Month: December 2021

• During the event, organized by Las Naves, the results of the last mile urban logistics project SmartDelivery were presented.
• The initiative provides solutions for decarbonization with zero-emission vehicles.
• The event was attended by the heads of the consortium formed by Las Naves, T-Box, the Finnova Foundation and the co-financing entity EIT Climate-KIC.

Brussels, 21.12.2021

On Tuesday, December 21, the results of the SmartDelivery project have been presented in the webinar “Electric Urban Logistics, adaptable experiences to your city” organized by Las Naves, the Valencian center for social and urban innovation.

Smart Delivery is an innovative logistics model that transforms the urban distribution of goods. Developed by the Valencian company T-Box Delivery & Solutions, S.L., it has been launched in Valencia thanks to the consortium formed by TBox, Las Naves and Finnova, and has the support and co-financing of EIT Climate KIC, the European Innovation and Knowledge Community, which aims to accelerate the transition to a carbon-free economy.

Towards the digital transformation of cities

The session was opened by Ignacio Chanza Banzó, head of innovation at Climate-KIC, who highlighted that “we live in a prosperous, inclusive and climate-resilient society with a net-zero emissions circular economy, whose mission is to catalyze systemic change for climate action through a portfolio approach”. “This initiative is an opportunity for the transformation of cities and to improve the habitat and health of inhabitants, as it brings new business models and uses technologies for logistics transformation,” he said.

Álvaro Reina, European energy project manager of the Finnova Foundation, explained the genesis of the project and the reasons why it is necessary to bet on a transformation of the current urban logistics model, “due to the fact that road transport is one of the most polluting sectors”. On the other hand, reina has unveiled the European Mission 100 climate-neutral cities by 2050, which aims to enhance the European Green Pact and accelerate compliance with the Paris Agreement.

The Smart Delivery project and changes in urban logistics

Smart Delivery aims to adapt the logistics sector to a new digital and sustainable era that is in line with the objectives of the Green Pact. The project was awarded the Mobility Startup Europe Awards, presented on November at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (COP26).

The #SmartDelivery last mile solution is positioned as an example for the delivery of goods in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way. The switch to the SmartDelivery logistics model avoids 79.31% of greenhouse gas emissions thanks to the definition of suitable routes, multi-product warehouses – microhubs and electric vehicles. The initial project has been implemented in Valencia and combines a consolidation center (micro-hub), the use of electric vehicles and the digitalization of the sector.

Alberto Moreno, CEO of T-Box, explained that “to achieve this goal, it is necessary to talk in terms of logistics network, modifying the conventional conception of supply chain. The project is based on streamlining the generation of hubs and micro-hubs and last-mile urban logistics services under public-private collaboration“. To this end, it focuses on several key points: decarbonization, using sustainable vehicles to provide a more efficient and resilient delivery service; automated multi-product warehouses to make stocking more effective; and technology to support end-to-end operations. As a result, delivery productivity has increased by 27%. .

Finally, Ángel Navarro, mobility and European projects expert at Las Naves, was in charge of giving a workshop on “transfer in electromobility and urban logistics”, in which he explained the challenges and opportunities presented by the sector, as well as the capacity for change and adaptation of the current logistics model. The Multi-use lanes, the cargo space reservations or the distribution point ticket offices are some of the innovative initiatives that are already being worked on. Navarro emphasized the wide range of alternatives that can contribute to promoting change in logistics.

About Finnova Foundation (www.finnova.eu)

Finnova Foundation is a Belgian-Spanish foundation that helps institutions and organisations to receive funds for innovative projects. It aims to promote private-public cooperation through innovation in order to address societal challenges, e.g., employment, training, entrepeneurship, SDGs, the circular economy, etc. Finnova organises Startup Europe Awards, a joint initiative by Finnova and the European Commission to reward the best European start-ups.

 About Las Naves (https://www.lasnaves.com )

Las Naves is the center of social and urban innovation of the city of Valencia. A public entity that depends on the Delegation of Innovation and Knowledge Management of the City Council of Valencia and promotes urban and social innovation by putting people at the center of their actions. Las Naves supports development and innovation to provide solutions to the real needs of citizens.

About T-Box (https://tboxds.es )

T-Box is a company that offers advanced logistics solutions and whose core business is focused on the efficient management of the supply chain, with special attention and performance in the “last mile.

