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Center News A meaningful step of the first ASEIC Global Eco-innovation Forum was made successfully

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The first ASEIC Global Eco-innovation Forum was held successfully on 10 November at Imperial Palace Hotel in Seoul, Republic of Korea. The 1st ASEM Working Group Seminar on Eco-Innovation Competence was also held on 10-11 November discussing important agendas on the development of SMEsโ€™ eco-innovation competence in Asia and Europe. ย 

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Around 200 people including experts, delegates of 21 ASEM member countries, business representatives, press and related gathered to discuss how to make sustainable business possible through eco-innovation. The president of ASEM SMEs Eco-Innovation Center(ASEIC) opened the forum saying โ€œWith the adoption of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) and Paris COP 21 just around the corner, โ€˜sustainabilityโ€™ has become more and more crucial for SMEs to consider.โ€

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The first keynote presentation was made by professor of futures studies Turku University of Finland. โ€œResource efficiency is one of the most important thing in economy. Eco-innovation which starts from enhancing efficiency is now led by SMEs.โ€ he said. Christopher Gleadle, managing partner of VisibleEarth said, โ€œThe future competence of SMEs will depend on environmental management, applying circular economy concept in business sector.โ€. ย 

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In session 1, eco-innovation projects of ASEIC were presented. Eco-innovation consulting, ASEM Inclusive Eco-innovation Program and ASEM Eco-Innovation Index research were introduced. The next session was followed by eco-innovation practices of ASEM member countries. Experts shared eco-innovation cases of each country and discussed drivers and barriers of eco-innovation to come up with the way forward. In the last session, ASEM Working Group members presented their research result and cooperation proposal.

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Through the forum, a meaningful discussion on SMEโ€™s eco-innovation was made and cooperative eco-innovation proposal for Asia-Europe Meeting(ASEM) was reached. Also, it was a chance to attract more attention of Koreans and other ASEM member states to eco-innovation as a core means for SMEsโ€™ competence. It was just the very first step, but it is expected to be a milestone for constant and cooperative movement toward SMEsโ€™ eco-innovation.

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