GreenBizz

PROJECT GREENBIZZ aimed to help startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Denmark, Norway and Sweden with:
• To reduce the business’s total energy consumption by 10-15%
• And/or convert to more renewable energy (Green energy)
• Reduce CO2 emissions
The GREENBIZZ project ran from 1 March 2020 – 30 September 2022, and at the end of the project, 62 green business cooperation and development activities have been initiated. The project’s goal of activating 60 SMEs and startups has therefore been met, and the business’s green transformation is divided into the following activities:

Production business Frontego: New air-to-air heat pump for winter heating and summer cooling.

Restaurant Jollehuset: Electricity measurement equipment on all machines, where data is collected in a digital measuring unit for online display

Energy Measurement and Energy Savings

35 businesses focus on either energy measurement or Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) measurement of CO2 footprint.
20 businesses had energy sensors installed on several machines/buildings – sensors with which the business owner followed real-time measurements in an online platform. Due to the long Corona lockdown, the businesses got started with measurements late, and are therefore well underway, after the end of the project, with planning a green conversion/converting to green forms of energy, etc. to change/reduce energy consumption and thus CO2 emissions. The businesses Jollehuset, Frontego, Arena Mors, Hunnebostrand Vandrehjem and Kungshamnsfiskarne talk about their initiatives in videos.
The 14 businesses that managed to measure their operations during the Greenbizz period have on average saved quite a bit more than the 10% in energy consumption, divided between Electricity, Gas and Diesel, which was the budgeted target for the Greenbizz project.
The rising energy prices in 2022 became a further motivation to find energy savings, and several businesses became interested in establishing their own production of green energy. The green effects will really take effect in 2023, when solar systems can be delivered.

Recycling of Waste

In the car industry, Salling Autogenbrug focuses on the upcycling of discarded cars, and LHG Group will recycle excess rust protection agents for undercarriage treatment.

Other Green Parameters

The remaining 27 businesses focus on other green business models. Startup business TIMESTONE disrupts the Danish market for tombstone production with a completely new type of tombstone to reduce CO2 emissions during heavy transport, Haderup Skovservice focuses on circular wood production and biodiversity in all types of forests, Grainas’ focuses on green energy production from unused garden and park waste, and Re:Inventar AS works with the redesign and recycling of used furniture.

Municipality/Business Service Cooperation

For the project, it was important to include SMEs/Startups who were motivated for a green transition. In Denmark, the Greenbizz project has established a unique collaboration with municipalities/business services, which has helped the project to recruit the targeted number of businesses, because they know businesses’ green challenges. It takes time and experience to find relevant and interested businesses. In addition to the collaboration with the 62 businesses, the project managed to establish 34 other project/organisational collaborations with e.g., VIKEN industrial cluster, AMU Center Nordjylland and ECSMV project Ringkøbing Skjern.

Business Cooperation

Greenbizz has had a great focus on establishing good business collaborations. The project showed that it takes a long time to establish a good relationship with the individual business, to uncover possible challenges/potential new green business models or technological initiatives that the business wants to focus on. In this process, the project has therefore run between 1-11 iterative workshops with the individual businesses. In each workshop, work is focused on business model analysis and possible green conversion/green innovation cf. U-model. The businesses participated in an average of 5 business model workshops.

Greenbizz Labs

During the project period, new digital Greenbizz Labs were established in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden with associated tools for green business model analysis and innovation, and where synchronous video recordings from three labs were tested together with students in the Greenbizz camp.
After the completion of the project, Greenbizz Labs in the ØKS area can continue to be used free of charge as hotspots for the green business-municipality/business service collaboration.

Morsø Erhvervsråd, Danmark
Skagens Uddannelses Center (SUC), Danmark
Sotenäs Symbioscentrum, Sverige
Klimatorium Lemvig, Danmark
Halmstad University, Sverige
Høgskolen i Østfold, Norge
AMU Center Nordjylland, Danmark
Business Park Struer, Danmark

Transnational Partner Cooperation

The Greenbizz project has gained great insight into and experience with very different types of green business model business cases through the participating businesses and business service organisations. And the project’s transnational working groups have developed and shared knowledge and experience across borders, e.g., about business analysis using LCA, which especially Norwegian and Swedish businesses focus on. Results of this are shared in published articles and in presentations at conferences. Likewise, 3 transnational Greenbizz camps have given students important insight into and practical experience with businesses’ green transformation and the many challenges that lie in this.