SMART - Sustainable Market Actors for Responsible Trade
The Sustainable Market Actors for Responsible Trade project is an Horizon 2020 project funded by the European Union. CICERO contributes with research on hotspot analysis and dissemination and stakeholder engagement.
SMART analyses the regulatory complexity within which European market actors operate. With a focus especially on international supply chains of products sold in Europe, the aim is to find out what prevents and what promotes a shift towards sustainable development. How can we achieve global development goals, without destroying the very basis of our existence?
Addressing the grand challenges of our time
Global economic development has been a world changing phenomenon, bringing immense benefits and opportunities. Simultaneously, the impacts of climate change and global loss of natural habitat is becoming far too evident. This makes scientific inquiry that can contribute to a global sustainable development within a circular, low-emission economy urgent. SMART does just that: looks at how business can be compatible with planetary boundaries and in line with international development goals.
Our objective: sustainable development
The objective of SMART is to significantly advance the understanding of how non-development policies and regulations aimed at private and public market actors contribute to or undermine development policies. We define sustainable development as ‘development that meets the needs of the present while safeguarding Earth’s life-support system, on which the welfare of current and future generations depends’ (Griggs et al, Nature, 2013).
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SMART work
The SMART Project will run for four years from 1 March 2016. It is a cross-disciplinary, multi-national research project involving 25 research institutions and more than 50 researchers from various parts of the world, and is part of the Research Group Companies, Markets, Society and the Environment.
SMART consists of six Work Packages: A Project Management Work Package, a Work Package on Dissemination and Public Engagement, and four interrelated Research Work Packages. The Research Work Packages will together identify the factors that will enable businesses and other market actors to realise their unfulfilled potential to contribute in their own creative and innovative ways to development-friendly, environmentally and socially sustainable business, trade and investment.
For more information on SMART contact CICERO Project Manager Iselin Rønningsbakk or visit the SMART website
