boosting competitiveness and innovation

Environment

18th European Forum on Eco-innovation

Wednesday 20 and Thursday 21 May 2015Barcelona, Spain

Recommendations and summary of the event

Boosting competitiveness and innovation

The role of environmental labelling, management and

information schemes

2 18th European Forum on Eco-innovation – Boosting competitiveness and innovation. The role of environmental labelling, management and information schemes

Table of contents

1. Introduction

2. Key messages

3. Panellists and speakers

4. Framing the Forum: what are environmental schemes and how can they build competitiveness, especially of SMEs?

Introduction to the policy rationale of environmental schemes. Classifying voluntary schemes and understanding their value. The experience of SMEs.

OfficialdeliveryofETVStatementsofVerification

5. ConverStations: 20 case studies

Environmental labelling, management and information schemes used by SMEs and retailers. Why have they been developed and with what results?

6. The link between environmental schemes and innovation, including a reflectiononmandatoryvs.voluntaryschemes

7. Dilemmas: towards the perfect label

How do we ensure the credibility of labels while offering the opportunity to differentiate? Is the value of labels greater for consumers or as specifications for suppliers?

8. VoluntaryschemesaspartofacompetitiveEuropeaneconomy How can environmental schemes help SMEs to innovate? What is the role of governments to provide an overarching legal framework?

9. Setting a course for the future

Expert panel on the way forward. Key messages and recommendations. Presentation of the next Eco-Innovation Forum in Seoul, South Korea, in October 2015.

2015 Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) Awards Ceremony

Best of Eco-innovation: project success stories

Guided visits to some of the Retailers’ Environmental Action Programme members’ stores

Matchmaking event and Retail Forum Meeting

European Business Awards for the Environment (EBAE) Steering Meeting, EMAS Competent Bodies Meeting and Art.49 Meeting (not open to public

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1. Introduction

The 18th European Forum on Eco-innovation coincided with the European Commission’s work on a new circular economy package. This is due by the end of 2015. It will set goals for recy-cling, and promote a smarter use of raw mate-rials, intelligent product design, and re-use and repair.

Eco-innovation will play an important role in de-livering a competitive circular economy. It has the potential to harness the power of business to create jobs and drive investment, as well as preserve resources.

Environmental labelling, management and information schemes can in turn drive eco- innovation and help SMEs in particular appear credible – in environmental and economic terms – to potential investors and clients. This can help SMEs penetrate even well-established markets.

The 18th Forum explored the landscape of exis-ting environmental schemes, the reasons for their proliferation, persistent dilemmas and best practice. Delegates from the public and private sectors debated the pros and cons of voluntary vs. mandatory schemes, and drew up key messages to guide schemes’ future deve-lopment.

In parallel, the Forum delivered the first three statements of verification under the EU Envi-ronmental Technology Verification (ETV) pilot scheme. It also hosted the 2015 Eco-Manage-ment and Audit Scheme (EMAS) Awards, which recognise EMAS-registered companies that stand out amongst their peers for their com-mitment to eco-innovation.

In addition, delegates could attend a session on success stories from CIP Eco-innovation market replication projects and the Commis-sion presented EU funding opportunities for innovative businesses. The Forum also hosted a matchmaking event (which consisted of bila-teral business meetings) and a meeting of the multi-stakeholder Retail Forum (to exchange best practice on sustainability in the European retail sector).

The event took place in Barcelona on 20-21 May, and was organised by the European Com-mission in conjunction with the Spanish and Catalonian governments with the support of the Club EMAS Catalunya and the Environment Sector Group of the Enterprise Europe Network. It had a record number of 437 registrations.

An exhibition corner showcasing EU Ecolabel products (EU Ecolabel distinguishes products that meet high standards of performance and environmental quality) took place during these two days. Bodies such as the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the Catalan Agency for Business Competitiveness (ACCIÓ), the Institute of Tech-nology and Life Sciences (ITP), a leading com-pany in the field of analytical laboratories as well as environmental solutions LABAQUA, the LIFE projects (EU financial instrument suppor-ting environmental and nature conservation projects) and RINA SERVICES S.p.A. (the ope-rational arm of RINA, developing and offering services of ship classification, certification, veri-fication of conformity, inspection and testing) had the opportunity to present their products, projects and services to delegates.

Environmental labelling, management and information schemes can boost innovation and competitiveness to help deliver a circular economy in Europe


2. Key messagesThe 18th Forum on Eco-innovation was dedica-ted to environmental, management and infor-mation schemes as factors of innovation and competitiveness. It included for the first time a series of events with the aim of “breaking silos” and addressing individual policy tools in the context of a broader sustainable production and consumption policy framework.

The programme of the Forum was developed to involve stakeholders linked to many EU Com-mission initiatives: ETV, EMAS, the European Business Awards for the Environment (EBAE), the Retail Forum, and the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (EASME). There was a particular focus on SMEs throughout. A series of best practices, many stemming from Spain and Catalunya (for EMAS in particular), was showcased.

Participation was higher than for past fora, with over 300 participants. This contributed to an important objective of the Forum to provide input for policy making, in particular for the new circular economy package that the European Commission is currently working on, as well as for the on-going reviews of the Eco-Manage-ment and Audit Scheme (EMAS), the EU Ecolabel scheme and the Eco-innovation Action Plan.In its new circular economy package, the Com-mission will examine the role of environmental information and management schemes in pro-moting the transition to a more circular economy.

Elements for policy consideration

1. Participants at the conference agreed that labels must be credible (verified by a third party), transparent (enable comparison between different products or services), and clear (easy to understand).

• To be credible, a label must be verified by a third party and be based on science/objective assessment.

• EMAS, ETV and the EU Ecolabel are prac-tical examples of how companies (SMEs in particular for ETV) can use third-party verification to back performance claims and differentiate themselves from com-petitors.

• Credibility is also enhanced if the label is used by public authorities (i.e. part of green public procurement) and if it co-vers as wide a range of environmental impacts as possible (e.g. not just carbon emissions). Note that this is not easy to achieve, however, because of the com-plexity of calculating and communicating the environmental impact of products.

• Third party verification is worth pursuing too because it can contribute to smar-ter regulation and administration by replacing or lightening administrative controls/permits.

• Credibility is strengthened by universality, although there is also a desire to tailor labels to local circumstances (e.g. an EU ecolabel with local variants).

• To be transparent, a label needs to offer comparability between different products and/or services.

• To be clear, a label must cover either one product category or one aspect of environ-mental impact or one characteristic.

• Communication is effective when it is direct and simple. This implies a reduction in the number of “messages” to communicate.

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2. Key messages• The total number of labels should be ra-

tionalised (the OECD reports more than 500 in use today). The high number of labels and certification schemes gene-rate confusion on the market.

• Policymakers should prioritise sectors with the highest environmental impact. In particular for the EU Ecolabel, priority sectors need to be identified and work should focus on them based on available resources. Suggested priority sectors include: agriculture, transport, chemicals, food, clothes and cosmetics.

2. To enforce credible labels, tougher rules to tackle misleading green advertising are needed. Private labels are an issue in this respect because they do not provide for third party verification. The Commission is urged to develop minimum requirements that all labels would have to adhere to. Mixed views were expressed however, on whether volun-tary labels could be substituted by manda-tory product specifications, with most arguing both are necessary.B2B labels are as impor-tant as B2C labels also because it can be difficult to reflect all issues in a single label on an end product. Developing labels with a value chain approach in mind, where each supplier is effectively considered a consumer of upstream products, could be more efficient. This would mean that products have labels on them appropriate to their place in the supply chain.

