Forwarding Resgional Sustainable Environmental Hierarchies
The overall objective of the FRESH project is to strengthen development based on sustainable value creation at regional level and to contribute to the implementation of the Environmental Technologies Action Plan (ETAP-COM 38/2004). FRESH is contributing to the 2nd priority area of ETAP, 'driving demand and improving market conditions'. 
Today we are aware that to address sustainable development effectively, we are required to go beyond legal compliance and harm minimization;we need to focus on sustainable value creation. Sustainable value creation occurs when economic growth is secured through sustainable actions. Sustainable value creation thus reconciles long term with short term growth. It is therefore the key to sustainable development. In practice, sustainable value creation is linked to resource productivity and societal values relevant to sustainable development. Resource productivity is linked to innovative solutions. ETAP, through eco-innovation and eco-design, is a powerful tool for accessing sustainable value creation (SVC). Eco design is important because it deals with both technological and social aspects (functionality and differentiation) of products / services.
To strengthen their SVC-based development,regions need to update their sustainable & economic development approaches and enhance their ETAP applications.  
Main sub-objectives of the project are: 
- to benefit from partners' good practices and jointly formulate a transferable model for sustainable value creation; based on this model, to update the regional framework plans and innovation strategies of the partner-regions
- to embed the components of SVC (eco design and eco-innovation) into the regional innovation system; ensure tailored and comprehensive eco-design and eco-innovation applications of sustainable value creation
- to ensure policy coherence between the different levels of regional governance for sustainable value creation 
- to conceptually advance development based on SVC
The project partnership is based on a pre-existing network of 3 partner regions which expanded to 8 regions and 12 partners (FI,IE,IT,PL,RO,UK).The criteria for partners joining the project were (i)existence of good practices in sustainable development and (ii)readiness and competence to improve strategies in the direction of sustainable value creation .

Good practice exchange is the heart of the project.It concentrates on the regional strategies dealing with sustainable value creation;11 good practices are discussed. 
Key results: strengthened sustainable value creation at regional level; improved regional frameworks for sustainable value creation; improved instruments for eco-design and eco-innovation; enhanced regional implementation of ETAP;conceptual advancement of development based on sustainable value creation. 
Main outputs:transferable model of regional SVC-based development integrating the 11GP;updated partner regions' framework programming and reinforced RIS; publications.