Green Turn

Each year, we have more than 90 000 tonnes of food waste while nearly 300 000 people do not have access to quality food. 

It would make sense to first of all avoid food waste altogether. If there is a risk of waste, we should have a system of distributing the food for consumption before it goes to waste. 

The goal should be to maximise the amount of food saved and made available to those in need. If we can do that, then a systemic error may be erased on the path to the better managing of food. 

• A large proportion of edible food will be distributed to those in need, diminishing the risk of food poverty. This helps us contribute to UN SDG 12.3. 
• The circulation of food will be community-centric, the supply chains will become shorter and more sustainable. There will be preference for business models that combine value added with environmental impact. 

• By the end of 2021, we will have validated and piloted a model that will decrease food wastage in different steps of the value chain and enhances the redistribution of fresh food. 
• Together with at least 10 local municipalities, some solutions will have been tested to figure out the core reasons why added value in the food industry is not higher than currently. 
• By the end of 2021, we will have learned, what keeps business models with a short supply chain and healthy food from being more widely available. A pilot has been run to test some first ideas to solve the challenge. 

• A city-based circulation of food: a number of city based experiments to change different aspects of the value chain. The expectation is these are scalable. 
• Nudge societal thinking: there should be less stigmatisation of circulating information about excess food and an open discussion about how to operationalise exchange of information between market participants. Use of secondary material should become new business opportunities.  
• The use of excess food should follow the logic of a cascade effect where business models with more value added and lower environmental effect are preferred first. 
• Monitoring of existing technologies and applying them as fast as possible for quick wins. For this to happen, some of the barriers keeping companies for using these technologies need to be hacked and removed. 
• One could begin by including stakeholders in new ways and helping them utilise new technologies as fast as possible. These stakeholders could provide a critical mass for a wider change in the society. 
• Quick wins could also come where the government is ready to procure new solutions as soon as possible and execute the results quickly. 

The development of this policy is scattered and there is no holistic view of bioeconomy in Estonia. The position of the sector is much weaker than carbon-heavy sectors, which means the market entry barrier is very high for bio-based products and services.

Many useful and well-developed R&D solutions have been not applied yet, because the stimuli for companies to adopt them is missing. We lack a strong push that would enable the private sector to use bio-based materials instead of fossil-based materials. There is also a role of consumer interest and demand for different products. 

• We shall move from a fossil-based model to a bio-based model of economy. 
• There will be principal changes in the structure of the economy as well as consumer habits. 
• The value added of bioeconomy companies in Estonia will be higher than the EU average.

• By the end of 2021, we have mapped a critical amount of changes needed to jumpstart bioeconomy and a number of changes that would allow new business models to emerge. 
• By the end of 2021, we will have laid the baseline for a sustainable bioproduct standard and tested it in 5 different industries. 
• At least 10 companies will have tested the standard by developing new business models and bio-based products.

• Lay the basis for a standard that defines a bio-based product and enables to measure production. Do it so it would be scalable across the EU. 

• Create a clear standard for bio-based products that would stimulate the transition to bio-based materials, would create a different value proposition and have an effect on demand. 

• Together with R&D organisations develop and test biomaterials and bioproducts in different companies, including to replace non-renewable materials. 

• Create an overview of existing technologies that could be rapidly applied for quick wins. Figure out the barriers why these have not been adopted and remove these barriers.

Among the goals of diminishing CO2 emissions in Estonia is the higher use of renewable energy sources. This is a field of interest that seems to “belong” to a single ministry, but the choices of energy sources are actually scattered around a number of agencies.

• A government fully on green energy could fulfil 5% of our obligations in renewables’ policy and enable investments in the volumes of 50+ million by the private sector. 
• We must create long-term prerequisites for producing energy from renewable sources. 
• The Estonian public sector uses renewable energy sources 100%, produced in Estonia.

