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Improve Resilience of Industry Sector (LIFE IRIS)
Start date: Sep 15, 2015, End date: Mar 15, 2019 PROJECT  FINISHED 

Background Extreme weather events related to climate change, which directly affect industrial areas, can be extremely damaging for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In the case of flooding, enterprises face potentially large economic losses (e.g. through stoppages to production and damage to equipment and buildings), while heatwaves increase energy consumption and can compromise employees’ well-being. On a wider scale, drought and intense rainfall and run-off can threaten the availability of water and lead to groundwater pollution, respectively. Supply chains can also be affected by climate conditions, and the effects can be widespread due to geographically-dispersed actors. Environmental and social damages could be observed at the end of the supply chain, no matter where along the supply chain the extreme weather events occur. Objectives The main objective of the LIFE IRIS project is to support enterprises in the Emilia-Romagna region, particular SMEs, in their efforts to become more climate-resilient; and to test the effectiveness of the adaptation measures applied through a cluster approach (industrial area and supply chain analysis). The project will focus on: Fostering the diffusion of financial tools aiming to reward resilient enterprises or enterprises belonging to resilient industrial clusters; Promoting adaptation actions in the industry sector, based on an ecosystem approach; Developing green infrastructure and payments for ecosystem services (PES); Strengthening synergies among adaptation measures and other environmental issues, such as floods and droughts, water scarcity, biodiversity conservation, air quality and resource efficiency; Increasing the awareness of industrial and financial operators about the effects (threats and opportunities) of climate change on industrial production; and Defining opportunities for new green products and new green jobs related to the adoption of climate adaptation measures. Expected results: The project will analyse climate change impacts with the involvement of two industrial areas and one supply chain, as well as assisting action plans to implement adaptation measures at industrial and supply chain scale. Moreover, for each action plan at least three sub-actions will be implemented, with at least one sub-action based on an ecosystem approach. Finally, through the development of a web portal illustrating the above-mentioned action plans and adaptation measures, and the evaluation of financial tools rewarding criteria for resilient enterprises, the project expects to achieve: An increase of 25% of industrial surface covered by climate change adaptation measures; A reduction of 50% in particularly vulnerable areas (e.g. involving water management issues); An increase of 10% of industrial buildings adopting climate resilience measures; and Considerable environmental benefits.
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