44 Amendments of Reinhard BÜTIKOFER related to 2014/2209(INI)
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 a (new)
Citation 6 a (new)
– having regard to the Commission Communication entitled 'Green Action Plan For SMEs' COM(2014) 440 final,
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 b (new)
Citation 6 b (new)
– having regard to the European Resource Efficiency Platform Manifesto and Policy Recommendations - March 2014,
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 c (new)
Citation 6 c (new)
– having regards to the Commission Communication "Towards a circular economy: a zero waste programme for Europe" COM (2014)398,
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 d (new)
Citation 6 d (new)
– having regard the Communication from the Commission 'Innovation for a sustainable Future - The Eco-innovation Action Plan (Eco-AP)' COM (2011)899,
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the European Union committed itself to reindustrialising Europe by investing in and supporting the principles of sustainability, competitiveness and innovation, innovation and decent work; whereas, in the face of the global challenges, it is essential that energy and resource efficiency be at the basis of the European industrial renewal if European industry intends to maintain its competitiveness in the future;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas better eco-design, waste prevention, recycling and reuse could bring net savings for EU businesses, estimated to represent up to EUR 600 billion, or 8% of annual turnover, while also reducing total greenhouse gas emissions by 2 to 4% 2a ; __________________ 2aCOM (2014)398 "Towards a circular economy: a zero waste programme for Europe"
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas enabling SMEs to transform environmental challenges into economic opportunities while acting sustainably is one of the principles of the Small Business Act, but whereas there has been noneeds to be more significant policy progress to achieve this and SMEs often face inconsistent policdifficulties when commencing business and implementing environmental standards;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the pressurecost efficiency and business opportunities arising for SMEs tohat comply with environmental standards will increase both from the market and from legislation;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas despite recent efforts, SMEs continue to have difficulties with access to finance, skills and information and whereas EU programmes still fall short of significantly contributing to eco- innovation and the circular economy;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas labour productivity has developed much faster in recent decades than resource productivity, while estimates show that labour represents less than 20 % of production costs, with resources representing 40 %; whereas increasing resource productivity by 30% by 2030 could boost GDP by nearly 1%, while creating 2 million additional jobs;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas the focus is primarily on high- tech SMEs that directly deliver green innovations, but there is a need to support other companies which wish to comply withimprove their environmental regulationsperformance; whereas eco-innovation might be an idea for a new company, but also a measure to improve existing businesses within the framework of the green economy;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas although there is no internationally agreed definition of green growth, there is consensus that it is a combination of economic growth and environmental sustainabilityway to achieve economic development, while using natural resource in a sustainable manner and providing decent work;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
Ia. Whereas enhancing skills and training is a key challenge for SMEs, which should receive particular attention, especially with regards to innovation and resource efficiency;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes thatSupports the concept of green growthand circular economy and the opportunities arising from it relate to various sectors such as the circular economy,in all sectors of the economy and in particular energy efficiency, resource efficiency, renewable energy, waste management, cradle to cradle; points out the considerable economic and employment potential of these sectors;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Recalls the recommendations of the European Resources Efficiency Platform2b highlighting that resource efficiency requires a dynamic fiscal and regulatory framework that gives appropriate signals to producers and consumers to supply and demand products with better environmental performance throughout their life-cycle; __________________ 2bThe EREP Manifesto and Policy Recommendations - March 2014
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Calls on the Commission to establish within the Circular Economy Package initiative a comprehensive policy framework including concrete policy objectives and better integrating and streamlining existing policy tools; insist that tools and measure must ensure real opportunities and active participation of SME in the circular economy;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Supports the objectives of the Green Action Plan for SMEs and its SMEs- oriented actions to improve resource efficiency, support green entrepreneurship, exploiting opportunities for greener value chains and facilitating market access for green SMEs; calls for its full implementation and for strong synergies, coordination with and reinforcement of the relevant actions and instruments foreseen under the Eco- Innovation Action Plan;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Highlights the fact that our economy will need to provide for an ever growing population – 9 billion people by 2050 – and that our natural resources are limited and therefore should be used in a sustainable and very efficient way; points out new innovative solutions to these challenges such as new products, production processes, business practices and services, and a new supporting legal framework and financial support;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Points out that in the current circumstances where insufficient access to appropriate sources of risk capital, particularly in the early stages, continues to be one of the most significant constraints on the creation and development of growth-oriented firms, the Commission’s Action Plan on improving access to finance for SMEs places a lot of emphasis on venture capital as a possible mode of growth finance; underlines, nonetheless, that this kind of funding is adequate only for a small number of SMEs and that bank loans remain the main source of funding, and that all alternatives should be developed by the private sector; points out the potential financing opportunities that should be explored through the