EU opens door of financing for SMEs shifting to the circular economy

This morning at the European Investment Bank’s conference ‘Financing the Circular Economy’, EU Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Karmenu Vella, presented some instruments to facilitate access to credit for businesses, in particular for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), shifting to the circular economy model. The European Commission, the European Investment Bank and the Ministry of Economy of Luxembourg signed an amendment to the InnovFin Delegation Agreement that will enable higher-risk, yet innovative sustainable business models to access credit through InnovFin – an EU finance support programme under Horizon 2020, a framework programme on Research and Innovation under the responsibility of Commissioner Moedas. Commissioner Vella highlighted: “Today’s event is all about making real changes on the ground. We want to give businesses more certainties when they innovate. New ideas also mean taking risks. The EU will help companies take the innovative risks needed to make real breakthroughs with more durable, repairable and more resource-efficient products”. His full speech is available online as well as video coverage of the conference.