Firms are becoming more interested in eco-innovation as a response both to public debates regarding climate change, chemical toxicity and sustainability; and to increasing levels of government regulation introduced in response to environmental concerns.
To further support projects designed to improve resource efficiency and reduce environmental impact, the European Commission is this year making available 35 million in funding for new eco-innovation projects.
A range of eco-innovation projects lie within the four priority sectors determined by the European Commission.
•Within the area of Materials Recycling projects span from those aimed at increasing the recyclability of products through green product design, to those that aim to produce new innovations in recycling processes.
•The Building and Construction Sector includes work on reduced resource consumption and waste production (including reductions in embodied carbon) in construction products and processes.
•The Food & Drink Sector has focused on innovation designed to increase efficiencies in packaging methods and in the use of raw materials as well as improved efficiencies in processes related to the processing of food and drink. Attention to water management processes is also a priority in this sector.
•In the area of Greening Business and ‘Smart’ Purchasing, work is being done on reducing environmental impact through the substitution of scarce materials with more resource efficient secondary materials, such as bio-based materials, as well as overall reductions in resource usage. In this sector, the creation of clean and green production processes is also key.
Sustainability solutions offered by SGS
The SGS Ecodesign team can assist you with your eco-innovation projects. SGS offer proposal development and implementation services, drawing on an extensive range of solutions and consultation, testing and auditing expertise.
SGS Services offer a life cycle based system of
•Product Environment Assessment; environmental product design, positioning and improvement using green technologies.
•Management Solutions; organizational and supply chain integration of procedures and tools.
•Production Solutions; design improvement and eco-labeling implementation.
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