Within EU4Environment, UNIDO, one of the implementing partners, has lead on several activities and achieved considerables results in these areas.
The part of the conducted work was to scale up Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production (RECP) among Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the Eastern Partner (EaP) countries and help reduce consumption of resources, energy, and water in the production processes. It was done by building the capacity of SMEs to use RECP and innovative approaches in their business operations. In addition, UNIDO supported the enterprises in identifying new opportunities for the creation of circular value chains through industrial waste maps (IWMs) to raise awareness about the opportunities and benefits of a Circular Economy among enterprises, the government, and the civil society.
Among other activities, UNIDO has launched Eco-Industrial Parks (EIPs) concept. Over the project, the work was carried out with selected industrial sites to help them in the transition towards EIPs, including the EIP feasibility assessment. By becoming EIPs, industrial sites can enjoy a wide range of benefits (economic, environmental, and social), as EIPs focus on mitigating and managing the adverse impacts of the sites whilst maximizing sustainable development and shared economic opportunities, improving ecosystems and innovation practices, and fostering synergies.
A new concept of the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) was introduced in the countries to support companies in marketing their products as environmentally friendly. The PEF methodology can help tackle greenwashing and false sustainability claims, while motivating enterprises to improve their production, responsibility, and transparency and help consumers recognise to what extent a product, company, or service is environmentally friendly.
The leaflets give an overview of the activities and include tangible results achieved in each country.