News | 22 November 2024
Cardiff Met’s CEIC team has been highly commended as an Innovation Thought Leader in the Innovation Awards 2024.
Laura Steffes, Project Development Co-ordinator, Regional Innovation and Regeneration Centre and CEIC, and right, Rachel Knox, CEIC lecturer and workshop facilitator.
The Innovation Awards recognise, celebrate and reward those companies and organisations dedicated to innovation. Since its inaugural ceremony in 2021, the awards have sold out every year, with a record-breaking number of nominations put forward for 2024.
The Thought Leadership category rewards businesses and organisations that support others to innovate through finance, facilities and inspirational platforms.
Circular Economy Innovation Communities (CEIC) was highly commended for its work in supporting 191 practitioners across 81 organisations in co-producing solutions for net zero and the circular economy. The project has so far created 28 innovations that have saved more than £100,000 and over 2,600kg of CO2 emissions.
A collaborative project between Cardiff Met and Swansea University, CEIC is funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and brings together organisations from all sectors across Wales to create collaborative innovation networks that work towards a more sustainable future.
Since its launch in 2020, CEIC has supported public and third sector organisations in the Cardiff Capital Region and Swansea Bay City Region to develop new service solutions and deliver circular economy benefits. The project’s impact has been celebrated by Welsh Government and documented within 10 peer-reviewed papers, with its success leading to additional funding from Welsh Government and UKSPF.
Commenting on the commendation, Project Director, Dr Gary Walpole said: “We were incredibly pleased to be recognised as an Innovation Thought Leader in the Innovation Awards 2024 as we were up against organisations from across the UK. It’s great that the positive impact we’re having on organisations in Wales is now gaining national recognition.”
Learn more about CEIC and the work it does supporting organisations to move towards net zero, increase efficiency, lower operational costs and encourage innovative thinking.
