Eco-innovation in Estonia - EIO Country Profile 2014-2015 - Europa EU
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Eco-innovation in Estonia EIO Country Profile 2014-2015
Eco-Innovation Observatory The Eco-Innovation Observatory functions as a platform for the structured collection and analysis of an extensive range of eco-innovation information, gathered from across the European Union and key economic regions around the globe, providing a much-needed integrated information source on eco-innovation for companies and innovation service providers, as well as providing a solid decision-making basis for policy development. The Observatory approaches eco-innovation as a persuasive phenomenon present in all economic sectors and therefore relevant for all types of innovation, defining eco-innovation as: “Eco-innovation is any innovation that reduces the use of natural resources and decreases the release of harmful substances across the whole life-cycle”. To find out more, visit www.eco-innovation.eu and ec.europa.eu/environment/ecoap Any views or opinions expressed in this report are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of the European Commission.
Eco-Innovation Observatory Country Profile 2014-2015: Estonia Author: Katre Eljas-Taal, Johanna Vallistu Coordinator of the work package: Technopolis Group Belgium
Acknowledgments
This document has been prepared with the support of the representatives of the Estonian
government authorities, namely:
• Mare Uiboupin – Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, Department of
Foreign Financing
• Ivo Krustok and Mihkel Krusberg – Ministry of the Environment, Environmental
Management Department
A note to Readers
Any views or opinions expressed in this report are solely those of the authors and do not
necessarily reflect the position of the European Union. A number of companies are presented as
illustrative examples of eco-innovation in this report. The EIO does not endorse these companies
and is not an exhaustive source of information on innovation at the company level.
This brief is available for downloaded from https://ec.europa.eu/environment/ecoap/estonia
Table of contents Summary .................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 2 1 | Eco-innovation performance ..................................................................... 3 2 | Selected circular economy and eco-innovation areas and new trends ....... 5 3 | Barriers and drivers to circular economy and eco-innovation in Estonia .... 9 4 | Policy landscape: towards circular economy in Estonia .............................11 ANNEX: Policy measures addressing circular economy and eco-innovations in Estonia ...................................................................................................................15
Summary
Estonian eco-innovation performance has increased steadily throughout 2013-2015. The highest
development can be seen in the Eco-Innovation Scoreboard indexes for socio-economic outcomes
and eco-innovation activities, which continuously perform above the EU average. Despite these
positive trends, Estonia still scores below EU average overall, mostly due to resource-intensive
industrial structure, lack of seed funding opportunities for early-stage start-ups and low level of
media coverage on eco-innovation subjects.
While in general Estonia does not target eco-innovation in policy documents specifically, the
smart specialisation strategy, together with the Estonian research, development and innovation
(RD&I) Strategy 2014-2020 and Entrepreneurship Growth Strategy 2014-2020, aim to tackle the
major barriers of the Estonian innovation system, which also hold back eco-innovation. The
biggest potential for eco-innovation initiatives within the smart specialisation framework arises in
the areas of ICT, as an enabler of eco-innovative ICT solutions, and the use of smart technologies
for more efficient resource management in the building and energy sectors. The field has seen
numerous eco-innovation solutions in the past few years, largely due to initiatives that have raised
awareness and the financial support available for companies.
Despite the newness of the term circular economy, the most recent policy initiatives in the field,
notably the Estonian National Waste Management Plan 2014-2020, have already adopted the
underlying principles of circular economy – for example, aiming to reduce the amount of waste
produced and recycling it to the maximum level. The European Commission’s Circular Economy
Package published at the end of 2015 has already initiated an important discussion in Estonian
society, so more significant circular economy initiatives can be expected in the years ahead.
