News
December 2012
The Third Ecolink+ Annual Partnering Event

The second Ecolink+ Annual Partnering Event took place on 6 December in Berlin, in parallel with the European Venture Summit, Europe’s largest VC investment matching event in high-tech sectors. The event was organised by Europe Unlimited and the hosting partner Investitionsbank Berlin.

Approximately 70 directly registered participants were present during the whole Event and approximately 100 more European Venture Summit (parallel event) participants attended the parts of the programme. Participants from the sector associations, clusters and big and small industry discussed mainly on following topics: Closing The Eco-Innovation Gap (Presentation of the 2011 Annual report of the Eco Innovation Observatory), Eco-Innovation in Water and Eco-Innovation in Food Sector.

24 speakers and panelists were actively participating at the Partnering Event and 14 experts/investors were reviewing companies.

9 eco-innovative member companies of the ECOLINK+ Business Club (BC), (Geothermal Anywhere, EVYP LLP, Sustainable Reference, Tecnopackaging, Encapsulix, NTS Energie- und Transportsysteme, Kitenergy, VASS Technologies and XOveT) presented their solutions to an audience of industrial players, investors, cleantech clusters and business experts from across Europe. The 9 presenting Ecolink+ Business Club Members were also part of the European Venture Contest which finds, evaluates and awards world-class innovative companies. As a result of the competition, company Geothermal Anywhere were selected as one of the 10 best cleantech companies at the European Venture Summit.

 

October 2012

The Thrid Ecolink+ Annual Partnering Event

The third ECOLINK+ Annual Partnering Forum in Berlin on 6 December 2012 will bring together the ECOLINK+ Club of emerging eco-innovative companies with specialised corporations and investors from across Europe, as well the cleantech clusters and business sector initiatives.

The Forum aims at showcasing some of the best-performing eco-innovative companies at EU level, stimulating the discussion about trends in selected eco-innovation business sectors and promoting   successful business and support practices.

 

ECOLINK+ is the horizontal support action of the European Eco-Innovation Platform (Eco-IP) established under the Europe INNOVA initiative.

For  more information  on ECOLINK+, please visit the Europe INNOVA website (Eco-Innovation area), www.ecolinkbusinessclub.com

 and the "ECOLINK+" group on the LinkedIn social network.

The Forum will take place alongside the European Venture Summit - Europe’s largest VC investment matching event in high-tech sectors.

Eco Innovation in Water Sector

 

The year 2012 has been declared the European Year for Water. By the end of 2012, the European Commission will complete a mid-term review of the EU’s Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC), within which the evaluation of the effects of climate change and water management will be top priorities for both the European Commission and the member states. This review will lead to the publication of a ‘blueprint’ outlining a long-term vision (until 2050) and make recommendations for the period between now and 2020.  This  Blueprint will be complemented by a European  Innovation Partnership (EIP) on water with stakeholders and the private sector, via which new financial,  technical, technological and organisational solutions can be identified, tested and disseminated.  The EIP has appointed a Steering Group and Task Force which has identified priority areas for innovative actions. These priority areas, which are still to be agreed by the end of 2012, are water reuse and recycling, water and waste water treatment, water-energy nexus, risk management of extreme events, ecosystem services along with cross-cutting priorities such as water governance, management models and financing for innovation.

This workshop will therefore be of utmost importance for all actors involved in the water industry  as it will indicate policy directions and future funding opportunities and growth areas. The workshop will also illustrate how the eco-innovation agenda is developed and driven by European policy initiatives and will be of interest to a wide range of participants.

June 2012

 

News no. 2

Partners in Building Eco Innovative SMEs’ 2012-15    
 
The CEC (Chamber of Eco Commerce) is the first community in the world focusing on Eco Commerce. They deliver actionable knowledge, share information and contacts, and provide business support to international community of experts, leaders and learners, serving small to large size organizations in the developed and developing world.

The CEC is positioned to lead the way to transfer Eco Commerce knowledge and business tools to Small to Medium size Enterprises. The goal is to build Eco Innovative SMEs and provide them information, training and business support they need, and to expand CEC’s Global Exchange, to include SMEs and regional partners, and to serve their specific Eco Commerce needs.

Information and knowledge will be delivered via internet. Your participation means that your region and business community including small to large companies, will gain invaluable access to actionable knowledge and contacts, while benefiting from exposure to their global Eco Commerce community of highly targeted individuals and organizations.

The “Partners in Building Eco Innovative SMEs” project is now in production. CEC invites you to join them as a key partner in your region. It goes without saying… they will serve only a limited number of partners in each geographic location - first come, first serve basis. CEC will join forces with highly qualified individuals and organizations (by invitation only), to bring this partner project to the forefront of the global community, and the general public.

Your participation makes their program possible and more effective. CEC invites you to join them as their “Partner in Building Eco Innovative SMEs”. As deadlines are quickly approaching and the demand for this project is immediate, they request your commitment by July 1, 2012.

The people at CEC appreciate your support and look forward to building a long-term relationship with you and your membership and business community across your region. Please contact Mrs Minna LeVine for more information how you can join CEC as a key partner in your region, or if you have any questions or require additional information.

