EBRD makes environmental grant to Astana school at Annual Meeting
For several years now the EBRD has made energy saving donations during its Annual Meetings to offset the carbon footprint of staging a major event attended by many overseas visitors.
This year it is teaming up with the Kazakh power distribution company KEGOC to provide a €160,000 grant to improve energy efficiency at the school in Astana, where the Annual Meeting is being held on 20-21 May, 2011.
School No. 25 is a state school in the older part of a city that has otherwise been dramatically transformed and rejuvenated in the 14 years since it became the capital of independent Kazakhstan. Its one thousand pupils are aged six to 17 and are taught in both Kazakh and Russian as well as learning a number of other languages, the EBRD's press service reports.
The school was built in 1963 in the Soviet era and the planned energy investment will provide more efficient, effective heating and also better insulation and ventilation to remove damp and mildew.
Working with the Ministry of Environmental Protection of Kazakhstan, the EBRD's Energy Efficiency and Climate Change team has developed an investment programme especially designed for the school. The modernisation involves the replacement of windows, insulation for the walls and the installation of a new modern heating system.
These investments will lead to energy savings of up to 40 percent a year, significantly reducing heating and electricity costs, eliminating damp in the school buildings and producing a much more comfortable venue for students and teachers alike.
Speaking at a ceremony where a Memorandum of Understanding was signed, EBRD President Thomas Mirow said, "The EBRD is pleased to continue this tradition of helping to reduce energy costs in public buildings in the countries where it holds its Annual Meetings. We hope especially that this money will be able to provide a healthier and more pleasant environment for the students of School No. 25".