3. Retailers play a pivotal role. This can range from monitoring producers to helping consu-mers understand labels. There are different ideas, however, about how retailers can best promote greener products. These in turn must match regular products in terms of price and quality to be a real alternative.

4. In some cases, public commitments to sus-tainability by organisations could be an alternative to individual product labelling,

but the same rules for credibility would apply. It may be easier for an organisation rather than an individual product to improve its environmental performance. Also, customers may recognise brands more than labels. Many believe both product labelling and organisatio-nal commitments are necessary. Organisational commitments can be a communication aid for SMEs in particular.

5. Consumers are increasingly paying more attention to labels. B2C labels should be designed in terms of their impact on consumer behaviour, not as a way of promoting speci-fic company achievements. We need to keep in mind that environmental labels are facing many competing forces (use of VIPs for mar-keting, peer pressure, etc.). These however could be turned to the advantage of the envi-ronmental if appropriately used (i.e. resulting in dedicated communication campaigns).


Maj Britt LarkaDeputy Director, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment Assumpta Farran i PocaDirector General for Environmental Quality, Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission

Andrew PragPolicy Analyst OECD

Víctor Vázquez CalvoSenior Project Manager, Environmental Area, Andalusian Institute of Technology (IAT)

Ramón ArratiaSustainability Director, Interface EMEAI

Paulo BaroneGreen Coffee Sustainability Manager, Nespresso

Antonio ManciniHead of Unit, Directorate General for Consumer Protection, Italian Competition Authority

Euan MurrayTSC Chief Strategy Officer, The Sustainability Consortium

Rosita ZilliDeputy Secretary-General, Euro Coop

Cliona Howie Del RioEuropean Project Manager and Environmental Advisor Chairperson, Environment Sector Group Enterprise Europe Network, Cámara Oficial de Comercio e Industria de Cantabria

Teresa BarresHead of Unit, General Directorate of Environmental Quality and Assessment, and Nature, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment

Jorge Izquierdo ZubiateHead of the Area of Programmes and Networks, Agency of Innovation, Business Financing and Internationalisation of Castilla y León (ADE)

Fabio IraldoResearch Director, IEFE – Instituto di Economia e Politica dell’Energia e dell’Ambiente, Università L. Bocconi

Sami LundgrenDirector, Ecolabels and Reporting, UPM-Kymmene Corporation

Guillermina Yanguas, Director General, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment

Antti Ilmari Peltomaki, Deputy Director-General, Directorate-General for the Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, European Commission

Plus 20 case study speakers (see p. 12 - 13).


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The roadmap to innovation today is shaped by two main challenges – poverty, and climate change and the environment – said Assumpta Farran i Poca, Director General for Environ-mental Quality at the Ministry for Territory and Sustainability of Catalunya. The two must be addressed together, through eco-innovation, she continued. To this end, policymakers should ensure that environmental externalities cost at least as much as eco-innovation. Only then will there be a level playing field between green and mainstream manufacturers, and will green products be truly affordable. This is crucial. “We must never lose sight of the fact that at the end of the day someone will have to buy them,” Farran i Poca reminded delegates.

“Environmental externalities must have at least the same cost as the investment in eco-inno-vation. Only then will there be a level playing field.”Assumpta Farran i Poca

Learning from SpainSpain gives great importance to voluntary in-struments. In 2014, around a third (1026) of 3341 EMAS registrations were from Spanish organisations, pointed out Maj Britt Larka, Dep-uty Director at Spain’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment. In terms of EU Ecolabel use, the country was in a “good position” after France, Italy and Germany.

To promote these voluntary schemes, Spain rewards the organisations that use them with a lighter legislative load. For example, EMAS-certified organisations can benefit from simpler inspections under the EU industrial emissions directive and an exemption from a legal re-quirement to set up a financial guarantee for environmental liability.The Spanish government also recognises the value of green public procurement to promote eco-innovation. An inter-ministerial committee has drafted best practice guidelines for incorpo-rating environment criteria into public procure-ment. In some cases, companies have to be able to prove that they are EMAS-registered to take part in public tenders. Spain recognises the value of a common Euro-pean ecolabel for exports. “The EU Ecolabel is the only one that is valid for the whole of Eu-rope and is a token of quality,” noted Britt Larka. Again, in public contracts, companies may have to prove that they use Ecolabelled products.Aside from its promotion of EMAS and the EU Ecolabel, the Spanish government has signed a series of voluntary agreements with different sectors such as textiles and electronic waste organisations. The goals are to reduce harmful emissions, improve waste management, recycle resources etc.Catalunya, which represents a fifth of Spain’s GDP and population, is producing a new “Eco-innovation in Catalunya” newsletter which will be updated monthly.

4. Framing the Forum: what are environmental schemes and how can they build competitiveness, especially of SMEs?Environmental schemes can complement and indeed support the implementation of legislation. There is a huge variety of environmental schemes in existence today that can be classifiedaccordingtotheirnatureanduse.Theycanbeavaluable tool to enhance SME competitiveness.

Assumpta Farran i Poca


“Voluntary systems like EMAS and the EU Eco-label, or voluntary agreements, are instruments of environmental excellence. They are the key for life cycle analysis of products, identifying new materials, reducing consumption and the use of closed production cycles by applying circular economy principles.”Maj Britt Larka

Creating the circular economyIn the aftermath of the economic crisis, the Eu-ropean Commission that took office last autumn is “well aware that to bring back growth and jobs to Europe we need new sustainable ideas and investments”, said Kęstutis Sadauskas, Director for the Green Economy at the Directorate-General for Environment of the European Com-mission. “But we also need better ways to give ownership to citizens and businesses that capi-talise on their efforts to be sustainable.”

In its 2015 State of the Environment report, the European Environment Agency (EEA) found that for production, Europe has achieved a relative decoupling of growth, and resource use and greenhouse gas emissions. But the same is not true for consumption. There, Europe needs to do more to reduce its environmental footprint.

“From 2000 to 2007, in the total material re-quirements and emissions caused by food, mobility and housing – the three European consumption areas with the highest associated environmental pressures – there was no signifi-cant reduction.”Kęstutis Sadauskas

Developing greener products can induce com-petitiveness on environmental grounds. But it requires effective B2B and B2C communication.Now, a company wanting to market a product as green may need to prove its credentials in different ways in different countries. This is turning into a barrier for the circulation of green goods in Europe, stressed Sadauskas. It can im-pose a hurdle too high (i.e. costly) to overcome, especially for SMEs. Moreover, the (unchecked) proliferation of labels may confuse and even mislead consumers. Promoting voluntary schemes at European level tackles these problems by enabling local customisation within a single, credible frame.

The Commission is currently reviewing EMAS and the EU Ecolabel, while other initiatives – the Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) scheme and Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) – are in a pilot phase. This Forum will in-form the future development of all these proj-ects, plus the review of the EU Eco-Innovation Action Plan itself.

