The principles of sustainability policies: European Green Deal Project.

The European Union is committed decisively and with a single voice with policies on the environment, sustainability that allow a long-term inclusive ecological transition and that covers each of the sectors of the economy.

Europe is pursuing a change in the comprehensive economic model, and for this, policies aimed at developing new growth strategies that encompass all the basic components of the economic structure are required by member states.

The European Commission through its President, Ursula von der Leyen, has presented an inclusive program to address current problems and challenges related to climate and the environment, the name of her, European Green Deal

Already in March 2020, the Commission promoted an action plan aimed at the development of the transformation in the industrial strategy for companies in order to carry out a change in environmental and digitization issues that leads to achieving the objectives of the Green Deal.

The European Green Deal is the European respond to these new challenges. The transformation of the European Union into a society with a more competitive economy where net zero greenhouse gas emissions it is expected to be achieved by 2050.

This infographic represents various elements that define and serve as the basis for the development of EU Green Deal policies.

European Green Deal supports funding for European startups.

The European Horizon 2020 program is the most extensive and innovative research platform with a budget of € 80 available for seven years (2014-2020). This program is an ideal instrument to transfer ideas and projects to the business market. It is also designed for new startups and small companies.

Within the Horizon 2020 program, the highlights of the  development of the EIC accelerator[i], a tool created with the purpose of supporting and connecting innovators entrepreneurs and small companies with the business community and wish to develop new high-risk projects. The selected companies receive professional assistance and guidance in order to develop their business ideas with guarantee of success. Thus, the acceleration services facilitate the creation of professional networks, increasing the possibility of new business opportunities and increasing the development of the business plan in a more efficient and reliable way.

Another initiative promoted by the European Union is the creation of StatUp Europe[ii]. Its purpose is to increase and strengthen networking opportunities, accelerating the development of SartUps based on technology and environment.

The application of this European policy needs the support of the member states launching and promoting of an effective policy at the local, regional and national level. To this end, it is necessary to apply initiatives in specific matters such as the creation of easy and agile processes for the development of start-ups, facilitating expansion throughout the countries of the European Union and increasing access to financing.

Nowadays, it is a reality that European Startups have more agile and easy elements to develop and seek business opportunities within the European framework. So we can highlight as a differential factor the ability of Startups to change and adapt to the situation of the market and in seeking long-term solutions for new lines of business in a flexible and agile way.

The new world situation due to COVID-19 has encouraged teleworking and for this, companies have had to develop new ways of boosting infrastructure based on the development and application of new technological tools that help to establish new companies in the European market .

Startups are facing a new European reality, the dynamics of work and professional relations are now more transparent, with an increase in companies with a clear character of being more open, inclusive, well-adjusted and social. In addition, the use of clean energy, resource management, social inclusion policy, gender equality, are aspects that are increasingly present in European startups.

Investors seek the European market these types of companies to focus their equity investment on certain activities that pursue development in areas with positive environmental or social impact, such as renewable energies.

Therefore, companies that lead both digital and sustainable practices are more likely to belong to the group so called “leaders of tomorrow”, thus having a better chance of recovering faster and will emerge stronger from the crisis.

Therefore, two key elements are essential for a startup: technological and environmental development. This was stated by the CEO of Accenture in Europe, Jean-Marc Ollagnier, on the occasion of the last virtual World Economic Forum 2021: “the way in which European companies manage the digital transformation and the sustainable transition will determine how quickly they will recover of the crisis and how they will be positioned to maintain sustained growth in the world after the pandemic”.

Digitization also plays a relevant role in the virtual meeting of 2021. According to the study "The European Double Up: A twin strategy that will strengthen competitiveness", drawn up by Accenture, almost half of Spanish companies (45%) are prioritizing investment in digital transformation and sustainability, a figure that is very similar to the average for European companies.

In the presentation, some data was released showing the interest that IT development arouses in Spain, 36% of those surveyed plans to make big investments in artificial intelligence (AI) and 32% in the cloud and on the other hand, an estimated 29% are rebalancing their investments to focus more on sustainable business models.

Status Quo is not an option

The European Green Deal signifies a deep transformation of the European Economic Model. To that end, it is necessary to promote a new concept of clean and circular economy where starups play a fundamental role.

It is well known that an overwhelming majority of Europeans consider the protection of the environment is important (95%). Almost 8 in 10 Europeans (77%) say that protecting the environment can boost economic growth.

To do this, promoting an economic globalization to make it more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial for all are the aspects that European startups must take care of in order to achieve their positioning and meet the objectives pursued.

[i] EIC Accelerator: https://ec.europa.eu/easme/en/section/sme-instrument/eic-accelerator-funding-opportunities

[ii] StartUp Europe: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/startup-europe

[i]Source: European Comission: https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/european-green-deal-communication_en.pdf