Key players in business, academia, finance, policy and green groups met together at the 10th Environmental Technologies Action Plan (ETAP) Forum on Eco-Innovation held on 22 March in Birmingham, where some business case studies on sustainable material management were presented. The event aimed to encourage innovation through cross-fertilisation between disciplines and sectors as well as identify and prioritise the key issues that need to be addressed by Government and EU action.

The issues of material security and sustainable material management have grown in prominence recently. While a number of countries around the world are resorting to strategic stockpiling of raw materials, the EU response is more positive, focusing on Sustainable Material Management and EU eco-innovation shifting towards a dematerialisation of the economy. A sustainable resource policy will establish an economy which uses finite and renewable resources efficiently and responsibly, recycles strategically important materials and develops alternatives to the consumption of scarce resources or materials which cause high environmental impacts during extraction, use and disposal.

In this context, the 10th Environmental Technologies Action Plan (ETAP) Forum on Eco-Innovation, focused in some key issues such as the market and legal frameworks necessary to support a resource-efficient economy, as well as the way in which eco-innovations can address material security and reduce environmental impacts. Some case studies and practical experiences from companies with experience in resource efficiency were also presented at the Forum. Furthermore, experts present at the Forum debated about the role of green procurement in the public and private sector to promote resource efficiency.

Attitudes of European entrepreneurs towards eco-innovation

According to a Eurobarometer survey on Attitudes of European entrepreneurs towards eco-innovation presented at the Forum, for almost a quarter of businesses 50% or more of their company's total costs consisted of material costs, and three quarters said these costs had increased moderately or dramatically in the past five years. However, although many SMEs businesses are looking to eco-innovation as their answer to resource scarcity, there are still many other which are not fully aware of the potential effects of natural resource scarcity on their future operations.

More than 40% of SMEs that have introduced an eco-innovation in the last two years said the investment had reduced material use by up to 20% per unit of output. This modest change will clearly need to be stepped up if the EU is to meet its objectives set on Commission Communication on raw materials and resource efficiency to boost growth. The survey shows that most European SMEs see limited access to materials as an important driver for eco-innovation and identify current and expected future price increases for energy as the most important incentives for eco-innovation.

Public support for Eco-Innovation

Public authorities have a crucial role to play in helping SMEs to overcome barriers and adopt eco-innovation. The Commission supports the uptake of eco-innovation by businesses through various tools including financing. The Commission is planning to put forward an Eco-innovation Action Plan by this summer that will further help business develop and invest in eco-innovation.