About Climate-KIC (https://www.climate-kic.org )

EIT Climate-KIC is a Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) working to accelerate the transition to a zero-carbon and climate-resilient society. With the support of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, they identify and support innovation that helps society mitigate and adapt to climate change.

The Valencian Community is strongly committed to a renewal of the logistics and mobility sector in the region. The Florida Universitària education centre, together with the Logistics Forum, organized a meeting this Wednesday, 15 December, from 10:00 to 14:00, in which representatives from both the public and private sectors debated the new competitiveness of the sector.

The aim of the conference is to present innovative proposals that contribute to positioning the Valencian Community as a benchmark for a resilient logistics sector that has been able to adapt to the pandemic and that responds to the needs of a sustainable, digital and international future.

The meeting is a second edition of the logistics forum to delve in detail into the different aspects that make certain areas more competitive. 

Gabino Diego, CEO of Foro de Logística and Alberto Moreno, General Manager of T-Box

The T-Box team, as a start-up expert in advanced logistics throughout the supply chain, especially in delivery for e-commerce, dropshippers and marketplaces, participates in the event to bring its experience in the sector to the table, revealing its ability to adapt to the current challenges presented by logistics. Alberto Moreno, CEO of T-Box, points to the need to reconceptualize the term supply chain, to understand it as a network of all the agents involved. “When we change this mental scheme, we will already be taking a positive step towards this transformation,” he says. He also highlighted cooperation, digitalization and talent management as key aspects to guarantee the success of the sector. Moreno also recognizes the value of the human team, and the need to train and find people who are curious, proactive and capable of co-creating.

T-Box is working with the Finnova Foundation and Las Naves on the Smart Delivery project, supported by the Climate KIC initiative, co-financed by the European Union. Smart Delivery facilitates more sustainable last-mile distribution, making use of zero-emission vehicles and eco-efficient warehouses, contributing to a 75% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Likewise, an implementation in the management and control tasks of the entire supply network allows an improvement in the productivity of deliveries of up to 27%. 

Go watch the event at the following link.

• The event brought together the four projects of the COSME program for the circular economy in the fashion and textile industry.
• These four projects are gathered in the NextextileGeneration cluster, created by the Finnova Foundation, for the dissemination of relevant information for the sustainable fashion and textile industry. 
• The event discussed European funding tools to develop projects that enable a more sustainable, innovative and digital Europe.
• Support for entrepreneurs and small businesses and the need to create policies that help change towards sustainability were key points at the meeting.

Brussels, 15.12.2021

On Wednesday, 15 December, the online event “Nextextile EU: transforming the textile and fashion industries into a circular economy model“ was held as part of the World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF), co-organised by the Canadian government in collaboration with the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra. It aims to raise awareness of initiatives related to the circular economy at a global level to try to impose this model by 2050.

The European Commission’s DG Grow is working to support innovative proposals that, based on cooperation, contribute to achieving the transformation towards a circular and sustainable model. The four projects co-financed by the COSME program of the European Innovation Council and SME Executive Agency (EISMEA) in the call for circular fashion and textiles participated in the event presenting innovative solutions and encouraging cooperation.

Natalia Martínez Páramo, Head of Unit for SMP/COSME at EISME (European Commission), was in charge of opening the event, stating that “thanks to COSME projects, more than 120 promising SMEs, designers and start-ups from the fashion industry will receive direct technical and financial support.” She stressed the importance of “making the necessary changes that will lead to long-term sustainability in a sector that employs 5 million people in Europe.”

She also announced that the European Commission will adopt in the first semester of 2022 a new strategy to advance circularity in the textile industry by encouraging new models in the value chain and the creation of more durable, reusable, repairable, recyclable and energy-efficient materials.

NextextileGeneration

The four COSME projects are brought together in the NextextileGeneration cluster, to give continuity and greater resonance to the actions. Created by the Finnova Foundation, it is an initiative for disseminating relevant information for the sustainable textile and fashion industry.

Juan Manuel Revuelta, CEO of Finnova, underlined that “it is urgent to implement a change in the production and consumption system that guarantees the sustainability of the sector and the environment.” In turn, he mentioned that “the largest economic recovery programme in the history of mankind is underway. In the 2021-2027 period, the EU will be endowed with an economic budget amounting to 12 times the Marshall Plan for recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic through the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and the NextGenerationEU recovery funds.”

