GSSC (Green small smart cities)
Green & Small Smart Cities project (GSSC) aims to spread the use of sustainable technological solutions from Europe to less developed regions in the world by supporting the internationalization strategy among European SMEs with cutting edge solutions, complementary technologies and a shared vision on making a better world.
The GSSC consortium combines five highly complementary value chains addressing a very specific market niche: Small Cities. The focus of GSSC project is to benchmark opportunities and needs on growing cities: energy infrastructure, renewable energy solutions, rational use of resources, lack of connectivity, water treatment, access to the internet, implementation of digital solutions, decrease of the carbon footprint among many other vital issues that are already covered in big cities but not in rural and developing areas. GSSC project will support the transfer of knowledge, solutions, products and services to help them meeting the global challenges they are facing worldwide.
The Clusters composing the partnership has been carefully chosen for their great potential to combine solutions on solar energy (SOLARTYS), water (CWP), green technologies (GreenTech) using as key enabling technologies ICT (MCICT) and nanotechnology (NP); and for their individual experience working with their members on internationalization processes. Thus, GSSC project represents more than 400 entities.
A city can be defined as smart when it displays positive performance in three fields: innovation, entrepreneurship and the generation of economic activity, knowledge and talent and finally digital society and economy. These elements have to be built based on a “smart” combination of elements (communications, infrastructure, economic development and on purposeful and independent citizen activities (participation, education) that make sound management of the available resources through open governance.
On the other hand, government’s agendas are driven more and more by climate change and environmental challenges that are confronting the world. Thus, economic and technological development must provide its fair share of bringing in those aspects in the creation of green products, services and systems. A useful definition is provided by the Malaysian Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water, which defines green technology as “the development and application of products, equipment and systems used to conserve the natural environment and resources, which minimises and reduces the negative impact of human activities”. The implementation of Green Technologies into Smart Cities set the framework of a Green and Smart City.
This project is funded by the COSME Cluster Go International (COS-CLUSINT-2019-3-01), the European Union Programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and SMEs.
The content of this GSSC description represents the views of the author only and is his/her sole responsibility; it cannot be considered to reflect the views of the European Commission and/or the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME) or any other body of the European Union. The European Commission and the Agency do not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains.
