The ECOPROFIT award

The final act of an ECOPROFIT project is the award that is given to the companies. This award is a strong sign that the company's way of producing is environmental friendly.

The award has to be applied for and renewed every year. To receive this award a company has to fulfil several criteria which are then checked by an independent commission. The company must have:

o        A well prepared waste management system (including existing and planned minimisation measures, input materials).

o        A waste management plan.

o        A legal (environmental) compliance check.

o        A company environmental policy.

o        Documentation of the environmental performance of the previous year.

o        An environmental program for the upcoming year.

o        An environmental review along with special check lists, which consider the major elements of ECOPROFIT (organisational structure, etc.).

The creation of a regional CP-award (ECOPROFIT-award) that is given and administrated yearly by a local or regional authority has turned out to be a very clever strategy to keep a certain momentum in the project and in the companies. As the companies in general are eager to receive the award at the end of the project it is possible to influence the companies to do CP by so called "soft" pressure. The award also helps the project manager to get better commitment from the top management and get higher acceptance amongst the employees. In many cases this regional award helped the companies to demonstrate to clients that they are working in the field of environmental improvement (without, e.g., having ISO 14.000 certification).