Research, Innovation and Business Support for a Low Carbon Economy

EFRD Interreg IVa

SAFE-ICE (Sisco, Ace, Fusion, Ecomind – Inspirers of Carbon Efficiency) gathers  the knowledge of ten Interreg 2 Seas projects. Those ten projects all studied aspects of the transition towards a low carbon economy.

The findings of these projects are discussed in four expert working groups. The transition process requires an approach on the level of businesses/buildings (expert working group Business/Building), B2B (expert working group Business-to-Business) as well as business parks (expert working group Business Parks) and involves both the demand side (measures for the efficient use of resources) and the supply side (products and services with a low environmental impact). A fourth expert working group (Market & Policy Conditions) investigates how policy can stimulate and support the market through appropriate legislation.

A common understanding of what the low carbon economy is across the 2 Seas region will be developed through identifying the opportunities, the obstructions and the gaps on these four levels. Best practices in terms of research, innovation and business support are united in SAFE-ICE.

The results of the expert working groups were compiled in a brochure that was presented at a conference in  Antwerp, Belgium (April 23-24 2014) targeted at policy makers, businesses and research institutes. The wide audience were acquainted with the results of SAFE-ICE at Ecofeest (April 27 2014), an exhibition and market about sustainable building and living in Westerlo, Belgium.

Partners

• Hastings Borough Council
• City of Ghent
• Ghent University
• West-Vlaamse Intercommunale
• Business Support Kent CiC
• DCMR Milieudienst Rijnmond
• Kamp C
• Kent County Council
• Gemeente Schiedam
• Habitat du Littoral

Further information

This project is supported by Interreg 2 Seas Cluster Initiative for the period October 2013 – March 2015.