“The promotion of voluntary schemes at European level is key because they allow customisation within a common frame.”Kęstutis Sadauskas

Mapping the labelling landscapeAndrew Prag, Policy Analyst at the OECD, pre-sented the institution’s latest work on trying to chart and classify different environmental labelling schemes. He focused on voluntary schemes aimed at products and services (like the EU Ecolabel) rather than organisations (like EMAS).

Traditionally, environmental labels have been classified according to three ISO standards:1) Traditional ecolabels. E.g. EU Ecolabel, Der

Blaue Engel (The Blue Angel). These are multi-issue labels which try to distill a wide variety of environmental impacts into a single approval rating. They’re typically based on Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), third party verified, and concentrate on the use phase. Historically, they have significant government involve-ment. Interestingly, they are not really used for food products.

2) Self-declared environmental claims. E.g. “environmentally friendly”, “compostable”, or “biodegradable”. These are private claims put forward by a company, usually verified only by the party making the claim. This is an unregulated sector.

3) Environmental product declarations. These are highly technical, data-oriented, quanti-tative labels displaying a large amount of information. Independently verified, they tend to be B2B because of their complexity.

The trouble with the ISO typology is that it has never accounted for more than a fifth of all the labels in use. That total has increased from 72 in 1990 to 544 in 2012, reports the OECD. It has gone paired with a shift in market share from organic labels to “other single issue labels”.

Maj Britt Larka

Kęstutis Sadauskas

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An OECD definition of environmental labelling and information schemes:“Policies and initiatives that aim to provide in-formation to external users about one or more aspects of the environmental performance of a product, service or organisation.”

There are at least four types of label outside the ISO typology:

* the organic label – usually national standards. A rather self-contained world.

* voluntary sustainability standards – many apply to food & agricultural products e.g. FSC. These are usually focused on the production phase, not-LCA based, and go beyond the purely environmental to include the social dimension.

* purely single issue labels just as Energy Star * customer-facing quantitative labels e.g.

carbon footprint (similar to ISO type 3 but customer-facing)

To encompass a greater share of all the labels out there, the OECD proposes a new classifica-tion system. This is based on 12 criteria, four of which address the mode of communication (e.g. how is the information displayed and what environmental impact(s) is addressed). The other eight pertain to the characteristics of the underlying standard (e.g. who is the standard setter, is the label voluntary or mandatory, LCA or non-LCA based).

The labelling market is evolving• Growth in the total number of ecolabelling

scheme has tailed off in the last few years. This is due in part to the economic crisis, but the slowdown is faster than you would ex-pect due purely to economic factors.

• The strongest growth has been in non-profit voluntary and private voluntary schemes, and in the category food and agricultural products. More labels have also appeared for textile and forest products, buildings and furniture, and (more recently) transport and energy.

• Credibility has become more of a challenge. Many labels today are third party verified, but it is still not always an open process how a standard is developed and applied.

• The market has become more differentiated. E.g. entry-level sustainability standards target improvements in the worst perform-ers, while others reward only the very best. Different labels target different impacts e.g. compare the labels for Fair Trade (mostly social), organic agriculture and carbon foot-print.

• Differentiation is leading to increasingly com-plex footprint labels. There is a resurgence of interest in environmental footprinting in par-ticular, albeit with big methodological and data challenges (especially for SMEs). This stems from trying to distill multiple impacts down into a single figure, plus the fact that some, such as water use, also depend on location (is the product used in a water-scarce area or not).

• There is more of a blurring between label suppliers and users. Some major retailers have taken their sustainability certification in-house and developed their own standard or adapted an existing one. Plus some firms are making decisions on behalf of their cus-tomers, by choosing to stock only certain products.

• The market is reacting to the proliferation of labels: some schemes offer mutual recogni-tion, and new initiatives such as the ISEAL alliance bring together some of the better standard setters to set a benchmark and stimulate competition on quality.

“There is a blurring of the roles of consumers, retailers and producers as some firms move away from product certification to branded sus-tainability strategies.”Andrew Prag

Support for SMEs on voluntary schemesProjects like the BRAVE project (Better Regula-tion Aimed at Valorising EMAS) try to coordi-nate EMAS with other environmental policies. They look at how public authorities can reward EMAS-registrations.

“The main target of the project is the envi-ronmental legislation improvement through a more effective regulation and the reduction or the streamlining of costs and administrative burdens for EMAS-registered organisations. The

Andrew Prag


BRAVE project has actually encouraged and supported the full integration of EMAS (and other voluntary certification schemes) into the EU Member States environmental legislation, for the purpose to ease its implementation by all organisations.” – BRAVE Layman’s project report

Other initiatives include the Go4EMAS project, which promotes EMAS to SMEs with a simpli-fied methodology and the creation of joint working “clubs”. In addition, organisations like Andalusia’s Innovation and Technology Centre (IAT) help develop tools such as EMAS reference documents (with best environmental practices in a certain sector) and environmental footprint methodologies.

Environmental management can contribute to SME competitiveness, argued Víctor Vázquez Calvo, Senior Project Manager at the Andalu-sian Institute of Technology (IAT). Because there is some overlap between what the voluntary scheme and binding environmental legislation require (e.g. air pollution monitoring), EMAS is a good framework for companies to check they are compliant with environmental legislation. And if they are not, EMAS provides a supportive framework to get them there.

A system like EMAS lets SMEs: reduce the risk of sanctions, rationalise their use of resources (cutting production costs), and improve their reputation, brand image, and relations with other stakeholders.

“EMAS is a good framework to be sure that companies are in legal compliance with envi-ronmental legislation, not only now but in the future too.”Víctor Vázquez Calvo

The challenges include: implementation costs (higher than for ISO41), lack of technical sup-port and information, lack of resources (human and time), lack of funds to invest in environ-mental improvements, HR and time, and lack of recognition and positive rewards by public authorities.

Some tools and initiatives to help SMEs with EMAS exist, e.g.:1) EMAS easy – an EMAS implementation

method designed specifically for SMEs. It cuts back on the paperwork and external costs. More than 200 consultants have been trained in it across Europe.

2) EMAS Sectoral Reference Documents (SRDs) include Best Environmental Management Practices (BEMPs) for different sectors that are the most advanced in terms of environ-mental performance. 11 sectors covered so far, including food and drink, construction and telecoms.

3) Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) has a tech-nology transfer service that hooks up tech-nology providers with technology seekers. It counts more than 23,000 profiles.

4) EMAS Clubs – an opportunity for EMAS-registered organisations to promote the scheme to non-registered outfits, work with local governments to obtain benefits, and drive visibility.

5) EMAS Awards – an opportunity for top EMAS achievers to showcase their innovations.

6) BRAVE – as discussed above – a tool to support public authorities to give more in-centives to EMAS-registered organisations. It has identified a long list of potential reg-ulatory relief measures, including in per-mitting procedures, inspection and control activities, environmental communication, GPP, financial guarantees linked to environ-mental liability, and taxes and fees.

Vázquez Calvo argued that the main difficulty for ecolabelling schemes, in contrast, is to know the impact on the market. The ecolabel can be a good tool for communication, but the challenge is choosing the best one.

