Web portal provides eco-innovation one-stop shop

The ECOWEB portal (http://www.ecoweb.info ), which launched at the beginning of May 2013, is targeted in particular at small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) that might have the potential to develop some of the eco-innovative ideas and to make them a success in the marketplace. The portal has been established by a consortium led by Eutema, an Austrian research and technology consultancy, with financial support from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme.

The portal groups projects that have been funded by EU Framework Programmes, by the eco-innovation initiative of the EU Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme, and by the LIFE+ programme, which supports environmental technology demonstration projects. According to the project website, it offers an advantage over existing databases of projects (such as the Cordis database of Seventh Framework Programme projects) because it has been specially customised for SME users, is more user-friendly, and is a one-stop shop.

The portal’s search function provides for both free and guided searches. For a guided search, results are grouped in four categories: environment, society, energy, and material and production. Sub-categories help to narrow the selection down. For example, under the society heading, sub-categories include sustainable building and housing, transport and mobility, and social innovation and inclusion.

The project concluded in August 2013, by which time the consortium hopes that many partners will have been recruited to use the database. Expositor says it is too early to gauge the overall impact, but the portal will continue to be updated automatically with new eco-innovation project information for three years after the project close date.

SourceEcoAP

ECOS Environmental Consultants Limited