A university partnership helping businesses to develop sustainable practices and future-ready business models has been recognised at the European Triple E Awards.
The ECO-I North West programme was awarded “SDG Initiative of the Year” at an awards ceremony in Barcelona for helping businesses in North West England to improve their performance while preparing to adapt for a low carbon future.
ECO-I North West helps small and medium sized enterprises to use the expertise, knowledge and latest equipment from a collaboration of six universities to embed sustainable practices and meet low carbon goals.
The group of universities, including Manchester Met, Lancaster University, University of Central Lancashire, University of Cumbria, University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores, work together to find solutions to specific challenges with each business receiving one-to-one support.
Chris Taylor, Senior Lecturer and lead on the ECO-I North West programme at Manchester Met, said: “This award is a recognition of not just the hard work that the team has put in but of the environmental impact that the initiative has had. We estimate that thousands of tonnes of CO2e has been saved by the small businesses supported through the programme.
“We’re really looking forward to the next step towards our net zero goals through the Greater Manchester Electrochemical Hydrogen Cluster programme starting in the Autumn.”
The Triple E Awards are a global recognition of efforts in the higher education sector towards the quest for entrepreneurship and engagement.
The awards aim to foster change in universities and to emphasise their role in their communities and ecosystems.
ECO-I North West, a European Regional Development Funded project, was awarded the “SDG Initiative of the Year” after been shortlisted alongside other finalists from the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland and Northern Ireland.
