Presentation by the European Commission

1. GREENING SMEs:
Actions by the European Commission
Chisinau, 22 March 2016
EaP GREEN Regional Conference

2. SMEs in EU
• SMEs accounted for 71.4% of the increase in
employment in 2014 in the non-financial
business sector
• SMEs, in 2014, accounted for 99.8% of all
enterprises in the non-financial business sector
in the EU28
• in 2014 SMEs employed almost 90 million
people - 67% of total employment

3. Context
• Raw materials + energy and water = 50% of total manufacturing
costs of companies vs. 20% for labour costs.
• 60% of total waste is not recycled, composted or reused.
• 44% of large companies in the EU sell their scrap material to another
company vs. 24% of SMEs.
• Resource efficiency savings potential: € 630 billion p.a. for European
industry.
• 93% of SMEs are taking at least one action to be more resource
efficient which, in most cases, is a low-cost action
• World market for environmental industries is growing by 5% a year
and is expected to triple by 2030, but 87% of SMEs in the EU only sell in
their national markets.

4. From a Linear Economy…
DISPOSEMAKETAKENATURAL
RESOURCES
WASTE
WASTE
WASTE
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5. What are the limitations
of a Linear Economy?
• lost value of materials and products
• scarcity of resources
• volatile prices of resources
• waste generated
• unstable supply of raw materials
• environmental degradation & climate change
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6. …to a Circular Economy
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7. What are the benefits
of a Circular Economy?
• the value of products, materials and
resources is maintained in the economy
• waste generation is minimized
• boost to the economy and competitiveness
by creating new business opportunities
and innovation
• brings economic, social
• and environmental gains
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• growth & job creation/
up to +7% GDP
 up to 600 billion
in
savings/8% of
annual turnover
for business in
the EU
 estimated 170
000 direct jobs in
waste
management
sectors created
by 2035
• boosting
competitiveness and
ensuring security of
supply

8. Circular Economy Package
Adopted by the Commission 2 December 2015
Action Plan
Communication
List of Follow-up
Initiatives (Annex)
4 Legislative
proposals on waste
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9. Circular Economy Package
 Objective:
 To close the loop" of product
lifecycles through greater recycling
and re-use, and bring benefits for
both the environment and the
economy
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10. The revised legislative proposal on waste:
A common EU target for recycling 65% of municipal
waste by 2030;
A common EU target for recycling 75% of packaging
waste by 2030;
A binding landfill target to reduce landfill to maximum
of 10% of all waste by 2030;
A ban on landfilling of separately collected waste
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Circular Economy Package

11. Key actions:
Funding of over €650 million under Horizon 2020 and €5.5 billion
under the structural funds;
Actions to reduce food waste including a common measurement
methodology, improved date marking, and tools to meet the global
Sustainable Development Goal to halve food waste by 2030;
Development of quality standards for secondary raw materials to
increase the confidence of operators in the single market;
Measures in the Ecodesign working plan for 2015-2017 to include
reparability, durability, recyclability
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Circular Economy Package

12. Other concrete and ambitious actions
• legislation on fertilisers, including organic and
waste-based fertilisers
• minimum requirements for the reuse of wastewater
• actions on Green Public Procurement
• quality standards for secondary raw materials
• strategy on plastics, including marine litter
• interface between chemicals, products and
waste legislation
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13. Adopted in July 2014. Draws together new or revised EU level action
that promote resource efficiency and circular economy among SMEs
(information, capacity building, promoting cooperation and networking,
direct financing, facilitating access to finance, etc.)
Positive agenda: focus on competitiveness and business opportunities
• To improve SME resource efficiency as a driver of companies’
competitiveness.
• To enable SMEs to turn environmental challenges into business
opportunities by improving productivity and reducing costs.
Green Action Plan for SMEs

14. Action for capacity building:
• Establishment of a European Resource Efficiency Excellence Centre (COSME Work
Programme 2015) and development of a resource efficiency self-assessment tool
• Information on drivers and obstacles through further Eurobarometer surveys ad study into
the SME aspects of circular economy
• Reinforce the resource efficiency element in the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN): e.g.
European Resource Efficiency Campaign, awareness raising activities, advisory services,
technology transfer database, transversal Resource Efficiency Sector Group, etc.)
• Strengthen environmental issues in the workstream on clusters , e.g. thorugh the Cluster
Excellence Programme (COSME 2014-2020), European Cluster Observatory, European
Strategic Cluster Partnership, cluster matchmaking sessions, alliance building on
internationalisation, etc.
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15. Action on finance:
• Horizon 2020 funds eco-innovative SMEs to develop, grow and internationalise including
through collaborative R&D actions.
• The LIFE programme will promote the uptake of the circular business models and resource
efficiency practices in SMEs.
• The financial instruments under COSME will support SMEs to eco-innovate, introduce energy
and resource efficiency actions and internationalise.
• The European Investment Bank (EIB) will provide financing through financial intermediaries for
resource efficiency improvements linked to ecosystem services and climate change adaptation
with the Natural Capital Financing Facility (NCFF).
• Private Finance for Energy Efficiency instruments (PF4EE) can support SMEs undertaking small
energy efficiency investments.
• A network and community of public and private financiers and investors that support eco-
innovation will be established.
• European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) includes possibilities for investments in
competitiveness, energy efficiency and renewable energy use in SMEs.
• Guide for Managing Authorities of the European Structural and Investment Funds to support
resource efficiency in SMEs
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16. The Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized
Enterprises (EASME)
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Set-up by the European Commission to manage
on its behalf several EU programmes
Programmes (inter alia):
• Most of COSME, including Enterprise Europe Network
(EEN), Your Europe Business;
• Part of Horizon 2020, the EU Framework Programme for
Research and Innovation;
• Part of the EU programme for the Environment and
Climate action (LIFE)
• Part of the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF)

17. Horizon 2020 Environment and
Resources
Projects on:
• A resource- and water-efficient, climate-change
resilient economy and society,
• The protection and sustainable management of
natural resources and ecosystems, and
• A sustainable supply and use of raw materials.
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18. LIFE Programme
• Action Grants in the fields of climate change
adaptation and mitigation, environment and
nature,
• Integrated projects on climate adaptation and
mitigation,
• Capacity building projects,
• NGO operating grants, and
• Projects resulting from these calls for proposals
(as of 2014).
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19. Horizon 2020 SILC II and CIP Eco-
innovation initiative
• Research and innovation activities which
develop innovative, cost-effective
technologies for reducing the greenhouse
gas emissions of manufacturing and
process industries
• Support innovation among SMEs and to
improve their competitiveness
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20. On the way…
• Almost all EU SMEs (92%) comply with environmental
legislation – with 19% going further than required
• The majority of SMEs in the EU act to become more
resource efficient in order to reduce costs (63%), although
28% say the environment is one of the top priorities for their
company
• More than half of SMEs (55%) encounter difficulties when
trying to set up resource efficiency actions
• Just 12% of SMEs have bid for a public procurement tender
that included environmental requirements
• One quarter of the EU’s SMEs offer green products or
services (26%), with a further 7% planning to do so in the next
two years
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21. More information
• http://ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-
economy/index_en.htm
• http://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/business-friendly-
environment/green-action-plan/index_en.htm