Day: April 20, 2021

The European Commission has given political backing to a grassroots manifesto for a Rural European Innovation Area, as it prepares for the launch of a long-term strategy for the countryside in June.“We need to empower innovation stakeholders in rural areas, so that local players can unlock the innovation and connectedness potential,” Mariya Gabriel, EU research commissioner told the launch of the manifesto. “I’m happy to endorse the new platform,” she said.  The manifesto calls on entrepreneurs, investors, advisors and other public and private stakeholders in Europe to put rural innovation on the EU policy agenda. The Rural European Innovation Area brings together 70 partners from 17 countries and is being coordinated by the University of Salamanca. They call for the establishment of accelerators and incubators in partnership with universities to forge rural innovation networks across Europe.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) on Tuesday said it is establishing a new investment group with some USD 18 billion (EUR 15.1bn) in assets, which will focus on sustainable energy investments, including renewables.
The new entity, dubbed Sustainable Energy Group (SEG), will combine the Canadian fund’s Energy & Resources (E&R) and Power & Renewables (P&R) groups and will operate in the renewables, conventional energy and new technology segments.

Curious tinkers, repairers and creative people can check out the third FabLab, a centre focused on encouraging the public to find circular economy solutions to life’s challenges.
The Cyber‘n’Ethique Fablab opened within the Facilitec incubator at 37b rue de la fontaine, in Esch-sur-Alzette, at the end of March.

With everyone getting ready for the summer, Everlane has launched its first-ever swimwear collection. The popular eco-friendly clothing brand has unveiled a line of premium-quality swimwear made from recycled fabric.
Everlane’s CEO Kimberley Smith told Elle that the brand had been working on the swimwear line since 2018, but didn’t want to “compromise on the quality or the environmental impact.”

A new collection of environmentally sustainable footwear and apparel has been launched by ASICS using new circular processes.
The new ‘Earth Day Pack’ is the ASICS brand’s most planet-friendly cross-category collection to date, it says, having been created using a circular manufacturing approach that saw around 5 tonnes of textile waste, the equivalent of 25,000 t-shirts, recycled into new shoes.
The pack includes products from across ASICS running, court, and Sportstyle ranges, including sports and running shoes, as well as a wide range of clothing. And all footwear feature a specially created sunflower icon symbolising the brand’s commitment to preserving the planet for future generations’, ASICS says.