Supporting partners

Competence centre for resource efficient business. The Efficiency Agency NRW (EFA) supports SMEs in North Rhine-Westphalia in the planning and implementation of their individual projects in cleaner production (PIUS). Since its foundation in 1998, in an initiative of the NRW Ministry for the Environment, EFA has been a competent, reliable and neutral partner for SMEs as well as an efficient interface between the economy, science, politics and the public. Throughout its history, it has initiated and accompanied more than 750 projects for increasing efficiency in small and medium-sized enterprises so far. A team of twenty employees in Duisburg and five regional offices in Aachen, Bielefeld, Münster, Siegen and Solingen cooperate with professional partners to make sure that enterprises can make use of the benefits of resource efficient business practices.

www.efanrw.de

demea is commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi) to inform enterprises about the importance and advantages of material efficiency. Furthermore demea supports them to identify conservation potential to increase their profitability and competitiveness.

www.materialeffizienz.de

The Trifolium ? Beratungsgesellschaft in Friedberg/Hessen (foundation in 1996) aims at implementing sustainability strategies in enterprises and organisations. Integrating the divisions ?Science and Research?, ?Consulting? and ?Training? ,Trifolium aims at building a bridge between theory and practice. In the framework of an international network of experts, sustainable instruments and management systems are developed, tested and transferred to be applicable in organisations across a big variety of different sectors. With respect to resource efficiency, the focus is on the analysis and management of internal and external material flows over the different process, company and product levels, including the corresponding (environmental) technologies.

www.trifolium.org

The academy is a ?turntable? for training and qualification measures in the field of corporate and human resources development far beyond the region. Its customers are large and medium-sized enterprises and people who wish to gain additional qualifications. The Academy has accompanied and supported many people in their careers within and independent of enterprises. The high quality of its training and qualification measures is guaranteed and mirrored by its huge network of top-trainers, consultants and coaches. The Academy can count on this expert pool when initiating new projects and program or designing qualification processes.

www.akadel.de

At the initiative of medium-sized enterprises, 21 founding members officially established the ?Club of Wuppertal? on 14th September 2000. The Club?s objectives are to promote sustainability as corporate philosophy and to offer a forum to enterprises for open dialogue with science and politics. In this context, the enterprises focus on pursuing a holistic approach. Holistic meaning: Improving competitiveness and value creation, saving resources and promoting social and ethical behaviour patterns. The Club?s motto is: ?We do not wish to bite the hand that feeds us.? The Club of Wuppertal considers itself as mouthpiece for those enterprises which attempt to engage in sustainable business already as of today: Material and energy savings, safeguarding jobs, innovations, staff training measures, social responsibility and involvement ought to be paid greater attention and ought to be honoured and rewarded much more by politics and the general public. For the participating entrepreneurs, the Club of Wuppertal offers a platform to present their enterprises as innovative and trend setting. This way, the Cub promotes the acceptance and opportunities of its members? products on the market.

www.club-of-wuppertal.org