Minna LeVine - CEO of Chamber of Eco Commerce (CEC) (Minna.LeVine@ChamberofEcoCommerce.com)

Is Your Community Ready for Eco Commerce?: http://www.chamberofecocommerce.com/sustainabilitycenters/businessdevelopment.html

Global Exchange in Atlanta Provides Eco Commerce Support to International Community: http://www.chamberofecocommerce.com/newsandevents.html

 

News no. 1

ETV Conference and Workshop
Brussels, 22-24 May 2012

ECOLINK+ participated to the ETV event "Realising eco-innovations - the European Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) pilot programme and its international perspectives" held in Brussels.

The Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) is an instrument from the European Commission to achieve the Environmental Technology Action Plan (ETAP) objectives.
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/etap/index_en.html

Link to all the presentations from the event:
http://www.eu-etv-strategy.eu/activities/etv-conference_12.htm

May 2012

News no. 2

ECOLINK+ at the European Sustainable Energy Week - EUSEW Conference

Also this year DG Enterprise and Industry, Support for Industrial Innovation Unit, organises a Europe INNOVA workshop in the framework of the EU Sustainable Energy Week. The theme for 2012 is: "How innovation voucher schemes contribute to achieving European targets on Energy Efficiency and Renewables?"

Venue: Charlemagne building, rue de la Loi/Wetstraat, Brussels.
Timing: 09:00 am – 01:00 pm
 
The preliminary agenda is available at the following address:
 http://www.europe-innova.eu/c/document_library/get_file?folderId=818631&name=DLFE-13660.pdf
 
Please register using the following link:
http://www.eusew.eu/energy-week-brussels

News no. 1

Clean energy is key to ending poverty

Meeting global energy demands and helping eradicate poverty will require industrialised nations to continue to invest and promote renewable energy and energy efficiencies.

"Investing in access to clean energy in the poorest countries will help achieve the double goal of sustainable and inclusive growth and mitigating climate change," said EU development commissioner Andris Piebalgs.

Around 71 percent of all new power generation installed in the EU was from renewable sources last year. Clean energy installations in Europe surpassed the US and China combined in 2011. As a region, Europe maintained its regional leadership position for clean energy investment as well.

Source: http://euobserver.com
Learn more: http://euobserver.com/885/115865

 

April 2012

News no. 3
International Environmental B2B meetings Lille (France), 12-13 June 2012

300 eco-innovative companies from 30 countries are expected to attend the B2B meetings on the 12th and 13th June. This is an interesting opportunity to meet future partners during personalised 30 min meetings with peers, laboratories & centres of researches, green investors, local territories, environmental clusters, etc.
These B2B meetings are organized by the French environmental cluster CD2E, in partnership with EEN (Europe Enterprise Network) and GCCA (Global Cleantech Cluster Association) and UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization).
Participation for the whole programme is free of charge but registration is compulsory. Deadline for registration is 25th of May 2012.
For more information, contact Hatice Anis h.anis@cd2e.com - ph. +33 (0)3 21 13 06 83

 

News no. 2

An Economic Challenge for the Environment
Environment for Europeans, no.46

The latest issue of the Environment for Europeans magazine is now available.
The magazine provides you with information on the EU's environmental policies, news and analysis.

Source: http://ec.europa.eu/environment
Select your language and download the PDF from the following address:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/news/efe/archives.html

News no. 1

Eurobarometer Survey
SMEs are important for a smooth transition to a greener economy

The European Commission has published an extensive survey – the first of its kind - to understand the views and attitudes of SMEs towards resource efficiency and green markets. The report addresses three core themes: resource efficiency, green markets and green jobs.

 The contribution of SMEs is essential for a greener economy. SMEs contribute roughly 64% of the industrial pollution in Europe and they find it more difficult to comply with environmental legislation than large companies. Up to 24% of SMEs actively engage in actions to reduce their environmental impact (mainly by reducing their energy consumption). Lack of expertise, lengthy approval procedures for new products and lack of consumer demand are the main obstacles that prevent SMEs from entering green markets.

There are 23 million SMEs in the European Union, representing 99% of all businesses and providing around 90 million jobs in the single market. SMEs are the backbone of the European economy and their contribution is essential for pursuing the goals of ‘Europe 2020’, the EU's strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.

Source:

http://ec.europa.eu
Download the document HERE: http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/fl_342_en.pdf

 

March 2012

 News no. 5

Realising eco-innovations - the European Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) pilot programme and its international perspectives

On 22nd - 24th May 2012 the ETV conference and workshop "Realising eco-innovations - the European Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) pilot programme and its international perspectives", initiated by the EU FP7 project AdvanceETV will be held in Brussels, Belgium.
This will be the first European conference on ETV since the launch of the EU ETV Pilot Programme in December 2011, providing up to date and comprehensive information about the programme and about the state of preparation of some participating EU member states. As the international acceptance of the verification results is one of the main demands of the technology suppliers, the event will update you on international developments on ETV and the progress in elaborating a framework for international cooperation and mutual recognition.

Learn more:
http://infoletter.dechema.de/infoletter/deliverer.html?id=639&s=265e577cfde7c999
 

News no. 4

14 companies nominated for the 2012 European Business Awards for the Environment (EBAE)

The list of 14 finalist companies coming from Belgium, France, Germany, Spain, Austria, Portugal, Slovakia, Finland and the United Kingdom for the 2012 EBAE has been revealed in Copenhagen. The winners will be announced on the 24th of May 2012, during Green Week, the European Commission’s annual conference on environment policy. The EBAE are granted to innovative companies successfully combining innovation, competitiveness and outstanding environmental performance.

