On May 9 and 10, 2018, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia, Ljubljana/Slovenia (CCIS) hosted a staff exchange within the MOVECO project. Jana Bieliková from Slovak Business Agency (SBA) / Slovakia visited the CCIS.

The main topics of this staff exchange were:

• Overview of the implementation of circular economy in Slovenia and Slovakia
• Overview about the activities of the CCIS, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia, Ljubljana / Slovenia
• Best practice exchange in the field of circular economy and pilot programmes
• Exchange on virtual market places and circular economy platforms

The CCIS is Slovenia's most influential business association, founded more than 160 years ago. The organization operates a network of 13 regional chambers and represents the interest of about 7,000 member companies from all regions in Slovenia.

CCIS unites under its roof 24 branch associations representing all sectors of Slovenian Economy and has a pool of more than 100 experts and specialists in a broad range of sectors who can provide the support in all regions.

Slovenia prepared a flagship for the transition towards a circular economy and the topic has been included in the country´s Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation (RIS3). Although companies are aware of the concept and see the circular economy as an opportunity, it is still necessary to provide support to ensure full understanding of potential benefits and implementation of the circular economy principles in the companies.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia has a considerable experience in the field of providing training and support services in the environment-related topics, as well as a deep knowledge about the needs and limits that could affect the implementation of circular economy principles in the companies.

While SBA is not focused on provision of support services in this field, as a member of EEN network and being one of the oldest institutions providing support to the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Slovakia, it is also strong in supporting Slovak SMEs.

The staff exchange was an excellent opportunity to learn about each other’s activities, experience and strenghts and thus beneficial for establishing a better collaboration between the MOVECO partners.

For more information on MOVECO, we invite you to visit our website and follow us on social media.

If you want to share your thoughts about circular economy or if you are interested in receiving the MOVECO newsletter twice a year, let us know and send an email to moveco@bayfor.org. 

Twitter: @MOVECO_Interreg

Facebook: @Moveco.Danube

LinkedIn Group: MOVECO - Interreg

(Photo credits: MOVECO project)