1Introduction
Despite the fact that Estonians consider themselves an innovative nation, the most recent
Innovation Union Scoreboard (European Commission, 2015) and Eco-Innovation Scoreboard (Eco-
IS) shows a tendency to fall behind other EU countries in recent years. On the one hand, there is
a strong culture of start-ups and information and communication technologies (ICTs) in Estonia,
however, the biggest value added is still produced by the traditional manufacturing sector. The
links between the traditional industrial sector and new ventures is weak and ICT is not strongly
connected to increased competitiveness of Estonian manufacturing companies, which tend to be
based on more resource-intensive production modes.
Shifting towards eco-innovative solutions and more resource-efficient production modes are
often perceived as costly by Estonian companies. At the same time, there are limited funding
opportunities for small and early-stage eco-innovation initiatives. The support mechanisms
provided by EU structural funds require strong project-management capabilities and therefore
affect the eligibility of smaller companies for support. There is also lack of awareness and know-
how among companies on the potential technologies for improving resource efficiency and the
available opportunities in EU and Estonia. This reflects a stronger need for awareness-raising and
knowledge-transfer activities.
The main challenge in Estonia in terms of circular economy is the oil shale industry, which
produces approximately 80% of total waste (Ministry of Environment, 2014). There is a low
potential of using this waste elsewhere, therefore the main strategy for the sector is to increase
its production efficiency.
The relevant policy documents emphasise the importance of more resource-efficient production
modes, shift towards recycling and reuse of waste, and depict growth strategies based on three
main smart specialisation areas – ICT, health technologies and enhancement of resources – which
are strongly connected to potentially higher uptake of eco-innovation solutions in the country.
However, the fields of eco-innovation and circular economy have not been prioritised clearly. A
stronger policy orientation in these areas is needed in Estonia.
21 | Eco-innovation performance
The analysis in this section is based on the EU-28 Eco-innovation scoreboard (Eco-IS) for the year
2015. Via its composite Eco-innovation index, produced by the Eco-Innovation Observatory (EIO),
Eco-IS demonstrates the eco-innovation performance of a country compared with the EU average
and with the EU top performers. Eco-IS is based on 16 indicators, aggregated into five components:
eco-innovation inputs, activities and outputs, environmental and socio-economic outcomes.
Figure 1 EU-28 Eco-Innovation Scoreboard 2015, composite index
Source: EIO, 2016
The composite Eco-IS for 2015 places Estonia below the EU average, behind Hungary and ahead
of Latvia. Out of 28 countries analysed, Estonia is placed 19th. When compared to the outcomes
of Eco-IS 2013 and 2014, the country has dropped in the ranking by three places since 2013 (when
it was 16th) but made a slight improvement in 2015 comparing to 2014 (when it was ranked 20th).
At the same time, the average score has improved noticeably from 72 to 79 in 2015 and
demonstrates thus a steady growth trend in the field.
In terms of individual components of the eco-innovation composite index, Estonia scores above
average for eco-innovation activities. This is largely due to a high proportion of companies that
have implemented measures to reduce material input per unit output and a high proportion of
ISO 14001 registered organisations. This might reflect not so much the level of eco-innovation in
Estonia but a high awareness of international quality standards among local companies. At the
same time, there are proportionately fewer companies than in the EU on average that have
implemented innovative activities to reduce energy input.
3Figure.2 Components of the eco-innovation composite index for Estonia, 2015
Source: EIO, 2016
A considerable improvement has taken place in the area of socio-economic outcomes, which now
is at the EU average level. The employment rate in eco-industries and turnover of the industries
are well above the EU average (with scores of 131 and 120 respectively). At the same time, exports
of products from eco-industries are still at a low level. This is probably due to a high number of
new eco-industry ventures, which have not yet managed to start exporting to foreign markets.
In terms of eco-innovation inputs, the composite of the government’s environmental and energy
research and development (R&D) appropriations and outlays, as a share of GDP, is well above
average (with a score of 145). The share of total R&D personnel and researchers out of total
employees is fairly good, at a level of 74. However, the total value of green early-stage
investments contributes to the index’s low composite value, scoring only 14 and reflecting a lack
of availability of financing and investment for young enterprises.
