Riga Technical University (RTU) Science and Innovation Centre (ZIC) in collaboration with partners this year will launch the acceleration programme «Waste into Resources», thus helping to promote the development of circular economy innovations in Latvia. This initiative will focus on addressing the challenges of waste produced by manufacturing companies.
The production process often generates a significant amount of waste, negatively impacting the environment and posing a challenge for many companies. Therefore, solutions must be found to reduce the waste generated in the production process. One way to do this is by building cooperation among companies from different industries, working together to turn waste into new materials and resources, promoting new business opportunities and eco-innovation.
To enhance the competencies and capacities of Latvian market actors in the field of circular economy innovation development, as well as to help them develop innovative and sustainable solutions, RTU SIC, in collaboration with CleanTech Latvia, ZAAO Ltd., and Cēsis municipality already this year will launch the acceleration programme «Waste into Resources».
The programme will be implemented in three phases, from June 2024 to June 2026. During the programme, participants will need to find solutions to challenges defined by local manufacturing companies. The companies offering these challenges will be identified through a closed call early this year. In total, six challenges will be selected in the accelerator, with teams of participants tackling two of them in each round, allowing two teams to participate in the programme simultaneously in each phase. The participants' teams will be designed to solve defined challenges by collaborating across different industry companies, bringing together representatives from manufacturing companies and other market participants, including small and medium-sized enterprises, startups, and individuals. The limit of participants in one team will be six people.
Each accelerator round will last for nine months. During three of the nine months, participants will take part in training and workshops led by industry experts, while in the remaining six months, they will work on further solution development with the support of expert mentoring and allocated funding.
The acceleration programme has been developed within the framework of the European Union (EU) LIFE Programme Integrated Project «Waste To Resources Latvia – boosting regional sustainability and circularity» (LIFE Waste To Resources IP).
The project «LIFE Waste To Resources IP» is implemented by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development of the Republic of Latvia in collaboration with 22 partners, including RTU SIC, with the aim to reduce waste generation by introducing measures to improve the regeneration of materials and circulation, as well as to reduce the environmental and carbon footprint of the economy by thoroughly implementing the measures set out in the National Waste Management Plan for 2021-2028.
The project «Waste To Resources Latvia - Boosting Regional Sustainability and Circularity» (LIFE Waste to Resources IP, LIFE20 IPE/LV/000014) is implemented with the financial support of the LIFE Programme of the EU and Latvian State Regional Development Agency.
The information reflects only the LIFE Waste To Resources IP beneficiaries' view, and the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
