The ecologization of the Moldovan economy is not a luxury, but a necessity. It is essential for the economic actors to ecologize their businesses so as to be able to compete on the international market and to also export to the EU. A national workshop entitled ”Promotion of eco-innovation in business models of local SMEs” centered on the possibility of integrating eco-innovation into business models of local SMEs, IPN reports.
Director of the Organization for Entrepreneurship Development Dumitru Pântea said the promotion of implementation of eco-innovation in the activity of SMEs is one of the three key areas of the program to ecologize the SMEs through which the state and the EU support the development of entrepreneurial capacities for adjusting the production processes and services for social and environmental sustainability. The adjustment of eco-innovative practices will favor the development of companies and will ensure greater potential for coping for the competition pressure existing on the local and foreign markets.
Minister of Environment Rodica Iordanov said the selection of the priority areas for promoting eco-innovations in Moldova – in the textile industry and the wine industry – wasn’t accidental. “In these sectors of the economy, there is enormous potential to develop and promote the green and circular economy, to reduce and recycle waste, to eliminate soil and water pollution, to promote eco products and services, to create new jobs and attract green investments,” stated Rodica Iordanov.
Adam Grodzicki, deputy head of the Cooperation Section of the EU Delegation to the Republic of Moldova, said the integration of circularity and life cycle thinking into business is important for protecting the environment and for managing natural resources in a sustainable way. “It is essential for the economic actors to ecologize their businesses so as to be able to compete on the international market and to also export to the EU. The ecologization of the Moldovan economy is not a luxury. It is a necessity for ensuring prosperity and improving the quality of life for citizens,” stated Adam Grodzicki.
The EU4Environment Program aims to help the six Eastern Partnership countries, including the Republic of Moldova, to preserve the natural capital, to increase people’s environmental well-being, and stimulate economic growth. Within the Program, the Organization for Entrepreneurship Development and UNEP experts helped eight Moldovan NGOs to be assessed according to the UNEP methodology, while five SMEs benefited from assistance in working our new development strategies for integrating eco-innovation into their business models. These are companies operating in two sectors identified as they most promising ones for extending the eco-innovation measures: agriculture and textile industry.
