In Europe, but even globally, Samsoe Island (DK) is seen as a best practice for the transition from a fossil fuel based localeconomy to a self-sufficientsustainable energy island. Each year thousands of international guests visit the island to performa benchmark and to find out indetail which factors and actors have played -and are still playing- an important role in the transition process.
For a comprehensive vision, the researchers at the Energy Academyadvise and help each visitor to go out in the field, visit the solar, wind,and biomass plants and talk with the inhabitants of the island in an informal way, to independently learn from their experiences.
Source: Samsoe Energy Academy energiakademiet.dk
Example of strategy 4A:
(Inter-)national Benchmarking of Best Practices
When it comes to innovation, popular thinking often embraces the idea that only via research and development and completely new technologies innovations are achieved, based upon unique intellectual property rights. However, in contrast to industrial practice, particularly amongst SMEs, the regular approach is to compare the quality of one’s own products with those of
the competition. By “product and service” benchmarking, detailed insight can be gained from relevant solutions by others active on the market. Although this approach is sometimes shed in a negative light because of its association with blind copying, in terms of smart innovation it absolutely makes sense, and that’s the reason its use –particularly in an informal way- is widespread around the world. Experiences with environmental benchmarking of electronic products and other household goods have proven to deliver considerable progress in terms of sustainability for all producers and consumers, contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN, 2017) over the years (Brezet & van Hemel, 1997; Stevels, 2007).
Island governments can apply benchmarking from their island or regional perspective, but also stimulate certain sectors or branches on the island to compare their offerings with those from other islands. Particularly when it comes to the benchmarking of what are generally regarded as European or global “best practices” it makes sense to study, visit and analyse them, to see whether essential elements can be “scenario-free” adopted, even if the context is different. In the TIPPING Approach, the stimulation of best practice benchmarking is considered to be a key element for innovation.
