Bio Engadin Cheese

Best Practice

Topics

• Regional value added
• Governance capacity

Short description

* Project updated on 25 April 2007 according to information from the project contact persons * Starting position and project trigger: 1.) The farmers in the Engadin produce a lot of bio milk. Unfortunately a lot of this milk was distributed to a big dairy in the lowlands of Switzerland and mixed with normal milk to produce normal cheese with the label "Emmi". The reason for this were difficult sale opportunities for bio cheese in the region of the Engadin and in the whole Switzerland because bio cheese is a little bit more expensive than the others from the big dairy in the lowlands. 2.) The region of the Engadin and the city St. Moritz developed together with Rätia Energy for the ski world championship in St. Moritz a new energy program "cleanenergy" to advance renewable energy in the region. For these two reasons, the responsible person for tourism had the idea to create an alliance between tourism, energy and agriculture. St. Moritz motivated the local dairy in Bever to produce Engadin Bio Cheese and arranged with the national supermarket chain COOP the distribution throughout Switzerland. In the first year they could already produce and sell 50t of cheese. The dairy make use of the "Schotte", a by-product of the cheese production (4.3 Mio. l/year), to produce biogas energy. In this way, it doesn't have to be transported the "Schotte" to the lowlands to dispose it. The supermarket chain "COOP" sell the green electricity with certificates.The project is involved in the Clean Energy project of Engadin/St. Moritz and integrated in a good elaborated tourism marketing concept. Involved economic sectors: St. Moritz tourism, dairy in Bever, farmers (agriculture), national supermarket, biogas production in sewage cleaning construction (ARA), Rätia Energy (energy cooperation in canton grison)

---

Project executive

Kur- und Verkehrsverein St. Moritz, LESA (dairy in the Engadin) Responsible person: Danuser Hanspeter Kur- und Verkehrsverein St. Moritz Via Maistra 12, 7500, St. Moritz, Schweiz management@stmoritz.ch Tel: +41 81 837 33 50, +41 81 837 33 77

---

Participants

St. Moritz tourism, dairy in Bever, farmers (agriculture), national supermarket, biogas production in sewage cleaning construction (ARA), Rätia Energy (energy cooperation in canton grison)

Objectives

ecological cheese production, increase sale of BIO cheese and save working places in the agriculture sector and the dairy, advance cleanenergy project in the engadin with a new renewable biogas production of the "schotter" (byproduct of cheese production). boost the label "Engadin"

Activities

cooperation of tourism destination St. Moritz with LESA (dairy in Bever), contract with national supermarkt chain "COOP" for saling Engadin Bio Cheese and certificated green electricity from Rätia Energie, testing the biogas production in the sewage cleaning construction (ARA), construtction of a pipeline from the dairy to the ARA (1km distance), promotion of biological cheese production and biogas production, promotion of agriculture in the Engadin

Process

production of bio milk and bio engadin cheese, cooperation with coop supermarket chain for selling the products, co-operation with Rätia Energy for the production and selling of renewable energy (biogas).

Results

it is produced 40-50t engadin bio cheese per year and saled in the engadin and in the whole switzerland. The sale of engadin bio cheese has an image effect in switzerland. The destination "engadin" receives a lot of money from the licenses (engadin bio cheese, pure power st. moritz and engadin), the cooperation with COOP makes it possible to organize tourism events to the energy city St. Moritz with COOP Super Card. The Project is envolved in the "clean energy tour" (a ecotourism programm of the Engadin) and in "AlpAcademy" (an education-tourism programm with themes like natural hazards, clean energy production, agriculture, national parc...) The working places in the agriculture sector and the dairy are assured. The image of the energy city St. Moritz and the project "cleanenergy" has improved more, The network with tourism, agriculture, energy and COOP is a very innovative idea. The utilization of "Schotter" for biogas reduce the slop and the energy consumption for the schotter disposal in the dairy. The truck drives to the canton Appenzell to dispose of the Schotter are dropped with the new biogas production in the region.

Evaluation

No, but there is since the beginning of the project a lot of information in newspapers and television.Due to the integration of the project in the AlpenAcademy for tourists, the project is communicated in the Academia Engadinaisa (college for higher education in tourism) as a good practice example with cross sectoral cooperation of tourism, agriculture and energy.

