This short guide explains the concept of material efficiency and how SMEs can benefit from it, including links to Ademe resources, good practices, support programmes, information sources, etc. Ademe supports companies wishing to act with tools and financing adapted to their needs, as well as through partnerships with consular chambers and professional organisations.

This freely available web-based self-assessment tool is designed to assist textile processing companies in evaluating their water footprint in manufacturing processes. It aims to provide a quick overview, based on estimated, calculated or measured data, about the produces and production specific consumption of water. Getting the results, the company is able to compare with benchmarks, and priorise options for improvements and innovation in water management.

The Sustainable Energy Authority Ireland (SEAI) supports Irish SMEs through their Advice Mentoring and Assessment Programme (AMA). It provides one-to-one advice and mentoring with a specialist energy advisor at no cost to the firm. This service begins with a one-day or half-day site assessment, followed by a written report with specific suggestions for energy savings, plus 90 days of follow-up support and mentoring. Installation of smart meters for electricity, water and gas are often important components of energy business plans developed under the programme.

The Innovation, Technology and Circular Economy Fund (FITEC) finances collaborative projects centred on supporting knowledge transfer between universities, companies and technology centres. Target areas for funding include energy efficiency and the circular economy. The Fund is a joint effort of three ministries responsible for the economy, science and environment, and is managed by the Portuguese financial institution for development (IFD).

Total budget of the fund: € 15 million for the year 2017.

Eco.nomia is an online portal by the Portuguese Ministry of  Environment supporting the circular economy. The portal's mission is to be a knowledge repository, disseminate information, develop case studies, and to finance public institutions, companies and consumers working on circular economy projects. It also aims to facilitate interaction among interested parties.

The aim of the guide is to provide SMEs with an orientation in approaches to maximize positive and reduce the negative impacts of business - i.e. to achieve eco-efficiency. The guide provides simple procedures to identify where the company has a potential for the greatest savings and other improvements, and which tools can be the most effective to implement. The recommendations in the guide are based on the experience of implementing eco-efficient practices in a number of SMEs. The guide also shows how to implement the procedures on the model enterprise.

Re:Source is a strategic research platform financed by the Swedish Energy Agency. It finances projects in the field of remanufacturing, re-use and recycling. Both research-oriented stakeholders and companies can participate. The starting point is waste or byproducts. The project targets new technologies and services as well as system solutions, energy recovery, biological treatment, and business and organisational models.

The programme runs from 2016 to 2019 with the total allocation of SEK 150 million (~€ 15 million).

Formas, the Swedish Research Council, publishes a yearly open call for proposals by researchers in one of three defined priority areas: environment, agricultural sciences, and spatial planning.

There has to be a strong research component (i.e. often universities apply) in this call and a focus on global sustainability goals including climate, water, ecosystems, pollution, food, animals, consumption and production, built environment, cities and countryside, and governance.

Maxumum funding is SEK 9 million (~€ 0.9 million) per project.

 The Energy Technology Product list (ETPL) is a UK government-managed list of energy efficient plant and machinery, such as boilers, electric motors and machinery that qualify for full tax relief. For a product to be on the List, it must meet specific energy-saving or energy-efficiency criteria; this is a part of the Enhanced Capital Allowance (ECA) tax scheme for businesses.

Supported measures: projects directly involved in the circular economy (i.e. demonstrable capital projects and innovative business models)

This fund is the energy-efficiency support service for SMEs in England, Wales and Scotland. It provides direct funded support through energy assessments, training workshops, equipment procurement support and up to £ 5 000 (~€ 5 600) capital contribution per company towards energy-saving equipment purchase.