21st September 2015

HORIZON 2020 INFORMATION DAY Societal Challenge 5 "Climate action. Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw materials - 2016 Calls for Proposal"

The European Commission organized on September 21th 2015, an Information Day to present the new working program of Social Challenge "Climate Action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials".

The program refers to actions on addressing climate change, environment’s protection and optimal efficiency of resources and raw materials. Within the event there was a presentation of the upcoming calls for proposals for projects related to "green economy", "blue growth" and issues such as investment in "smart and sustainable cities".

More specifically, the presentations held in the Conference were as follows:

• Introduction to Societal Challenge 5, Eco-innovation for a circular economy, Nature-based solutions & renaturing cities, Climate services & decarbonisation, Raw materials, The Artic dimension and GEO.  Emphasis was given to the increase of employment and investments in a more fair and sustainable market, in a powerful EU on sections of Energy and combating climate change.
• Cross-cutting issues (Innovation, Open Science, international cooperation, social sciences & humanities, gender, ethics, SMEs). This session presented concepts in need of clarification regarding the writing of project proposals in the upcoming challenges, and their evaluation and awarding criteria. Proposals will be evaluated on three basic pillars: excellence, impact & implementation. In all three axes emphasis will be given to different perspectives of innovation. In particular, in line with the above axes, priority will be given to detailed proposals of innovation potential, innovation capacity & innovation management.
• Communicating EU research and innovation guidance for project participants. Emphasis gas been given to the communication of the proposals and the partners. They have been various proposals of communication methods such as the publication of a Press Release, which may include, inter alia, video and images of the activities which each partner wants to communicate. 

Within the conference, parallel sessions were organized, which presented different topics under the following main headings:

1. Blue Growth.
   • The Arctic dimension & earth observation
   • Blue Growth call topics not related to Societal Challenge 5
2. Circular economy, systemic eco-innovation & water
3. Climate services & decarbonisation.
   • "Climate Service: 2016 topics",
   • "Towards a low-carbon Europe",
4. Cultural heritage for sustainable growth
5. Nature-based solutions for sustainable cities & for territorial resilience
6. Raw materials
7. SME Instrument: Eco-innovation, raw materials & blue growth

“SYNERGASIA Ltd" taking into account the increased challenges in climate change, environmental protection, and consequently the need to find solutions in resources’ efficiency, as well as the need for solutions of maximum energy saving, participated in the event, through its representative executives.