European Gold label: – A leading industry cluster in the transition from oil and gas to sustainable business

Energy Valley is awarded a renewal of the European Gold Label certificate with 98 percent score. 

– Receiving the Gold Label is a considerable accomplishment and an international recognition of the work performed by the cluster, says Managing director Preben Strøm and continues:  

– It shows that Energy Valley is compliant with international standards and focuses on the most important and relevant areas to create maximum value for our members. 

The European Cluster Excellence Initiative (ECEI) awards the Gold Label certificate to cluster organizations that receive at least 80 out of a possible 100 points. In addition, for each quality indicator, a specific quality threshold has to be passed. 

Energy Valley’s timeline for the assessment for the Gold Label is as follows:  

2018: Awarded Gold Label with a 93% score  

2021: Awarded Gold Label with a 98% score  

– We are thrilled with achieving such a high score, says Strøm.  

Impressed by the achievements of the cluster  

Every three years, the cluster must undergo a new assessment. Two independent cluster experts assess 31 quality indicators by interviewing the cluster organization team and reviewing documentation to substantiate results, work processes, and roles. 

– The assessors were impressed by the achievements of the cluster since the assessment in 2018. However, as the results were excellent at that time, we had trouble finding weaknesses and clear areas for improvement writes European Cluster Excellence Initiative (ECEI) in the report.   

The assessment report emphasizes Energy Valley’s improvements and changes since 2018. Since then, Energy Valley has changed its name from Subsea Valley to mark the new role as a leading industry cluster in the transition from oil and gas and into the energy sector focusing on renewable and sustainable green business, writes ECEI.  

– Based on the results so far, the convincing plan for expanding the cluster seems quite realistic. This plan matches the national plans to make the Norwegian Economy less dependant on oil and gas and use the competence and technology skills in renewable energy and other sectors as an asset. Energy Valley and some of the other energy clusters have the possibility to be important actors in this considerable transition process and are recognized as such by the Norwegian government.    

ABOUT THE GOLD LABEL:  

The ECEI GOLD Label, “Excel in Cluster Excellence”, acknowledges cluster organizations that demonstrate a high level of cluster management and that wish to further improve their organizational structures and routines for the benefit of even higher performance.  

Cluster management organizations need to meet certain “levels of excellence” in terms of the structure of the cluster, governance, financing, strategy, and services, and recognition in order to qualify for the “Cluster Management Excellence Label Gold.”  

The assessment scheme was developed by the European Cluster Excellence Initiative (ECEI), which – being initiated by the European Commission – gathered 13 organizations from nine European countries, all well experienced in the field of cluster management and cluster policy.  

The scheme’s objective is not only to identify the best cluster management organizations in Europe but also to support the cluster management organizations with advice in the course of the assessment on how to improve further.