PermaFungi - recycling coffee grounds into upcycled products
PermaFungi is a Brussels-based social cooperative that recycles waste coffee grounds into different upcycled products.
You are here
Agriculture, sylviculture et pêche
uP_running unlocks the industrial potential of woody biomass residues
By identifiying good practices in turning biomass to heat or power, the uP_running project is unlocking the strong potential of woody biomass residues produced by Agrarian Pruning and Plantation Removals.
Nutripeople uses Spain's fruit surplus to create superfood packets that alleviate malnutrition
Nutripeople, a Murcian start-up producing superfoods for the developing world, actively engages Spain's agri-food industry to sell its vegetable surplus as a resource to produce superfood pouches, which are then distributed in areas afflicted by famine.
Lopyanko's project: from bombix mori to raw silk... and much more
Lopyanko's Agri_Gaya'18 project aims at developing sustainable and circular exploitation of the bombix mori (silkworm) in Northern Bulgaria. Besides the production of organic silk and other valuable byproducts, the project establishes protective forest belts of mulberry trees, an agroforestry model particularly well-suited to the Danube Region.
Funghi Espresso: where ideas mushroom left and right
Funghi Espresso is an innovative startup that produces fresh mushrooms in a sustainable and natural way, using coffee grounds (coffee waste) from local bars and restaurants as a growing substance.
AquaponieBXL: wasteless urban farming, where food grows on water using nutrients from fish waste
AquaponieBxl is introducing aquaponics across Brussels by building urban farms where vegetables grow on water using fish waste as fertiliser.
AquaponieBxl - Laurence Vanneyre
CelluTex stimulates European research on sustainable cellulose-based textiles
CelluTex is a Swedish advocacy platform that promotes needed actions to ensure production of cellulose-based textiles in Europe, utilizing forest resources and recycled cellulosic textiles, including cotton, as raw materials.
Metsä Group’s bioproduct mill in Äänekoski, Finland, leads the way towards a carbon neutral society
Metsä Group built the first next-generation bioproduct mill in Äänekoski, Finland – the largest investment of the European forest industry with the value of EUR 1.2 billion. The new mill, which began operations in the third quarter of 2017, leads the industry to a new era of resource efficiency through operating completely with no fossil fuels or fossil CO2 emissions. This makes it the most energy-efficient pulp mill in the world, utilising 100% of the production side streams for materials or renewable energy in industrial ecosystem built with partners.
Metsä Group - Ilkka Poikolainen
Terra Humana Ltd - Edward Someus
Specialized for concentrated Phosphorus nutrient recovery processes and products: ABC Animal Bone Char and Struvite.
3R innovation EVOLUTION for green technology REVOLUTION through Zero Emission pyrolysis processing & carbon refinery.
3R pyrolysis technology converts un-exploited biomass resources into bio-phosphate
Terra Humana's 3R zero emission pyrolysis and nutrient recovery technology transform animal by-products into safe and high value Bio-Phosphate fertiliser.
Make the most of these beets: increasing diversity and building resilience in the sugar industry
There are plenty of hot startups with a new technology that can accelerate the transition to a circular economy.
Yet some of the best examples don't rely on new tech, but instead on the gradual evolution of processes and a precise understanding of energy and resource flows. Continual improvement, collaboration and systems thinking are the name of the game. At British Sugar’s Factory in Norfolk, these are very much on display.
Smart proteins saving our seas: black soldier flies convert waste into high quality food for aquaculture
The Need - a huge volume of organic waste is generated each year which is expensive to dispose of and leads to harmful methane emissions. At the same time there is a growing demand for high quality protein in the animal feed and aquaculture sectors. Currently this feed is produced in a way that depends on finite resources, and leads to environmental degradation.
The Solution - by using the remarkable nutrient-recycling capacity of the black soldier fly larvae, organic waste can be converted into high quality protein in a very short time period. What makes it particularly smart - the residual material from the conversion process is a high quality compost that can be used to regenerate soils.
Oana Neagu
About this contact:
Oana Neagu is Director of the General Affairs team at Copa Cogeca. The team covers topics related to circular and bio-economy, environment and climate change, research and innovation, food waste etc. Oana is an agricultural engineer and holds a Master’s degree in business administration. She previously worked at the European Commission’s Directorate General for Agriculture as a policy officer, in charge of managing market measures. Prior to joining the Commission in 2006, she was the counsellor for European integration at the Ministry of Agriculture in Romania, and was involved in preparing Romania’s accession to the European Union.
She is a member of the Management Committee of the Multi-stakeholder platform on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in the EU and actively involved in various experts’ group on bioeconomy, forestry and rural development.
Copa and Cogeca are the united voice of farmers and agri-cooperatives in the EU. Together, they ensure that EU agriculture is sustainable, innovative and competitive guaranteeing food security to half a billion people throughout Europe. Copa represents over 23 million farmers and their families whilst Cogeca represents the interests of 22,000 agricultural cooperatives. They have 66 member organisations from the EU member states https://copa-cogeca.eu/Menu.aspx Copa and Cogeca is one of the founding members of the European Bioeconomy Alliance - http://www.bioeconomyalliance.eu/
SwitchMed Green Entrepreneurship Programme
The EU-funded SwitchMed Programme supports and connects stakeholders to scale-up social and eco-innovations in the Mediterranean. It promotes inclusive growth, job creation and sustainable development by supporting policy makers, eco-innovative small and medium sized enterprises, industries, start-ups and entrepreneurs in the Southern Mediterranean countries.
SwitchMed National Action Plan Demo projects
The EU-funded SwitchMed Programme supports and connects stakeholders to scale-up social and eco innovations in the Mediterranean.
Leon de Graaf
About this contact:
As an adviser for environmental and climate policy, Leon de Graaf particularly follows policies related to the circular economy, trade and climate, low-emission mobility, implementation of the Paris climate agreement (COP21) and the European emission trading system (EU ETS). He is also deputy manager of BusinessEurope's corporate Advisory and Support Group (ASGroup). Prior to joining BusinessEurope, Leon worked at the research consultancy Ecorys, focusing on renewable energy and international development issues, at DG COMP on energy and environmental subsidies in Europe, and at the Dutch Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) on indirect ETS costs for energy-intensive industries. Leon has a MSc in environmental economics and climate change from the London School of Economics, and a BSc in business economics from the University of Groningen.