Economy based eco-innovations

On the second day of the Vilnius Innovation Forum ‘Innovation Drift’, participants focused on eco-innovation. Discussions and presentations on the topic were given by representatives of the European Commission, international businesses and NGOs.

Peter Boyd, the key speaker of the second day of the forum and the COO of Carbon War Room, emphasised that eco-innovation is a challenge. He introduced his organisation’s projects aimed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and save natural resources on the global scale.

Participating in the discussion, business sector representatives emphasised that the changes in this area should be carried out at micro level and that global companies should pay attention to eco-innovation.

Darius Sabaliūnas, head of Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability Department at Procter and Gamble, said: “Sustainability is not a choice for large companies anymore. It can be a business opportunity also. Successful sustainable innovation is based on science, consumer understanding and education and it is about maximising environmental benefits.”

Speakers and participants of the Vilnius Innovation Forum continued to debate compatibility of eco-innovation and business development, shared the regional, and even continental experience in installing the green innovation.

The eco-innovation theme was closed by a series of success stories of Lithuanian and foreign entrepreneurs. In this session, the experience in developing green business was shared by Ecococone, a Lithuanian environmentally friendly straw bale house construction company. Also participating was the Danish company Rebrick Project, which renewed constructions by re-using old bricks, and other companies developing ecofriendly and innovative projects.