Bayer - Young Enviromental Envoy

Carlos Bartesaghi Koc, Peru, BYEE 2007

Like all Bayer Young Environmental Envoys, Carlos Bartesaghi Koc, was already passionately interested in the environment before he took part in the 2007 Field Trip. But the Field Trip inspired him to redouble his efforts in raising awareness about the environment at his university and in his home town of Arequipa City.

His submission to the internationally renowned Ecohouse competition was directly inspired by his trip to Bayer's headquarters in Leverkusen. The submission was a detailed proposal about encouraging sustainable tourism in the area and integrating it with local agriculture. Houses being built using local methods and using recycled materials. Vegetables are grown on the roof and organic waste is used for generating electricity. Carlos: “My proposal was the physical and architectural result of the Bayer Project presented in Germany last year when I designed a structure build with more than 80% of recycling materials obtained from the local area.”

Carlos, who is studying architecture and civic planning, has also been extremely active at his university encouraging staff and students to be more conscious of the resources they use and the university has even started a tree sponsorship scheme. He has also toured the country giving lectures on environmental awareness and had an article published in the TUNZA magazine published by UNEP.

Carlos is currently working on his dissertation thesis and has managed to gain the support of the local authority. The thesis is accompanying an ambitious project in Arequipa City to clean up and redevelop the existing waste site and introduce recycling; combining environmental issues with civic planning. The project has also attracted interest from investors in America and Italy.

Speaking about the Field Trip Carlos says: “I will never forget the trip to Bayer. It made me much more aware of the role of architecture and town planning in protecting the environment. I would recommend anyone who is interested in the environment to apply to the BYEE program in their country.”