{"id":19934,"date":"2018-08-18T10:43:37","date_gmt":"2018-08-18T08:43:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/?p=19934"},"modified":"2018-08-14T10:44:43","modified_gmt":"2018-08-14T08:44:43","slug":"vaxjo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/2018\/08\/vaxjo\/","title":{"rendered":"V\u00e4xj\u00f6, the greenest city in Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4>V\u00e4xj\u00f6 is the city that decided to fully embrace sustainability. Everybody, from industries to the district and single citizens, decided to let go of fossil fuels and to prefer clean energy instead.<\/h4>\n<p>We&#8217;ve already travel far and wide to discover the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/2017\/06\/cleanest-capital-cities\/\" target=\"_blank\">cleanest capital cities around the world<\/a>, the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/2016\/08\/giethoorn-village-without-roads\/\" target=\"_blank\">road-free city<\/a>\u00a0and the one aiming at becoming <a href=\"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/2017\/07\/oslo-car-free-city\/\" target=\"_blank\">the first car-free city<\/a>.\u00a0But today our destination is <strong>V\u00e4xj\u00f6<\/strong>, the city in Sweden boasting the <strong>Queen of Sustainability<\/strong>\u00a0title.<\/p>\n<h2>V\u00e4xj\u00f6 says NO to fossil fuels<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_34233\" class=\"thumbnail alignnone\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-34233\" src=\"https:\/\/ecobnb.it\/blog\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/07\/Axels_n\u00f6jesf\u00e4lt._V\u00e4xj\u00f6.jpg\" alt=\"V\u00e4xj\u00f6\" width=\"3872\" height=\"2592\" \/><div class=\"caption\">V\u00e4xj\u00f6<\/div><\/div>\n<p>In 2007 the Swedish city of\u00a0<strong>V\u00e4xj\u00f6<\/strong>, in the Sm\u00e5land region, achieved probably its\u00a0greatest goals: it was prized by the European Unions for its mission in supporting <strong>sustainable energy<\/strong>. The programme is named\u00a0<strong>Fossil Free\u00a0V\u00e4xj\u00f6<\/strong>, summing up in just 3 words everything the municipality, along with the citizens, aims at: to improve energy efficiency all over the city and to find new solutions for <strong>clean energy<\/strong> production.<\/p>\n<p>This project was born in the 70s, when the <strong>lakes<\/strong> just outside the city were cleaned up, making the area suited for swimming and underwater life. After this, it was the biomass&#8217;s turn: being the surrounding area of V\u00e4xj\u00f6 full with dense woods, wood started to be used for heating and electricity. Little by little, the whole city is giving up using fossil fuel for transport, industries and homes and is adopting new sustainable resources (such as biomass for example). V\u00e4xj\u00f6 wants to be totally independent from fossil fuels before 2025, but major results are already evident: back in 2006 <strong>CO2 emissions per person dropped of 30%<\/strong> compared to those of 1993. The real question now is: how\u00a0did it do it?<\/p>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-19934 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"270\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/app\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/08\/4368-270x200.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-19941\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-19941'>\n\t\t\t\tV\u00e4xj\u00f6 invests in biomass, photo by John McConnico\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"270\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/app\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/08\/4256-270x200.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-19940\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-19940'>\n\t\t\t\tBuses using biogas from food waste, photo by Erik Martensson\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"270\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/app\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/08\/29999363202_76420de772_k-1-270x200.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"V\u00e4xj\u00f6\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-19939\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-19939'>\n\t\t\t\tPhoto by stillbild via flickr\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p><strong>Wooden scraps<\/strong> from the forest provide the city with 90% of the\u00a0heat quantity it needs and with 25% of the one of power. This is made possible by a\u00a0combined heat and power plant, which generates both mechanical (and so electrical) energy and heat. The only wood used is the one of branches and tops from trees cut for furniture production, usually the one of the giant business of Ikea.\u00a0\u00a0Ashes are then brought back to the woods to fertilize the soil. The rest of heat and power needed comes from local <strong>solar, wind and water plants<\/strong>, from biogas and other national plants.<\/p>\n<p>Soft mobility is always encouraged. First, city buses use <strong>biogas<\/strong> from organic food waste to circulate. And citizens are invited to walk or use the bike instead of using cars.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Bio-architecture<\/strong>\u00a0is another cornerstone in V\u00e4xj\u00f6: passive houses, energy efficiency and wood&#8230; they really do everything to be sustainable. In every house, supermarket and canteen the food is <strong>biological<\/strong> and locally grown, so that local economy also benefits from these choices.<\/p>\n<h2>Eco-sustainability: if shared, it&#8217;s better!<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_34232\" class=\"thumbnail alignnone\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-34232\" src=\"https:\/\/ecobnb.it\/blog\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/07\/Promenadstr\u00e5ket_vid_V\u00e4xj\u00f6sj\u00f6n.jpg\" alt=\"V\u00e4xj\u00f6\" width=\"3543\" height=\"2362\" \/><div class=\"caption\">V\u00e4xj\u00f6,\u00a0photo by\u00a0Mats Samuelsson.<\/div><\/div>\n<p>The decision to give fossil fuels up was taken unanimously in 1996, but they idea was born in 1991. Now we can say it, V\u00e4xj\u00f6 is a real <strong>pioneer<\/strong> of sustainability. What makes it so special though, is the fact that it is a <strong>shared<\/strong> choice.<\/p>\n<p>Everyone in V\u00e4xj\u00f6 feels part of the project: sustainability\u00a0involves\u00a0<strong>every single citizen<\/strong> and every choice they (and we) make. This is surely another cornerstone of the <em>Fossil Free<\/em> project: what do we buy, how do we use transport, when and how do we turn the heat on&#8230; <em>Each citizen must contribute if we want a real change<\/em>, said the\u00a0mayor of V\u00e4xj\u00f6 in an interview to The Guardian.<\/p>\n<p>V\u00e4xj\u00f6 is also help by <strong>political unity<\/strong> on sustainability: all parties agree on the need to act against climate change, allowing good decisions to be taken quickly.<\/p>\n<p>V\u00e4xj\u00f6 is a small gem <strong>respecting the environment under every aspect<\/strong>. If you pay a visit, don&#8217;t forget to look for <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/s\/Svezia?guest=1&amp;bounds=69.059971%2C24.17731%2C55.00598%2C10.5798\" target=\"_blank\">one of Ecobnb&#8217;s green structures<\/a><\/strong>!<\/p>\n<h4>You might also like:<\/h4>\n<h4><a href=\"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/2016\/04\/strategies-renewable-energy\/\" target=\"_blank\">5 strategies for renewable energy<\/a><\/h4>\n<h4><a href=\"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/2016\/05\/photovoltaic-italy-first-world\/\" target=\"_blank\">Photovoltaic: Italy is the first in the world<\/a><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>V\u00e4xj\u00f6 is the city that decided to fully embrace sustainability. Everybody, from industries to the district and single citizens, decided to let go of fossil fuels and to prefer clean energy instead. We&#8217;ve already travel far and wide to discover the\u00a0cleanest capital cities around the world, the\u00a0road-free city\u00a0and the one aiming at becoming the first [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":19936,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[214],"tags":[2351,882,379,231,56,58,602,862,2350],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>V\u00e4xj\u00f6, the greenest city in Europe - Ecobnb<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"V\u00e4xj\u00f6 is the city that decided to fully embrace sustainability. 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