Learn more:
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/12/306&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

 

News no. 3

European Parliament calls for low-carbon economy by 2050

The EU must harness its energy, transport and agriculture policies to cut CO2 emissions - and improve its Emissions Trading System (ETS) - to make the economy more competitive and dramatically less dependent on fossil fuels by 2050.

Read the full article at:
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/pressroom/content/20120315IPR40876/html/Parliament-calls-for-low-carbon-economy-by-2050

 

News no.2

12th European Forum on Eco-Innovation, 25-26 April, Amsterdam

 

The 12th edition of the forum "Scaling-up sustainable construction. Through value chain innovation" will be held in Amsterdam the 25 and 26 April 2012.

Learn more at:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/ecoinnovation2012/1st_forum/

 

 

February 2012

News No. 1

Strategy for sustainable bioeconomy in Europe

The European Commission has adopted a strategy to shift the European economy towards greater and more sustainable use of renewable resources. The strategy and action plan, “Innovating for Sustainable Growth: a Bioeconomy for Europe”, outlines a coherent, cross-sectoral and inter-disciplinary approach to the issue with three key pillars:
1) Investment in research, innovation and skills for the bioeconomy;
2) Development of markets and competitiveness in bioeconomy sectors;
3) Reinforced policy coordination and stakeholder engagement.

Source: http://europa.eu
Learn more

January 2012

News No. 2

The fourth Strategic Report by ECOLINK+, exclusively addressed to the 100 Business Club Members, has been released: "Exploiting global opportunities for eco-innovation"

“Exploiting global opportunities for eco-innovation”, the fourth exclusive ECOLINK+ strategic report is now available for download to the 100 Business Club (BC) Members. It provides BC Members with insights on how to make the most of the enormous potential of eco-innovation and to better address internationalization.
The link between innovation and internationalization has not been consistently approached until recently and existing knowledge gaps in regard to internationalization still need to be decreased.
The ECOLINK+ strategic report offers key information on the:
• Level of internationalization of European SMEs, the role of EU in the eco-industry global scale and actual trends in internationalization;
• Main approaches and methodologies to develop internationalization strategies;
• Technical support, financial support and legal support forms that have been identified;
• Available partnerships and programmes in Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia and the rest of the World.

News no 1

4th Eco-IP Steering Group meeting (Brussels, 15 December 2011)

The Steering Group (SG) of the Eco-Innovation Platform (Eco-IP) brings together public/private innovation intermediaries to provide guidance on exploiting the results of the Eco-IP partnerships and place the most influential issues in eco-innovation support at the very heart of the policy debate

The 4th Eco-IP Steering Group meeting (download agenda) has been held in Brussels on the 15th of December 2011. It gathered 14 participants representing the Europe INNOVA vertical partnerships, the Eco-Innovation Observatory, ECOLINK+ and the European Commission.
The meeting gave the SG the opportunity to:
- Run a brainstorming exercise to let Eco-IP partners and projects share their experiences and results and benefit from "cross fertilisation”;
- Discuss on the organisation of a common final event for the whole Eco-IP in late 2012.

In his initial address, Mr. Reinhard Büscher pointed out that the European Commission is looking with increasing interest at emerging industries (among which eco-industries play a great role), as they are key actors in helping the EU economy and society to become greener, i.e. more sustainable and competitive.

In the brainstorming exercise, the Europe INNOVA projects first presented their key features and findings which may be of  benefit for the rest of the Eco-IP. In the second round of exchange, projects expressed their view on where they could benefit from other projects’ results.

Finally, the SG agreed on the opportunity to ensure the highest visibility to the achievements vertical partnerships within Europe INNOVA have reached in this cycle of projects. The Eco-IP will therefore organize a joint final event in Fall 2012 to showcase of novel support mechanisms ready for adoption on a larger scale to sustain the diffusion of eco-innovation across Europe.

Click here (download minutes) to download the Minutes of the 4th Eco-IP Steering Group meeting.

 

December 2011

News no 1

9 new eco-innovative companies joined the ECOLINK+ 100 Business Club

At the 8th ECOLINK+ trans-regional event, held in Zaragoza on the 15th and 16th of December 2011, 9 eco-innovative SMEs were selected to become part of the ECOLINK+ 100 Business Club
In Zaragoza, the ECOLINK+ project, in collaboration with AragonExterior, organised the eighth trans-regional event to recruit members to join the ECOLINK+ 100 Business Club (BC).

Selected companies coming from Spain, Greece, Norway and the United Kingdom presented very interesting and effective solutions for the eco-innovative market and Alphasip (http://www.alphasip.es), Loufakis (http://www.loufakis.gr) and Prodesa (http://www.prodesa.net) distinguished themselves in doing this.

The video presentations of all the new BC Members recruited in Zaragoza will be rendered soon available in the ECOLINK+ media gallery and the 100 BC website.