The eco-innovation outputs component scores low when compared to the EU average. The
country has above-average (score 122) number of eco-innovation related publications, but the
general lack of patent culture is reflected in the small number of eco-innovation patents in
Estonia. At the same time, media-coverage on the subject also scores low, although this may be
due to different definitions used for the term. The term “eco-innovation” is relatively little used
in Estonia, with “green economy”, “green ICT”, “cleantech” and other terms used more
prevalently to date.
Estonia still has some room for improvement in the category of resource-efficiency outcomes,
with only Bulgaria getting a lower score among the countries observed. The reason can be seen
in the legacy of energy-intensive industrial structure and the fact that the results of investing in
energy-efficient solutions in production can only be seen over a long period of time.
42 | Selected circular economy and eco-
innovation areas and new trends
Multiple new initiatives have been started since 2013 in the area of eco-innovation and circular
economy in Estonia. It must be noted that while previously the term “green economy” was often
used as a keyword in the field, it is starting to be replaced with the notion of “circular economy”,
which also comprises the previous green economy activities. There are a number of initiatives
focusing on eco-innovation initiatives as well.
Firstly, a more comprehensive support system for companies pursuing eco-innovation has
emerged. An Energy and Environmental Technology Development Centre (RoheTAK) was
established at the end of 2014, with an aim to support the growth of viable companies in the
energy and environmental technology areas. The companies participating have launched an
initiative to become a cleantech cluster. The Green Industry Innovation support programme,
started in 2013 in cooperation with donor partner Innovation Norway, has successfully supported
its first 15 companies and is expected to continue in the future.
The strong start-up culture in the country has contributed to the fast development of the eco-
innovation activities in Estonia, with support structures – such as the Tehnopol business
incubator, Mektory (Innovation and Business Centre of Tallinn University of Technology, founded
in 2013) and other business incubators and university-business cooperation centres, such as Tartu
Science Park – having led the way in providing initial support for start-ups.
The strengthening cooperation between universities, public sector and businesses in the area of
eco-innovation initiatives has led to notable examples emerging in the areas of smart cities and
e-service, such as the bike parking system BIKEEP, an e-planner for public transport and other e-
government initiatives, and further growth of Ülemiste Smart City.
An important part of ensuring the continuous development of eco-innovation and circular
economy initiatives is raising awareness among different stakeholders. The Ministry of the
Environment awards environment-friendly companies yearly, with Baltic Fibres OÜ winning the
main prize in 2015. For years, the city of Tallinn has given out the Responsible Entrepreneur
Award. Tallinn has also given a special award for remarkable eco-innovations since 2013. The
Ministry of the Environment has opened an awareness-raising measure to further inform
companies about ways to become more resource efficient (Krusberg & Krustok, 2016). Tartu
Regional Energy Agency organised a series of awareness-raising seminars for public officials
throughout 2013-2014 on topics of eco-design and eco-labels, eco-innovation and green
procurement, energy management, and implementation of environmental management in
Austria.
The notion of circular economy is fairly new in Estonia and is yet to achieve significant recognition
in society. The Certification Centre for Recyclable Goods was founded in 2015 and aims to open
its activities in 2016. A website mapping the locations of waste-disposal centres in Estonia
(www.things.ee) has contributed to raising awareness on waste management and circular
economy among the wider public.
5Finally, Estonian public sector has seen initiatives on innovative procurement and green
procurement, with the state being a smart procurer (Technopolis Group, 2014).
Estonian Cell
Estonian Cell, which started its operations in 2006 in Kunda, produces high-quality Bleached-
Chemi-Thermo-Mechanical aspen pulp. Between 2012-2014 the owner company of the
manufacturing company Heinzel invested €17 million in improving efficiency and securing the
sustainability of the site. As a result, a reactor was developed which uses the site’s wastewater and
turns it into biogas. This allows the company gradually to replace natural gas with biogas in their
production. In 2015, the company produced more than 5 million cubic meters of biogas, becoming
the largest biogas producer in Estonia.