• By the end of 2021, we have a validated model that shows different scenarios that enable the transition to green energy. It includes an overview of changes necessarily done by the public sector. 
• By the end of 2021 there will be a pilot with at least 5 local municipalities who are interested in the rapid transition to renewable energy and the investments this could bring to the municipality. 

• A better cooperation between ministries to renew processes of authorisation, analyse a number of process changes needed to accelerate the green turn in aspects related to environmental permits. 
• Test Power Purchase Agreements of 7+ years in length with producers of green energy who can offer stability of production and price. In such a way we can enhance production volumes that could also be used by other large-scale consumers.  
• Analyse the power map of the energetics sector and suggest structural changes that would lead to a quicker leap to renewable energy sources. 
• Compare existing technologies and consider application of those to get quick wins. This includes understanding and removing barriers to adoption of current technologies. 
• For starters, find the quick wins where the government can co-operate the fastest already in 2021. 
• Include local municipalities with interest in green energy development into the discussion as early as possible. 

The circulation of materials could become the norm in the EU, instead of always using raw materials. There is a set of legal stimuli already available and a lot of new stimuli coming from the EU level. Since these have not led to a breakthrough, we must test different ways to create a circular economy model in Estonia and then scale this to other EU countries.

When adopting a circular model of the economy, Estonia will begin with some sources of waste (incl. construction waste, textile, packaging, biowaste) and will accomplish a clear advantage for more investments into the field, an advantage for the reuse of materials and the production of circular economy based new products. 

• By the end of 2021, at least 3 local municipalities in Estonia will have conducted a pilot based on specific sorts of waste. 
• By the end of 2021, a critical mass of legal changes has been described which cumulatively will lead to new investment decisions by producers using principles of circular economy. 
• By the end of 2021, a standard of circular design will have been adopted in Estonia, leading to changes in product design in different industries and decreasing the production of waste. 
• By 2023, more than 20% of singular use plastics will have been replaced by a multiple us system. Throughout Estonia, a solution of multiple use has been applied for food packaging. 
• By 2023, all there will be business models to give extra value to all sorts of biowaste. 

• Focus on particular segments of waste (textile, construction, food, packaging), where a data based understanding of material use can be achieved. Test different stimuli for companies to adopt a circular model of material use. The model should be scalable to countries with a comparable value chain to achieve regional impact and exportable business models. 

• In whichever sector, focus on product design where the choices of materials used are actually made (quality, amount etc) and where they are controllable. 

• Continue what has been done within aE! so far: design legal stimuli for companies to adopt a circular model of production.  

• Monitor existing technologies and how these can be adopted to get quick wins. Figure out and remove the barriers to the adoption of already existing solutions.

The green turn will accelerate if we match it with our current strengths – digital solutions and data analysis. This could have an effect on whichever part of the green turn, e.g. creating a digital infrastructure to enhance bioeconomy, developing environmental or health metrics to be tested, figuring out the environmental footprint of the e-government etc.

• Estonia will be known for piloting clever data based models that explain the green turn. 
• Estonia can quickly create scalable and remarkable competitive edges within the green turn movement. This will reflect in investments operating in Estonia as well as Estonia fulfilling its green promises. 
• The digital turn and data analysis will steer us towards sustainable activities, which incentivise the investors and finance sector to better understand sustainability and launch their capital towards proven sustainability. 
• The companies that have a role in the green turn can follow an effective model to clarify their sustainability and have a better chance of getting investments. 

• By the end of 2021, we will have an overview of public sector capabilities that are missing, but – if achieved – could increase demand for use of data and cooperation with the private sector. 
• By the end of 2021, we should have a number of companies identified with whom partnership is possible and prototypes in development. 
• By the end of 2021, there is a model developed together with the financial sector to assess the sustainability of entrepreneurial projects based on real data. There is initial agreement between the financial sector as well as industries about how to adopt data based decision making when assessing the sustainability of private sector projects. 
• By the end of 2021, we can measure the CO2 footprint on enterprise level, and promote economically viable production in agriculture.