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ECO-INNOVATION
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH:
WORLD-CLASS KNOWLEDGE
A pioneering partnership of six leading North West universities has been launched to support businesses delivering eco-innovation and leading the drive towards the low carbon economy vital for the future of the planet.
Two years in the making, Eco-I North West is led by Lancaster University’s highly acclaimed Centre for Global Eco-Innovation.
Its aim is to place Lancashire and the North West at the heart of the Clean Growth Strategy – harnessing the region’s “people, technology and place” for it to become world-leading in the development of low carbon and other eco-innovative products.
The research and development programme will support businesses in Lancashire and across the North West as they innovate to deliver a better environment.
It will play a major role in the development of low carbon products, processes and services by delivering hands-on, technical R&D, using university labs, equipment and expertise, as well as giving peer-to-peer support through masterclasses, workshops and forums.
Collaboration is at the heart of the project and as well as Lancaster the partnership has brought together the Universities of Cumbria and Liverpool, the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), Liverpool John Moores and Manchester Metropolitan University.
Together, they will work with businesses across all sectors and cover the North West from Cheshire to the Scottish border. Eco-I NW is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.
The initiative follows previous successful projects spearheaded by the team at Lancaster, including the Eco-I 2019 conference which brought together experts from across the globe.
The award-winning Centre for Global Eco-Innovation has eight years’ experience of delivering R&D support to business.
Its manager, Dr Andy Pickard, says the clock is ticking and it is vital that more companies and organisations innovate and find new ways of doing business.
He says: “As we emerge from the Covid-19 crisis there will be some who will reflect that we should have heeded warnings earlier, been better prepared and acted more quickly.
“Many environmentalists feel we are in the same position regarding climate change. We have had the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s report on 1.5 degrees, the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris agreement.
“In Lancashire, 12 of our 14 councils have declared a climate emergency and the UK government has committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. We have seen the impact of flooding and the movement of people of all ages protesting that we all need to be doing more.”
We believe there are fantastic business opportunities for companies in all sectors in the North West
He stresses that the programme will be led by the challenge and ideas presented by businesses, with a wide range of support available, depending on their needs.
That can range from three-year technical and in-depth R&D projects, to short term feasibility studies – and anything in between.
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