Accelerating progress towards the Green Economy Ms. Anastasia Ioannou, Ass. Prof. Alexandros Flamos, University of Piraeus Research Center (UPRC) 7th International Scientific Conference on Energy and Climate, Athens, 8-10 October 2014

The Challenge… (1/2) For achieving the transition to green economy, the joint engagement of not only the public but also the private sector is needed. Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) Represent 99% of all EU businesses Despite their relative small market shares, they can be key contributors (through investing in technologies and infrastructure, products and services) to drive change and innovation.

The Challenge… (2/2) They are more flexible and fast in exploiting emerging opportunities Many SMEs have introduced innovative green solutions and/or have developed revolutionary organisational, behavioral and technological approaches to the problem of sustainability Yet, a large part of SMEs lag behind the ‘best in class’.

Key Inhibiting factors… Resources Enabling policy environment Access to appropriate information Technical skills and capacity Lack of ...

The Project… Acronym: Greeneconet Title: A best practice platform to support the transition towards a green economy EC funding: 1.0 Million€ Start date: 1st of June 2013 Duration: 3 years

The consortium STOCKHOLM ENVIRONMENT INSTITUTE- UNIVERSITY OF YORK (SEI) - UK CENTRE FOR EUROPEAN POLICY STUDIES (CEPS) - Belgium UNIVERSITY OF PIRAEUS RESEARCH CENTER (UPRC) - Greece ECOLOGIC INSTITUT Gemeinnützige GmbH (ECOLOGIC) - Germany JOINT IMPLEMENTATION NETWORK (JIN) - Netherlands GREEN ECONOMY COALITION (ECOLOGIC) -UK

We aim at... Creating a Europe-wide online network platform which will connect SMEs and support their transition to green economy pathways. Strengthening the dialogue within the private sector (SME to SME across member states) and between SMEs, research organisations and policy makers on issues related to green economy. Supporting SMEs to overcome barriers encountered and enable the greening of their operations.

Project Objectives (1/2) Online knowledge exchange platform gathering case studies of SMEs across Europe that have successfully gone green (June 2014!) Information on successful stories – Costs and benefits of green solutions for SMEs Tools and guidance for assessing business sustainability and green solutions

Project Objectives (2/2) Networking through annual meetings and workshops Matching mechanism among green solution ‘providers’ and ‘adopters’. Advice about funding and financing possibilities, and on how to apply for funding

Project approach... The project builds upon participatory networking and exchange, thus sound stakeholder engagement is key to the success of the project. The support of information exchange on green economy opportunities is promoted through: Offline (i.e. Policy Briefs, Thematic Workshops and Annual Conferences) and Online instruments (‘GreenEcoNet Platform’)

The GreenEcoNet Platform (1/2) Key objectives of the platform ... Showcase real life case studies and green solutions through searchable databases. Assist the replication of these success stories by providing on demand technical expertise Ultimate aim is to create a matching mechanism among ‘providers’ and ‘adopters’ of green solutions. Provide a library of tools and guidance for the assessment of the green solutions employed. Host discussion forums and disseminate news updates.

The GreenEcoNet Platform (2/2) The GreenEcoNet platform is available from June 2014 (http://www.greeneconet.eu/ ) ‘Toolkit’: The user can assess the performance of the green solution ‘Find Solution’: The user can search for a green solution ‘Add Solution’: The user can add a green solution

Addressing barriers... (1/2) Access to finance through effective evaluation Adoption of a specific technology is more attractive if it leads to clear benefits. Developing technoeconomic decision support tools to quantify the expected performance of clean technologies Access to information Availability of information on clean alternatives (technologies or practices) Information on “how to implement” Technical data and demonstrated track record

Addressing barriers... (2/2) Technical factors Provide on demand technical expertise (either through forums or through one to one dialogues) Provide access to external technical support Policy related factors Improving the dialogues with decision makers (bilateral dialogues with DGs, participation in the formulation of the GAP for SMEs) Policy briefs

Expected Results SMEs are able to... Gain access to information on successfully implemented green practices and technologies. Share experiences and expertise/profile green solutions/services. Find complementarities (complement their resources, R&D, production, etc.) and create partnerships and collaboration.

Thank you very much for your attention! Contacts… Ms. Anastasia Ioannou Ass. Prof. Alexandros Flamos E-mails: anast@unipi.gr aflamos@unipi.gr This project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for Research, Technological development and demonstration under Grant Agreement No 603939.