“We don’t have statistical data on the impact of ecolabelling schemes on the market. For me it is very important to know that. If I want to im-plement an ecolabelling scheme for my product or my organisation, I want to know this impact.”Víctor Vázquez Calvo

Victor Vázquez Calvo

ETV aims to facilitate the market introduction of innovative environmental technologies by provid-ing verified evidence, derived from credible and scientifically sound procedures, that they perform as claimed. The end product is an ETV Statement of Verification, a document that ascertains the performance of new technologies and enables them to be differentiated from existing, compet-ing technologies. The statements were handed over by the Commission’s Green Economy Direc-tor Kęstutis Sadauskas for a:• Substrate for cultivation of mushrooms using

the digested biomass from a biogas plant (J.S. TRADING) (picture 1)

• Vortex flow regulator for rainwater pipes (MOSBAEK) (picture 2)

• System for producing briquettes from bio-mass (ASKET) (picture 3)

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OfficialdeliveryofETVStatementsofVerification

The18thEuropeanForumonEco-innovationsawtheofficialdeliveryofthefirstthreestatementsofverificationundertheEUEnvironmentalTechnologyVerification(ETV)pilotscheme.


1) Miljönär-vänlig: A Swedish environmental label for waste prevention. Anna-Carin Gripwall, Director of Communication, Avfall Sverige, Sweden

2) The choice to simplify, the courage to reward: The BRAVE project supports the full integration of EMAS (and other voluntary certification schemes, such as the EU Ecolabel) in the environmental legislation of EU Member States. VictorVazquezCalvo,Senior Project Manager, Environmental Area, Andalusian Institute of Technology (IAT), Spain

3) Creating added value with management systems and eco-labels: A large company selling Ecolabelled paper. Sami Lundgren, Director, Ecolabels and Reporting, UPM-Kymmene Corporation, Finland

4) Performing Europe’s first verification of a technology under the EU ETV Pilot Programme: The first verification body that issued a statement of verification under the EU ETV Pilot Programme. AgnieszkaWawrzyniak,Head of Verification Body, Institute of Technology and Life Sciences in Falenty, Poznań Branch, Poland

5) Mosbaek and the value of Environmental Technology Verification (ETV): One of the first technologies to receive the ETV Statement of Verification. Torben Krejberg, Technical Director, Mosbaek A/S, Denmark

6) EMAS: relation between environmental impact and business profit: An EMAS-certified company that has achieved spectacular waste reduction, resulting in important positive economic impact. Jordi Bosacoma, Sales & Safety, Health and Environment Manager, Menzolit Vitroplast, Spain

7) Austrian label of excellence for durable, repair-friendly designed electrical and electronic appliances. Sepp Eisenriegler, CEO, Repair and Service Center R.U.S.Z., Austria

8) WELL – voluntary labelling beyond energy efficiency: A product classification system for information and guidance in making conscious purchasing decisions. Irina Messerschmidt, Director, EUnited Valves, Germany

9) Casino Environmental Index: A French retailer that provides an environmental index and web tool to help consumers make informed choices. Corinne Mercadie, Environment and Packaging Manager, Casino Group, France

10) Travelife for Hotels & Accommodations: An EMAS III Travel and Tourism sector certification scheme for hotels and accommodations. Fiona Humphries, Relationship Manager, Travelife Ltd, United Kingdom

11) Solvent recovery plant in an EMAS company: A company that anticipated the VOCs legislation by registering to EMAS. DavidFernández,Environment & Health & Safety, Envases Plásticos del Ter, sa (ENPLATER), Spain

12) Thuringias sustainability network – NAThüringen. Grit Booth, Manager, Nachhaltigkeitsabkommen Thüringen, Germany

13) Gomà-Camps – Ecolabelling as a way of differentiation in a very competitive market: A family business offering products with the EU Ecolabel and the Catalan Ecolabel. MarinéOrtiz, Quality & Environmental Manager, Gomà-Camps S.A.U., Spain

5. ConverStation: 20 case studies Duringtheafternoonofthefirstday,participantshadthe opportunity to attend three of 20 case studies that showcased environmental labelling, and management and information schemes used by SMEs and retailers.

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14) Eco-Innovation Lab – Eco-innovation as a factor of business competitiveness: A trans-sectoral view of how eco-innovation tools (ecolabels and EMAS among others) provide a competitive advantage for companies. Jordi Oliver Solà, Technical Secretariat, Eco-Innovation Lab, Spain

15) The success story of the Nordic Ecolabel – celebrating its 25th anniversary: The Ecolabel with 25 years’ experience. Nancy Holm, Marketing and Communication Head, Svanen, Sweden

16) The Environmental Technology Verification for RCR – the Rotating Heat Recovery System for Polluted Effluents: Heat recovery system engaged in the ETS verification process. AlbertoPozzi,Consulting Engineer, Director of Technical and Sales Dept, POZZI LEOPOLDO SRL, Italy

17) Enabling developing countries to seize ecolabelling opportunities: Using type I ecolabels in SMEs I developing countries as a trade opportunity. Julie Godin, Programme Officer, United National Environment Programme (UNEP), Sustainable Lifestyles, Cities and Industry Branch, Division of Technology Industry and Economics (DTIE)

18) Basque Ecodesign Center: a public-private partnership initiative to boost competitiveness through ecodesign: The Center is an organisation structured pursuant to a partnership framework between firms in the private sector and the Basque Government. It aims to foster the design and execution of innovative ecodesign projects. JoséMaríaFernándezAlcalá,Ecodesign and Life Cycle assessment project manager, IHOBE, Agency of environment of the Basque Government, Basque Country, Spain

19) Nespresso’s sustainability certification: How Nespresso’s sustainability certification has benefited small coffee producers. Paulo Barone, Green Coffee Sustainability Manager, Nespresso, Italy

20) Sustainability and environmental certifications and projects for the Italian leather sector: Main certifications and labelling, experiences about these schemes. Sabrina Frontini, IICEC Director and UNIC Sustainability Representative, UNIC Group (Italian National Tanneries Association) – ICEC (Quality Institute of Certification for the leather sector), Italy

Find details of all cases studies in the programme of the Forum:

www.ec.europa.eu/environmentecoinnovation2015/1st_forum/material/agenda_en.pdf

5. ConverStation: 20 case studies


The sustainability paradigm needs to change from a focus on companies to products, ar-gued Ramón Arratia, Sustainability Director at carpet maker Interface for Europe, Middle East, Africa and India. The world is still stuck in an “old” corporate sustainability paradigm about “how to make organisations a little bit less bad”. “It is a beauty contest to win an award,” he told delegates at the 18th European Forum on Eco-innovation. “But the real impact of companies is of all the products and services they make.” He calls this the “new” paradigm of products. After that is the step to a “radical” paradigm of systems.

“Sustainability is not embedded in a compa-ny’s DNA until it is embedded in the DNA of the company’s products. Products are what com-panies make. Products are what all the R&D, marketing and sales is about. If we want to be serious about sustainability, we need to do product sustainability.”Ramón Arratia

Key to a product-based paradigm is, under-standing the life cycle impact of those products. Interface has analysed its different inputs and discovered that fibre – at the very core of any carpet – is the biggest culprit for environmen-tal footprint. The company followed up with an analysis of how it did most damage and found

that this was through its carbon emissions. Having identified and accepted the problem, it found it could redesign its products to use less fibre, recycled fibre or an alternative to fibre altogether.

