04 Feb ECA Green Tech Focus Group has kicked-off with 12 European Green Tech experts
The European Champions Alliance launched its Green Tech Focus Group end of 2020 with the objective of strengthening the collaboration within the European Green Tech ecosystem to support its growth and achieve the goals of the EU Green Deal.
To this effect, 12 European Green Tech experts with various professional backgrounds (entrepreneurs, engineers, academics, consultants…) came together mid-January bringing their deep expertise, their passion and their strong will to green the economy!
The virtual kick-off was a first step to shape the focus group and identify topics which we can concretely address going forward.
Pushing the Green Tech Agenda together, across Europe
It is fair to say that all experts, who got to know each other during the kick-off session, share the goal and motivation of pushing forward the Green Tech Agenda at European level through cross-border collaboration as well as by exchanging know-how and best practises.
Not only does this illustrate the way the group intends to work together but it is also a perfect reflection of ECA’s belief that the promotion of European Green Tech Champions can only be achieved by leveraging smart collaboration across European markets.
We need more transparency at various levels to ensure an efficient green transition supported by sustainable European technologies
The kick-off clearly showed common shared concerns by the Focus Group with regard to the lack of transparency currently reigning within the ecosystem at various levels.
First and foremost, if one considers common definitions as well as standards / guidelines, which are ever so crucial to ensure a truly positive environmental impact. This in itself equally raises the complex issue of measurement of this impact as well as how to integrate it within (financial) valuations.
Furthermore, the ecosystem in itself needs transparency: who are the key players? Start Ups need to exchange with peers at European level and leverage synergies where applicable. They also need to exchange with the key actors who can support their growth at European level, financially as well as strategically.
And as we turn towards (new) technologies to enable the business models that will support greening the economy, we equally have to consider the question of technological sovereignty – particularly from a European perspective – but also that of the sustainability of these very technologies.
Our work will first focus on Standards, Network as well as Funding
The voiced concerns have led to the identification of three key areas where we will concentrate our upcoming efforts:
• Standards / Framework
We strive to raise awareness on the importance of standards and to foster accountability by aligning on them (e.g. Impact Measurement)
• Network / Connecting the ecosystem
We aim to connect the European Green Tech Start Ups thus enabling them to exchange knowledge and best practises
• Funding / Business Development
It is our target to create transparency for (early-stage) Start Ups in funding / development possibilities starting by the French and German landscapes
To break down these objectives into concrete actions such as webinars, mappings or position papers, we will launch three sub working groups.
The Focus Group will meet on a regular basis to discuss progress in its actions as well as continuously exchange on current and relevant topics within the European Green Tech landscape which can be addressed by ECA’s work.
To produce our work, we will rely on our strong network which is also constantly growing so feel free to reach out if you want to be part of the Green journey