An alternative method for the enhancement of cellulose based material such as wood, textile and paper, Organoclick reduces energy and toxic chemical usage through the use of bio-based catalysts. The method, which is based on organocatalysis and click chemistry, is already implemented in several commercial products within different application areas.  

The REMake voucher scheme is providing support to manufacturing SMEs by allowing them to access external technical, business and innovation expertise to assess their company’s resource use and waste management. This article focuses on setting up an innovation vouchers scheme, more precisely on the REMake voucher experience in Wales, where emphasis was placed on increasing the use of recycled materials in manufacturing.

In recent years, the quantity of Solid Waste collecting has increased significantly in the EU and other industrialized countries. The problem of managing waste strongly affects not only the environment protection but also resource savings. The storing of waste tyres represents a problem within the waste management strategy of the European Community: the world production amounts to 7 million tons (according to the European Tyre Recycling Association, Report 2008), of which 3 million are generated in Europe which corresponds to 2% of the total solid waste production. Even today the final destination of nearly 23% of such an amount is the landfill, with the consequent loss of high added value materials and the adverse environmental impact.

The Stirred Underwater Biouptake System (SUBS) is a submersible sensing device using an in-situ bio-sensing technology for assessing the health or the toxicological status of fresh and salt water ecosystems.

The SLAG-REC project aims to develop an innovative device for recovering electric arc furnace (EAF) slag, a waste generated by Steel Shops, transforming this by-product in a valuable material for road construction and other applications.

ESTOMAD stands for Energy Software TOols for Sustainable MAchine Design. This project aims to enhance existing ICT tools for functional design of machines with capabilities for energetic modelling. This innovative eco-designing approach should enable machine designers and manufacturers to make their machine more energy efficient without losing any functional capacities.

Environmental sustainability is becoming an increasingly vital part of daily business. To monitor the impact of business operations on living and non-living natural systems including ecosystems, land, air and water, Environmental performance indicators (EPIs) can be used. EPIs can evaluate the environmental performance of an organization, product, or service, and provide a firm basis for future targets and improvements. Companies often request Environmental Performance Indicators (EPIs) from business partners – and similarly respond to such requests – in order to incorporate these in reporting and decision-making processes.

The technology that has been developed within the CAPS project (funded under CIP programme, a grant funding programme) should allow the paper industry to value its waste, particularly in the field of paper mill sludge disposal and recovering. The increasing demand for a more sustainable absorbent and for an appropriate treatment of papermill sludge within papermills, has led the project’s partners to develop an innovative physical separating process in order to convert the paper mill sludge into an efficient absorbent material.