'EuroCharity Yearbook 2012/13 - Innovation for Excellence' Presented in Athens, Greece - Jul 05, 2013

ATHENS, Jul. 05 /CSRwire/ - The"EuroCharity Yearbook 2012/13 – Innovation for Excellence," was officially presented at a special event held at PLOTO - floating multifunctional venue, Marina Flisvos, on July 3, a few days after the global presentation at the European Parliament in Brussels. The event was attended by EuroCharity members, corporate leaders, academia and other stakeholders.

Mr. Michael Spanos, Managing Partner, EuroCharity, in his welcoming address highlighted some of the research and content of the sixth EuroCharity Yearbook.

Mr. Nikitas Konstantellos, CEO, ICAP Group and President of the Greek Association of Chief Executive Officers, referred to the need for Greek enterprises to encourage innovation, despite the economic challenges and also to the findings of a special research . Sandra Zafirakopoulou, Head of Communications & Marketing, ICAP Group, presented the key findings of a research regarding innovation in Greece, conducted by EuroCharity and ICAP in 135 companies from which more than half of with turnover from EUR 20m to more than EUR 100m. According to the research, Innovation in Greece:

• usually refers to Technology and Communication,
• is mostly funded privately,
• has a positive impact on Revenues,
• seems like it doesn’t “need” a dedicated department or person to generate and grow,
• is mostly communicated via events.

Dr. George Ioannou, Director, MBA International Program, Athens University of Economics & Business, spoke about e-innovation in business schools and the cutting edge curriculum and training on e-skills by MBA International.

Mrs. Litsa Panagiotopoulou, Chair of the Innovation, Education, Entrepreneurship Committee, Partner, Boston Hamilton, highlighted the link between innovation and entrepreneurship.

Finally, Mr. Theodoros Nikolakopoulos, Electrical Engineer, Organery described a new approach to recycling that combines intelligent composting bins and gamification to transform and broaden organic waste management.

Before closing the event, Mr. Michael Spanos shared with the audience important news regarding EuroCharity: the second Sustainability Forum that will take place in October 4, 2013, at the ALBA Graduate Business School premises in Athens (sustainabilityforum.gr) and the rebranding of EuroCharity that will be completed and officially presented this fall. Mr. Spanos quoted: “We hope that our new corporate identity will constitute an essential tool, better reflect our work and provide inspiration for the provision of high-level services to our members and stakeholders.”

MBA International was the official supporter of the event while among communication sponsors were: Naftemporiki, CSR Review, Direction Publishing Group, Marketing Week, Daily Fax, Plant Management, Energy World, Think+, naftemporiki.gr, CSRnews.gr, energyonline.gr and CSRwire.com. Audio sponsor was Music Vibes.

About EuroCharity – The reference point for sustainability
Established in 2006, EuroCharity maintains offices in Athens and Brussels. It is a rapidly-expanding family of members and offers innovative on-line and off-line services to 470+ members from the corporate, financial, public, third and academic sectors. The firm owns and daily updates the carbon neutral Web portal www.eurocharity.eu that acts as a reference point for sustainability. EuroCharity also publishes a multi-stakeholder Yearbook, two comprehensive fortnightly e-newsletters, facilitates networking among members (M2M), organises events and the Sustainability Forum, a training, networking and professional development event. www.eurocharity.eu.