Introducing green technologies in SMEs

I. Investment costs – tangible fixed assets (TFA) and intangible fixed assets (IFA) for implementing one or more circular economy models in the following areas:

1) Improving waste management:

• preparation for re-use and/or recycling and/or other waste processing activities and the subsequent use of the waste as a raw material in production processes/service delivery processes, and/or
• reducing the amount of waste generated per unit of an existing product/service, and/or
• reducing the amount of wastewater generated per unit of an existing product/service.

2) Optimising the use of raw materials, incl. water:

• using residual and/or recycled materials in the production/provision of products/services, and/or
• using bio-based materials (e.g. replacing synthetic materials or fossil-based raw materials with bio-based ones), incl. producing products entirely from bio-based materials, and/or 
• reducing the raw materials used (including plastic) per unit of an existing product/service (the quantity of inputs used per unit of an existing product/service), and/or
• replacing or reducing the use of hazardous substances through the use of alternative materials, and/or
• reducing the amount of water consumed per unit of an existing product/service.

3) Limiting the use of packaging:

• eliminating or reducing packaging (incl. plastic) or replacing packaging (incl. plastic) with more environmentally friendly options (biodegradable, compostable, recyclable, reusable, or other “green” packaging).

4) Producing/providing sustainable products/services:

• enabling re-use or multiple use of products, incl. through full functional refurbishment after end-of-use or by introducing the “product as a service” model, etc., and/or
• enabling upgrading/repair – repair/replacement of damaged parts and/or components, etc. to increase product lifetime, and/or
• increasing disassembly options at end-of-life to facilitate recycling or the use of waste from products/services after their use ends, and/or
• replacing plastic products, incl. single-use items, with alternative products (i.e. products not made wholly or partly of plastic), incl. reusable, biodegradable, compostable, and bio-based items.

II. Achieving compliance with environmental standards (EMAS, BDS EN ISO 14001, BDS EN ISO 14006, incl. the EU Ecolabel) – up to EUR 15,000.