 

November 2011

 News no 4

A successful 2nd Networking event for the ECOLINK+ 100 Business Club

On the 28th of November 2011, ECOLINK+ celebrated its 2nd Annual Partnering Forum in Düsseldorf in parallel with the European Venture Summit, Europe’s largest VC investment matching event in high-tech sectors.

On this occasion, eco-innovative member companies of the ECOLINK+ Business Club (BC), namely ViGIE Solutions, SP3H, Responsible Hotels and NTS Energie- und Transportsysteme, presented their solutions to an audience of industrial players, investors, cleantech clusters and business experts from across Europe. They also took part in lively panel discussions with significant contributions and to one2one meetings to exploit synergies and create partnerships. For this reason, BC members had been also provided with the chance to receive a dedicated session of coaching in the ECOLINK+ Academy in order to fine-tune their presentations and get the most out of this opportunity.

Alain Lunati, president of SP3H, newly recruited ECOLINK+ BC member from the ECOLINK+ trans-regional event in Cambridge, was awarded as one of the best cleantech companies at the European Venture Summit. Expert investors expressed their investment interest and founded “the company’s potential market attractive and their business model strong. Technology and product solutions developed are state-of-the-art and well advanced compared to the competitors. SP3H team showed the skills and experience to grow the business and willing to work with Industry and Research.”

Thanks to this award, SP3H will participate to the final of The Civica European Venture Contest (CEVC) 2011 on the 13th and 14th of December 2011. The CEVC evaluates and awards world-class innovative companies with the potential to dramatically impact their industry and contribute to increasing European competitiveness and growth. The 25 finalist will compete for the prize of 90,000 euro which will be equally distributed among the 3 winners in the fields of cleantech, life science and ICT.

During the ECOLINK+ panel session dedicated to “Regional dimension in Eco-innovation – Sustainable policies, strategies and procurements”, it was highlighted how Regions can play a decisive role as Innovation “triggers”. In particular, Tomi Tura (Lahti Science and Business Park) from the Lahti Region, one of the most competitive and fastest growing regions in Finland, explained how the current difficult economic conditions can be overcome through smart specialisation efforts. Following the example from Finland, Hans Rijckenberg (Sapience ’00 BV) presented how the City of Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, is successfully undergoing its transformation from a product-oriented to a service-oriented economy. “The European Union plays a crucial role in achieving this goal. Upgrade your region to Europe!”, he stated.

Shifting the focus on the key role played by public and private investments in Innovation, Stephan Decher (Clean Capital, UK) stressed need for having “reliable and long lasting public procurement and investing, regardless of political changes.” From BC member companies’ side, it was also highlighted by Guido Lütsch (NTS Energie) how more flexible should be the funding for Research and Innovation and how it is important to avoid rigid participation criteria hindering innovative solutions. Furthermore, during the “Eco-Industry” discussion panel, Lloyd Fleming (Carbon Trade Exchange) emphasized the multi-dimensional role that Eco-innovation can play both at social and economic level, also saying that “CO2 reduction is not just a political goal but it can also contribute to business competitiveness.”

Back to the participating BC companies, at the end of the ECOLINK+ Annual Networking Event they expressed their satisfaction with the organisation and the opportunity that they had in participating to this event. According to Helder Matos Fernandes (ViGIE Solutions), it represented “a wonderful opportunity to grow networking with entrepreneurs, experts and VC companies. This was the most impressive event we have ever attended as a start-up company and I am sure it will have a huge impact for our near future.” Alan Lunati (SP3H) was also impressed by “the quality of the International reviewers and the participation of the main VC funds”. Once again, ECOLINK+ has demonstrated how an integrated action, addressing both the business and policy sides, is the best way to ensure a real involvement of the wide eco-innovation community.

 

News no. 3

European Clusters and Regions for Eco-Innovation Network Plus. In Krakow, eco-tourism goes hand in hand with eco-innovation

Krakow, Malopolska (PL), 9 November 2011

How can eco-tourism contribute to an innovative regional development strategy? This question was at the heart of a conference held in Krakow, Malopolska region (PL), attended by around 100 participants.

Thanks to many examples of regional good practices, the experts agreed on key findings and recommendations:
• Making tourism sustainable involves the use of different territorial resources and potential as well as the adoption of a transversal approach to tourism.
• Learning and education are the main aspects of a successful eco-tourism strategy.
• To contribute to the greening of tourism stakeholders’ and visitors’ behaviour, it is crucial to establish partnerships with all related actors, in particular Small and Medium Enterprises, by assessing and improving their level of awareness regarding the environmental impact of their activities.
• Eco-innovation can help minimising the visitor-induced impact on tourism facilities and Information and Communication Technologies can allow for an efficient and innovative communication strategy.

This event was the 2nd dissemination conference of the INTERREG IVC project ECREIN+ (European Clusters and Regions for Eco-Innovation Network Plus), which aims to explore how regions can create and implement effective policies to support eco-innovation and green business in their territories. The project started in January 2010 and will end in December 2012.

The 12 ECREIN+ partners are: Rhône-Alpes (F-Lead Partner), Andalucía (E), Baden-Württemberg (D), Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce (UK), Galicia (E), Île-de-France (F), Lombardia (I), Malopolska (PL), Stara Zagora (BG), Uppsala (S), the Romanian Association of Municipalities (RO) and the Assembly of European Regions.

