The South Transdanubian Regional Innovation Agency (STRIA) will participate as a partner and lead partner in two new European Territorial Cooperation projects from 1 January 2023.
The two approved proposals are the Central Europe project “Introducing and upscaling circular economy models in regional value chains in the food, catering and packaging sectors” (further referred to as: CIREVALC) and the Interreg Europe project “PROMoting TERritorial strategies for sustainable mobility through green energy prosumer hubs” (further referred to as: PROMOTER).
Launched under the Interreg Central Europe Programme, the CIREVALC project aims to introduce and disseminate circular economy models in regional value chains in the food, hospitality and packaging sectors through community building, strengthening the circular economy skills of enterprises, non-business organisations and local communities, and improving policy learning.
In our project regional development agencies, sectorial agencies, business support organisations work together spanning across nine member states. We start with community building through awareness raising and mobilising stakeholders and through looking into the obstacles and drivers of using circular solutions in the food, catering and packaging sectors. We go on designing our CIREVALC Circular Community Accelerator, a complex tool that facilitates the green transition of local pioneers, SMEs, local communities. We are going to test and evaluate our solution in a pilot action in the regions through involving local pioneers. Finally, we connect communities and we invite third parties to join our initiative, the CIREVALC Accelerator Network.
Building on our white paper and formulating and starting implementing regional action plans and the CIREVALC CE level action plan we improve related policy instruments in our regions. As a result, we expect improved capacities and increased level of knowledge in our target groups. Furthermore, we expect to see substantial improvement in terms of exploiting potentials of circular economy practices in the food, catering and packaging sectors in our regions.
The project grew out of the experience of the “SAGA Social And GAstronomic entreprenuership in empty Europe” project, which promotes inequality reduction, economic recovery and inclusive and sustainable long-term growth.
The project partners are coming from Hungary (Lead Partner, STRIA), Poland, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Germany, Austria and Slovakia.
Associated partners of the project in Hungary are the NGO KÖVET Association for Sustainable Economies, the South Transdanubian Regional Food Innovation Ltd., the legal successor of the Ministry for Innovation and Tehcnology – Department for Enterprise Development and the Blue Planet Foundation.
Project duration: 01.01.2023. – 31.12.2025.
Budget of the South Transdanubian Regional Innovation Agency: 296.308, EUR.
The PROMOTER Interreg Europe project will enable the EU to achieve climate neutrality through innovative, decarbonised mobility and promote modern energy use, thereby contributing to a greener quality of life in the EU. To facilitate this change, the programme will support the creation of green energy hubs at local level to support sustainable transport.
As prices for clean energy and storage technologies continue to fluctuate and regions explore ways to reduce emissions and dependency from fossil fuel and currently from foreign sources, integrating higher shares of renewable energies is becoming more urgent and complex.
While the watchword of the pandemic was “distancing”, “proximity” thus imposes itself in the aftermath; energy management linked with mobility management, increasing role of energy sustainable local communities (engaged in both production & consumption), hub digital infrastructure to monitor and guide energy performance production and consumption trends, can all play their role.
In order to get away from a logic of emergency, foster balanced diversification and reduce emissions and diseconomies, the project contributes to them by connecting together a “most appropriate use of public and/or private assets for hubs “, “energy generation from sustainable sources” (solar, hydrogen, wind, biomass, geothermal and others) and its related distribution patterns, with “urban and peri-urban mobility” thus effectively addressing the “proximity” social inclusion.
The approach to improve the energy governance to feed green mobility issue, within the policies addressed by the partners, is to:
A. identify their “drivers and barriers” to the issue being pursued
B. document and share Good Practices and policy experiences regarding: technology, financial, normative & regulatory aspects, organisational management, community empowerment
C. promote policy solutions capable of improving the delivery of regional development policies and making them more effective and sustainable.
The project has been built on the expertise of the „eBussed – Building capacities for Europe-wide e-bus deployment programme, which supports the shift towards low-carbon mobility and more efficient public transport” project.
The project partners are coming from Italy (Lead Partner), Latvia, Finland, Belgium, Czech Republic, Romania, Spain, Portugal, Hungary.
Associated partner of the project in Hungary is the legal successor of the Ministry of Innovation and Technology.
Project duration: 01.01.2023. – 31.12.2026.
Budget of the Regional Innovation Agency of South Transdanubia Application budget: 223.464, EUR: