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1. Make your Eco-innovative dream
come true
ECOMODE - Fostering Eco - Innovative
Business Model Development in SMEs in
Hospitality Industry
The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the
authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

2. How much is eco-innovation applied in the tourism industry?
Environmental sustainability creates both challenges and new
business opportunities for companies in
all sectors. The tourism industry faces such opportunities and
challenges in a more immediate way than many other
industries, due to its often direct dependence on the natural
environment as an attraction.
However, many companies still tackle the issue in a defensive
or passive way (e.g. introducing environmental reporting, or
isolated attempts to reduce CO2 emissions), instead of looking
at it as a future business opportunity around which the
company can innovate and build competitive advantage.
The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the
authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

3. How to make your activity eco-innovative?
Revisit your business model
Maximizing the opportunities presented by embracing
sustainability and adopting a green approach to business model
innovation, requires fundamental changes to existing way of
doing business, and many strategic management
considerations.
Companies most often decide to rethink and redesign their
business model to become more eco-innovative, as it brings
numerous benefits. A fundamental question for any eco-
innovative company is how to deliver value to a customer in a
way that is both profitable and less resource intensive.

4. The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the
authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Key Questions
● What value do we deliver to customers?
● Which customers’ needs are we helping to satisfy?
● What are the key the activities and resources that help us to develop and
deliver value to customers (e.g. skills, resources, strategic partnerships,
Intellectual Property)?
● How much does our business model depend on our companies’ and our
customers’ access to and use of material and energy?
● Could we consider an alternative way to satisfy the needs of our
customers (e.g. product-service systems)?

5. From the Business Dictionary we learn that innovation is “the
process of translating an idea or invention into a good or service
that creates value or for which customers will pay”. For the
European Commission “eco-innovation refers to all forms of
innovation – technological and non-technological – that create
business opportunities and benefit the environment by preventing
or reducing their impact, or by optimising the use of resources.
Eco-innovation is closely linked to the way we use our natural
resources, to how we produce and consume and also to the
concepts of eco-efficiency and eco-industries”.
The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the
authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Eco-innovation

6. Eco-innovation is actually at the heart of European Union policies
and there are numerous initiatives on this topic: a European
observatory on eco-innovation, the European Forum on Eco-
innovation (which has now reached the 22nd edition), an Index
that ranks European countries, the European Union’s Product
Environmental Footprint (PEF), many conferences all over Europe
and so on.
The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the
authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
In Europe

7. Here you find the main features of eco-innovation:
- lifecycle, which involves resource extraction, manufacture, use of
material and energy, distribution, end-of-life,
- resource efficiency,
- environmental impact,
- applicability in every industry and sector of the economy.*
The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the
authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Main features
* In Pursuit of Eco-innovation by Jana Hojnik (University of Primorska Press, 2017)

8. Eco- innovative business models represent an opportunity for the company
and have the potential to generate many benefits, especially regarding:
● Positive environmental benefits
● Cost savings
● New growth opportunities (new market opportunities)
● Turning circular economy into a reality
● Stronger company image in front of its customers
● More competitiveness
● Societal impacts including job creation or improved quality of life.
The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the
authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Which are the benefits of eco-innovation?

9. The benefits are linked to resource and energy efficiency and to
the use of business models with innovative products, services,
technologies and processes with improved environmental
performance.
Companies in the hospitality industry have to pay attention to
several factors, that have a strong impact on the environment,
such as energy production and consumption, water use, waste
management, food waste, mobility, new technologies, design.
The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the
authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Hospitality industry

10. In this perspective, food waste is no longer acceptable and many
shift to grow food onsite or to buy it locally. Avoiding plastic and
disposable products is another measure to take into
consideration, which is a step beyond recycling. Paper use can
also be limited through the implementation of a property
management system.
Water and energy consumption must be revisited considering
new, greener sources and technologies. This can be done even in
a smaller scale, for example hotels can replace the coffee
machines and the mini-fridges in the rooms with a common guest
space, thus changing the hotel experience, or installing motion
sensored lights.
The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the
authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

11. Architecture is also very important when constructing a new
building and in this field we can refer to the Three-Zero-Concept
by Matteo Thun which consists of using local construction
materials and skills (zero kilometers), prioritizing energy
management and lower emissions (zero carbon dioxide), and
introducing life-cycle management into the building process (zero
waste).*
The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the
authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Matteo Thun, Hotel Yearbook 2020.

12. And if you think that all these actions are hard to follow and you may be
discouraged, always remember that every step, even the smallest one, is
important in reducing your carbon footprint.
In this process, it’s very important that companies ask their customers to
be mindful and responsible for their actions, so that the collaboration
between the company’s policies and the user’s good behaviour can lead
to the maximum potential of eco-innovation.
The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the
authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Eco-innovation
User
collaboration
Company’s
policies

13. Here you can find a short video introducing a EU website which provides
free resources and information for hospitality industry companies to
become more sustainable: Take a green step.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=51&v=W4M4_cCauWk
The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the
authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

14. The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the
authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Good practices
Now let’s examine together two best practices collected in the EU state
members to promote a circular economy transition.
• Recycling soap: within the “Responsible Business for a Clean World”
project, initiated by the Park Split Hotel in Split Croatia, in cooperation
with the Network of Associations of Persons with Disabilities Dalmatia
and co-financed by the European Union, the hotel collects the remains
of the unused soap and sends it to a “soap factory”, which cleans,
sterilize and recycle it to produce new soap products for the hotel. This
demonstrates the high social value of the company and its dedication to
environment and ethical issues.

15. The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the
authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
• RECUP is a deposit system for reusable coffee cups: when customers
order a coffee pay a 1€ deposit for their cup, which can be returned at
any six partnering café to be washed and resold. This system has already
reached at least 23 cities and over 850 sites across Germany. These cups
can be reused up to 500 times, which means that a single reusable cup
can replace up to 500 single use cups: a huge benefit for the
environment.

16. The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the
authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
• Edible cutlery is an idea by Bakeys, a manufacturer based in India
which is the first company in the world to launch an edible cutlery line.
Yes, spoons, forks, and chopsticks that you can eat, because they are
made from sorghum, rice, and wheat flours and come in plain, savoury
and sweet flavours. This is as an alternative to disposable plastic/wood
cutlery and bamboo chopsticks.

17. The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the
authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Get your eco-innovation funded
It’s important to consider: the amount of funding you need, fixed
costs, what sources of funding are available, risks associated with
each source of funding, government programmes or SME
business support agencies in each country.
A common source of funding is crowd funding.

18. Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by
raising small amounts of money from a large number of people,
typically via the Internet. It’s a peer-to-peer funding model that
offers transparency and a sense of community for both funder and
entrepreneur. Those who commit either small or large amounts
are given in return rewards, equity or loan repayments if the
funding target is reached and the project goes forward.
Crowdfunding can be an interesting way to finance eco-
innovation: according to a recent research it has the potential to
fulfill financing needs in the renewable energy domain.
The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the
authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Crowdfunding

19. The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the
authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
There is no business to be done on a dead planet.
(David Brower, Executive Director, Sierra Club)