In the context of the environmental and global challenges, eco-innovation has become one of the European Union’s priorities. In 2004, the Environmental Technologies Action Plan (ETAP) put eco-innovation to the forefront and more recently the EU Lead Market Initiative (LMI) recognised it as one of the most promising areas. The origins of the Eco-Innovation Observatory stem from ETAP’s second report published in 2007. It emphasised a need to “ensure an effective, strategic knowledge resource on eco-innovation that would provide relevant statistics, and identify emerging trends and global business opportunities” and envisages a network observatory as a way to collect synthesise and share such knowledge.
The objective of the EIO is thus to collect and analyse information on trends in the area of eco-innovation and provide a strategic knowledge resource for policy-makers, business and finance. The Eco-Innovation Observatory will also disseminate the outcomes of its analyses and provide market and technology intelligence customised to SMEs.
The Eco-Innovation Observatory is then expected to improve the access to information and knowledge on eco-innovation, in particular for SMEs and service providers. It shall become the European integrated platform, providing information and sharing knowledge relevant to eco-innovation stakeholders.
The range and quantity of knowledge gathered shall also support the innovation policy development process.
Click here to go to the Eco Innovation Observatory website.
