Eigersund municipality (via Eigersund Næring og Havn (ENH)) together with the UiS and Vimento developed a data strategy which defines a municipal data-centred business support model around sharing and reporting relevant data between public authorities and local businesses or industry. The data is already there, it has however not been made easily available to private partners for dialogue with public authorities yet. ENH is establishing an eco-system with digital service for data sharing and utilisation in reporting processes. Due to several other initiatives and related municipality and companies feedback, the pilot's prototype is focusing on using existing data to support companies with their ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) reporting.
What was the challengs?
There is a lot of public accessible information that can benefit both municipality and companies. And this should become available for the benefit of common sustainable development in the region through a common system or user interface. Customers of such a system are municipality and companies in the area that need to fill public requirements for sustainability reporting. The D4A project pilot therefore provides for these customers a platform where:
- Publicly accessible information from several sources is visible and dynamically updated,
- Access that views and combine needed information,
- Possibility to view/ simulate consequences of decisions.
The primary problem is the complex process that requires companies to use multiple templates and engage in lengthy reporting dialogues, draining both time and resources for the companies and the municipality. Ideally, a company would provide a brief description, press a single button, and the system would then automatically gather all necessary information and conduct an initial quality check.
How did Data for All help?
Data for All partners working on the pilot project in Norway
The pilot have begun by leveraging data on energy consumption within the company. While Norway generally provides relatively clean energy, the actual environmental impact varies depending on the electricity import/export rate. This rate fluctuates throughout the day, meaning that the environmental footprint of energy use depends on the specific time it is consumed.
Our solution uses hourly energy consumption data to help companies understand their environmental impact, both on an hourly basis and in total. This provides companies with a clearer picture of how their operations align with energy-related emissions.
In its current form, the tool allows companies to visualize their energy-related emissions in real time. In the future, it can be further developed into a planning tool that helps optimize operations to reduce impact by shifting energy-intensive activities to times when the energy mix is cleaner. Additionally, the solution has the potential to incorporate other environmental factors beyond energy consumption.
For more details please check: Sharing Public and Private Data Ecosystem in Eigersund, Norway: Pilot Strategy and Action Plan
Participating Partners
The University of Stavanger (UiS) educates students at Bachelor, Master, and PhD levels and conducts research on different aspects of digital transformation such as smart cities and regions.
As part of UiS, the Cluster on Industrial Asset Management (CIAM) has developed and shared knowledge about industrial asset management for 20 years. It acts as a collaboration network between member companies and the University of Stavanger.
In Data for All, UiS and CIAM have an active part in all work packages as local project manager. UIS/CIAM collaborate with ENH and Vimento towards the goal of a usable tool for municipality and companies, and in the process disseminate the results. UIS/CIAM collaborate with the tandem partners in Vejle and Brest. UIS/CIAM have access to many different people at UIS and will include these as needed.
Eigersund is a municipality in Rogaland County, Norway. It created an organisation, Eigersund Næring og Havn KF (ENH), whose mission is to ensure a competitive, sustainable and coordinated industrial development within its three main areas of responsibility – harbour, industry and tourism. As a port authority, ENH is responsible for the operation and development of Eigersund harbour – one of Norway's largest fishing harbours.
As a partner in the Data for All project, ENH aims to strengthen the municipality's position as an attractive location for business development, with a focus on sustainable and innovative solutions. By utilizing available data sources, ENH together with Vimento as the technical partner is creating an integrated platform that combines various data sources and presents results through visualizations such as interactive dashboards, maps, and charts. ENH will play a crucial role in identifying stakeholders' needs, providing feedback on system features, and facilitating user adoption and engagement.
Vimento’s origin comes from the telecommunication industry where its founders worked more than seventeen years in planning, developing, and facilitating the telecommunication infrastructure. The company consists of experts within the field of identifying, organising and visualising data from different public and private backgrounds.
As a partner in the Data for All project, Vimento plays a key role in supporting the data-driven approach that is essential to the success of the pilot project. Vimento’s work focuses on the domain of delivery of actionable insights based on the collected data. Vimento is a company specializing in converting data into knowledge and business results for their clients. They have clients in both the public and private sector where they develop tailormade solutions. In the pilot they serve the role as technical partner. They collaborate with the partners in the pilot to understand the need and do the practical development of the system. They also play an important role to understand how the prototype developed in the project can be further developed and maintained after project end.