In 2014, Estonian Cell was named Environmentally Friendly Enterprise of the Year by the Estonian
Ministry of Environment.
• Keywords: resource efficient manufacturing, waste-reduction, biogas
• Websites: http://www.envir.ee/en/news/most-environmentally-friendly-company-year-
estonian-cell; http://www.estoniancell.ee
• Contact: Tel: +372 687 0000; info@estoniancell.ee
(Source: www.baltic-
course.com)
6Skeleton Technologies
The company manufactures ultracapacitors and delivers high-power and high-energy storage
solutions, primarily for the automotive, aerospace, industrial and renewables sectors. The first
series of ultracapacitors were launched in 2012 and have been welcomed by the market due to
doubled energy density and five times the power density of previous technological solutions.
The company is included in the 2015 Global Cleantech 100 list.
• Keywords: ultracapacitor, energy storage, cleantech
• Websites: www.skeletontech.com
• Contact: info@skeletontech.com
(Source: www.aripaev.ee)
Ocean Visuals (ICD Industries Estonia OÜ)
T he company developed complementary solutions for the oil-spill detection system Ocean
Visuals, based on information and laser remote-sensing technology, as part of the Green
Industry Innovation support scheme supported by European Economic Area (EEA) Grants. The
technology is based on Hyperspectral Lidar technology and can classify the type of oil in the
water, measure the thickness of the oil in the water, provide real-time data feed for early
warning of oil spills, etc. The resulting data is shown on a map-based graphic user interface
available on web and IOS platforms as well as desktop applications. The complementary
solutions financed by the project included the development of a monitoring system that
provides continuous detection of oil pollution in difficult conditions, such as icy waters and
submerged oil.
• Keyword: cloud-based data management, spill detection system, cleantech, real-time
reporting
• Websites: http://www.icdindustries.no/group-companies/ocean-visuals
• Contacts: +372 66 131 99; info@icd.ee
(Source: http://www.icdindustries.no)
7Competition-based events for start-ups
The best chance for eco-innovative entrepreneurs to find funding for their idea is to participate
in one of Estonia’s many entrepreneurship competitions aimed at selecting the best ideas and
teams for start-ups. In addition to monetary support, the winners often get much-needed
know-how and advice on running a business and are widely promoted in Estonia as well as
abroad.
Prototron provides funding for young companies that need to create a first working prototype
of their product before proceeding with real production. Being created in cooperation with
Swedbank, Tehnopol Science Park and Tallinn University of Technology, Prototron has
supported tens of new ideas, which often aim to create smart eco-invention.
Ajujaht was started in 2007 and over time has become the biggest entrepreneurship
competition in Estonia. Participants are challenged to present their ideas in a live TV-show and
the best eco-innovations receive a special award.
Negavatt is a university student competition specifically aimed at gathering solutions for
energy and resource efficiency that could be used in the university. The best ideas over the
years have included a vertical wind-generator, smart light solutions, creating a micro-model of
the circular economy, etc.
A start-up hackathon series Garage48 organises weekend-long intensive cooperation sessions
in groups to come up with innovative solutions. In May 2015, one of the Garage48 events was
devoted to the subject of green technology.
Finally, Rakett69 is a science TV show for students that encourages innovative thinking among
high-school students.
• Keyword: prototyping, entrepreneurship, start-up funding
• Websites: http://prototron.ee/, http://www.ajujaht.ee/en/,
http://www.negavatt.ee/, http://garage48.org/, http://rakett69.ee/
(Source: www.rakett69.ee)
83 | Barriers and drivers to circular economy
and eco-innovation in Estonia
Although in recent years there have been examples of financial measures targeted at eco-
innovations, as well as initiatives on awareness raising, the general economic environment and
lack of initial seed funding for initiatives can be seen as one of the major growth impediments in
the area. To generalise, the barriers and drivers of eco-innovation are similar to issues in the
innovation system in general. As can be seen from the previous examples, although eco-
innovation is often not targeted in itself, it has become part of a general movement towards
energy-efficient solutions. In a way, eco-innovation has already become an integral part of regular
innovation activities (Krusberg & Krustok, 2016).
