ASEM Working Group on
“Eco-Innovation Competence of SMEs”
ENVforum
(Asia-Europe Environment Forum)
Eco-thon is a business starter competition in which intensive participation of prep entrepreneurs or startups in their initial stages is required for 2-3 days. The competition’s ultimate goal is to discover and develop promising startups that come with innovative eco-friendly SCP (Sustainable Consumption and Production) solutions.
* About SCP (Sustainable Consumption and Production)
A concept conceived from Goal 12 ‘Responsible Consumption and Production’ of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted at the UN General Assembly, and means “the use of services or products, which respond to basic needs and bring a better quality of life while minimizing the use of natural resources and toxic materials as well as the emissions of waste and pollutants over the life cycle of the service or product so as not to jeopardize the needs of future generations.”
As a follow-up to the Millennium Development Gaols (MDGs), UN has adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 for countries to aim to achieve by 2030. However, some less developed countries (LDCs) significantly lack institutional and economical resources to achieve these aims.
To address these difficulties faced by less developed countries, the Eco-thon seeks to spread the awareness on ‘sustainable consumption and production’ to local communities, providers and consumers in a bottom-up strategy. The ultimate goal of the competition is to help governments of these countries take leadership in developing relevant policies. Eco-thon collects innovative ideas regarding sustainable consumption and production (SCP) in a region and provides support to translate the ideas into workable business models. This will help build eco-entrepreneurship of the participants and contribute to achieving the sustainable development goals.
The competition is composed of lectures on entrepreneurship and SCP, idea discussion, mentoring from experts, business model development and mock pitching. The winning team will be given an opportunity to participate in a short-term incubating program local and abroad.
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