The European Resource Efficiency Knowledge Centre (EREK for short) is here to help European companies, especially SMEs, save energy, material and water costs. We provide tools, information and business opportunities that show you new and better ways to be resource efficient and benefit from circular economy business models which turn waste into an asset. EREK also supports national, regional and local organisations across Europe that work with SMEs to improve their environmental performance, helping them to become more resource efficient.

SMEs can get the following benefits thanks to EREK’s tools and services:

• Access to knowledge on best available technologies and business models
• Better control of energy, water and material costs
• Compliance checks for upcoming regulations
• Become less dependent on suppliers
• Demonstrate return on investment when adopting resource efficient measures Information on funding sources and technology providers
• Help building a green image which enables the targeting of new customer segments

EREK offers the following to SME intermediaries:

• Tools and instruments for businesses to assess their saving potentials
• Access to top international knowledge, technical expertise and practices on resource efficiency
• Capacity-building workshops and networking events Online training opportunities to learn from resource efficiency experts
• Overview of relevant support programmes available on European, national and regional levels
• Updates on professional events within the community

Concrete activities include:

• European Resource Efficiency Self-Assessment Tool for SMEs
• Catalogue of Resource Efficiency Improvement Measures
• European Resource Efficiency Information Database
• Online EREK platform
• Structured knowledge on resource efficiency best practices
• News, trends, and information on support programmes
• Database and managed European network of the national and regional organisation providing support to SMEs in resource efficiency measures
• Capacity-building and training workshops
• Knowledge resources, expertise and sharing

EREK is an initiative of the European Commission and is implemented by a consortium of organisations including Technopolis Group, VDI Zentrum Ressourceneffizienz (DE), WRAP (UK), Motiva (FI), Enviros (CZ), WAAT and Arctik (BE).

The aim of FURN360 is to create an Innovative didactic content to promote the integration of the Circular Economy Principles within the different business models used by the furniture and woodworking sectors specialized in office and contract.

It will comprise a joint curriculum, didactic materials and a collaborative platform in line with the needs of identified different target users. FURN360 will develop and implement an innovative practice, a new training curriculum for the furniture sector, specifically for the office furniture and contract sectors, adapted to the future trends and needs of the whole society in terms of circular economy.

The CircE Project (European regions toward Circular Economy) involves 8 partners both at regional and local scale and representatives of different European social and economic scenarios. The project aims at strengthening the diffusion of Circular Economy in Europe, consistently with the European Commission’s Circular Economy Package (2015). In particular the project aims at helping the partners involved to increase the capability of their policy instruments to steer economy towards a circular model. The project carries out this task by aiming at modifying or readdressing the selected policy instruments through an exchange of knowledge/experiences among Partners, through a continuous involvement of Stakeholders and through a deeper analysis of economic system.