Co-funded by the European Union Regional Council Kymenlaakso
green project image

Grean Leap

from Competitiveness to Sustainability

The Green Leap project promotes the development of businesses towards more profitable and low-carbon operations by leveraging the opportunities of the Green Transition by EU. 

In November of 2024, Xamk will organize an innovation camp in collaboration with the companies participating in the project.

Incorporating low-carbon practices into business

In the Green Leap – from Competitiveness to Sustainability -project, Xamk utilizes, pilots, and develops a low-carbon development model, the first version of which was created earlier as a result of the joint Low-Carbon as a Competitive Advantage for Businesses project by Cursor Oy, Xamk, and Kouvola Innovation Oy. This model helps businesses leverage different levels of knowledge and expertise to assess their level of strategic low-carbon competence.

With this approach, companies can better understand what needs to be developed to embed low-carbon strategies into their organization.

Driving the Green Transition!

The Green Transition is often thought of as involving major changes in energy solutions. In that case, it may not be immediately clear how the Green Transition affects our own lives right now. While energy solutions play a significant role in the Green Transition, we also have our part to play — whether big or small — in making it happen.

Key Actions of the Project

The project identifies various business profiles using participatory methods from service design. This profiling helps create realistic and tailored content for the low-carbon development stages based on the needs of businesses.

The situation of companies participating in the project’s carbon neutrality-focused development activities will be assessed from the perspectives of low-carbon practices and the Green Transition. The low-carbon development model will be piloted, and businesses will be supported in identifying their own practices, products, and services that promote carbon neutrality.”

Goal: Advancing the Green Transition for Businesses

The primary goal of the project is to advance the Green Transition, reduce the carbon footprint, and promote carbon-neutral circular economy practices among businesses potentially connected to the battery cluster in Southeast Finland. The project also supports the realization of the Kotka-Hamina region’s battery value chain vision, which aims to establish an international industrial hub for the battery sector in the region by 2027.

The project aims to increase businesses’ understanding of their low-carbon development path and help them form a more strategic approach to integrating and adopting low-carbon practices. In doing so, it contributes to the main objective of the European Green Deal growth strategy: climate neutrality.

Kouvolan kampus 2014

Outcome

As a result of the development activities, the Green Transition in Kymenlaakso will be supported, which includes enhancing companies’ operational readiness in an environment that increasingly reduces carbon emissions.

Starting with European societies, business environments are transitioning to low-carbon operations at a relatively rapid pace. Expertise for companies aiming for carbon neutrality will be provided through trainings and workshops.

Reducing the carbon footprint can increase business profitability.

EVENT: SUSTAINABILITY TRAINING for SMEs

Sustainability Training for SMEs

Sustainability Start

Start towards more sustainable business. We assess your company’s need for expertise and discuss ideas on how your business can benefit from circular economy business models and sustainability.

In autumn 2024. Book a time.

At Xamk’s campuses or at your company’s premises.

Sustainability Sprint

From idea to implementation together with experts. In a two-day innovation “design sprint” camp, we’ll sprint ideas into concepts alongside specialists.

12th to 13th November 2024

Ankkapurha, Kouvola. In the heart of Kymenlaakso.

Apply to join the training.

Participation is free of charge.

Facts

Project name:

Grean Leap – from sustainability to competitiveness

Project duration: 1.1.2023–31.12.2024

Info

Lead partner: Cursor Oy, a regional development company
Partial partners: South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences – Xamk
Focus area: Digital economy
Research area: Creative industries, Entrepreneurship and innovation
Research centre: Creative industries
Impact goal: Entrepreneurship and high added value, Environment and sustainability, People and user orientation

Budget

Financier and main source of funding: The Regional Council of Kymenlaakso, European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
Total budget: 370 554 euros
EU part of the total budget: 259 389 euros
Xamk part of the total budget: 167 788 euros

Keywords

circular economy Kymenlaakso regional development

Contacts

Phone
+358503015361
Email
Tomi.Hook@xamk.fi
Department
Luovan talouden tutkimusyksikkö
Tomi Höök
Project Manager
+358503015361
Tomi.Hook@xamk.fi
Phone
+358447028724
Email
Anu.Vainio@xamk.fi
Department
Luovan talouden tutkimusyksikkö
Anu Vainio
RDI Specialist
+358447028724
Anu.Vainio@xamk.fi

Project partners

Cursor Oy, a regional development company

Vihreä loikka – kestävyydestä kilpailukykyä -project web site (in Finnish)