This year's Green Alley Award goes to Estonia: the Estonian startup Gelatex Technologies impressed the jury during the live pitch evening held on 17 October. Its alternative to leather made using gelatin has beaten competition from five other startups operating in the circular economy sector.
Mainz, 18 October 2019 - Estonian company Gelatex Technologies wins the Green Alley Award 2019. The winning idea is an alternative to conventional leather produced using gelatin. The jury was particularly impressed by the high level of innovation of the Gelatex Technologies product. The ecological alternative to leather is made using low-value gelatinous waste from the meat and leather industries. The material is produced without the use of toxins and is organic and biodegradable. Thanks to the ability to customize the thickness and texture, Gelatex attracts the interest of the textile and automotive industries.
Jan Patrick Schulz, CEO of Landbell Group, is very satisfied with this year's winner: “We have been organizing the Green Alley Award since 2014 and every year the startup sector gives us truly original circular economy ideas”. Schulz adds: “Again this year, good ideas were presented which gave us great inspiration. We awarded the Green Alley Award to Gelatex Technologies because it developed an eco-friendly alternative to leather - a material widely used in the textile and automotive industries. Making a new product using waste is perfectly in line with the circular economy and therefore worthy of the award. "
Märt-Erik Martens, CTO of Gelatex Technologies, explains the added value offered by their idea of a circular economy: “With Gelatex we want to offer an alternative to leather that is more ecological and also cheaper,” he says. "The Green Alley Award 2019 confirms our green approach: sustainability plays an important role in the circular economy and we are happy to have been able to convince the jury with our idea."
"The Green Alley Award is a significant moment at European level for our organization and we are proud to be part of a group that with initiatives like this contributes to the growth of startups and the spread of the concept of Circular Economy." Alberto Canni Ferrari explains , Country General Manager of the Consorzio Erp Italia, part of the Landbell group “This year the award went to a really very interesting reality and I want to congratulate them. We are also convinced that in Italy there are many worthy young startups who could participate as protagonists in this initiative and we hope that the winner of the 2020 edition can be one of them. Our goal, in fact, is to foster the growth of Italian innovative talents, hoping to support them even more, giving them the opportunity to carry out sustainable projects also thanks to our international platform. "
The Green Alley Award is the first European award for startups promoting the circular economy. Since 2014, Landbell Group has rewarded startups whose ideas help make the sector more sustainable. In 2019, the company received 274 applications from over 30 countries; these are startups that have developed business models in the areas of the digital circular economy, recycling and waste prevention. In September, Landbell Group named six finalists offering biodegradable packaging or green alternatives to conventional materials. “Startups are important players in an industry that increasingly pursues innovation,” says Schulz. "Gelatex Technologies has not only developed an idea but a solution with enormous market potential."
The Green Alley Award includes an 25.000 euro prize and the possibility of developing a crowdfunding campaign with Seedmatch, a partner of the Landbell Group.
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Information on ERP
The European Recycling Platform was founded in 2002 in response to the introduction of the European Union Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). ERP's mission is to ensure efficient and high-quality implementation of the directive, for the benefit of its customers and the environment. In June 2014, ERP joined Landbell Group, an international provider of chemical and environmental compliance consulting and services. ERP and Landbell Group have collected more than 7 million tons of packaging, more than 3 million tons of electronic waste and more than 50.000 tons of portable batteries. ERP is the first and only pan-European producer responsibility organization authorized to operate in Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. By conveying the benefits of multinational recycling operations to customers, ERP has proven to be the most competitive solution for companies in the countries where it operates for WEEE, batteries and packaging compliance, as well as for take-back services.
European Recycling Platform - ERP Italy
The ERP Italia Consortium is a non-profit Collective System, one of the main RAEE Consortia, which is responsible for the management of WEEE (Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment), RPA (Waste from Batteries and Accumulators) and waste from photovoltaic panels on the entire national territory. ERP fulfills the legal obligations of Producers for the management of waste of EEE, Batteries and accumulators for recycling purposes pursuant to the European Directive 2012/19 / EU implemented in Italy with Legislative Decree 49/2014 for EEE and of Legislative Decree 188/2008 for batteries and accumulators. The ERP Italia Consortium is the Italian branch of ERP - European Recycling Platform.