News | Wednesday, 6th December 2023
University awarded for helping businesses to be more sustainable
ECO-I NW programme has supported more than 100 businesses
A business support programme helping businesses to access innovative technologies and adopt low carbon business solutions has been awarded by a leading industry body.
The ECO-I North West (NW) programme was named as ‘Net Zero Collaboration of the Year’ at the 2023 PraxisAuril Knowledge Exchange Awards.
The programme brings Manchester Met together with five other North West universities to help businesses develop new products and services, adopt a future-ready business model, and reduce the carbon footprint of their operations.
It has already supported over 100 businesses and the implementation of 31 new-to-firm innovations, resulting in thousands of tonnes of carbon savings.
Chris Taylor, Reader in the Centre for Enterprise at Manchester Met, said: “This award is a fantastic recognition of the impact of collaborations between the SME community and academia.
“Bringing innovations to life through knowledge exchange and enabling the identification and adoption of new business models, the Eco-I NW programme has allowed organisations to realise their ambitions to become more sustainable and future proof their business.”
The ERDF funded Eco-I NW programme took business representatives through a series of knowledge exchange workshops to support their journey to Net Zero.
Participants learnt about climate science, risks, sustainable futures, assessed business impacts and strategised transformative interventions.
Organised by the UK’s professional association for knowledge exchange practitioners, the PraxisAuril KE Awards celebrate the many individuals and teams that create sustained impact from the UK’s world-class research base with a diverse range of partners and programmes.
The full details of the awards and list of winners is available online.
