News

Brussels, 20 December 2011 – The Commission has proposed guidelines for the modernisation of European directives on public procurement. The aim is to ensure the optimal use of funds to foster growth and job creation by simplifying rules and procedures and making them more flexible. Public authorities spend 18% GDP annually on goods, services and…

Brussels, 14 December 2011 – The EC has launched the Eco-Innovation Action Plan (EcoAP) as part of the Innovation Union Flagship Initiative of the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. It aims to bridge the gap between innovation and the market and boost innovation that reduces pressure on the environment. The Action…

Brussels, 30 November 2011– Commissioner Maire Geoghegan-Quinn presented a package of measures to boost research, innovation and competitiveness in Europe. Horizon 2020 is an €80 billion programme for investment in research and innovation to run from 2014 to 2020. Horizon 2020 brings together all EU research and innovation funding under a single umbrella, and will…

Brussels, 25 October 2011 – The European Parliament has approved a resolution calling for reforms to the EU rules of public procurement contracts, calling for them to become simpler, more inclusive and more flexible. Price should no longer be the determining factor in awarding contracts, but it should be replaced by the, “most advantageous tender…

Brussels, 10 October 2011 – GreenConServe has published the brochure ‘Green service innovation vouchers: Experiences from testing voucher schemes for sustainable construction service innovators.’ GreenConServe’s goal is to design, implement and test new schemes to accelerate SME-based service innovation in the construction industry in Norway, France and Germany. It works with public partners in these countries…

Brussels, 5 October 2011 – A new report from the European Environment Agency (EEA) has found that there is a big potential to cut greenhouse gases (GHGs) from municipal solid waste management. The report covers the EU-27 (excluding Cyprus), Norway and Switzerland, and estimates that savings of up to 78 million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-e)…

Brussels, 20 September 2011 – The European Commission has set out a ‘roadmap’ aimed at transforming Europe’s economy into a sustainable one by 2050. The Roadmap to a resource-efficient Europe outlines how we can achieve the resource efficient growth which is essential for our future wellbeing and prosperity. The roadmap identifies the economic sectors that…

Brussels, 8 September 2011 – Full implementation of the EU’s landfill directive could avoid 18 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent being emitted each year by 2020, according to a study released by the European Environment Agency (EEA) on Monday. Improvements in the management of municipal waste since 1995 have already cut annual CO2e emissions…

Brussels, 9 June 2011 – The EU’s innovation performance needs major improvements in many areas if the Europe 2020 strategy is to deliver smart sustainable growth, concludes the European Commission’s 2011 Innovation Union Competitiveness Report. Europe needs more and “smarter” investment in both public and private research and development,  not only does this boost growth in the medium-term,…

Brussels, 14 April 2011 – The contribution of technical innovation to sustainable development requires integrated, long-term policy to unlock industry from previous business models and practices, according to a new analysis. The researchers suggest adopting a multi-purpose policy practice that integrates industrial policy, environmental policy and trade initiatives. Sustainable development (SD) in a global economy requires major…

Brussels, 24 March 2011 – The KIS-PIMS closing seminar: ‘Vouchers for renewable energy service innovators’ presented the findings of the first sector-specific innovation voucher test to over 50 public energy agencies and innovation stakeholders. For three years the project led by a public-private partnership developed, tested and implemented the first sector specific vouchers for innovation…

Brussels, 16 March 2011 – In the EU27, 513 kg of municipal waste was generated per person in 2009. The amount generated per person varied from 316 kg in the Czech Republic and Poland to 833 kg in Denmark.This information is published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.  On average in the EU27,…