Difficulties

At the moment, the bio cheese is distributed by COOP in the whole Switzeland. It is a little bit more expensive than other cheese products. Therefore a lot of inhabitants, hotels and restaurants prefer other cheese. The LESA and the responsible persons for tourism in the region like to improve the direct marketing and distribution in the region. With a lot of promotion (farmers, images, photos, ...) they demonstrate the originality and quality of the cheese in the village and the hotels. The aim is to increase the market share to reach 15% in three years.

Budget

823333 (Euro)

Financial backer

local and private investors: ARA (community Samedan and Bever) : 530000 EUR, LESA: 293333 EUR

Source of information

Competition

Participant at the 2005 Future in the Alps competition

Homepage

http://

Publication

http://competition.cipra.org/Members/kurvereinstmoritz/index_html/Engadin http://competition.cipra.org/Members/kurvereinstmoritz/index_html/bericht http://competition.cipra.org/Members/kurvereinstmoritz/index_html/zwischenbericht http://competition.cipra.org/Members/kurvereinstmoritz/index_html/kaese

Project executive as above

Contact person as above

Comments

Impact on nature and environment

Instead of disposing of 4300t Schotte per year and transport it to canton Appenzell it is produced 280000kWh of electricity in the region. There is no reverse osmosis.Decrease of fresh water consumption of about 12%. Electricity used for Schotte disposal: decrease of 15%. Decrease of dirty water of 33%. New pipeline from LESA to ARA: decrease of 330 truck drives per year.

Economic value added

New production of 40-50t bio cheese per year. Production of 280000 kWh green electricity. Potential to keep farmers in the region and to keep working places in the dairy. Increasing image of the engadin, the mountain agriculture and of the clean energy programm. Possibility to profit from more tourists because of the tourism programm clean energy tour.

Socio-cultural value added

The success of the close cooperation of farmers, dairy, tourism destinations and Rätia Energy motivates all participants to continue the business and communicates a corporate feeling". The success sale of the engadin bio cheese encourages the self-confidence of the farmers in the valley and motivates also next generations to continue with the business.

Innovative content

The coorperation between agriculture, tourism and energy is very innovative. The fact that a national supermarket chain COOP sale bio cheese and certificate for green electricity of the same valley from the same cheese production is new

Good governance

All decisions occurr transparently and with all the players. Since the beginning of the project there is a lot of information in newspapers and television.

PR impact

Since the beginning of the project there is a lot of information in newspapers and television.The region engadin has a very professional tourism marketing and involves the engadin bio cheese in a lot of activities: promotion with other specialities during "Engadiner Ski Marathon", COOP Subercard activities in St. Moritz, "Energy city award St. Moritz", OLMA St. Gallen, Sechseläuten Zürich, etc....

Multiplier effect / networking

All 13 tourism destinations of the Engadin are involved in the project. Due to the integration of the project in the AlpenAcademy for tourists, the project is communicated in the Academia Engadinaisa (college for higher education in tourism) as a good practice example with cross sectoral cooperation of tourism, agriculture and energy.

Transferability

The cooperation between tourism, agriculture and energy sector in general is possible and a very efficient and innovative idea also in other regions. It seems that some preconditions must be given to implement the same project idea: 1) It needs a minimum number of farmer who produce bio milk to guarantee annually a minimum crop of milk for the dairy . 2) To guarantee a minimum of sale volumne it is an advantage to build a coorperation with a national supermarket chain. To reach a national supermarket chain, the label of the product must probably already be famous or at least represent a well known region. The network with COOP had already exist before the project has started. The tourism director of St. Moritz plays an important role as key player because of his connections and his innovative thinking. Probably not every region has such connections, key players and a well known name recognition like St. Moritz and the Engadin. 3). The cooperation with Rätia Energy and St. Moritz tourism was developed for the Winter Ski World Champion Chip. For the planned clean energy program there was invested a lot of money in clean energy production like solar electricity. The famous clean energy programm together with the innovative Rätia Energy cooperation and the award for St. Moritz for the "energy city 2004" makes it possible to integrate the new project in a whole energy and tourism programm. Like this, the project is embedded in an already existing effective operation between tourism and energy. Not in every region exists network between energy and tourism, and not every region has the possibility to produce green energy with the label of the region. St. Moritz receives a lot of money from the energy and agriculture business due to the famous label "St. Moritz" and "Engadin" (Bio engadin cheese, pure power St. Moritz...). Not every region can profit from a famous label like this.

Further information