European Fund for Strategic Investments;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Emphasises that entrepreneurs, SMEs, business associations and support organisations should be more literate on financing possibilities for more performant technologies, or for contracting services such as consultancy, coaching and training on eco-design, resource management and green entrepreneurship and availability of green technologies, products and services that could be beneficial for their business; calls on the Member States and the EU for the enhancement of provision of SMEs services in those area, in particular at the regional and local level and the increased dedication of European Structural and Investment Funds to those objectives;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on the Commission and the EIB to make sure that in the implementation phase of the ‘'Investment Plan for Europe’ SMEs, in particular green and innovative ones, will be key beneficiaries of the support provided for under this proposal' is underpinned by strong sustainability criteria, including resource and energy efficiency objectives. Its implementation must ensure that eco-innovative SMEs, will be key beneficiaries of the support provided for under this proposal; insist that clear criteria, including European added value must be developed to achieve this aim and that provision of advisory services on resource efficiency and eco- innovation for SMEs be strengthened;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Urges to better focus funding of COSME and Horizon 2020 towards the development of eco-innovative solutions by and for SMEs and supports financing for improvement of product design and processes performance, building on the successful experience of the Eco- Innovation programme under the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme in the past MFF; point in particular to the full implementation of the SME instrument under Horizon 2020;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Believes that there is a need to mobilize capital markets towards the transition to a green economy, overcoming obstacles to long-term investment optimisation because of short- termism in financial markets; calls on the Commission to actively address, also in the context of the capital markets union, the need for mobilising private capital towards a low-carbon transition through renewables and resource efficiency investments; stresses the need for analysing the role of different policy instruments such as monetary tools, financial regulations, public incentives, and accounting and disclosure policies; asks the Commission to put forward policy proposals for improving financial regulatory regimes; refers to current international initiatives in this field such as the work of the UNEP Inquiry into the Design of a Sustainable Financial Systems and the Capital Markets Climate Initiative;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Welcomes the opening of calls under the SME Instrument focusing on eco- innovation and supply of raw materials, eco-innovative food production and processing, and innovation in efficient energy systems; supports enhancing the budget of the SME Instrument in these fields and the opening further eco- innovation calls in all areas of societal challenges and industrial leadership priority areas of Horizon 2020;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Welcomes the establishment of a European Resource Efficiency Excellence Centre to advise and assist SMEs seeking to improve their resource efficiency performance; stresses the need to establish it as a strong network of partners across EU regions and to build on proven experiences in Member States; believes it should guide SMEs to European, national and regional programmes in this field of action, provide access to expertise, networks and infrastructure;
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Points out that besides the horizontal dimension of knowledge sharing (i.e. between SMEs) the horizontal coordination between EU institutions, funds and financing instruments plays a crucial role for overcoming the expectation-implementation gap; emphasises the need to approach SME networks and organisations on the local, regional and national levels timely and proactive, in order to provide information and guidance for making use of available and planned EU funding possibilities; reminds the Commission to use all means on communication and knowledge transmission available (promotional mailings, social media, webinars, etc.) as well as competitions for students and young entrepreneurs;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Welcomes the promotion of resource efficiency and awareness raising activities by the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN); supports the organisation of a European Resource Efficiency Campaign to inform SMEs on the benefits and opportunities offered by resource efficiency and asks the Commission to make available to the EEN the appropriate funds to organise this campaign; calls on the European Commission and the EEN to cooperate on resource efficiency with industry associations, trade unions, SMEs, NGOs, academia as well as regional initiatives;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Stresses the importance of creating industrial synergies on recycling and helping companies discovery how their energy, waste and by-products can serve as resources for others; calls of the Commission and Member States to promote approaches such as those taken in the UK with the National Industrial Symbiosis Programme; calls on the establishment of a pan-European network of industrial symbiosis initiatives;
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 4
Subheading 4
Research, development and, innovation and skills
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Stresses the need to further develop basic R&D necessary for further technological developments; highlights the importance of the reindustrialisation of Europe given the importance of the manufacturing industry for R&D&I and thus the EU’s future competitive advantage; believes that non- technological, organisational, systems innovation and public sector innovation must be given as much attention as technology driven solutions;