The notion of circular economy is still very new in Estonia and is only just seeing the first policy
developments and initiatives prioritising the area specifically. However, it can be seen that the
notion has become a subject of discussion and has prevailed over the previously often-used term
of “green economy”.
Selected barriers and drivers of eco-innovation and circular economy are presented below.
Barriers:
• Low demand towards eco-innovation solutions from consumers as well as low level of
knowledge. The shift in consumer-level knowledge and demand has still not taken place.
Lack of awareness is also an issue among public sector officials and businesses
(Recommend Reports, 2014). The lack of knowledge transfer practices among companies
is a barrier to sharing best practices and the spread of more efficient technologies
(Krusberg & Krustok, 2016).
• Dependency on foreign financing mechanisms, such as EU funds or Norway Grants for
financing the RD&I initiatives of businesses. This creates a barrier to entry for new and
small companies with low project management capabilities, as was also seen in the Green
ICT programme (Uiboupin, 2016). The situation is even worse for Estonian companies that
would like to apply for EU-level support to enhance resource efficiency, such as LIFE+ or
Horizon2020. Estonian companies mostly receive this support by being subsidiaries of
large international companies (Krusberg & Krustok, 2016).
• Lack of financing opportunities for start-up companies aiming to produce eco-innovative
solutions, which characterises the scene of start-ups in Estonia in general.
• Management routines in Estonian companies do not encourage recognising long-term
strategies and trends, which is often a prerequisite of eco-innovation. A management
study made in 2015 revealed that approximately 20% of Estonian companies do not have
a routine system for making long-term plans (EAS, 2015).
• Lack of comprehensive policy framework for circular economy is a barrier to closed-loop
solutions, and therefore moves towards a circular economy. The roles in different
industries are fragmented, with waste-management often a separate business from
production.
9• Capabilities of the state as a smart consumer in environmental and innovative
procurements are limited. Notable in energy-efficient construction (Estonian
Development Fund, 2014), the current procurement practices are seen as law-centred
and rigid.
Drivers
• While often the more resource-efficient technologies are considered too expensive by
companies, eco-innovation pioneers (such as receivers of Green ICT programme support
or industrial companies that have invested in energy-efficiency technologies) have shown
that a shift towards more resource-efficient and environmentally friendly production
modes, or entering the market with eco-innovation products and services, may lead to
considerable cost reduction or new client segments. A set of industry best practices is
forming.
• Emergence of support systems and organisations are strengthening the knowledge
spillover in the circular economy field. Notable examples of existing structures include
Estonian Wind Power Cluster, Waste Management Cluster, Estonian ICT cluster, a cross-
cluster communication platform “Estonian Clusters”, PAKRI Science and Industrial park,
Tallinn Science Park Tehnopol, Tartu Regional Energy Agency, Tartu Science Park, etc. The
most important recent addition is the Estonian Certification Centre for Recyclable Goods.
• Demand and standards set by foreign owners of companies are seen as one of the main
drivers of enforcing resource-efficiency standards among Estonian companies. Estonian
companies are strongly dependent on their foreign stakeholders. Kunda Nordic Cement
and ABB are examples of international companies that have brought around initiatives of
resource efficiency in their Estonian divisions (Krusberg & Krustok, 2016).
• The development of the eco-innovation and circular economy fields go hand in hand with
social innovation trends; the developmental shift of civil society in Estonia that has
appeared in recent years provides a necessary impetus for the demand towards eco-
innovation solutions to appear. Fast-growing civil-society movements, such as local
communities and opinion festival Arvamusfestival, encourage environmental
consciousness in society and contribute to green urban development initiatives.
