Eco-companies

According to the definition given by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the eco-industries are “all activities that produce goods or services that are designed to measure, prevent, limit or correct damages caused to the environment and concerning water, air or ground, and the problems in relation to wastes, noise and eco-systems”.
An eco-technology can at the origins of a goods or a service corresponding to market rules. The company that produces them is called an eco-company and their activities are classified in three main groups.
Pollution management.
This group includes curative activities like waste management, waste water management, combating air and noise pollution, control over ecosystems, limitation, measuring and correcting pollutions, as well as research, engineering and counseling, design and production of industrial equipments, etc.

The least polluting techniques and products
These are all the activities which continuously improve, reduce or eliminate the general technologies impact on the environment. Eco-design is the discipline that illustrates these technologies.

Resource management (mainly water resources)
This group concerns renewable energies.

Activities from the first category utilize mainly external curative eco-technologies. The second one makes use of preventive eco-technologies. And the third one can use either of the above mentioned eco-technologies.

Statistics on the subject take into account primarily companies which use eco-technologies in order to manage pollution and resources. Integrated preventive eco-technologies are more easily found listed in the respective industrial sector’s statistics, for example, car , buildings, chemistry, etc.

Source: http://www.industrie.gouv.fr/portail/secteurs/ecoentr.html

Operational Programme Italy-France (Alps- ALCOTRA)

The Operational Programme Italy-France (Alps-ALCOTRA) results from the European Territory Cooperation objective which is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The cross-border cooperation programme based on ERDF financing was approved by the European Comission on November 29th,2007.
The total cost of the programme is 200 million euros. The maximum amount of ERDF participation is 150 million euros, which represents 1.7% of EU contributions in general for the European Territorial Cooperation.
Alps-ALCOTRA is the 4th cooperation programme along the Franco-Italian continental border. It concerns three Italian regions (Val d'Aosta, Piemonte and Liguria), two French regions (Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Côte-d'Azur) as well as the Principality of Monaco. Event though Monaco is taking part in the programme it does not receive any EU funding, otherwise available for non-EU members.

Subject and purpose of the programme:

The programme's principal purpose is to improve the concerned populations' quality of life and to prompt the sustainable development of transnational economic and territorial systems through cooperation on different levels. The two parties will be collaborating on socio-economic level, on cultural as well as on environmental issues and projects.
In accordance with the leading objective and the regulations, the programme's strategic objectives are as follows:
-to encourage competitiveness and the sustainable development of cross-border production systems by supporting the production systems, the rural economy and tourism;
-to come up with common strategies for the protection and managing biodiversity,natural resources and cross-border area landscape ;
-to anticipate and control natural and technological risks and to increase the effectiveness of emergency services;
-to consolidate the appeal of the area by stressing cross-border communities' identity and by improving quality and accessibility to transport services, cultural events, educational units and work-related services;
-to contribute to the development of a genuine cross-border partnership by ensuring that the programme is managed comprehensively and that effective actions are taken.

Investments' expected impact

The priorities of "France-Italy" territorial-cooperation programme coincide to a great extent with those of the regional projects. This is why its role will be to create synergies by reinforcing cross-border business, administrative and public partnerships.

Furthermore, the project's vocation is to facilitate student and worker exchanges and mobility and thus further the goals of increasing skills, multiplying job opportunities that are essential elements of the employment-promotion objective.

There are four major priorities to the programme.

Priority 1: development and innovation [approximately 30.9 % of the total investment] so as to encourage competitiveness and the sustainable development of production systems, enhance the value of local products, establish sustainable tourist facilities.

Priority 2: environment and risk-prevention [approximately 30.9 % of the total investment]

Priority 3: quality of life [approximately 33.4 % of the total investment]

Priority 4: technical assistance [approximately 4.7 % of the total investment] aiming to increase the technical capabilities of the authorities in charge of the programme, so as to enable the fluidity of the phases of preparation, implementation, supervision, follow-up, evaluation, information and monitoring stages.

The managing authority of the project is the Italian Region Piemonte.

Direzione A14 – Opere pubbliche, Difesa del suolo, Economia montana e foreste

Corso Stati Uniti, 21

I-10128 Torino

Silvia Riva, Dottssa

Tel.: +39 011432281

Fax.: +39 0114322941

E-mail.: silvia.riva@Regione.piemonte.it

Source: http://ec.europa.eu