Interface has since developed products with 50% less fibre. “And this is not for an award, this represents around 15% of our sales,” Arratia emphasised. These products have given it a new market. It also offers 450 colours in recycled nylon (after Dupont in the 1990s said it was impossible to recycle nylon, commented Arratia). Interface aims to recycle all of its fibre. In addition, it has invented a new bio-waste-based nylon, made with castor oil. It is also reusing old polypropylene, scavenging waste from other industries (e.g. from glass recycling) and gathering up old fishing nets in India and the Philippines to recover nylon from them (through a socially inclusive business model).

Labels can provide transparency, says Arratia. He is a fan of standardised environmental product declarations for the information they provide. But the problem is that high- and low-impact products still all pay the same VAT, he argues, so fiscally there is little incentive for companies to design better products.

6. The link between environmental schemes and innovation, including a reflectiononmandatoryvs.voluntaryschemesThe life cycle impacts of products, not companies, should underpinsustainabilitypolicy.Productlabelsareafirststeptowards market transparency, but legislative action can be more powerful in this regard – for example setting minimum environmental standards. Labels stop making sense altogether when you start thinking about system-based innovation.

1518th European Forum on Eco-innovation – Boosting competitiveness and innovation. The role of environmental labelling, management and information schemes

To create greater transparency and indeed change, Arratia urges EU policymakers to leg-islate. “We need to do the same that we did in the car industry,” he says. Here, the EU set a mandatory CO2 emission standard of 95gCO2/km for 2020. This goal has transformed car ad-vertising and removed the need for voluntary labelling, Arratia argues.

“You don’t need a label to sell a car today be-cause we have created transparency in the marketplace [through] top-down legislation. Why can’t we do the same for other sectors?”Ramón Arratia

This transparency in turn allows governments to fiscally reward and punish cars for their emissions.For Arratia, switching to a system-based way of thinking completely removes the role of la-bels. “It is not about having better old products but really innovating with a new way of doing things that kills the old products.” He gives examples: it is like insulation killing the gas in-dustry, Tesla entering the housing market with batteries, Airbnb vs. hotels, Uber vs. taxies. “Which ecolabel do you use for that?” Interface itself has started offering glue-less installa-tion – “we are killing the glue market.” Arratia advises businesses to think about which adja-cent markets they can cannibalise by offering a more sustainable alternative.

The power of radical innovation: the Interface experienceCarpet maker Interface has undertaken “Mission Zero: our promise to eliminate any negative im-pact our company may have on the environment by the year 2020.” Its 2014 stats are impressive: -98% direct GHG emissions (over half of that from manufacturing efficiencies), -54% energy efficiency and -93% water use since 1996, plus 95% renewables and zero waste to landfill.

These results stem from a whole range of proj-ects including: hot parts insulation, a switch to more efficient boilers, valves that keep heat in the process, air curtains for doors, reuse of cold air etc. Some projects have paid back in less than two years.

Keys to success have included: instilling a sense of urgency and pride in the company, empower-ing engineers, and accepting that the last 10% would cost more.Mission Zero also works for recruitment – it is a more attractive concept than working for a car-pet company, says Arratia.

Ramón Arratia


Dilemma 1: How do we ensure the credibility of labels while offeringtheopportunitytodifferentiate?1.1 What are the key ingredients of credible labels

that engage consumers and stimulate sales?1.2 Does labelling make more sense in some

product categories than in others?1.3 Do the current rules on misleading advertising

ensure enough credibility of labels?1.4 Should the words “ecological”, “environmen-

tally friendly” or “green” be protected by law as already happens for “organic”?

Unfortunately, complaints about greenwash-ing (misleading advertising) are common, said Antonio Mancini, Head of Unit at the Directorate General for Consumer Protection at the Italian Competition Authority. He argued for common rules requiring scientific evidence of products’ green impact, so that producers have to base their claims on the rational, not the emotional. This would enable enforcement and reduce the risk of scepticism, complaints and a consumer backlash. “Greenwashing is detrimental not only for the consumer but for competitors that really want to invest in the green market,” said Mancini.

“We need common rules and scientific evidence of the green impact of products. Not all products can be green. It is a question of good certification and public enforcement.” Antonio Mancini

There is an unfair commercial practice directive which deals with misleading advertising. This does not (yet) come with a specific section on green claims, although there are some Commission

guidelines which are currently under revision (so far, they say green claims must be clear, accurate and refer to relevant aspects of the product, for example). These will be expanded with new stan-dards and ideas on how to evaluate green claims.

Private labels can pose a particular greenwash-ing threat, if they are created and certified by the same body. The ongoing of the unfair commer-cial practice directive is an opportunity to create a series of minimum standards all environmen-tal labels would need to adhere to, and indeed to protect some generic expressions such as “biode-gradable” from non-science based claims in fu-ture, suggested Mancini.

A successful label has three characteristics, said Paulo Barone, Green Coffee Sustainability Man-ager at Nespresso: it must be high-profile, simple and associated with trusted, credible brands. The Fair Trade label is a good example – it is even part of the UK curriculum! Rainforest Alliance is already less obvious – it is about sustainable ag-riculture but the name is clearly about rainforest. When McDonalds uses Rainforest Alliance, it is a very symbiotic relationship – each helps the other – Barone pointed out.

Nespresso started working with Rainforest Alli-ance 12 years ago. It did not certify their farms, but integrated their standards with quality and productivity standards it was already working on. “This was a clear business decision,” says Bar-one. At the time, in 2002, Nespresso was grow-ing enormously. It also uses a very specific type of coffee that it realised could prove increasingly hard to get hold of. So a sustainability strategy

7. Dilemmas: towards the perfect labelPolicymakers need to do more to protect both the consumer and competitors against misleading green claims. Successful labels arehigh-profile,simpleandassociatedwithtrustedbrands.Consumers are ready to buy greener products and there is a role for organisational commitments to sustainability, as well as individual product labels, to drive greener purchase decisions.

Antonio Mancini

Paulo Barone


made sense. Nespresso was building the “expert” image it carries in its brand to today. The coffee maker has seen growing interest in la-bels from consumers. But there is confusion too. With a lot of people asking for different things, alignment with your brand proposition is probably the first priority, said Barone.

“You need to pick just one label that makes sense for your supply chain, your business model and create your narrative around it.”Paulo Barone

Dilemma 2: Is the value of labels greater for consumers or asspecificationsforsuppliers?2.1 What trends do you see in consumers choos-

ing products on the basis of their labels?2.2 Could a producer or retailer’s public commit-

ment on their overall purchasing and produc-tion policies replace product-specific labels?

2.3 What role should retailers have in promoting labels?

2.4 Should labels be replaced with mandatory product specifications?

Consumers are willing to buy greener products and should not be left to their own devices, said Rosita Zilli, Deputy Secretary-General at Euro Coop, representing consumer-owned retailers. But they will only buy green products that are just as good as other products in every other way.

There has been moderate growth in ecolabelled product sales over the years, Zilli continued. Con-sumers don’t always stick to policymakers’ cat-egorisations however – many believe the organic label is an ecolabel for example. Labels require an enabling environment – recycling facilities for recycle-friendly products for example, Zilli also noted. Five to ten years into the future, she imag-ines fewer labels founded on more solid science.

