ECOLABEL IN THE CENTOUR PROJECT
- EU Ecolabel has been identified as one of the tools tht can be used to promote and to communicate circular economy actions implemented by SMEs participating to the project
- CenTour actions about Ecolabel were mainly related to:
- WP2 – capacity building
- WP4 – implementation, evaluation, adaptation
- The aims of these actions were:
- To inform SMEs about the EU Ecolabel certification (how it works, how to obtain certification, which are the possibilities to use it as a marketing instrument)
- To help SMEs to understand if this instrument can be applied to their business
- To support SMEs that decided to candidate their business for certification
Actions within the CenTour project
- Online informative sessions about EU Ecolabel certification scheme (potential benefits, main topics addressed by the mandatory and optional criteria, steps to obtain certification)
- Certification feasibility assessment for SMEs interested to EU Ecolabel (including identification of links with other CenTour project actions – e.g. collection of data from the qualitative and quantitative assessment actions, definition of circular economy strategy, preparation of communication documents, establishment of collective actions, etc.)
- Support in the assessment of criteria and preparation of the application dossier (voucher for expert consultancy)
- Discussion among project participants on feasibility, opportunities, challenges, etc.
INTERMEDIATE RESULTS
- Around 30 SMEs declared interest about EU Ecolabel
- Active participation to the feasibility assessment phase by SMEs from North Macedonia, Moldova, and Italy
- At least half of the SMEs participating were already able to satisfy mandatory criteria and had a sufficient score for optional ones and are currently considering the possibility to apply for certification
- 3 SMEs from Italy are currently working at the preparation of the application dossier
MAIN TAKE-HOME MESSAGES
- Importance of having a National Contact Point
- Role of national circular economy facilitators (personal interaction, translation of documents)
- The current international situation may influence the decision (e.g. costs of certification, costs for implementing actions needed to satisfy the criteria)
- Being in a funded project helps to reduce costs (direct support within the project + funding of expert support + funding of improvement actions)
- Discussion and cooperation among SMEs may help to find common solutions