Circular economy and voluntary environmental certification provide competitive advantage: Sant’Anna School Institute of Management partner of EU Enhance project
The circular economy provides a coherent framework for an environmental management system and offers organizations and enterprises an opportunity to improve their performance through a more efficient use of resources and reduction of waste.
EU ENHANCE project aims to improve the implementation of regional policy instruments oriented to increasing company competitiveness through resource-efficiency, by the exchange of practices on supporting EMAS (the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme, as a driver - a “Nest to Help and Nurture the Circular Economy”).
Sant’Anna School Institute of Management is a member of EU-ENHANCE, an alliance of 6 (2 research centres in Spain, and one in Austria, Estonia, Italy and Czech Republic) top European research centres in life sciences. The Kickoff Meeting of the Interreg-Europe 4-year ENHANCE project was organised in February 2017 in Barcelona by the lead partner in order to provide general instructions regarding the project activities and to coordinate technical and financial tasks.
The project also supports public authorities in the identification and implementation of incentives for those organizations that decide to adopt EMAS as a tool for resource efficiency in the context of the transition towards a circular economy. The EU-ENHANCE mission is to foster competitiveness through resource-efficiency, share knowledge and good practices. To achieve this research centres have formed working groups to analyse and assess the most innovative policy experiences.
“Sharing good practices – said Tiberio Daddi, researcher at Sant’Anna School Institute of Management and ENHANCE Italian team project manager - is one of the project objectives. The definition of Stakeholders Groups in each region and the discussions about the most relevant and effective incentives to promote EMAS in organizations are the first activities that will be performed to “prepare the ground” for the exchange process. In addition to the above activities, assessment of the feasibility of good practices on supporting EMAS registration will be carried out. EMAS adopters will enhance their benefits with reduced enforcement, which means regulatory relief for EMAS registered companies, a key issue to encourage an even better environmental performance”.
“Large and small enterprises are well aware of the benefits of resource efficiency: saving material costs, creating competitive advantages and achieving strategic business aims by incorporating environmental issues into business management. Within a highly competitive landscape, EU ENHANCE partnership can better address complex questions, also to ensure regulatory compliance for organizations in EU countries” – Daddi concluded.
