Creating green businesses

News
08.11.2013

Through the Norway Grants more than €120 million is available for development of green business in eight European countries. Watch our video!

Green industry innovation video cover

A call for proposals under the green industry innovation programme in Estonia is now open.

Climate change and the growing pressure on limited natural resources mean that businesses need to innovate to succeed. The EU's Eco-Innovation Action Plan places the issue at the heart of European policies. However, there is still a general lack of available funding to support eco-innovation.

With a total budget of more than €120 million, Norway Grants support green industry innovation programmes in eight beneficiary countries - Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. The green industry innovation programmes are oriented towards businesses.

Greening with ICT in Estonia
“Norway is a perfect example of a country where awareness of environment issues and resources efficiency is very high. Estonia has also some very good examples of how to use IT for the same purposes. If we put those two together, the result will be excellent”, said the Estonian Minister of Environment, Keit Pentus-Rosimannus in the video ‘Creating green businesses’.

The green industry innovation programme in Estonia will help to exploit the business opportunities and growing market for greening with ICT. The programme focuses on four challenges where ICT can drive the development of green innovations with international potential for Estonia - energy management systems, transport and logistics, manufacturing and trade, e-health.

Industrial developments near seasides could expose the vulnerable marine ecosystems to pollution. Read about the development of an Oil Spill Detection System based on information and laser remote sensing technology, a project that has already received funding from Norway Grants.

Call for projects in Estonia open
The second call for proposals is now open under the green industry innovation programme in Estonia.

Under this call €2,709,724 is available for projects to contributing to greening of ICT. Eligible applicants include companies registered in Estonia and Estonian non-profit organisations and foundations. Partnership with entities from Norway is encouraged and may be private entities and non-profit organisations.   

The deadline for this call is 28 February 2014.

The programme is operated by the Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, where Enterprise Estonia will act as the implementing agency and Innovation Norway is donor programme partner.