DIGITAL SME is organising the 2021 SBS (Small Business Standards) ICT Forum on 29 September 10.00 – 14.15 CEST to discuss how to empower SMEs to lead ICT standardisation for the twin transition.
The forum will also be live-streamed via YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.
The SBS ICT Forum on ICT standards for SMEs is a platform for discussion about ongoing ICT standardisation activities that are relevant to SMEs. SBS is the voice of European SMEs in standardisation and the Forum takes place every year, addressing divergent topics with the aim to bring in the perspective of SMEs in the ICT standardisation debate.
This year’s SBS ICT Forum will bring together policymakers, standardisation experts and SMEs to discuss
"Empowering SMEs to lead ICT Standardisation for the Twin Transition”
The European Commission puts a great emphasis on the twin transition as the way forward for Europe’s economy. By linking the digital transformation to the green transition, Europe can empower traditional sectors and strengthen its position in the global market. One key aspect of the twin transition that demonstrates the relationship between green and digital is circular economy, as demonstrated by the EC’s Circular Economy Action Plan. The close connection between circular economy and digital transformation is highlighted by both the “Report of the Study Group Circular Economy” prepared by the Multi-Stakeholder Platform on ICT standardisation and the Circular Economy section of the Rolling Plan on ICT Standardisation 2021 that states: “As the term ‘twin transition’ implies, achieving the objectives of a circular economy will go hand-in-hand with the further progressing of the digital transformation”.
One striking example of the importance of ICT standards for circular economy is the digital products passport. Circular business models fundamentally build on the possibility to track products and their origin, composition, repair and dismantling possibilities, and end-of-life handling. A comprehensive understanding of and multi-stakeholder access to these data can only be achieved through standardised data formats and interfaces, making ICT standards a baseline requirement for digital product passports and similar initiatives.
In many sectors, SMEs can use enabling technologies to redesign their processes and become green(er). For that, Europe needs to build on ecosystems and partnerships to manage the twin transition. ICT standards for the support of twin transitions play an important role in building such ecosystems and create synergies for collaboration among different sectors to reach sustainability goals.
During this event, we would like to discuss efforts related to standards for the twin transition and their proximity to SMEs.
AGENDA
10:00 – 10:20 Welcome by DIGITAL SME
10:20 – 11:50 Session 1: European Strategy towards supporting SMEs through the Twin Transition (Moderated by Sebastiano Toffaletti, DIGITAL SME)
- Emilio Davila Gonzalez, European Commission, Head of Sector ICT Standardisation, DG CONNECT
- Maria Grapini, Vice Co-chair Intergroup on Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) (TBC)
- Elisabeth Tuerk , United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), Director
- Andrea Caccia, SBS Expert & Member of the Task Force Rolling Plan on ICT Standardisation
11:50 – 12:05 Coffee break
12:05 – 13:40 Session 2: Standardisation for the Twin Transition (Moderated by Andrea Caccia, SBS)
- Sophie Mueller, European Commission, Acting Head of Unit, Standards Policy, DG Grow
- Elena Santiago Cid, CEN-CENELEC, Director-General
- Margot Dor, ETSI, Director Government Affairs
- Luis Neves, Global Enabling Sustainability Initiative (GeSI), CEO
- Patrick Lynch, Bioledger, CEO
13:40 – 14:05 Q&A
14:05 – 14:15 Closing remarks by Sebastiano Toffaletti, European DIGITAL SME Alliance
-
Date
2021September29
- Time 10:00:00 - 14:15:00