Sustainability Is Not a Flag on the Wall: Tallinn TV Tower’s Experience with CliNeDest

How can the environmental impact of a building whose energy demand is largely determined by technical systems be reduced without compromising the visitor experience? Through the CliNeDest pilot programme, Tallinn TV Tower sought practical answers to this question and gained a clearer framework for evaluating its existing activities.

Organisation: SA Tallinna Teletorn
Sector: Tourism, cultural heritage and experience services
Size: Approximately 16 employees in winter and 23 in summer
Location: Tallinn, Estonia

Tallinn TV Tower was not starting from scratch when it came to sustainability. For several years, the organisation had already followed Green Key principles, sorted its waste, prioritised local suppliers, used eco-labelled cleaning products and reused exhibition materials. CliNeDest provided an opportunity to assess these activities more systematically and understand which of them actually have the greatest impact.

“Tallinn TV Tower is an iconic landmark. For us, sustainability also means preserving Estonia’s cultural history, the history of broadcasting and the memory associated with the restoration of independence. Sorting waste and displaying a green flag on the wall are not enough,” said Jüri Kriisemann, Member of the Management Board of SA Tallinna Teletorn.

Measure First, Then Decide

The most important outcome of the pilot programme was Tallinn TV Tower’s first greenhouse gas emissions calculation. The data was collected in cooperation with the accounting department of its parent company, AS Levira, and the calculation was based on a methodology developed at Tallinn University of Technology.

The results helped distinguish highly visible activities from those that have a greater impact on the organisation’s environmental footprint. Employee transport emerged as one significant source of emissions because the TV Tower is located some distance from the city centre. Although many employees use public transport, journeys made in private vehicles increase the organisation’s transport footprint.

“The calculation showed us where we can make changes ourselves and where the building imposes clear limitations. Without measurement and analysis, attention may be directed towards activities whose actual impact is relatively small,” Kriisemann said.

The TV Tower’s energy use is primarily influenced by heating, lifts and other technical infrastructure. A green energy package is used through Levira, the building has a regenerative lift, and the potential use of solar energy has been discussed as a future option. The next steps therefore involve not only reducing energy consumption but also addressing areas in which the organisation has greater decision-making power.

Reuse Can Create New Value

One of the most notable examples concerns the exhibition “This Is Tallinn! A Century on Air,” which was created largely in cooperation with other museums. Exhibits and design elements were sourced from institutions including the Estonian Broadcasting Museum, the Estonian Museum of Natural History, the Seaplane Harbour, and the Estonian Sports and Olympic Museum.

Instead of producing new solutions, existing materials were combined to form a new whole. This reduced the need for new resources. Rather than replacing all the waste bins, some of the existing ones were simply repainted.

“Sustainability cannot mean throwing away items that still work and replacing them with expensive new products simply to create a greener impression,” Kriisemann emphasised.

Visitor Behaviour Can Be Influenced

Tallinn TV Tower’s experience shows that sustainability is not limited to an organisation’s internal processes. It is equally important to support visitors in making more sustainable choices.

One idea under discussion is a so-called green pass, which would recognise visitors who arrive by public transport, choose the stairs instead of the lifts, or make other environmentally friendly choices. The organisation also wants to make reused exhibition materials and the building’s energy-efficient solutions more visible to visitors.

One practical change has already been implemented. During major events, parking at the TV Tower was made subject to a fee, reducing pressure on the available parking spaces. According to Kriisemann, the change did not result in any noticeable decline in visitor numbers: some people parked farther away or chose another form of transport.

This experience suggests that visitor behaviour can be guided without significantly reducing the attractiveness of the service, provided that the changes are understandable and proportionate.

Educational programmes are another area with potential. For example, children could be asked to identify reused materials and energy-efficient solutions in exhibitions and make their own suggestions on how sustainability could be put into practice, giving them direct, hands-on experience.

What Did CliNeDest Provide?

For Tallinn TV Tower, the pilot programme primarily provided a clearer framework for assessing its environmental impact and making management decisions. The greenhouse gas emissions calculation helped identify the main sources of impact, the evaluation of partners became more systematic, and new ideas emerged for integrating sustainability into the visitor experience.

At the same time, Kriisemann felt that the programme’s treatment of sustainable tourism service development and service design remained too general. One of the TV Tower’s expectations when joining the pilot programme was to gain practical knowledge about designing sustainable tourism services, but this topic was not explored in sufficient depth.

Measurement helps organisations understand their starting point and set priorities, but a calculation alone does not show how to turn the resulting knowledge into a new service, a better visitor experience or a viable business model. In addition to tools for assessing climate impact, businesses need practical service design methods that help translate the results into development decisions and solutions that are more widely adopted by visitors.

Tallinn TV Tower’s next areas of focus are reducing its transport-related footprint, making sustainable choices more visible, raising visitor awareness and using existing resources more intelligently. For the TV Tower, sustainability is not a separate project but part of everyday decision-making. As Kriisemann puts it:

“Sustainability is now a basic hygiene factor that does not need to be amplified through additional marketing measures.”