 

News no. 2

11 new eco-innovative companies joined the ECOLINK+ 100 BC in Bilbao

At the 7th ECOLINK+ trans-regional event, held in Bilbao on the 25th of November 2011, 11 eco-innovative SMEs were selected to become part of the ECOLINK+ 100 Business Club
In Bilbao the ECOLINK+ project, in collaboration with ACLIMA and the Copenhagen Cleantech Cluster, organised the seventh trans-regional event to recruit members to join the ECOLINK+ 100 Business Club (BC).

Selected companies coming from the Basque Country and Denmark presented very interesting and effective solutions for the eco-innovative market and Sustainable Reference, Efficient Home Energy and ECOmove distinguished themselves in doing this.

The video presentations of all the new BC Members recruited in Bilbao will be rendered soon available in the ECOLINK+ media gallery and the 100 BC website.
 

 

New no 1

Other 21 new eco-innovative companies joined the ECOLINK+ 100 Business Club
On the 20th of October 2011, two ECOLINK+ trans-regional events have been attended in Barcelona and Cambridge. At these occasions 21 top-performing eco-innovative SMEs were selected to become part of the ECOLINK+ 100 Business Club.

At the trans-regional event in Cambridge, United Kingdom, hosted by St.John’s Innovation Centre in partnership with BIC Le Havre and BIC Provence, ECOLINK+ recruited promising companies to join the ECOLINK+ 100 Business Club (BC). Eco-innovative SMEs participating to the event came from Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk counties in England, and from Upper Normandy and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur in France.
Three best presenting companies have been awarded in Cambridge were:
- Bio Group (www.biogroup.co.uk), which delivers eco-innovative solutions to turn organic waste into renewable energy and generating bio-methane to replace fossil fuels;
- Enval (www.enval.com), which deals with recycling of laminated packaging waste recovering aluminium and producing fuel for electricity/heat production;
- Syrinix (www.syrinix.com), which offers a technology for monitoring of, and detection of anomalies (leaks and bursts) within, water networks.

On the same day, thanks to the ECOLINK+ trans-regional event organised in parallel with the TEMA workshop during the KIMconference in Barcelona, another selection of talented eco-innovative companies to join the ECOLINK+ BC has been made. In this case, SMEs were coming from different European regions, namely, Catalonia and Andalusia in Spain, Lazio in Italy, Cyprus in Greece and from Friesland and South Holland in the Netherlands.

The best presenting companies awarded in Barcelona were:

- Italpack (www.italpackcartons.com), improving the recycling of paper through the use of boards with lighter grammages and electricity from renewable sources, thus reducing the carbon footprint in the process.
- ParkGreen (www.parkgreen.es), which challenge is the generation of photovoltaic solar energy combined with recharging points for electrical vehicles;
- ZICLA (www.zicla.com), that specialises in the innovation of recycling products and waste management, developing new solutions to be used in the construction sector through waste carpet boards;

The video presentations of all the new members of the ECOLINK+ 100 Business Club will be rendered soon available in the ECOLINK+ media gallery and the 100 BC website.

October 2011

 

News no 2

The third Strategic Report by ECOLINK+, exclusively addressed to the 100 Business Club Members, has been released: "Drivers and Barriers of Eco-innovation"

“Drivers and Barriers of Eco-Innovation”, the third exclusive ECOLINK+ strategic report is now available for download to the 100 Business Club (BC) Members.
The report provides BC Members with insights on the most relevant drivers and barriers in eco-innovation as well as the latest information in the field.
The drivers and barriers for eco-innovation need to be known in order to clarify the potentials of eco-innovation. Drivers are generally understood as specific factors leading to increased or reduced stress on the environment. Barriers can be considered as those forms of market limitations that hinder market from adopting eco-innovation. Both can be viewed either from the demand or supply side of eco-innovation.

The ECOLINK+ strategic report offers key information on:
• Drivers influencing companies’ decisions and an overview of the best scoring Countries in innovation performance;
• The main financial drivers and barriers (both internal and external) to Eco-innovation, initiatives drivers of innovation and future strategy of the European Commission, legislation in favour of Eco-innovation;
• The internal situation of eco-innovative organisations to learn more about the proper corporate culture to adopt innovation.
• Exploitation of intangible assets as important drivers of Eco-innovation and how exploitation of IP can lead to barriers to Eco-innovation;

   
 

News no 1

10 new eco-innovative companies joined the ECOLINK+ 100 Business Club

At the 4th ECOLINK+ trans-regional event, held in Malaga on the 14th of October 2011, 10 eco-innovative SMEs were selected to become part of the ECOLINK+ 100 Business Club.

In Malaga the ECOLINK+ project, in collaboration with BIC Euronova and BIC Porto, organised the fourth trans-regional event to recruit members to join the ECOLINK+ 100 Business Club (BC).

Selected companies coming from Spain and Portugal presented their eco-innovative solutions. Their video presentations will be rendered soon available in the ECOLINK+ media gallery and the 100 BC website.

Three best presenting companies have been awarded:

BIOAZUL, which developed an eco-innovative, sustainable solution for waste-water treatment;
NeuronBio, offering a solution using micro-organisms to enable the transformation of industrial waste into bio-diesel;
AIRZONE, which designed integrated solutions to adapt temperatures to real needs and showing cumulative consumptions within buildings.
A special mention was given to the video presentation of Responsible Hotels with their efforts to reduce environmental impact to the minimum.