104 | Policy landscape: towards circular
economy in Estonia
Circular Economy
The Estonian National Waste Management Plan 2014-2020 (Ministry of Environment, 2013)
shows the way towards circular economy initiatives in Estonia and emphasises compliance with
the waste hierarchy principle. The plan states that whenever possible, waste generation is
avoided and the reuse and recycling initiatives for use of waste, instead of it becoming landfill,
are supported. Reusing waste, or using them to their maximum level, is one of three strategic
aims outlined in the plan. The main activities include optimisation of waste collection points,
supporting companies that reuse waste, raising awareness on the subject of reusing waste, and
waste management information systems.
It is important to note that as approximately 80% of Estonia’s waste is the residuals of the oil
shale energy production industry, the initiatives for efficiency enhancement in this area can have
a considerable effect. Estonian Oil Shale Development Plan 2016-2030 (Ministry of Environment,
2016) is a strategic long-term plan which foresees methods for more efficient oil shale mining and
reduction of negative effects on the environment. It states that there are ways of reusing the oil
shale mining waste, however, more R&D initiatives are needed to explore various options.
The Circular Economy Package (European Commission, 2015) adopted by the European Union
towards the end of 2015 has given way to widespread discussion on the subject in Estonia.
Following the adoption of the package, Estonia has published its position in terms of the proposed
directive. The position outlines that a large part of it is in line with Estonia’s European Union
policy for 2015-2019 (Republic of Estonia Government Office, 2014), which also emphasises the
importance of new initiatives in the areas of resource efficiency and circular economy. Circular
economy was also the main topic of the yearly conference of the Estonian Waste Management
Association in spring 2016. At the same time, specific policy initiatives following the package have
yet to appear.
Eco-innovation
The sectoral reports of the smart specialisation strategy were published at the end of 2014 and
outline Estonia’s development strategy in three growth areas: ICT, health technologies and
enhancement of resources. The pre-analysis of growth areas was, however, already integrated
into the R&D and Innovation Strategy 2014-2020 and the Entrepreneurship Growth Strategy
2014-2020, which were mentioned in the EIO country report of 2013 and still effective today.
While eco-innovation is not targeted in the smart specialisation reports per se, the planned future
actions form a necessary supporting environment for their development and help to tackle some
barriers not typical only for eco-innovation but also for the Estonian R&D system in general.
Noteworthy among the future actions are the plans to encourage technology transfer, smart
buildings in smart cities, renewed industry and use of integrated technologies, increased
investments into knowledge-based industries and enhancement of natural resources.
The biggest development potential within Estonia’s smart specialisation framework can be seen
in the area of enhancement of resources, which is divided in three: knowledge-based
construction, materials technology and biotechnology.
11Knowledge-based construction targets the energy-efficiency of buildings and its main driver is the
near-zero energy standard, which will come into force in 2019 for public buildings and in 2021 for
all other new buildings. The digitisation of construction processes is seen as a way of reducing
waste in the construction sector. The stricter energy requirements for new buildings will mean a
higher uptake of biomass for energy production in the future. A need for smart electricity grids
will also emerge.
The biotechnology sector growth report outlines that while the activities that process the medium
products – including processing food waste for use by the heating industry – are not the priority
in S3 growth areas, they are important for the national bioeconomy development plan.
The potential for ICT sector growth in Estonia is mostly seen to be as a horizontal technology,
enabling a wider uptake of IT solutions in other sectors to increase efficiency and develop novel
solutions – such as e-health in healthcare and automation processes in industry. While not
specifically mentioned, the highest potential for the use of ICT as part of a growth strategy in
terms of eco-innovation is in the area of embedded computing, robotics and production
automation.
In addition to national policies, a good example of a regional policy for the area is the Tallinn
Enterprise and Innovation Strategy 2014-2018, which aims to support the development of
environmental technologies and to be nominated for the EU Green Capital title in 2018.
Government agencies still remain the main intermediaries of EU funds in the eco-innovation area.
