The core of this tool is an efficiency and cost-reduction questionnaire to help small businesses carry out a quick self-assessment of their current practices and awareness with regard to resource efficiency.

It takes less than 15 minutes for companies to complete and provides an overall score and tailored recommendations of where efficiencies and cost-savings on energy, water and materials can be made.

On the basis of a long-term arrangement with the European Investment Bank (EIB), SID Bank finances a range of projects undertaken by SMEs. Projects must fall into one of the following categories:

The RECP Club is a supporting model developed for scaling up and mainstreaming RECP in enterprises, in particular smaller businesses. The aim of RECP Clubs is to help small businesses to identify viable economic and environmental solutions for their business. It includes a set of tools and worksheets to analyse the way resources are used, and their related cost in a company. It helps to identify inefficiencies, evaluate alternatives and implement RECP solutions.

This tool guides companies through the RECP self-assessment process for better understanding the issues related to resources use, waste and emissions generation, identifying causes of inefficiencies and losses and generating improvement options.

WeBSEFF is a financing facility under which the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) provides credit lines to partner banks in the Western Balkans to on-lend to businesses and municipalities wanting to invest in energy efficiency and small-scale renewable energy projects.

Budget allocation: € 92 million

WeBSEFF is working closely with local partner banks who conduct a full credit assessment of each borrower and their project proposals. Partner banks under WeBSEFF II include:

The toolkit provides the chemical industry and consultants in the sector with practical techniques and documentation (methods, guides, technical resources) to achieve their goal; namely Sound Management of Chemicals (SMOC) across the whole product value chain, while increasing business performance through innovation.

In particular, the toolkit aims at:

Chemical Leasing is a business model based on the Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production (RECP) concept, which promotes the efficient use of resources, minimisation of waste and emissions, and reduction of health and environmental risks. Chemical Leasing is also in line with the UNIDO strategy on inclusive and sustainable industrial development, which aims to create shared prosperity and safeguard the environment. 

Financial programme for resource-management measures, in particular:

• Measures to reduce raw material consumption in products while maintaining productivity and functionality
• Investment in innovative services to increase material resource efficiency
• Investments to achieve immediate environmental effects through the use of renewable raw materials

The funding is provided up to 35 % of the eligible costs.

The KÖVET Association for Sustainable Development is offering a service to SMEs, called Green Office, which includes a handbook, training, office footprint calculator, a virtual office, and advisory services.

The RESET2020 programme supports and funds measures to increase resource efficiency and improve the circular economy in Austria, as well as to stimulate exchange, networking and cooperation between different actors from industry, science, administration and society.

Six thematic fields of action are identified:

• Innovative environmental technologies
• Sustainable resource management
• Renewable resources
• Sustainable procurement
• Sustainable production
• Sustainable consumption