Sustainable European projects in the fashion and textile sector

During the event, there was a round table discussion moderated by Rachel Raineri, president of the Textile Association North Carolina State University, with the participation of spokespersons from the different projects: Mercedes Marín and Sharam Yalda, representatives of the COSME CircularInnoBooster project; Ingrid Willems, representative of the COSME S4Fashion project; Fiori Zafeiropoulou, representative of the COSME Small but Perfect project; and Justina Lizikevičiūtė and Michael Laermann, representatives of Fashion for Change.

These projects aim to accelerate the transition of small and medium-sized fashion companies towards circular and sustainable models by engaging in practices that enable the transformation of the fashion sector towards green.

The speakers agreed that large producers in the textile industry must take measures to change production models towards more sustainable and circular processes. They also stressed that the younger generations, increasingly aware of the cause, are key to making change possible in this sector.

Finally, they stressed the need to promote initiatives by entrepreneurs and small companies committed to green models and to create policies that facilitate the transformation of the sector.

To conclude the event, four rooms were created with the representatives of each project for networking, facilitating a space for interaction with the attendees and thus promoting active participation and the exchange of disruptive ideas.

Click here to watch the event.

About WCEF

The annual World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF) showcases the world’s leading circular economy solutions with the participation of business leaders, policy makers and experts from around the world.

Circular economy approaches can help businesses seize new opportunities and gain a competitive advantage, as well as contribute to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

About CircularInnoBooster and the accelerator CirCoAX

CircularInnoBooster Fashion and Textile (F&T) is a project funded by the Programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (COSME) of the European Union. With a duration of 2 years, it has a budget of 1,128,000 euros, 75% co-financed by the European Commission. The project is made up of an international consortium led by the European Institute of Design (IED), together with Texfor, Circulab, Finnova, and The Circular Project with HumanNation. Its objective is to replace the linear model of the conventional fashion and textile industry with circular, regenerative and sustainable companies. To this end, it is launching a unique business support plan through its CirCoAX accelerator.

CirCoAX selects 30 transnational partnerships, each led by an SME, to scale innovative proposals that have a direct impact on the adoption of sustainability and circularity approaches and practices in the fashion and textile sectors. To this end, it offers selected applicants €12,000 in funding, mentoring, visibility, networking, and the possibility of accessing further European funding.

About Finnova

Finnova is a foundation working to promote and develop innovation and entrepreneurship across the EU. Headquartered in Brussels, it works through collaborations and partnerships across all EU countries. Finnova’s experience in communicating and disseminating European projects is coupled with an extensive and grounded experience in creating businesses and programmes to support enterprises, such as accelerators, incubators, and the selection and organisation of ceremonies and events. 

The ‘Technovation Girls’ program helps boys and girls between 10 and 18 years old to develop mobile applications that provide solutions to various problems of society

Valencia, December 13, 2021.- More than 1,700 young Valencian girls have already gone through the four editions of ‘Technovation Girls Comunitat Valenciana‘, the largest technological entrepreneurship contest for girls worldwide, of the American non-profit association Technovation. On Saturday, the awards ceremony was held for the teams that reached the regional finals of the 2020 and 2021 editions. The event was held at the Príncipe Felipe Museum of the City of Arts and Sciences of Valencia.

This program challenges girls, every year, to change the world through technology. A contest in which, in teams and with the help of mentors, they create their own apps to solve real social problems. In the Valencian Community this program is led and promoted by the company Talent Growth Management (TGMBP) with María José Valero as CEO, accompanied in the 2021 edition by the Valencia City Council, through Valencia Activa. The event benefited from the collaboration of the Bureau of Valencian Engineering, Edicom, Schneider Electric, the Official College of Agricultural Technical Engineers, Cogiti, College of Technical Engineers of Public Works, NTT Data, American Space Valencia, Capgemini, Finnova Foundation and BIGBAN Private Investors.

The program also has the support of the Generalitat Valenciana, the Universitat de València, the Universitat Politécnica de València and the Universitat Jaume I. The program benefits from the collaboration of the Provincial Council of Castellón, Google, Cuatroochenta, the Cátedra de Innovación, Taronja TIC’s, among others.

The Finnova Foundation has joined the Technovation challenge and, in order to appreciate the effort and the value contribution of the works, offers to all the teams in Spain, both in this and previous editions, to present their projects to the Finnova Challenges.

