Cash Box is premised on the principles of self-help and partnerships among individuals with a common goal. It is envisaged that this initiative will instil a sense of responsibility and stimulate savings, not only for energy needs but for other needs too. Each Cash Box will offer a financing groundswell using customised approaches depending on the need and geographical location. On a rotational basis, individuals will organise themselves into groups to agree on purchasing items (such as solar lamps and cooking stoves) and the financial contributions from each member.
The Consortium (Act2Energize)
Act2Energize is a non-profit consortium which connects incubators from different countries in a network through an online platform. The purpose of Act2Energize is to form a global network of incubators and start-ups. Act2Energize’s ambitions are to provide local incubators with an insight into how incubators operate in other countries, increase international opportunities for local start-ups and projects within the field of sustainable energy and facilitate knowledge sharing of common start-up successes and failures. Communication and knowledge sharing will be facilitated through an online platform.
The Green Fund
The Green Fund is a practical and easy way to collect money from individuals, government, corporates or global institutions for investment in sustainable energy projects. The Green Fund is an initiative that aims to support individuals in need to improve their living situation from an energy perspective. The Green Fund is designed to focus on investments in sustainable energy technologies. This initiative will launch as a non-profitable fund during the start-up phase. The Fund hopes to gradually transit into a social enterprise that will return low and moderate profits to its investors. The funding will primarily be collected from two main sources: crowd-funding and relevant institutions.
