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European Green Week 2021, a week dedicated to developing concrete actions towards a common goal: Zero Pollution by 2050

June 4, 2021

On Monday, May 31, the European Green Week 2021 was kicked off in Lahti, Finland – an event dedicated to achieving the “zero pollution target” by fostering an environment free of toxic substances all across the EU.

The goal of the event was to identify ways to tackle pollution through decontamination of air, water and land resources and consumer products.

The initiative represents an opportunity to discuss, with all interested parties and citizens, how we can work together to make our aspiration for a zero-pollution and toxic-free environment a reality.

SMEs play a key role as drivers of eco-innovation and pioneers of emerging green industries. They can also provide testing and evaluation methods and metrics that quantify various aspects such as durability, reparability or energy efficiency.

The Green Week is an opportunity for European institutions and associations representing SMEs to come forth and ask themselves how small and medium-sized enterprises can reduce pollution, be both sustainable and profitable and determine the right compromise between implementing corporate sustainability policies and costs to be met.

Today, sustainability is one of the most pivotal strategic objectives for many small and medium-sized enterprises, and their attitude towards the environment can influence the adoption of net-zero practices. Through the restructuring of production and/or distribution processes, companies must aim to minimize the environmental impact of their activities, thus supporting the transition to zero pollution.

However, certain conditions need to be met in order to accelerate the transition process and promote the innovation and growth of “green” SMEs. Legislation, both at local and European levels, must move forward in the same direction of small and medium-sized enterprises, providing them with incentives and aiding them in the implementation of green strategies.

Sustainable development has been one of the fundamental objectives of the European Union for almost 20 years and is now also the priority of the Next Generation EU program, which has allocated 750 billion euros for projects addressing sustainability issues (e.g. environment, natural resources, digital innovation).

Financial instruments such as grants, loans, guarantees and contributions are seen as valuable tools and have already been implemented to support EU companies, irrespective of the size and industry they work in, in their pursuit of green initiatives.

On the dedicated website, you can find information on the initiative and the webinars that took place during Green Week 2021.