The winners of the Finnova-Technovation Life Ecodigestion 2.0 Challenges were the members of the Womenment team from the ABECE school in Gandía, with the Comen 2.0 application, oriented to the use of food resources. Juan Manuel Revuelta, Finnova’s CEO, presented the award.

The European Finalists of Technovation Girls 2020 Edition are the team #Girls On, with the Blue Duck application which aims to preserve La Albufera. Finally, the World Finalists of Technovation Girls 2021 Edition are the Girls4STEM team with the Hidden Women application, which aims to give visibility to women who have stood out throughout history for their talent and contribution to society.

Juan Manuel Revuelta and Lola Bordás, head of Womenfortech at Finnova, launched the new Finnova-Technovation Girls CV 2022 challenges linked to current European projects such as Interreg Cilifo, Interreg Firepoctep, Interreg Napoctep, Life Ecodigestion, Cosme Circoax and Interreg HIBA. These challenges follow the indications of the United Nations SDGs and cover topics such as caring for forests, sustainable tourism, innovation in agriculture, sustainable fashion and innovation in agriculture. Juanma explained that the award is to visit the facilities of the European Parliament, present the project in Brussels and be attended by MEPs and other personalities to get a greater impetus to all those people who put their efforts to improve with disruptive technologies the current challenges of sustainability. This award is possible thanks to the linking of the project to the Startup Europe Awards program of the DG Connect of the European Commission promoted by the foundation since 2016.

During the award ceremony Pilar Bernabé, Deputy Mayor of the Innovative Development Area of Economic Sectors and Employment of the Valencia City Council, has committed the City Council to be a partner for the market launch of the Hidden Women app. “The data force us administrations to be feminist. We want girls to have no limits, that’s why we support programs like Technovation Girls CV and promote campaigns like #DoneStem, to make the work of women scientists and technologists visible and thus create references,” says Pilar Bernabé.

Brussels, 10.12.2021 – Today, Friday 10 December, the United Nations celebrates World Human Rights Day, in commemoration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The European project CircularInnoBooster and its accelerator CirCoAX undertake to ensure the rights and freedoms stipulated in the charter for all workers involved in the chain of supply of the fashion and textile industry.

The World Bank estimates that 1 in 8 of the global workforce is linked in some way to the fashion industry. Unfortunately, human rights are not always guaranteed. The fast fashion industry promotes a production model that, in addition to polluting, deprives many of the people who work in it of basic rights such as working hours, working conditions and decent wages. Women in the garment factories of the Global South, which represent the largest percentage of the textile production fabric in these countries, suffer abuse and exploitation. Child labour is also a problem in certain phases of the production process.

The Human Rights and the Sustainable Development Goals provide a basis in the international context, but their fulfilment is only possible through their incorporation in each of the public and private sector policies. This day gives us the opportunity to remember and act in favour of the fulfilment of these ideals and to recognise that we face global challenges such as poverty, inequality, violence, exclusion and discrimination.

The CirCoAX accelerator helps to scale up innovative European projects in the fashion and textile sector that not only contribute to transforming this industry under the circular economy model, but also improve the situation of people. Producers, manufacturers, designers, suppliers and consumers can demand the fulfilment of their rights and actively participate in building a fairer world. Despite its European scope, the project aims for all accelerated proposals to transfer these values to all sectors and actors with which they are related. Likewise, CircularInnoBooster is born with the intention of replicating and transferring good practices to other regions, extending this model on a global scale.

From CircularInnoBooster and the CirCoAX accelerator, we invite all those actors and sectors that share these principles to demand respect for Human Rights, creating bridges and channels for cooperation and collaboration.

About COSME

COSME is the programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises by the European Commission’s Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME). 

This programme assists SMEs to develop their business models, to receive funds, and to internationalise. This scheme also supports public administrations to enhance the entrepreneurial environment and to facilitate the economic growth of the EU. During the funding period of 2014-2020, this programme allocated €2.3 billion to support SMEs. 

About IED

Istituto Europeo di Design is an academic institution working in education, training, and the research of fashion, design, visual communication, and management. IED has offices in Spain (Madrid and Barcelona), Italy (Milan, Rome and five other cities) and Brazil (São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro). IED works in several EU and COSME countries through collaborations and arrangements with institutions, business support organisations, teachers, experts, and mentors. IED has an extensive network of connections in the fashion and textile sector (F&T). 

