Environment & Work promotes young people’s opportunities to actively work on the climate issue and to strengthen society’s resilience against future climate changes such as heat waves and heavy rainfall. The project is run with the support of the Swedish Innovation Authority Vinnova, Chalmers University of Technology, SMHI, WWF, Scandinavian Green Roof Institute, UNIEP and our educational partners Movant, Thermo Logic and Gothenburg’s Praktiska Gymnasium. Through four sub-projects, the effort reduces both social exclusion and counteracts global warming by providing buildings with white, green or blue roofs.
Young people will participate in digital searches in Google Earth to find the 5000 best possible buildings to construct white, green and blue roofs. In this way, the young people will have the opportunity for meritorious hourly employment with a flexible schedule that can easily be combined with studies or other occupations.
Together with our partners, we will also organize a course that certifies the young people in the Cool roofing technology used to build white roofs and give them more knowledge about green and blue roofs. The green roofs absorb carbon dioxide found in the city air, while the blue roofs efficiently accumulate water during heavy downpours, which prevents flooding.
The project also includes the annual Climate Week event, which was launched in 2022 to increase young people’s knowledge of man’s impact on the climate and how they themselves can counteract it by making smart choices in everyday life.
