EU citizens take various considerations into account when purchasing products. Product quality is the most important issue for consumers (97%), followed by product price (87%) and its environmental impact (84%). The least important factor for consumers is the brand of the product (46%). These results indicate that policies that increase consumer confidence in the environmental claims of green products will encourage greater consumption of environmentally friendly products even if those products were somewhat more expensive.
The proposed project aims to develop new innovations and/or improve existing production, standardization and marketing methods, environmentally friendly, focused on reducing the carbon footprint at all stages of production, from the producer to the final point of sale. In this case, the project will provide the possibility, through the tools that will be developed (multi-criteria analysis protocol), to support new – innovative business practices in the cross-border area in order to differentiate the products of the sector and to satisfy the constantly growing needs of the consumer. The introduction of new methods and processes is ongoing in the modern business environment, with the result that monitoring trends and adapting and improving products is essential for the “survival” of entrepreneurs. The above framework is of great importance in the cross-border area where continuous support and training is deemed necessary.
The approach of the proposed project is to train primary, secondary and tertiary sector staff and entrepreneurs involved in the agri-food sector on protocols for the use of reduced carbon footprints. On a second level, seminars and workshops will be held to promote these products in domestic markets as well as in markets that have established specific rules.
The result of the whole project will be the creation of a regional “brand” based on cross-border business cooperation. The cross-border region, despite its comparative advantages, has “low” results in terms of innovation in entrepreneurship and cross-sectoral interconnection between different business sectors. The proposed project comes to cover a very important parameter, that of environmentally friendly products, which is the main trend of the market today, providing a framework for the collaborative operation of the business environment in the Cross-Border region with the aim of producing, standardizing and promoting low carbon emissions . to zero carbon footprint in markets.
The main beneficiaries of the project are the SMEs of the cross-border region that are active as well as the prospective entrepreneurs of the sector who can from the beginning determine the framework of production, standardization and distribution of their products with the aim of markets that require special certification features but also the creation of high quality products added value. In particular, emphasis will be placed on young entrepreneurship, existing start-up businesses (one or two such businesses will participate in policy actions) with the aim of supporting low-carbon products and connecting them to business networks. For potential businesses in the field of youth entrepreneurship, specific information events will be held through seminars with the aim of timely and reliable information, according to the requirements of the above markets.
Project Duration: 29 months
Start date: 13/04/2021
BUDGET: €544.688,63
FINANCING SCHEME: 85% EU AND 15% National Participation
