LABEL4FUTURE

DRIVING THE GREEN TRANSITION THROUGH CIRCULAR ECONOMY INNOVATION

Label4Future is an innovative project supported by the Interregional Investment Instrument (I3) funding scheme,  aimed at supporting the transition to a circular economy in EU less developed regions (Slovakia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Poland), and focusing on the plastic industry and interconnected sectors.

Label4Future supports SMEs using plastics as the main raw material and/or product component to develop innovative solutions, (re)design products and services, and test them in real-life environments.

Label4Future builds the capacities of SMEs to form strategic partnerships for continuous innovation with research institutions and policymakers and to participate in the broader EU market.

Label4Future provides workshops, living labs, mentoring, and design support to selected businesses from less developed regions to develop the product or service in their innovation pipeline and get it ready for the EU market.

1. Open Call: Label4Future invites stakeholders from plastic industry from EU less developed regions to apply with an innovation project they have in the pipeline to further develop it and test it in real environment during the project period.
2. Future Scenarios Development: Label4Future engages stakeholders in the creation of future scenarios that consider alternative outcomes and possibilities. It also assists stakeholders in defining, visualizing, and engaging with the principles of circularity and green transition.
3. Innovation Labs: The project organizes intensive workshops and hands-on innovation labs in Prague, Vienna, and Ljubljana. These labs bring together participants and creative industry professionals to work on concrete innovation projects related to circular models. Thematic focuses, such as policy innovation, business model innovation, and product/service innovation, guide the workshops. The labs are complemented by study visits to organizations already innovating within the project’s framework.
4. Changemakers Meetup and Forums: Label4Future facilitates intensive innovation workshops and forums, such as the Changemakers Meetup in Linz, Austria. These events provide a platform for stakeholders to deeply engage with the urgent needs for transforming business models and practices. The meetup also serves as an opportunity to communicate and share the project’s outcomes and lessons learned.

Label4Future will organize one-day event called Future Forum in Kosice (Slovakia) on March 26^th, 2024.  All industry, research and policy stakeholders from less developed regions, experts and project’s partners will meet to discuss future challenges and innovative responses of the industry in the context of green transition and circular economy.

Future Forum will provide keynote lectures on cutting edge trends and will present companies, business models and policies that support successful green transition and circular economy model implementation in the plastic industry and interconnected sectors (health, construction, etc.).

Future Forum will present networking possibilities for companies from less developed regions to meet and discuss future challenges and solutions, but also to get to know all details regarding Label4Future project’s Open Call that will be announced at the Forum for companies to take part in the application process that will provide to selected companies mentoring, knowledge transfer and financial support for developing innovative projects ready for the EU market.

The Forum will be a departure point for a regional industry driven by innovation aimed at transition to circular economy and production models.

If you are interested in participating in the Future Forum, please REGISTER HERE.

Agenda:

16:00
Introduction of Label4Future project & information about Open Call for SMEs support

16:20
Key note lecture by Denis Bede, from Cyrkl, an international technology and consulting company specialising in circular waste management. Thanks to advanced technological solutions, Cyrkl helps companies turn waste into resources and thus into revenue with Europe’s largest digital marketplace for waste and residuals. Cyrkl provides market analyses and helps transfer recycling technologies and legislation.

16:50
Key note speech by Lara Campos, Ars Electronica STARTS prize winner. Lara is a material designer & researcher. Her work is based on merging craft techniques with digital fabrication for the experimentation of new material worlds. She works on growing materials, local resources foraging, circular & social economies, food waste design, sustainability, co-creation systems and horizontal management. She is also part of the Remix el Barrio project from FabLab Barcelona with whom she collaborated to propose circular econo- mies based on food waste design, and S-Biotica collective with whom she has set up a co-creation space for bio-based research and design.

17:20
Key note presentation by Katja Pokeržnik, Director of Koroska Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia. Katja has extensive experiences in Sales, Marketing, Purchasing, organization and leadership. She did a lot of consulting to the companies with the company’s strategic directions. Katja is leading the project for the best innovation awards, which is the most recogni- zed award for innovations in Slovenia.

17: 50
Key note speech by Ondřej Kašpárek, head of PrusaLab. PrusaLab is a prototype workshop and FabLab under the wings of Josef Prusa and Prusa Research. It is a place where makers, DIYers, architecture and design students, entrepreneurs, in short, anyone with a vision and a desire to create can develop their projects. PrusaLab is one of the largest shared workshops in the Czech Republic withmore than 350 m2 of space at disposal.

18:10
Unformal Networking

• LEARN: Building capacity and tools to understand, imagine, and specify future challenges in the context of the green transition and circular economy. The project aims to build the capacity of SMEs, local public authorities, and research institutions in EU less developed regions. Through workshops, mentoring, and financial support, Label4Future provides participants with the tools and knowledge to understand value chains, develop new models, and implement circular economy practices.
• ENGAGE: Analyzing European value chains and articulating stakeholders’ own business models, products, and services.
• GROW: Prioritizing, designing, and implementing innovation projects that contribute to building capacities of SMEs, local public authorities, and research institutions.
• INVOLVE: Fostering multi-stakeholder cooperation on both interregional and cross-sectoral levels.
• NURTURE: Providing continuous systematic institutional support for research, development, and innovation in the transition to circular economy models.

1. SMEs: Small and medium-sized enterprises stand to benefit from Label4Future by gaining access to tools, expertise, and support to transition to circular business models. The project provides them with the opportunity and financing to develop innovative products that align with circular economy principles. This can lead to increased competitiveness, job creation, and access to new markets.
2. Local Governments: Label4Future supports local governments in their efforts to drive the green transition and implement circular economy practices. The project provides them with knowledge, tools, and policy frameworks to develop and prioritize innovation projects.
3. Research Institutions: Research institutions benefit from Label4Future by participating in collaborative research and development activities. They have the opportunity to contribute their expertise, conduct studies, and provide valuable insights into the green transition and circular economy innovation. Through their involvement, research institutions can strengthen their networks, enhance their reputation, and contribute to the advancement of knowledge in the field.

Label4Future is a project implemented by international consortium led by Creative Industry Kosice (Slovakia), and by its members: Ars Electronica (Austria), Austrian Promotional Bank (AWS, Austria), Chamber of Commerce and Industry Slovenia (GZS, Slovenia), Creative Prague (Czechia), Creative Fed (Netherlands) and Technical University of Kosice (Slovakia).