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Calls on Member States and regions to address green skills shortages and support the development of green skills at all education levels and throughout lifelong learning; believes that educational and training curricula should be revised to meet existing and anticipated labour markets in the field of resource efficiency and circular economy; calls on social partners to further support workers involvement, life-long learning and training strategies in the fields of environmental management, energy and resource efficiency , and support the development of sector-wide resource efficiency roadmaps covering skills and training requirements;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Calls for an improved policy framework for the circular economy including adopting and implementing smart regulation, standards and codes of conduct that aim at internalisation of externalities, tackling resource intensive products, creating a level playing-field, rewarding front-runners and accelerating the transition towards a resource efficient and sustainable economy;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Believes that this policy framework should ensure that products placed on the Union market are 'eco-designed' with a view to optimising resource and material efficiency. This includes addressing, inter alia, product durability, reparability, reusability, recyclability, recycled content and product lifespan;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Calls on the Commission to include as part of the Circular Economy Package the extension of the eco-design instrument to include the resource efficiency dimension; believes that eco-design should address durability, reparability and recyclability of products, including standards for guaranteed minimum life- time and disassembly;
Amendment 132 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 5
Subheading 5
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Welcomes the Commission decision for withdrawing obsolete or overly burdensomproposals; strongly regrets the withdraw of the waste legislativeon proposals; and calls on the Commission to refrain fromfor a more ambitious legislative proposals that would lead to an unnecessary administrative burden for businesses and SMEs ando be put forward by 2015 as announced by V.P. Timmermans in EP plenary in December 2014 2e; points to the Commission analysis showing that adopting new waste targets would create 180 000 jobs, make Europe more competitive and reduce demand for costly scarce resources 2f; calls on the Commission to continuously review existing legislation with the objective of decreasing the current administrative burden and adapting this to new business models; stresses, nonetheless, the need for ambitious actions to reach the EU’s environmental targets;, while continuing to ensure high levels of environmental protection and social standards; stresses, the need for ambitious actions to reach the EU’s environmental targets; __________________ 2eVerbatim Plenary Debate Commission Work programme Tuesday, 16 December 2014 - Strasbourg 2fSWD(2014) 208 final – Impact assessment accompanying the proposal COM (2014)397
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Recalls the importance of technology- neutral and innovation-friendly legislation, which allows different new technologies to be tested and valued by the market; calls on Member States to use market-based instruments in their public supportwelcomes the development of Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) scheme as and to refrain from using market-distorting subsidies; calls on the Commission to draw up common guidelines for national public support schemes for green investment projects in order to create a more uniform set of measur new tool to help innovative environmental technologies reach the market; calls on Member States to make adequate use of market-based instruments in their public support schemes and to refrain from using environmentally harmful market- distorting subsidies;
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Stresses the importance of standards for enabling development and market uptake of greener technologies, products and processes; calls on the Commission to mandate the European Standardisation Organisations to take into account circular economy objectives and to actively work with SMEs representatives, consumers and civil society organisations towards this aim;
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Notes that public funding needs to go to mature technologies, which can be put on the market at a significantly lower cost, rather than being used to push for large-scalemarket-pull mechanism needs to be further developed to support deployment and market uptake of mature eco-innovative technologies, while public funding should be granted for further research and depveloypment of imless mature andin order to improve cost-inefficientcy of the next generation of eco-innovative technologies;
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Notes that disruptive industries and technologies often indicate flaws inmay encounter difficulties with existing legislation; stresses the need for continuous monitoring and updating of existing legislation and the use of exemption clauses for certain innovative technologies to ensure that this does not hinder market entry for new technological developmentsto ensure that sustainable and eco-innovative technologies may access the market;
Amendment 159 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Calls on the Commission to develop and promote an SME toolbox for sustainable company policy, including corporate social and environmental responsibility, sustainable accounting and reporting, and tools for implementing low-waste production models;
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Believes that developing entrepreneurship skills and programmes to learn how natural systems, the market, the economy and the financial system operate, function and interact, along with environmental awareness, should be included in basic education systems; believes that a well prepared business plan is the first step towards better access to finance and viability; calls on the Commission and the Member States to include financientrepreneurship and environmental education in their education programmes without delay; supports in this connection the ‘Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs’ programme, designed to promote an entrepreneurial culture and develop the single market and competitiveness;
Amendment 175 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Notes the importance of addressing unsustainable consumption patterns and promoting a change in consumer behaviour; stresses the need for adequate consumer education and the need to encourage measures for greener consumption; calls on the commission and the Member States to reinforce demand side measure such as making use of public procurement in order to enhance uptake of resource and energy-efficient products and solutions; stresses the value of including resource use in product information and eco-labels in order to empower consumers;
Amendment 178 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. Points to the concept, and successful development of the "benefit corporations" and the growing community worldwide, whereby enterprises are by legal status committed to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. Calls on the Commission to further analyse the initiative and promote the development of appropriate legal framework for company law and governance in the Member States that would embed those principles;