Think globally - act locally
Anne Berit Bjørken
Where the environment is concerned, the concept of "think globally - act locally" means taking local environmental considerations into account when we make choices, in order to help reduce the stress on the global environment.
"In this respect, industrial development is an important motive power for a better environment. This means organizing matters in such a way that local environmental initiatives can also bring about local economic results in the shape of new jobs and more competitive local industry," says Stein Erik Sørstrøm, manager of SINTEF's environmental technology programme.
The SINTEF Group is collaborating with the County of Sør-Trøndelag and five local authorities in the County to develop the "think globally - act locally" concept by bringing the industrial development dimension into local thinking.
"Our working hypothesis is that closer cooperation among regional partners will both encourage people to choose environmentally friendly solutions and help to develop new competitive products," says Sørstrøm.
In 1993 SINTEF set up its "programme for Industrialization of Environmental Technology" as a trial collaborative project involving these three groups and local industry. The five local authorities have played an active role in the process of defining their own current and long-term needs in the field of local authority technology.
Similarly, a start has been made in surveying needs in the areas of agricultural technology and airport systems.