“Consumers will only buy green products that are equal to other products from every other point of view. You’re not going to buy an eco-detergent that cleans less well.”Rosita Zilli

It is not consumer labels or supplier specifications, both are needed, said Euan Murray, Chief Strat-egy Officer at The Sustainability Consortium. Con-sumers can use their purchasing power to reward companies doing the right thing, but they alone probably cannot solve the problem.

Single issue ecolabels have grown fairly rapidly in the last few decades, continued Murray, with great benefits across the value chain, yet most products’ environmental impact probably cannot be simplified into a single issue or choice. This can be because the product’s biggest impacts are during use or because there are multiple impacts across the supply chain. It should come as no sur-prise that there is no Fair Trade laundry detergent or FSC-certified crisps – those products have a broader set of impacts.

Besides labels, consumers need better, more gen-eral advice on how to use products and which to buy. Not all products can be green, but all organ-isations have an opportunity and responsibility to become greener and policymakers need to create the environment for this to happen.

Retailers and big brands such as M&S Unilever see value in environmental labelling but what they are really seeking to do is build sustainabil-ity into their overall brand, explained Murray. In this case, any unlabelled product looks bad and individual labelling therefore becomes less attrac-tive. Instead, the broader message of leadership, benefits to business and creation of consumer confidence becomes more important.

For labels, the key question to ask is: “what do we want people to do?” said Murray. One reason there are so many different labels out there is that they stem from organisations’ achievements, not customer needs. Murray recommends flip-ping that round. If you start with the customer and what you want them to do, you can work out what information you need to provide them with, when and how. This would simplify the labelling landscape, believes Murray. It would also avoid in-effective labels – Murray recounted to delegates how he designed the UK’s first-ever carbon foot-print for products and then discovered these were not at all helpful to consumers.

“Why we have so many labels and diversity is in many cases because I as an organisation have a message I want to give. I have done something good and I want to be rewarded for it. This is per-fectly human but it doesn’t necessarily help the end consumer. What we can do as a community is to turn that around and start by saying: “what do we want people to do?”Euan Murray

Rosita Zilli

Euan Murray


“Yes, environmental labels help SMEs innovate. They can offer a competitive advantage, provide an opportunity for new markets, and yes, sus-tainable environmental decisions make good business sense.”Cliona Howie Del Rio

Ten reasons why ecolabels help SMEs inno-vate:1) Help SMEs improve the quality of their goods

and services – through better knowledge of standards – and give them the chance to contribute to standard development.

2) Help drive growth, cut costs and increase profits. Adhering to international standards makes sense in a global market.

3) Give businesses a competitive edge. To stay at the front, SMEs need to engage with the growing environmental concerns of their clients and partners.

4) Open up export markets for goods and ser-vices.

5) Open doors to new customers and strength-en the existing business. More and more consumers want to “shop their values”.

6) Help SMEs compete with bigger enterprises, by enabling superior product quality and as a tool to manage scalability in the supply chain.

7) Enhance credibility and secure customer confidence.

8) Sharpen business processes and increase efficiency. Can help bridge the gap between the vision and reality of a sustainable busi-ness.

9) Strengthen a company’s marketing push. Evidence is only as valuable as the way it is communicated.

10) Help SMEs comply with legislation.

Eco-innovation is innovation driven by societal issues. It makes business sense: leaner manu-facturing, closing the loop, a value chain ap-proach and eco-design. “Solving large global problems will uncover large global markets,” predicts Howie Del Rio. The immediate trigger for innovation can be a life cycle analysis, sup-ply chain evaluation, product line analysis or carbon footprint study.

The keys to successful eco-innovation are:* Position the sustainability department as

part of business development (it shouldn’t be a separate department)

* Establish principles to integrate sustainability into the core of the business

* Drive strategy from societal issues* Improve B2C communications

The rewards are building customer confidence, meeting regulatory requirements at lower cost, standing out from the crowd, gaining market access and cutting costs. Even already very in-novative companies have something to gain: an ecolabel or other similar stamp of approval (such as ETV) offers them the opportunity to differentiate themselves from copycats and will push deeper innovation.

8.Voluntaryschemesaspartofa competitive European economyEnvironmental labels help SMEs innovate, by driving down costs and increasing competitive edge, for example. Governments have a role to play in promoting a coherent EU framework for EMAS and ecolabelling. Eco-innovation can be a tool for regional government to transform traditional sectors.

Cliona Howie Del Rio

19

“The need to question and evolve the ecola-bel model is becoming more acute as global companies commit to audacious, long-term sustainability goals and need to find effective ways of delivering as well as credible ways of communicating what they have done.”Cliona Howie Del Rio

The role of governmentsGovernments’ role is to underline the principles of the circular economy, use research to sup-port policy making, help disseminate and trans-fer knowledge, engage in an exchange of views with other stakeholders, create relevant com-munication strategies and collect, showcase and act upon success stories. More specifically, they should:1) Promote a coherent EU voluntary EMAS and

Ecolabel framework.2) Promote and facilitate collaborative initia-

tives, e.g. voluntary agreements.

...said Teresa Barres, Head of Unit at the Gen-eral Directorate of Environmental Quality and Assessment, and Nature, at Spain’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment.

Eco-innovation is also a useful tool to promote the regional transformation of traditional sectors such as food and agriculture in Castilla y Leon, according to Jorge Izquierdo Zubiate, Head of the Area of Programmes and Networks at the Agency of Innovation, Business Financing and In-ternationalisation of Castilla y León (ADE). Food

and agriculture make up 14% of GDP here, more than three times as much as in the rest of Spain. Izquierdo Zubiate’s agency is promot-ing circular economy and eco-innovation pro-grammes to valorise traditional products and services. Current R&D initiatives include the Horizon 2020 EnCIRCLE project and the ADE RURAL programme, which is about “bringing in-novation closer to the rural world”.

In addition, public sector organisations lead by example. Castilla y Leon’s regional environment ministry has been working with EMAS for years. It is the first Spanish public body with EMAS-registered visitor centres (in Natura 2000 sites). It will apply for the EMAS Award in 2016.

Meanwhile, members of the regional wine industry, which makes the prestigious Ribeira del Duero wine, have partnered with the Ministry to integrate waste management and life cycle assessment into the wine sector. The “LIFE HAproWINE” project introduces organic farming, EPDs, product category rules, carbon footprinting and the development of an ecolabel system for wine. The Grupo Matarromera has been especially active. They are looking for new added value through by-products. Teresa Barres


The number one reason for consumers not to buy green products is that they believe com-panies make false claims about them. The only reply to this is to develop third party verifica-tion, believes Fabio Iraldo, Research Director at the Instituto di Economia e Politica dell’Energia e dell’Ambiente (IEFE). Labels are blooming in a quest for credibility. Policymakers should impose a general set of rules for all labels, whether pub-lic or private, he believes. This could also bolster the credibility of single issue labels by stipulating for example that if you only communicate on one issue, the label should nonetheless guarantee that you are not worse on other issues.

“I think eco-innovation is a crucial factor in deliv-ering the transition to a more circular economy.” Antti Ilmari Peltomaki

Companies use more than one label because that is what customers want. Pulp and paper manufacturer UPM-Kymmene uses around ten different labels, for example, said Sami Lund-gren, Director for Ecolabels and Reporting at UPM-Kymmene Corporation. Different labels are suited for different markets. He agreed however, that credibility is key and all labels the company uses are third party verified. Iraldo pointed out that many companies also use the requirements of an ecolabel as a benchmark for their products, even if they adopt the label itself.