The Green ICT programme, funded by Norwegian and EEA Grants, has ended and resulted in 15
successful large-scale projects. It is expected that the project will continue in the future.
Estonian Ministry of Environment has started a measure on energy and resource efficiency for
companies financed by EU structural funds for the period of 2014-2020. The main activities of the
measure include increasing awareness, training specialists, resource-efficiency audits, and
providing investments for improving energy efficiency in production activities of companies.
Pakri Science and Industrial Park
PAKRI is a privately owned science park that works in close partnership with public and
governmental organisations. It combines competence, R&D, manufacturing and a testing
centre, which focuses on renewable energy, energy in housing, smart grid, smart-city, energy
storing, electrical vehicles and green fuel. Among other aspects, PAKRI Smart-City features an
autonomous smart grid, which is one of the largest autonomous renewable energy smart grids
in the region. The science park has close cooperation ties with Science Park Tehnopol.
• Greentech, incubators, smart-grid, renewable energy
• Website: http://pakri.ee
• Contact: Kaija Valdmaa,
Greentech cluster
manager, +372 53 448
048; Enn Laansoo, Jr,
CEO, Chairman of the
Board, +372 5216 858,
info@pakri.ee (source: www.pakri.ee)
12Certification Centre for Recyclable Goods
The creation of the centre is one of the first initiatives in
Estonia clearly targeted at improvements in circular
economy. The centre received its operating permit in spring
2016, starting its activities soon after. The centre will be
providing certification for goods that have been made using
recycled materials, for example, compost produced from
production waste.
The initiative aims to reassure consumers that the goods
bought are of good quality and meet specific
(Source: http://www.recycling.ee/) standards. The long-term perspective of the centre is
to become an autonomous conformity assessment
unit for different types of products made of recycled waste, including fermentation waste from
biogas production, sewage sludge compost and goods produced from construction and
demolition waste
• circular economy, waste management, certification centre
• Website: http://www.recycling.ee/
• Contact: Margit Rüütelmann, project manager, e-mail: margit@recycling.ee, tel: +372
6181 618
Innovation and Business Centre Mektory
Mektory was started in 2013 and is a unique melting pot for scientists, students and
entrepreneurs. The organisation is a sub-division of Tallinn University of Technology and
organises study visits to the site and its science labs, as well as different events encouraging
entrepreneurship and cooperation between different parties. Among other activities, Mektory
hosts a pre-start-up incubator, operates a satellite programme, and runs the Mektory School
of Technology. The main spheres of focus of Mektory are design and product development,
development of business models, mobile services and media. Mektory’s active approach for
exploring novel technologies has also
developed and progressed cooperation
projects in eco-innovation and green
technologies.
• RD&I cooperation, business
incubation,
• Website: www.mektory.ee
• Contact: Tea Varrak, Innovation
and Business Centre
Mektory Director, tel: +372 620 3527,
tea.varrak@ttu.ee (source: news.err.ee)
13References
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na_uuring_Civitta_EBS_Final_2015_08_17.pdf
Estonian Development Fund, 2015, Estonian Energy Sector 2015. Available at
http://www.arengufond.ee/wp-
content/uploads/2015/11/EAF._Eesti_energiamajandus_2015.pdf
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http://ns.arengufond.ee/en
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at http://ns.arengufond.ee/en
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arengukava-2016-2030
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2015_en.pdf
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Krusberg, M & Krustok, I (2016), Interview, Tallinn
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Uiboupin, M (2016), Interview, Tallinn
14ANNEX: Policy measures addressing circular economy and eco-
innovations in Estonia
Focus of policy measure (tick if relevant)
Specific measure
Other
Group of policy Please provide reference to or brief summary of specific measures Generic Resource Energy Reduction
Type of policy measure relevant
measures (national, regional) Circular focus on efficiency efficiency of
areas (e.g.
