A team of five students from Romania and Norway proposed an idea of a smart application within a competition of projects for sustainability, which helps companies to improve their products through feedback obtained directly from consumers, using a system of QR codes accessible to all smartphones and also to check whether the products provided by them are environmentally friendly.

Students have thought that the main functionality of the application should allow companies to receive personalized feedback from consumers, depending on the field of activity and the products offered and then, based on this information, company representatives could contact specialists to see how they can improve their products in order to protect the environment and to reduce waste resulting from their operations.

The idea Feedback for the Future, which helps companies to monitor their impact on the environment, was declared the winner during the bilateral educational event Greenovation Camp, held from 30th of March to 1st of April in Bucharest, and which involved 32 Romanian and Norwegian high school students.

For three days, the students participated in sessions during which volunteer consultants have presented case studies and best practice examples to inspire them in solving the challenge of the competition, they were involved in trainings on various topics to support them improve knowledge about the link between resources, environment and sustainability and to develop leadership, creativity, teamwork, communication and presentation skills and they have worked on projects, receiving feedback and recommendations for improvement.

Also, the young participants proposed with the help of volunteers communication strategies to promote the application for attracting a large number of users and to persuade managers of companies to invest in the implementation of actions and projects with a positive impact on the environment and community.

Finally, the 6 participating teams presented their proposals for applications in front of a jury composed of representatives of the partner organizations in the project - Junior Achievement Romania, Ungt Entreprenørskap and Romontana Association and of volunteer experts on issues of sustainable development.

"The project Greenovation Challenge helped me to realize that we can find solutions to problems in society even if we are not adults and that success requires work, through active involvement and ideas by combining and improving team members. The involvement in Greenovation Camp was a unique experience where I improved my leadership, communication, presentation, teamwork skills, and that I hope to have the opportunity to repeat it in the future." - confessed Corina Micu, student at National College of Informatics from Piatra Neamt, a member of the winning team.

The bilateral educational event Greenovation Camp is part of the environmental education project Greenovation Challenge: developing skills of young people for innovation in sustainable development,  implemented by JA Romania, in partnership with Ungt Entreprenørskap Sogn og Fjordane (Norway) and the National Association for Rural Mountain Development Romontana.

"The main coordinates on which was run the project Greenovation Challenge are represented by thinking proactively in order to identify sustainable solutions to various problems identified in mountain areas and concrete initiatives, logical and simple to be put into practice by students from participating high schools, becoming in this way some thing more than solutions for certain needs and getting the value of a symbol. This process was facilitated by networking, proving once again the decisive role of dialogue as a facilitator for shaping sustainable communities. We are glad that we could contribute to the success of this project and to form sustainable attitudes among the younger generation." - said Andrei Coca volunteer consultant from the Romontana Association, partner of the project.

Greenovation Challenge project involved, between 2014-2016, more than 950 students and 50 high school teachers in the mountainous regions from Romania and Norway, who took part in educational activities on smart and sustainable management of resources, learned how to involve the community to solve environmental issues and how they can gain knowledge and skills for a future career in environmental protection.
The students were also involved within the competition for innovation in environmental sustainability, creating 100 proposals for sustainable development and implementing communication campaigns to mobilize community members and persuade local authorities to support or implement their ideas.

The project Greenovation Challenge was financed by the EEA grants 2009 – 2014, through the NGO Fund in Romania. For official information on the EEA and Norway grants visit www.eeagrants.org