WHY ECOLABNET?
The ECOLABNET project addresses the need of existing and emerging industries, especially SMEs, for developing and commercializing sustainable eco-innovations.
SMEs need constant and intelligent innovation to overcome challenges on the global markets and winning competitions. Sustainable eco-innovations along the value chain of products offer industrial SMEs a worthy way to differentiate and to meet the customer needs.
Ecolabnet will offer a network of experts in the Baltic Sea Region. The research of SITRA pinpointed that multi-actor business ecosystem including both private and public actors supporting each other and carrying out experimentations are necessary for supporting companies in the transformation towards sustainability. Ecolabnet aims to develop this ecosystem for sustainable innovations.
WHAT WE DO IN ECOLABNET ?
In this project, ECOLABNET network will be established to support eco-innovations through bio-based materials, additive manufacturing technologies, eco-branding, and PSS design linked to business models.
The scale of expertise and infrastructures required in developing and commercializing eco-innovations is very broad and SMEs need to complement their scarce resources. RDI actors, on other hand, constantly study and develop new issues, and possess high-level expertise and infrastructures.
An active dialogue and cooperation between SMEs and RDI actors is needed for commercializing eco-innovations ideated by SMEs as well as transferring research findings into business. In order to tackle the challenges and opportunities related to sustainability, companies and RDI actors need better collaboration practices and skills.