Support Mechanisms 2021-2027

With the adoption of the European Green Deal, the EU has put forward a clear roadmap with the ambition to become the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050. The Green Deal is now the new growth strategy for Europe.

• The support mechanisms and financial resources for eco-innovation have never been so massive, with the NextGenerationEU 2021-2027 :
  
  • Horizon Europe €95.5 billion

• LIFE €5.4 billion, Innovation Fund are also available to finance “close-to-market” breakthrough and demonstration projects

• The Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) as well as industrial alliances and European partnerships will see increased participation of SMEs and start-ups.
• In the National Recovery and Resilience Plans  of Member states, 37% of expenditures will be earmarked for climate-related spending
• See also InvestEU R&I and SMEs windows, and the Access2Finance platform

• Eco-innovation is often place-based, and emerges from the interaction between various stakeholders. The diffusion of best practices also spills over via value chains. This is now fully recognized in the Commission’s toolbox (in which the Green Deal is always mainstreamed):
  
  • European institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) and its Knowledge & innovation Communities (KICs) including InnoEnergy, Climate-KIC, EIT Raw Materials
  • Regional Smart Specialization Strategies
  • European Cluster Collaboration Platform

• In the new competitive landscape, businesses can distinguish themselves best by embracing DG ENV’s existing instruments
  
  • Any company can be certified EMAS, obtain the EU Ecolabel for their products, secure an ETV Environmental Technology Verification for their breakthrough innovations
  • Their representative organizations are now invited at the heart of the governing bodies (for instance: EuroChambres seating at the European Ecolabelling Board)
• For companies transitioning to a sustainable business model, a set of incentives and supporting tools is put in place:
  
  • The smooth access to sustainable finance will be increasingly dependent on the compliance with taxonomy objectives (see the new user-friendly “Taxonomy Compass” available online) and the ‘do no significant harm’ principle;
  • As of 2022, the EEN Sustainability advisors (tendering in progress) will come into play to accompany SMEs in their green transition. A next generation of online calculators for ‘organisation environmental footprint’ based on JRC methodology can also be expected
  • Any unfair competition coming from “green washing” will be put under check with a new Commission initiative on Green claims