On 25 February 2020, UNEP and UNIDO, jointly with the Georgian Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, organised an event dedicated to Eco-innovation, Resource Efficiency and Cleaner Production in Tbilisi, Georgia.
A Green Economy is one that routes materials, parts and products back into use several times and creates more value and less waste. It is an alternative, in which value is maintained for as long as possible, products are designed to last, and the generation of waste is minimised.
Eco-innovation is one of the enabling instruments identified by the EU for the transition to a greener, more resource-efficient economy. The approach promotes systemic innovation based on a holistic life-cycle thinking around the entirety of a company’s operations – including the products and services offered, as well as value chains, market outreach, internal processes and organizational structure. Eco-innovation has proven a successful tool for reducing inputs, recovering materials and minimising waste, as well as extending product/service life cycle.
Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production (RECP) is used as an umbrella term for the application of preventive environmental strategies to achieve the triple aims of production efficiency, environmental management and human development. The RECP Programme builds national capacities, fosters dialogue between industry and government and facilitates investments for the transfer and adaptation of Environmentally Sound Technologies.
The European Union-funded EU4Environment programme aims to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Georgia in their transition to a Green Economy. It serves to evaluate SMEs position in the global value chain, and to seek innovative solutions to strengthen their environmental performance, market position and competitiveness. It also promotes introduction of RECP among manufacturing enterprises, building capacity and demonstrating business opportunities of its application in different sectors.
Main objectives:
- Introduce the EU4Environment Programme and activities dedicated to promoting the transition of SMEs to a Green and Circular Economy;
- Increase capacity/understanding of eco-innovation and RECP approaches among businesses, SMEs and government officials, including demonstration of case studies and inter-linkages between the two concepts;
- Present the planned work on eco-innovation in Georgia and identify specific sectors that are best suited to implement this approach;
- Identify local technical partners for company audits and business strategy review/development;
- Other discussion issues.
Participants
The meeting gathered participants from SMEs and other businesses, as well as national technical organisations, support providers and experts. It also involved relevant policy makers, including government representatives at the national and regional levels, academia and civil society.