The European Commission is launching a €34.8 million call for eco-innovation projects. Businesses and entrepreneurs from across Europe can apply for funding to help bring novel environmental projects to the market. The call is open to eco-innovative products, techniques, services and processes that aim to prevent or reduce environmental impacts, or which contribute to the optimal use of resources. The call for applications is open until 6 September 2012, and around 50 projects will be selected for funding.

This year’s call has five main priority areas:

* materials recycling

* water

* sustainable building products

* green business

* the food and drink sector.

The call is targeted particularly at SMEs that have developed an innovative green product, process or service, which is struggling to find its place in the market. The call offers co-funding to cover up to 50 % of the project cost, and is likely to support around 50 new projects this year.

Some 50 projects are now set to launch from last year’s call, and over 140 projects are already underway. Examples of current schemes include converting old discarded TVs into tiles, new waste sorting mechanisms, innovative eco- packaging for milk, and a new technique for recycling textiles.

Eco-Innovation is funded via the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme (CIP) and has a budget of approximately €200 million for 2008 to 2013. It supports technologically-proven products which help make better use of Europe’s natural resources. Eco-Innovation is a green strand of the CIP and contributes to the Eco-Innovation Action Plan (EcoAP). The programme is managed by the Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation (EACI).

The EPA report, ‘Science and Sustainability’, has been launched. The report outlines how EPA-funded research has provided significant support for environmental policy and decision making at national and international levels.

The EPA provides funding to scientists, engineers and innovators working on research across a range of thematic areas. This research is closely tied to Ireland’s environmental policy needs, both in terms of filling knowledge gaps for environmental protection and also supporting the green knowledge economy. The new report explains how research underpins environmental protection. It also highlights key achievements demonstrating the benefits of EPA research funding. Examples include:

* Analysis provided by EPA-funded research provided the basis for reporting a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from landfills of 0.7 million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent annually. Estimated savings to the exchequer are approximately Eur50 million over the Kyoto Protocol period (2008-2012).

* EPA STRIVE research funding has enabled the development of a Sustainable Development Research Model for Ireland (ISus) which forecasts environmental emissions (to air, soil and water) and natural resource use (energy, land and water) to 2025. Linked to the HERMES macroeconomic model for Ireland, ISus allows integrated planning of economic and environmental development.

“Targeted and reliable environmental research provides an authoritative scientific basis for environmental policy and decision making. Building on our own experience of environmental monitoring, regulation and guidance, the EPA supports a broad-ranging programme of science to inform both environmental policy and eco-innovation,” says Dr Mary Kelly, EPA director general.

The new report, Science and Sustainability, is available to download from the EPA website at www.epa.ie/downloads/pubs/research/.