Environment

Business and Investments

Foundation promotes circular economy around the world
29/04/2013
A foundation established by former round-the-world yachtswoman Ellen MacArthur is aiming to deepen the understanding of major corporations about the concept of the circular economy, and thereby to change their behaviour. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation hopes to involve “100 companies in 1000...
Last call for innovative energy projects to enter Sustainable Energy Europe Awards 2013    
28/02/2013
The European Union's premier awards for groundbreaking sustainable energy projects will be given out for the eighth time at EU Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW), which takes place from 24-28 June. There is still time for innovative projects to be put forward for an award, but project promoters need...
Washing whiter without water
28/01/2013
The future of laundry could be cleaning with plastic beads, rather than with water, according to Xeros, a small company based in the northern English town of Rotherham. Their bead cleaning technology was developed at Leeds University and Xeros is currently working to commercialise it. According...
Venture capital: interest in eco-innovation
15/01/2013
Venture capital, or funds provided by investors to start-ups and small companies with the potential for growth, has poured into so-called “cleantech” sectors in the last few years. In the United States in particular, investors have backed clean energy and transportation, though other sectors,...
Waste not, want not
10/12/2012
A Portuguese company has been recognised for its waste management software – an example of how modern technology can make environmental services more efficient. Compta Emerging Business, headquartered in historic Évora in southern-central Portugal, received in September a Green Projects Award...
The benefits of verification  
10/12/2012
A number of schemes are available to help eco-innovators move out of the laboratory and into the marketplace. One such scheme is offered by Isle Utilities, a British technology and innovation consultancy. Isle Utilities acts as a kind of dating agency bringing together eco-innovative technologies...
New business model for sustainable freight  
26/11/2012
TRI-VIZOR encourages companies to pool their transport and logistics capacities, generating both environmental and financial benefits. Freight transportation in Europe is massively inefficient. Less than half of the cargo capacity trundling along European roads each day is actually utilised....
Treating wastewater locally
26/11/2012
Wastewater treatment could be made more efficient by decentralising it, according to Danish company Grundfos. A small-scale, mobile wastewater treatment plant developed by Grundfos is being installed and tested in small municipalities to demonstrate the flexibility that decentralised wastewater...
Towards resource efficiency via business model innovation
26/11/2012
The modern consumer economy has a fundamental flaw that promotes unsustainable consumption: the more companies sell, the more they earn. Turntoo, a Dutch company, has been building its business model based on an alternative system in which products are not sold by the producer to the consumer, but...
Incentivised recycling
13/11/2012
A small British company is developing an innovative business model that will encourage the recycling and reuse of domestic appliances, such as fridges and washing machines, in exchange for loyalty points that can be used with up to 300 online retailers. EEESafe, based in Swansea, Wales, is...

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