 

September 2011

News no 3

EESC says 25% emission reduction are needed by 2020

According to the European Economic and Social Committee, the 25% emission reduction target by 2020 should be reconsidered by the EU in order to achieve the agreed goal of an 80%-95% drop by 2050.

Learn more:

http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=CES/11/99&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

News no 2

The roadmap to resource-efficient Europe has been set out by the European  Commission

The roadmap aims at transforming Europe's economy into a sustainable one by 2050, identifying the economic sectors that consume the most resources, and suggesting tools and indicators to help guide action in Europe and internationally. "Green growth is the only sustainable future for Europe and the world”, Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik said.

A common contribution on the Resource Efficiency Roadmap was developed by the ECOLINK+ Eco-Innovation Platform, along the lines of the open letter on the Environmental Technology Action Plan (ETAP) the ECOLINK+ Steering Group addressed to the European Commissioner Potocnik in December 2010.

Learn more on the Resource Efficiency Roadmap:
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/11/1046&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

 

News no 1

"Alternative Mobility" at the European Mobility Week 2011 (16-22 September)

This edition aims to promote resource-efficient alternatives to the private cars that still dominate urban transport and to encourage local authorities and citizens to highlight the many positive impacts of other means of transport. According to the Commissioner for the Environment, Mr Janez Potocnik, "Mobility Week allows people to think about new and better ways to travel and contribute to making their cities more pleasant places to live in."

Source: http://europa.eu

Learn more: http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/11/1032&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

 

July 2011

 

News no 6

The second Strategic Report exclusively addressed to the 100 Business Club Members has been released: "Importance of Intellectual property for eco-innovation"

“Importance of Intellectual property for eco-innovation”, the second exclusive strategic report is now available for download to BC Members. 

The report provides BC Members with insights on how the management of intellectual capital can be a driver to boost growth and internationalisation of eco-innovation players. 

The document combines background information on IP in the eco-innovation domain and practical solutions for IP management (including success stories and case studies). Five key topics are addressed by the report, and notably:

• How to create competitive advantage through management of IPR. Key information is provided on intangible assets protection and intellectual property development in the eco-innovation sector. The main options available to eco-innovative companies for IP management are presented and commented;
   
• How to audit your intellectual property portfolio. Effective methodologies on how to identify key intellectual assets and how to assess the financial and commercial value of your IP. This allows to have a clear overview about patents which are suitable for licensing in your eco-innovative company;
   
• How eco-innovative businesses can effectively exploit IPR. Approaches to effectively manage IP to be competitive and to attract investments with the help of intangibles through their smart integration into green marketing and branding strategies while positioning the company in the market;
   
• Global perspectives on IPR regulations for eco-innovation players. A broad overview addressed to eco-innovative businesses is offered to increase awareness about IP protection worldwide exploring markets in North America, Latin America, Africa and Asia;
   
• Trends and developments. Insights are provided on general trends and developments in the eco-innovation field and patenting landscape including policies, laws and performance indicators.

 

News no 5

Reducing CO2 emissions from cars through eco-innovation

A new Regulation has been adopted by the European Commission enabling car manufacturers to receive recognition for CO2 savings achieved by fitting new cars with approved “eco-innovations” to reduce emissions.

Learn more: http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/11/539&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en   

Source: http://europe.eu 

 

News no 4

First EU sustainability schemes for bio-fuels get started

The European Commission has recognised seven voluntary schemes to check the sustainability standard of bio-fuels as environmentally-friendly replacement of fossil fuels and as example of a transparent and reliable system.

Source: http://europa.eu
Article link: http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/11/901&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

 

News no 3

Commission to provide €244 million for new environment projects

The European Commission has approved funding for 183 new projects under the LIFE+ programme, the European Union's environment fund.  According to the European Commissioner for the Environment Janez Potocnik: "The LIFE+ programme maintains its financial support for high quality, innovative projects with a high level of added value for the EU. These new projects will not only make a significant contribution to nature conservation and to improving the environment, including the fight against climate change. They will help raising awareness across Europe of the key environmental challenges facing us, such as decoupling growth from resource use."

Source: http://europa.eu
Article link: http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/11/902&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

 

News no 2

 €35 million for eco-innovation comes on stream

Funding worth €35 million for 42 eco-innovation projects selected under the 2010 Competitiveness and Innovation Programme (CIP) is now coming on stream. The projects cover a wide range of environmental innovations that have one thing in common: they all contribute to protecting our precious environment while sharpening Europe's competitive edge.

According to the European Commissioner for the Environment, Janez Potocnik: "These eco-innovations are a great source of inspiration. They show a more environmentally-friendly, yet highly successful way of doing business in Europe. And I am delighted to be able to say that the funding available for 2011 is €38 million – an increase of three million from last year – but still far below the increasing level of demand."

Learn more:
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/11/812&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en 

 

News no 1

European Energy Efficiency Fund (EEEF) has been launched

The EEEF to support EU member states’ climate and energy goals by 2020 has been launched by the European Commission, the European Investment Bank (EIB), the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) and Deutsche Bank

The EEEF will provide market-based financing for commercially viable public energy efficiency and renewable energy projects within the European Union. The fund is the centrepiece of a new sustainable energy facility that the European Parliament and Council of Ministers agreed to launch using unspent funds from the European Energy Programme for Recovery for a new sustainable energy facility.