About Finnova Foundation

Finnova is a foundation working to promote and develop innovation and entrepreneurship across the EU. Headquartered in Brussels, it works through collaborations and partnerships across all EU countries. Finnova’s experience in communicating and disseminating European projects is coupled with an extensive and grounded experience in creating businesses and programmes to support enterprises, such as accelerators, incubators, and the selection and organisation of ceremonies and events. 

About Texfor

Texfor is a leading textile association in Spain with roughly 400 members. Founded in 2010 and based in Catalonia, Texfor brings together enterprises from the textile value chain, i.e. from weaving to fabrics as well as accessories, textile finishing, printing, and dyeing for the dressmaking industry, textiles for households, and technical and industrial applications. Texfor has an extensive expertise as it has worked in relevant expert committees at an EU level: university and professional training, developing financial capacities, cross-cutting collaboration, fostering RDI, specialised services, and leadership in sustainability focused on the circular economy. 

About Circulab

Circulab is a laboratory and design studio specialising in developing transformation methods, tools and programmes to help enterprises adopt circular and sustainable business models. Circulab has designed several tools to implement a circular business model in enterprises. It works in 23 countries – 9 out of them in the EU – and it supports projects via 60 independent entrepreneurial consultants. It applies circular methodologies and tools. 

About The Circular Project co-designed with HumanNation

TCP (The Circular Project) favours and promotes a circular and sustainable fashion in different areas, offering the fashion industry a communication strategy based on a cross-cutting and systemic approach of the circular economy. TCP combines social, ethical, environmental, and economic aspects, and has a strong presence as well as connections in the sustainable fashion world. TCP has promoted the Circular Sustainable Fashion Week Madrid, a one-of-a-kind event, and also serves as HQ for the Spanish Association for the Sustainability, Innovation and Circularity in the Fashion Industry. TCP is also ambassador of Sannas (Triple Bottom Line Business Association) and has collaborated with a wide array of Spanish, European, and Latin American institutions and enterprises. 

The Circular Project works with HumanNation to co-design and develop CirCoAX. HumanNation is a consultancy enterprise specialising in the development of transformative and disruptive ecosystems of innovation and companies for the ‘new economy’. It is based on the fourth economic sector, the systemic thinking, and co-creation. It raises awareness in organisations and ecosystems to respect the planetary boundaries and the social fabric, creating resilient local economies with a global perspective. 

Strategic Management Areas influence the effects and intensity of large forest fires.

On Saturday, 27th November, a training day on “Strategic Management Areas” was held by researchers from the Faculty of Forestry Engineering of the Vigo University (one of the 21 entities participating in the FIREPOCTEP project).

The conference, aimed at representatives of forest communities in the area of Tomiño and showed the first results in simulations of large fires in the Baixo Miño, aimed at identifying the strategic areas of the region.

The research process carried out by researchers from the Escola de Enxeñaría Forestal of the University of Vigo focused on “fire behaviour prediction simulators” based on the use of cartographic techniques and the definition of fuel maps.

The director of this body, Juan Picos, reported that around 2000 simulations had been carried out in the area and that this had enabled the areas that were candidates for being defined as “Strategic Management Areas” to be detected more effectively.

Pilot Areas

The Strategic Management Areas are, in the words of Juan Picos: “defined and prioritised areas of the territory taking into account the risk and danger of fire, fuels, fire behavior in the study area, existing defense infrastructures, the management of historical emergencies and the vulnerability of natural, rural or urban values to be protected“.

This conference was also attended by a researcher from the University of Extremadura, Javier Corbacho, who works in another one of the pilot areas of the FIREPOCTEP project. Before the event, Alfredo Fernández Ríos, Deputy Director of Rural Planning of the Regional Ministry of Rural Affairs of the Regional government of Galicia, presented a report on agroforestry farms in the Law on the Recovery of Agricultural Land.

About Interreg FIREPOCTEP (www.firepoctep.eu)

The FIREPOCTEP project is part of the fourth call of the Interreg V-A Spain-Portugal Cross-Border Cooperation Programme 2014-2020 (POCTEP), 75% co-financed by the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) with a total budget of 5.6 million euros. With a duration of 3 years, its main objective is to analyse the impact of climate change on the risk of fires and their effects on the environment of the Raya (Spain and Portugal). FIREPOCTEP will not only improve cooperation and coordination of fire-fighting forces but will also serve as an example of good practices focused on the protection and promotion of the environment which, in turn, allows the creation of employment and innovation in rural areas through training actions, supporting the local economy, and the conservation of the landscape.