Two prizes for CIVITAS CARAVEL Burgos
Over recent months, the city of Burgos has been awarded for two important national prizes in recognition of the work undertaken by CiViTAS CARAVEL. The first, awarded by the Ministry of Industry, was at a general level in recognition of the activities developed by the city, both within and outside the CiViTAS CARAVEL Project, and the second was awarded by the Asociación Técnica para la Gestión de Recursos (Technical Association for the Management of Resources) for the efforts made to collect used cooking oil to obtain biodiesel and for the 100% use of biofuels in the municipal fleet.
The first prize was presented by the Minister of Industry, Joan Clos, to the Councillor for the Environment, Cristina Ayala (the political representative of CiViTAS CARAVEL in the City of Burgos and a member of the PAC) during the Conference on Urban Management and Energy Efficiency organised by the Instituto de Ahorro Energético (IDEA) an organisation concerned with energy conservation. IDEA had assessed actions in the field of Sustainable Mobility carried out in San Sebastián, Barcelona and Burgos. It was the city of Burgos that was recognised for the set of initiatives set in motion both within and outside the European Union CiViTAS CARAVEL project. The Ministry recognised the Council's special efforts to promote non-motorised modes of transport, the renovation of public fleets and the regulation of traffic access to particular areas in the city centre.The presentation of the second prize took place within the proceedings of an international fair on energy and the environment (GENERA - Feria Internacional de Energía y Medio Ambiente) organized by the Technical Association for the Management of Urban waste and the Environment (ATEGRUS - Asociación Técnica para la gestión de residuos urbanos y medio ambiente ).The prize was awarded for the best examples of biofuel usage in cities of over 100,000 inhabitants thanks to the work on the usage of biofuels in vehicles, principally in relation to the integrated biodiesel strategy: efforts to collect used cooking oil (advertisements, television campaigns and collection points at various points around the city), promotion at all levels of biodiesel use, incentives to install biodiesel pumps at three private petrol stations, and in addition, the use of 100% biofuels by the municipal fleet. The award was accepted by Diego Fernández Malvado, the councillor involved in the CiViTAS CARAVEL project.
Author: José María Diez