Learn more:
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=BEI/11/98&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
 

 June 2011

News no 7

New set of measures from the European Commission to increase energy savings and efficiency

A new set of measures to increase Energy Efficiency has been proposed by the European Commission to put back EU on track to achieve Europe’s 20% energy efficiency target for 2020. This proposal foresees new measures to step up Member States efforts to use energy more efficiently at all stages of the energy chain, from its transformation, distribution up to its consumption. According to Günther Oettinger, European Commissioner responsible for Energy, this measures can also contribute to create an important potential for new jobs throughout the EU.

Learn more:
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/11/770&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/11/440&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

 

News no 6

The majority of EU citizens care deeply about the environment

According to a recent survey by the European Commission, 90% of respondents in every single Member State see the environment as an important concern. The large majority of Europeans agree that using natural resources more efficiently and protecting the environment can boost economic growth in the EU. From the reports it also emerges a strong mandate for EU action: almost 9 out of 10 Europeans think EU funding should be allocated to support environmentally friendly activities.

"Many of these trends show that Europeans are more strongly engaged with the environment than ever before.” – said the Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik –“And these are actions, and not just good intentions: 2 in 3 Europeans say they have separated waste for recycling in the last month, over half are trying to cut their energy consumption, 4 in 10 are trying to use fewer disposable goods, and greater numbers of Europeans are choosing more environmentally friendly forms of transport. The findings are also an important vindication of the European project. They offer unambiguous support for environmental legislation at the EU level."

Learn more: http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/11/753&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

 

News no 5

EU backs budget support and 2030 target for renewables

The European Commission has said the EU must establish a binding 2030 target for renewable energy, pledging to include stimulus measures for the industry in its multi-annual budget proposals (post 2013) to be published later this month.
 

 

News no 4

 European Green Capital 2014 has been launched by the EU Commission

The annual award’s objective is to help European cities become more attractive and healthy places. “The European Green Capital Award is a powerful incentive to help convince local authorities that sustainable urban development is the key to a successful future. I am looking forward to receiving new applications from all over Europe showing how investing in environmental protection can be combined with economic growth and improved wellbeing”, Commissioner Potocnik said. The three key aims of the award are to:

• Reward cities that have a well-established record of achieving high environmental objectives,
• Encourage cities to commit to ambitious goals for future environmental improvement and sustainable development, and
• Provide a role model to inspire other cities and promote best practices and experiences in all other European cities.

Source: http://europa.eu
Learn more: http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/11/703&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

 

News no 3

Helping EU industries to speed up carbon efficiency

Energy-intensive manufacturing industries are facing significant additional costs for their green house gas (GHG) emissions with the entry into force of the revised EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) as of 1 January 2013. To help GHG intensive installations to cut ETS costs by reducing emissions the EU Commission has launched a call for proposals in the context of the new Sustainable Industry Low Carbon initiative. It consists of a set of sector-specific industrial projects aiming to find innovation measures to reduce the carbon-intensity industries.

Source: : http://europa.eu

Read the full article:
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/11/680&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

 

News No 2

UK has announced plans to cut emissions by 50% within 2025

The move from the British Government puts the UK well ahead of an EU pledge to cut carbon emissions by 20% by 2020, adding to pressure for the 27-member bloc to adopt a move ambitious target.

Source: euobserver.com

Learn more:
http://euobserver.com/885/32350

 

News no 1

Italians prefer an eco-sustainable life

According to a recent survey, which objective was to identify the habits adopted to reduce the impact on the environment, 50% of Italians are very interested in eco-products and eco-related issues.

 

It also emerged that 60% of them would rather buy products from brands which make us of eco-friendly and recyclable packages, and save water resources and cut CO2 emissions in their manufacturing process.

Source: Corriere della Sera
http://www.corriere.it

Read the article (Italian):
http://www.corriere.it/ambiente/11_maggio_31/gli-italiani-vogliono-una-vita-sostenibile-e-per-la-spesa-scelgono-i-big_37cf4372-8ba3-11e0-93d0-5db6d859c804.shtml

 

May 2011

 

News no 8

Shall we triple resource use by 2050, or improve efficiency and recycling?

The European Commission, together with the UN Environment Programme, has launched two major reports calling for a radical change in the use of scarce resources. They show the immense potential for increasing metal recycling rates, underline the need for a radical decoupling to avoid a global resource crunch by 2050, and provide science-based scenarios on future resource consumption.

Source: http://europa.eu

Read the full article:
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/11/646&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

 

News no 7

Specific EU funding tool for the environment and climate action

According to a recent public consultation on the future of LIFE+, the European Commission's environmental funding tool, 85.8% of respondents consider that there is a need for a specific EU financial instrument for environment and climate action. A majority of 54.6% also think that the budget for the instrument should be increased. In the run-up to the next multiannual financial framework 2014-2020, the results of this consultation will feed into an evaluation of the need for a specific environmental and climate action programme in the EU's budget.