Feedback from the audience:* Third party verification universally considered

crucial for credibility. Labels should also be simple, well-communicated, with a credible authority behind them.

* Some different ideas on what kind of scope a label should have to be credible: some said it must cover all environmental impacts plus all aspects of the product (e.g. product packag-ing as well as the product itself) – others okay with more focused labels.

* Discussion over the value of a universal la-bel – some said, yes, we must strive towards universality, others emphasised the need to have local variants (the customer is king)

* To be credible, a label should be part of GPP. If local authorities are not using it, why should it appear credible to the public?

* Labelling should target all products, some said. Others proposed e.g. based on environ-mental impact. Some specific suggestions: food, clothes, cosmetics, chemicals, transport.

* B2B labels are as important as B2C labels* Can all products be green, especially chemi-

cal-based products? Can we develop a label for every kind of product? Different thoughts.

* Majority said rules on misleading advertising are insufficient, though some suggested en-forcement is a problem too. False claims are a big problem for private labels in particular, many felt.

* Divided 50:50 over the idea of protecting by law general terms such as “green” – some said yes, it is a way to harmonise communi-cation further, while others said no, they are too broad. Perhaps first define “green” then think about how to protect it, was one sug-gestion.

* People are paying more attention to labels,

9. Setting a course for the futureThe EU foresees a bigger role for existing EU schemes such asEMASandEUEcolabelinfuture.Itwillconsiderhorizontalcriteria to apply to all labels, while stakeholders also call for more action on misleading green claims.

Antti Ilmari Peltomaki

21

even if e.g. EU ecolabel is still not as wide-spread as organic (perhaps because of the health link of the latter).

* Price is important – even interested consum-ers will ultimately buy on price many felt – green products must match regular products on quality and price.

* There are arguments in favour of substi-tuting individual product labels with public sustainability commitments by companies – customers tend to recognise brands rather than labels for example. It is also easier to address a broader range of environmental issues through a public commitment. Many said we need both, and ideally a value chain approach.

* Labels can be a communication aid for com-panies, especially SMEs, so they need to be as least burdensome as possible.

* Public authorities should offer concrete in-centives to SMEs participating in EMAS and EU Ecolabel e.g. regulatory or fiscal relief and an advantage in public tenders. The benefits should be well-communicated.

* EU should make sure it uses its own EU eco-label.

* The role of retailers is crucial, some different ideas though over what they can do e.g. should greener products be fully integrated (not isolated) on supermarket shelves? Or given special visibility?

* Divergence of opinion over need for manda-tory product specifications. Quite a few calls for nothing too drastic. Also, labels are based on LCA; these specifications would not be. What about national differences? A concern from some that mandatory standards might stifle innovation, while others suggest they could be the way to go (also for imports). Perhaps mandatory criteria could be integrat-ed into the EU Ecolabel.

* Need to increase demand for ecolabelled products, as well as their supply. Consumers need supplementary information and educa-tion.

* A suggestion to rate labels e.g. with a star scheme. Plus, could the EU Ecolabel (e.g. called a “circular” label) form part of the Com-mission’s new circular economy package?

The definition of a set of horizontal criteria that would apply to all labels “is probably the way to go”, said Kęstutis Sadauskas from the Commis-sion. This would help consolidate the market. There are too many labels. It is confusing for

the customer. But there cannot be just one label if only because there are different customers, products and criteria. The Commission does not plan to try to regulate general words such as “green”.

“We have got to see if we are not at the point of [label] saturation, if we don’t need some consol-idation. Third party verification is possibly a way forward. All the labels at EU levels are based on this concept.” Kęstutis Sadauskas

Labels can have unexpected effects. For exam-ple, Iraldo’s research suggests that rather than being sensitive to an ecolabel, a customer may not be so sensitive to it at all but rather when he sees it, decides to buy. A label influences as well as enables choice.

Ultimately both labels and mandatory product specifications are needed, said Lundgren. Iral-do was more wary, suggesting WTO problems could arise from a life-cycle based specification at least because supply chains are global these days. He suggested instead imposing how you measure the environmental performance of a product, to create a level playing field (as the Commission is doing through ETV and its work on a product environmental footprint method-ology). He issued a call to the Commission to adopt the same method in all its ecodesign, ecolabel, environmental footprint etc. work.

Green products can compete with regular prod-ucts. Price is important but organic food is much more expensive than traditional food yet it is a market where labels have great success, noted Iraldo. In addition, ecolabelled products are not always that much more expensive than regular products, he said.

EU voluntary environmental schemes will have to become more effective to play an even bigger role in future, in particular in the context of the transformation towards a more circular economy. EMAS and EU Ecolabel have been effective tools, said Antti Ilmari Peltomaki from the Commission’s Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs. “We should think how they can take on an even bigger role.”

“EU Ecolabel, EMAS and voluntary agreements work. They contribute to ensure that all compa-nies, especially SMEs, can improve their brand image.”Guillermina Yanguas

Guillermina Yanguas

EMAS is a voluntary EU programme that busi-nesses use to improve their environmental – and financial – performance. The 18th Forum also hosted the Eco-Management and Au-dit Scheme (EMAS) Awards, which recognise EMAS-registered companies that stand out amongst their peers for their commitment to eco-innovation. This can be through investment in research (new or improved products, services and processes), engagement with employees, customers and local communities, and actions that deliver benefits beyond a company’s core business. These are companies that move and motivate others and have the potential to trans-form entire sectors.

The European Commission has awarded six organisations. They were selected from 22 nominees by an independent expert jury.

Private sector winners and their achievementsLarge organisations: Comexi Group Industries S.A.U. (Spain) is a family company whose strategic commitment to eco-innovation led them to develop a new printing machine called COMEXI OFFSET-CI8. This fully eliminates the use of solvent-based inks in the printing process – thus ending the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). It also consumes 40% less energy. Comexi could transform the entire printing sector, espe-cially because it has an outstanding level of en-gagement with other actors in the supply chain.

Medium-sizedorganisations: Metallbau Haslinger GmbH (Germany) pro-duces steel constructions and overhead cranes. It is on the way to becoming carbon neutral, despite its energy-intensive processes. Heat for space heating and powder coating is generated from wood chips, the electricity for fabrication comes from solar energy, and transport is partly through electric vehicles. Adjusting operations to match the availability of solar power requires

impressive commitment from employees and management.

Small organisations: The SeehotelWiesler GmbH (Germany) is a nature and wellness hotel on Lake Titisee in the southern Black Forest in Baden-Württemberg. For a small business, the extent of its activities and promotion is exceptional. Seehotel has developed a model for eco-tourism that has motivated 32 other hotels (plus a further 12 due this year) to join EMAS. Together, they constitute the “Nature Park Inns and Hotels Schwarzwald” group, co-founded by Seehotel’s owner Mr Wiesler.

Micro-organisations: La Page Original (Spain) is a graphic design and visual communication studio with just three employees. It stands out for incorporating en-vironmental criteria into all of its projects and therefore greening the buying behavior of its customers.