economy eco- improveme improve emissions
add cells if necessary renewable
innovation nt ment incl. CO2
energy, etc)
- SmartCap – co-founded by Estonian Development Fund
Publicly co-funded venture
x x x
capita funds
Equity/business
support
Public guarantee funds Guarantee Fund (Tagatisfond)
SUPPLY SIDE FOCUS
Enterprise Estonia supports with the following measures: Competence x x x x
Centres, Smart Procurement, Green IT, Development of Regional
Competence Centres,
R&D funding The support measures and programmes for 2014-2020 are only partly
Support for R&D launched to date and other initiatives will follow.
in public sector
and industry Environmental Investment Centre supports the creation of innovative
solutions for reducing waste as part of its environment programme
Collaborative grants
15A government investment plan is put together as part of EU structural fund
R&D infrastructure measure for the period 2014-2020: “Support for research infrastructure of
national importance on the basis of the Road Map”.
Tax incentives for R&D and Income tax law, releases reinvestments from taxation. No extra incentives
start-ups for R&D and start-ups.
Fiscal measures
Tax incentives for R&D
personnel
x x
Tailored training courses for Ministry of Economics measure on energy and resource efficiency plans to
companies, entrepreneurs organise training courses for resource efficiency specialists.
Advise/consulting for start
Advisory and support activities are financed by Enterprise Estonia’s
ups, companies,
measure, “Development of Regional Competence Centres”.
Education, entrepreneurs
training and
mobility
Placement schemes for
students
Support for R&D workers
recruitments
Competence centres,
Networks and
clusters, science-technology
partnerships Enterprise Estonia supports with the Competence Centres measure and x x x x x
parks
support for clusters
16Science parks and Competence Centres, clusters
Technology platforms and
innovation networks
Foresight and common Estonian Development Fund provides foresight reports for different fields x x x x x x
vision building and creates public discussion.
Market intelligence and
other forms of information
sharing Foresight and research by the Estonian Development Fund and Enterprise x x x x x x
Estonia.
Ambient Air Protection Act
Regulations, targets, cap &
Investment Scheme under CO2 bargaining system of Kyoto protocol x x x x
trade schemes
Industrial Emissions Act
Regulations and
Environmental Management programme
standards
Performance standards, Environmental Impact assessment and environmental management act
labelling, certification x x x
DEMAND SIDE FOCUS
“Green“ public procurement
Enterprise Estonia Smart Procurement Programme x x x x x
of goods and services
Public
R&D procurement Enterprise Estonia Smart Procurement Programme x x x x x
procurement
Pre-commercial
procurement
17Enterprise Estonia R&D supports the Environmental Investment Centre, x x x x x x
which supports the technology investments of combined heat and power
Advisory support for plants and renewable energies
technology adopters
Technology
Transfer
Financial or fiscal support for Environmental Investment Centre measures on energy and resource X X X X X x
technology adopters efficiency support
(e.g. grants for purchasing Technology loans provided by Kredex
new technology)
Tax incentives for consumers
(e.g. for purchasing
environmentally efficient
products)
Tax reductions for products
and services (e.g. VAT
reductions)
Support of Kredex “Energy efficiency in apartment buildings” supports initiatives of x
private demand rebuilding apartment buildings to become more energy efficient.
Demand subsidies (e.g. eco-
vouchers, consumer
subsidies)
Awareness raising and Environmental Investment Centre supports environmental awareness x x x x x x
information provision raising initiatives as part of its Environment Programme.
18About the
Eco-Innovation
Observatory (EIO)
The Eco-Innovation Observatory (EIO) is the initiative financed by the European Commission’s Directorate-
General for the Environment. The Observatory is developing an integrated information source and a series
of analyses on eco-innovation trends and markets, targeting business, innovation service providers, policy
makers as well as researchers and analysts.
Visit EIO and DG ENV Eco-innovation Action Plan (EcoAP) website and register to get access to more
information and to access all EIO reports, briefs and databases
www.eco-innovation.eu
ec.europa.eu/environment/ecoapYou can also read
