With the European Enterprise Promotion Awards (EEPA) ceremony just around the corner, it is an ideal moment to reflect on the transformative projects celebrated by the competition. Among the EEPA alumni is Catarina Selada, Head of Policy at CoLAB Smart & Sustainable Living (CEiiA), who took home the award in 2018 for the category “Supporting the Development of Green Markets and Resource Efficiency”. Their project, “Zero-Carbon Living Lab” was recognised for sustainable innovation and empowering SMEs to move towards environmental sustainability. 

First of all, congratulations to you and your team on winning the EEPA in 2018! Can you tell us about your project and what inspired you to start it?

Our EEPA-awarded project is the 'Zero-Carbon Living Lab', located in the City of Matosinhos, Portugal, which resulted from a partnership between Matosinhos Municipality and the Centre of Engineering and Product Development. CEiiA has been using ‘living labs’ as privileged environments for the development, testing, and experimentation of new products and services in the areas of mobility, aeronautics, and space.

We developed a collaborative ecosystem for the development and testing of low-carbon solutions in a real-life environment, with strong user involvement. Located in a city centre, this ecosystem establishes an open innovation and collaborative framework between companies, universities, R&D centres, local government, and citizens. Innovative and integrated solutions tested include e-mobility management systems, electric vehicle chargers, and bus shelters with real-time information screens among others.

We have also implemented a number of initiatives to promote the adoption of technologies by citizens and the community, such as demo days, awareness sessions, demonstration workshops, and reward systems for the adoption of sustainable mobility modes. Specifically, CEiiA’s AYR sustainability platform accelerates the transition of cities to carbon neutrality, which was tested with the engagement of voluntary citizen groups.

How did it feel to win the EEPA? And how has winning the EEPA impacted your project and your team?

It was amazing to win the EEPA! For CEiiA, this award gave us the confidence to scale up our mobility products and services to accelerate the carbon neutrality of cities. 

Specifically, the AYR platform has been further developed and deployed in cities across Portugal and Brazil. AYR is the first platform worldwide that assigns a value to sustainable behaviours by quantifying in real time the carbon emissions avoided by citizens using sustainable mobility modes. This bottom-up approach empowers people to fight against climate change by converting the value of reduced CO₂ into digital credits (tokens), which can be exchanged for goods and services within a city, such as mobility services. We were proud in 2021 that AYR was awarded the New European Bauhaus (NEB) Prize by the European Commission!

Since CEiiA is a non-profit organisation, we are now creating a spin-off – AYR Neutral – to commercially exploit its success.

What do you believe makes your project stand out in terms of promoting entrepreneurship and supporting businesses?

Our project considered the strategic priorities of the local government and the population’s needs and aspirations. Following the success of the living lab, CEiiA has promoted the concept of ‘Free Zones for Technology’ (testbeds) as geographically limited spaces for developing, testing, and experimenting with new products and business models in real-life contexts that address future societal challenges, such as climate change, with the potential for specific legal frameworks for testing (sandboxes).

What challenges have you faced along the way, and how have you overcome them?

The main challenge was not technological but cultural and behavioural. Sometimes, we encountered difficulties involving users during the experimentation phase. We launched several campaigns and awareness activities to overcome this barrier.

Integrating data to generate information and knowledge to support decision-making and define local policies was also a challenge due to different IT systems and a lack of standards. A data aggregation platform has been developed to support future development, although questions remain about the long-term sustainability of the Living Lab.

Would you recommend entering the EEPA to other enterprise promoters? If so, what advice would you give to future EEPA participants?

We recommend other promoters to apply for the EEPA. This award gave us recognition at the European level and allowed us to exchange experiences and good practices with other inspiring projects. We would like to conclude by thanking IAPMEI for all the support provided during the process.

Find out which project will be recognised for its contribution to environmental sustainability in this year's fifth category "Supporting the Sustainable Transition" at the EEPA ceremony, taking place between 19:30 - 20:30 CET on 19 November 2024 at the SME Assembly in Budapest!

Register here to watch the ceremony live and learn who will find success across the awards' six categories, and which initiative will take home the crown of the Grand Jury Prize!