Public sector winners and their achievementsLarge organisations: Landeskrankenanstalten – Betriebsgesell-schaft (KABEG) (Austria) owns and manages the five biggest public hospitals in southern Austria. It has radically reduced its environmental impact by cutting back on water consumption, switching to 100% green energy (including in-house solar power), more energy-efficient processes and buildings, and on-site electro-mobility. KABEG is impressive for the sheer range of its actions across all five sites, plus two research projects that take the benefits of eco-innovation beyond its core business.

Small organisations: TheRegionalCentreforWaterandWastewater Management Co. (RCGW S.A.) (Poland) is a European leader in the production and use of renewable energy in the water and wastewater



sector. It produces 50% more energy than it needs every month from biogas. RCGW stands out amongst its peers for investment in innova-tive research and engagement with local com-munities. This is an outward-looking company with very professional, advanced green man-agement.

Honorary mentionsIn addition to this year’s six winners, two organ-isations have been given special recognition for their efforts on eco-innovation.

Medium-sizedorganisations: Schulverein St Ursula (Austria), a school in Vienna, received an honorary mention for its engagement with students on environmental issues.

Large organisations: SchaefflerTechnologiesAG&Co.KG (Germa-ny), a global automotive and industrial supplier, received an honorary mention for its front-runner approach to implementing EMAS at global level: a total of 53 registered sites and the first EMAS registrations in China.

23



The Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME) presented ananalysis of the results of CIP Eco-Innovation market replication projects with highlights of best practice.

The Commission also presented the landscape of opportunities for funding available for eco-innovation from European programmes in the period 2014-2020. Horizon 2020 (the Frame-work Programme for Research and Innovation), LIFE (the EU Funding Instrument for the Envi-ronment and Climate Action), COSME (the Pro-gramme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises), but also the European Structural and Investment Funds and the European Fund for Strategic Investments under the Investment Plan for Europe offer a lot of funding opportunities for innovative businesses. These programmes cover different funding instruments and thematic pri-orities, addressing SMEs, their innovations and funding needs.

Around 180 persons attended this session which was chaired by Didier Gambier, Head of Department LIFE and H2020 Energy, Environ-ment, Resources, Executive Agency for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (EASME).

Projects presented during this session:

• ECO-SANDWICH - energy efficient, recycled concrete sandwich façade panel

Website: http://www.eco-sandwich.hr

• REGENERA - regenerable high efficiency fil-tering media for arsenic treatment in drinking water

Website: www.regenera-project.eu

• TV4NEWOOD- thermovacuum: new process for new generation of thermally modified wood with increased resistance and durability

Website: http://www.tv4newood.it/

• GEnIuS- graphene for clean-up of oil spills

Website: http://genius-project.com/project/

• ECOPROFABRICS - launch of Returnity® work wear made of polyester fibre, applying a business model based on cradle to cradle principles – production, renting of the prod-uct, take back and recycle into new products

Website: https://ecoprofabrics.wordpress.com/

Didier Gambier



The multi-stakeholder Retail Forum met to ex-change best practice on the topic of “consumer information” for sustainability purposes in the European retail sector.

The role of the European retailers in Eco-Inno-vation and Eco-Labeling is certainly crucial, and the voice of the market was necessary to be heard.

Representatives from various retailers were part of the panels: IKEA, Mercadona, Jeronimo Martins, Eroski, Consum, Galeria Kaufhof. Del-egates discussed how retailers engage with suppliers and employees. The Retail Forum also produced some positive takeaways to the visitor regarding the current Green practices of the European retailers on Eco-Labeling. It also addressed the urgent need for the European consumers to be further educated as regards the eco-labelling of the products found on the shelves and on circular economy as well.

95 persons attended the Retail Forum meetingonThursdayafternoon.

Retail Forum Meeting


Delegates were invited to visit three Spanish retailers Mercadona, Caprabo (Eroski Group) and Consum that illustrated how they conceive and implement sustainability.

23 persons attended the guided visits of the Retailers’ Environmental Action Programme members’ stores on Friday morning.

Guided visits to some of the Retailers’ Environmental Action Programme members’ stores


The EBAE Steering Meeting, the EMAS Com-petent Bodies Meeting and the Art.49 Meet-ing were organised in Barcelona on 21 and/or 22 May 2015. These meetings were not open to public. Nevertheless, they enabled national coordinators of these respective European

initiatives to broaden their network of con-tacts in view to creater synergies in favour of eco-innovation and of more sustainable consumption and production patterns.

European Business Awards for the Environment (EBAE) Steering Meeting, EMAS Competent Bodies Meeting and Art.49 Meeting (not open to public)

These pre-arranged bilateral business meet-ings of 20 mins each were jointly organised by ACCIO – Government of Catalonia with the support of the Environment Sector Group of the Enterprise Europe Network.

Figures:- 99 participants registered from 12 countries:

http://forumecoinnovation.talkb2b.net/mem-bers/show_all

- 137 scheduled meetings

Matchmaking event


Next Forum

19th European Forum on Eco-innovation27 and 28 October 2015

In Seoul, Republic of Korea

Subject: The Forum will explore business opportunities in eco-innovation

and will present the latest trends in the circular economy focusing on innovative materials and products.

www.ec.europa.eu/environment/ecoinnovation2015/2nd_forum

The paper used in this product is manufactured from managed forests and is FSC certified.

Phot

os &

Illu

stra

tions

: © S

hutt

erst

ock.

com

The forum is co-organised by: With the support of:

@EU_ecoinno@EMAS_EUEcolabel#EcoApForum#EMAS_Awards_2015

For further information

VisittheofficialEcoAPwebsiteforthelatestinformationon:• Policies and Actions• Innovative Technologies• Funding resources• Links and forthcoming events• EcoAP news (newsletters and platform) and other communication tools.

Contact information

Directorate-General for the EnvironmentUnit A1 - Eco-Innovation and Circular EconomyTel: +32 (0)2 296 48 88Contact: [email protected]/environment/ecoap/

Full details of the Forum programme and presentations can be found at: www.ec.europa.eu/environment/ecoinnovation2015/1st_forum/

Useful LinksEco-innovation Action Plan www.ec.europa.eu/environment/ecoap

European Commission DG Environment www.ec.europa.eu/environmentCircular economy www.ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-economyCircular economy consultation www.ec.europa.eu/environment/consultations/clos-ing_the_loop_en.htmEco-innovation www.ec.europa.eu/environment/eco-innovationEMASwww.ec.europa.eu/environment/emas/index_en.htmEntreprise Europe Networkwww.een.ec.europa.eu

ETViet.jrc.ec.europa.eu/etv

EU Ecolabelwww.ec.europa.eu/environment/ecolabel/index_en.htm

Retail Forumwww.ec.europa.eu/environment/industry/retail/in-dex_en.htm

2015 work programmewww.ec.europa.eu/priorities/work-programme/index_en.htmEuropean Environment Agencywww.eea.europa.euSpanish Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environmentwww.magrama.gob.es/enClub EMASwww.clubemas.cat/enGeneralitat de Catalunya, Government of Cataloniaweb.gencat.cat/en/inici/index.htmlOECDwww.oecd.orgOECD labelling reportwww.oecd.org/officialdocuments/publicdisplaydocumentpdf/?cote=com/env/td(2004)34/final&doclanguage=enUnfair commercial practice directive (green guidelines)www.ec.europa.eu/consumers/consumer_rights/unfair-trade/unfair-practices/index_en.htmBRAVEprojectwww.braveproject.eu