dg ricerca ambientale e sviluppo firms' funding schemes and environmental purposes in the eu...

DG Ricerca Ambientale e Sviluppo

FIRMS' FUNDING SCHEMES AND ENVIRONMENTAL PURPOSES IN THE EU STRUCTURAL FUNDS

(Monitoring of environmental firms’ funding schemes)

EU C.O.R./E.C. DG RegioOPEN DAYS « Managing Regional Development »

Brussels 27-30 September 2004

Francesco BuoncompagniBarbara D’Alessandro

Italian Environmental Authority for EU Structural Funds

Ministero delle Attività Produttive


The survey baseThe objective of harmonizing industrial development with environmental protection is one of the pillars of

the Sustainable Development principle and its implementation is particularly effective if referred to

firms funding schemes where the general objective of fostering the economic development is accompanied by

the idea of preserving the conditions of the natural environment.



Survey’s objectives• investigating how the environmental integration is pursued in order to accomplish EU regulations and CSF provisions

• individuating strengths and weaknesses in the definition and implementation of the sustainability principle in the local industrial development

• spreading the knowledge of best practices for strengthening the system.



How we worked

The analysis regarded all Structural Funds firms’ aids (activated by 31/12/2003) in the Italian Ob.1 Regions.

It took into consideration all firm’s aids and then only those having some environmental integration.

“Environmentally integrated aids” are:

• those having a “direct environmental purpose”; and

• those “integrated with environmental criteria” (indirect)



The environmental criteria

To be considered as “environmentally indirect”, aids require the presence of, at least, one of the following:

1. a selection criteria

2. a priority criteria

3. an admission criteria

Another aspect concerning environmental criteria is:

• the environmental sectors of intervention (PAs choices)



The environmental criteria management

The analysis of the environmental criteria management focused on:

• selection procedures

• monitoring

• inspection

• sanctions



The results

60%

9%31%

DIRECT

INDIRECT

NO ENV. INTEGRATION

Environmental integration

in Ob.1 firms’ funding schemes



The results

60%

40%

0%

Selection

Priority

Admission

Types of environmental criteria



The resultsThe environmental sectors chosen by Ob.1 PA

32%

7%8%13%

7%

12%

13%8%

Env. Certification

Air emissions

Water emissions

Waste

Hazardoussubstances

Water saving

Energy

Imprecise env.Improvement



The results

Environmental criteria management: selecting subjects

42%

49%

9%

PA

Bank

Consultancy firm



The results

•lack/insufficiency of monitoring, inspecting and sanctioning tools;

• strict monitoring of the economic and financial parameters but not for the environmental ones;

• rare control of the environmental declarations and environmental data of the firm, after the selection.

Environmental criteria management:

monitoring, inspecting and sanctioning tools



ConclusionsCriticalities

The most important effort to “green” Structural Funds has been made at the

beginning, i.e. in the programming phase… nevertheless in the further phase of

implementing and of environmental criteria management, environmental

integration appears much weaker and not always effective enough to guarantee

the sustainability of the selected projects.

Ongoing activities

Environmental Authorities and Managing Authorities aim at strengthening the

last part of the process by enhancing/introducing: - the quantification of the improving of environmental performances; - the monitoring of environmental criteria; - the verifying of the results obtained as declared by firms; - the possible checks, inspections and sanctions on environmental aspects.


dg ricerca ambientale e sviluppo firms' funding schemes and environmental purposes in the eu...

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