Barcelona is hosting a major forum on eco-innovation this month; and with five Spanish nominees for prestigious environmental management awards to be held during the forum, local eco-entrepreneurs are set to shine.

The European Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) Awards 2015 highlight 'inspiring examples of organisations which have been particularly innovative in becoming greener and which are taking steps to reduce their environmental impact.' Open to all types of organisations, EMAS is a management instrument developed by the European Commission to improve its environmental performance. It spans all economic and service sectors and is applicable worldwide.

Out of a total of 22 organisations shortlisted for the European Eco-Management and Audit Scheme awards, five are Spanish: La Page Original, Club Pollentia Resort, Comexi Group, Autoridad Portuaria de Cartagena, and Generalitat de Catalunya - Departament de Territori i Sostenibilitat.

Ms. Celina Alvarez Frenier, environmental consultant for Club Pollentia Resort said:

'Since the hotel gained the EMAS certification we have seen a considerable increase in occupancy, along with higher levels of client satisfaction. The certification is strengthening the image of the hotel's environmental commitment.'

Local political and institutional support for eco-innovation is strong. Guillermina Yanguas, Director-General at the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, said:

'Reinvigorating the traditional sectors of our economy in terms of sustainability, processes and more efficient services, and identifying new business niches with eco-innovative and sustainable products are important strategies for the transition to a low carbon economy.'

Ms Yanguas emphasized that voluntary environmental management systems such as EMAS and Ecolabel are instruments of 'environmental excellence' and key for analyzing the life cycle of products, identifying new materials, reducing consumption and enabling closed production cycles by applying the principles of the circular economy.

A European legislative package for a circular economy was withdrawn at the beginning of this year; however it is promised that a new, even more ambitious plan for enabling the circular economy and resource efficiency will be reintroduced later this year. Key elements included an 80% recycling target for packaging by 2030 and a ban on sending recyclable materials to landfill by 2025. Last week Environment Commissioner Karmenu Vella said that a public consultation on the proposed measures likely to form the European Commission's revised circular economy legislative package will be launched shortly.

Considerable financial support is available for eco-innovation at the European level. At the upcoming forum in Barcelona, Lana Žutelija from the European Commission's Directorate-General for Environment will present the funding opportunities for innovative business from European programmes such as Horizon 2020, LIFE+, COSME, ESIF, EFSI. (To watch the event online – see details at http://live.ecoapforum.eu/18th-forum/live_en.html) 

Support for eco-entrepreneurs is also available locally. Launched in 2014 by a consortium including Forum Ambiental and La Caixa, the Eco-innovation laboratory in Barcelona managed by environmental consultancy Inèdit provides business supports for companies interested in eco-innovation. Executive director Jordi Oliver said:

'Our first objective is to show that eco-innovation is profitable business for Spanish entrepreneurs. So far we have been contacted by around 300 companies hoping to eco-innovate.'

'The main barrier companies face today while considering implementing eco-innovation measures is basically the long term return on investment (ROI) of eco-innovation in comparison to other investment considerations. Nowadays private companies seek profitability in a time as short as six months. While an eco-innovation investment might have a fairly reasonable ROI, other priorities take the lead in the very large majority of decisions-taking processes in business.'

Family business Gomà-Camps first started manufacturing paper in the mid-eighteenth century. Today this Catalan company produces 60,000 tons of paper and tissue products per year and has an annual turnover of EUR 170 million. Half of Gomà-Camps products carry the EU Ecolabel; environmental manager Emma Mariné Ortiz explains why: 

'The key drivers are sales and marketing. The fact is that green procurement is becoming compulsory, not only in public service contracts but also in b2b (business to business) commercial agreements. This of course has a positive impact on the number of suppliers willing to obtain an official environmental accreditation such as the Ecolabel.'

'I have been in charge of coordinating the certification process of the company and I must honestly say that we didn't encounter any difficulty. Actually quite the opposite. The competent bodies, in this case the environmental department of the Catalan government has assisted us throughout the procedure providing advice and information support.'

In Catalonia, Club EMAS provides networking and support to EMAS-registered companies and those who are working to eco-innovate beyond what is required for compliance with environmental legislation. Maria Passalacqua from Club EMAS hopes that the upcoming Eco-Innovation Forum in Barcelona will serve to highlight their work:

'We hope that the Eco-Innovation Forum will help companies to understand the importance of EMAS and to understand that EMAS is the best system to promote eco-innovation processes within a company.'

• On 20-21 May, the 18th European Forum on Eco-innovation will focus on the role of environmental labelling, management and information schemes. The Forum is jointly organised by the European Commission's Directorate General for Environment, the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment and the Generalitat de Catalunya with the support of Club EMAS Catalunya and the Environment Sector Group of the Enterprise Europe Network.

Book your place now!  To find out more: #EcoApForum @EU_ecoinno

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