Lyon, Rhône-Alpes (F), 29 November 2012
“The ECREIN+ project was born only three years ago, and yet so much work has already been done, and so many prospects are in place for the months and years to come! ECREIN+ is a strong partnership, made up of regions that are as geographically diverse as they are close when it comes to their objectives. Placing eco-innovation at the heart of EU investment decisions is vital for the future. Cohesion policy, supported by all sectoral policies, should enable all the regions of Europe, based on their respective potential, to develop teaching and research, support eco-innovative SMEs and encourage the creation of clusters in their territories in order to develop a truly green economy.” said Alain Chabrolle, Vice-President of the Regional Council of Rhône-Alpes (F), in charge of health and environment.
Main recommendations
• Regions should establish their own eco-innovation targets based on : regional innovation current activity (based on market analysis); key economic sectors of the regions and their impact on the environment; environmental regional policies and commitments; EU eco-innovation priorities.
• Exchange of experiences with other regions to build an eco-innovation regional strategy.
• Regions should increase their eco-industry and eco-innovation market knowledge through: solid EGSS (good and services) and eco-innovation directories, creation of regional observatories and eco-innovation platforms.
Some obstacles identified during the project
• Lack of financial capital supporting R&D activities towards eco-innovation
• Distance between R&D and implementation activities
• Distance between SMEs and university
• Lack of stimulation from the national government
• Lack of awareness about benefits coming eco-innovation
• Fragmentation of the productive system
Our journey under the motto “Think green… and act green!“
• Project launch in Uppsala (S) on 19 February 2010
• Workshop n°1 in Sibiu (RO) on 17 and 18/06/2010
• Workshop n°2 in Seville (E) on 17-18/11/2010
• Conference on New financial instruments and public private partnerships for eco-innovation in Brussels on 13/12/2010
• Workshop n°3 in Paris (F) on 7 and 8 March 2011
• Workshop n° 4 in Stara Zagora (BG) 7 and 5/8/2011
• AER Breakfast Briefing on ECREIN+ in Brussels on 31/05/2011
• 2nd dissemination conference in Krakow (PL) on 7 and 8/11/2011
• Workshop n°5 in Milan (I) on 21 and 22/03/2012
• Workshop n°6 in Heidelberg and Stuttgart (Baden-Württemberg-D), 2-3 July 2012
• AER Crisis Summit in Pescara (I) on 21 and 22/09/2012
• Tales from Europe in Strasbourg (F) 24/10/2012
AER roadmap
Michèle Sabban, AER President, calls on regions to continue this work : “At a time when regions are mobilising themselves for a strong defence of the EU budget for cohesion policy, eco-innovation remains a priority for us. To overcome our economic and environmental challenges, Europe must support this cause. It is for this reason that the Assembly of European Regions will continue following this path. We invite you to join our debates at the next Crisis Summit in Paris and at our Summer University in Mariefred, Sweden.”
For more information please visit the official website of ECREIN+. You can also find on our website all the presentations.
A video with the conclusions of this project will be sent out in the coming days. You will also be able to watch it on our AERegions channel.
11 partners together with AER are partners of ECREIN+: Rhône-Alpes (F – leader), Andalucia (E), Romanian Association of Municipalities (RO), Baden-Württemberg (D), Galicia (E), Ile-de-France (F), Lombardia (I), Malopolska (PL), Chamber of Commerce of Stara Zagora (BG), Uppsala (S), Chamber of Commerce of Coventry and Warwickshire (UK).
The Assembly of European Regions (AER – aer.eu) is the largest independent network of regions in wider Europe. Bringing together more than 250 regions from 35 countries and 16 interregional organisations, AER is the political voice of its members and a forum for interregional co-operation.
For more information: info@aer.eu