Source: http://europa.eu

Read the full article:
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/11/647&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

 

News no. 6

Fostering entrepreneurship and new enterprises leads to reducing youth unemployment

To foster entrepreneurship and new enterprises is a necessary action according to the European Commission Vice-President Antonio Tajani who wants to put the fight against youth unemployment at the top of the EU political agenda. According to him, during these difficult economic times, there is more than ever the need to unlock the huge potential of start-up entrepreneurs.
Youth employment should be promoted in the business sector through support measures in line with the Small Business Act (SBA) such as improving the access to finance for SMEs.

Learn more:
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/newsroom/cf/itemlongdetail.cfm?item_id=5096&tpa_id=1007&lang=en

 

News. no. 5

The role of eco-innovation as driver in a resource-efficient economy

The 10th European Forum on Eco-innovation gathered stakeholders from business, academia and policymaking to deepen the public consultation launched by the European Commission on improving resource efficiency in Europe.
A particular emphasis was given to the need to stimulate resource-efficient products and services by the demand-side, and there was agreement on the fact that concrete actions from both the public and private sectors must be multiplied.

Learn more: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/etap/inaction/showcases/eu/708_en.html

 

News. no. 4

The first exclusive Strategic Report for the 100 Business Club, "Financing opportunities for eco-innovation"

Please note that The first exclusive Strategic Report for the 100 Business Club, "Financing opportunities for eco-innovation" is available for download.

 

News no. 3

Bioplastics are growing in Europe

Bioplastics, eco-innovative and resource-efficient materials, are expected to grow and improve performances in many fields where biodegradability plays a crucial role. They represent a new class of biodegradable and compostable products using renewable resources in their manufacturing process.

Learn more: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/etap/inaction/interviews/671_en.html

 

News no. 2

New standards are being set by Green urban planning around the World

Curitiba, the Brazilian ‘green capital’, shows how to minimise environmental impact and to be attractive at the same time. It represents one of the few and concrete examples of how eco-innovation oriented actions can be applied to a city instead of products.
In Europe, it’s Helsinki and the Brandenburg region that doing their parts.

Lear more: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/etap/inaction/showcases/eu/707_en.html
 

News no. 1

Innovation clusters as catalysts to boost eco-technologies

Innovation clusters focusing on eco-innovation have recently spread in Europe. In particular, it is through the clustering of business, research and policy making that new relationships can be exploited, making possible a significant contribution to eco-innovation and to the development of eco-technologies. Moreover, a crucial role can by played by  Governmental authorities that can help the still relatively young and regional-oriented Europe’s eco-innovation clusters to strength wider collaborations at international level.

Learn more:  http://ec.europa.eu/environment/etap/inaction/showcases/eu/705_en.html

 

April 2011

News no. 2

Financing opportunities for eco-innovation

“Financing opportunities for eco-innovation”, the first exclusive strategic report for the Members of the ECOLINK+ Top 100 Business Club is now available. The report offers an overview and an outlook of the different sources of financing, financial opportunities and support for eco-innovation players.

The report addresses four key topics:

• Current overview of eco-innovation in Europe, providing key information on running policies, drivers, legislations and current regulatory framework, measures and initiatives and global developments in the eco-innovation sector;
• Developments in the financing of eco-innovative companies, reviewing the current state and developments in accessing financing, the European financial policies and the financing needs of eco-innovative businesses;
• Main barriers to financing for eco-innovative companies, providing a framework on enhancing opportunities for public financing, equity financing and debt financing;
• Future initiatives and prospects for eco-innovation, describing market opportunities for eco-innovation by investigating European regulations and support initiatives.
   

News no. 1

Vouchers for Renewable Energy Service Innovators

On the 24th of March 2011, ECOLINK+ took part to the meeting “Vouchers for Renewable Energy Service Innovators” in Brussels. The objective was to examine the KIS-PIMS voucher schemes, dealing with the lifecycle of renewable energy, and to analyse how vouchers help European SMEs to access services.

 
Among priorities discussed, it is interesting to highlight how vouchers are commonly perceived as useful to gain future support, especially to small companies that did not have funding before. It also emerged that vouchers: 
 

• Can be combined with other sources of funding;
• Can help innovation processes also via the demand-side;
• Are a smarter way for solving a problem;
• Are also a way of addressing market failure. Public support is often addressing technology where most of the economy is based on services;
• If sector specific, they can use sector networks to get a clearer idea of the market and the companies involved.

For the full text of the Call please go to:

News no. 1

Call for the expression of interest by eco-innovative regions to showcase their eco-innovation capacity

The objective of this call for expression of interest is to promote eco-innovation in regions by identifying suitable members of the ECOLINK+ Top 100 Business Club (in the following, simply Business Club) for emerging and promising eco-innovators. For the full text of the Call please go to:

http://www.europe-innova.eu/c/document_library/get_file?folderId=177015&name=DLFE-11813.pdf

 

 

June 2012

News no. 1

ETV Conference and Workshop, Brussels, 22-24 May 2012

ECOLINK+ participated to the ETV event "Realising eco-innovations - the European Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) pilot programme and its international perspectives" held in Brussels.

The Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) is an instrument from the European Commission to achieve the Environmental Technology Action Plan (ETAP) objectives.
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/etap/index_en.html

Link to all the presentations from the event:
http://www.eu-etv-strategy.eu/activities/etv-conference_12.htm