GREEN ASSIST - Example of eligible projects

The small European start-up, “Build with Waste”, has developed a technology that makes building insulation from recycled household waste. The new material has been tested and proven to be 25 % more efficient than other similar products on the market. The start-up has drafted a business plan and has already talked to investors, who are quite interested in this new technology and its reachable market, but have concern about the technical and environmental true performance of the product.

Consequently, the company acknowledges the need of more support on the environmental aspects of their project. Their production process uses up a lot of energy, while leaving a lot of leftover waste. The start-up needs a solid environmental impact assessment, while their maintenance plans also need to be further developed.

The start-up can’t afford to commission this support; neither do they know what experts to reach out to and how to find them. This is where Green Assist comes in.

A family business in the fashion sector has a project idea called 'Renewed Clothes'. The project’s aim is to reduce fashion waste by making new clothes out of recycled old garments. The entrepreneurs have done some market research and discovered a niche for their business, as there are many people who want to buy new clothes without creating fashion waste. The technology used by the business is simple and effective.

But to move forward, Renew Clothes needs to upscale its production, and the business needs investors to fund this process.

The entrepreneurs are not confident about their business model and financial calculations, and they don’t know how to do a proper cash-flow model. In addition, even if they make their project investment-ready, they don’t know what are investor’s expectations, how to credibly address Investor’s due diligence, and what investors to reach out to.

These are all problems that Green Assist can help with.

The Sustainable Schooling project aims to create a modern learning environment for children by making schools and school grounds greener and more sustainable. The project is implemented by a regional development agency.

The agency has basic funds ready, but they’re still facing an investment gap and would like to build-in ownership from citizens. They also think their environmental performance could be improved to make the project even greener. To fund these extra activities, the agency is considering crowdfunding. But like most regional development agencies, they have no experience with this type of fundraising.

The agency has decided that they need an independent expert, who can review the product and processes to provide contributors credibility with regard to the continuous environmental performance and suggest new ideas for greening. The expert would also help them set up a crowdfunding campaign. So, they turn to Green Assist for support.