On May 2 the presidents of the province of Tyrol (Austria), and the autonomous provinces of Alto Adige-Sudtirol and Trentino (Italy) signed a protocol in which they agreed that green buildings is an issue of primary importance for future cross-border collaboration between these three provinces. The goal of the accord is to create a virtual meta-cluster in support of green building that will make this Euregio of the "Europe of Regions" the European reference point for the sector.

Starting from the strong and innovative specializations present in the area, the idea is to develop concrete collaboration between companies, research centers and certification laboratories in order to integrate knowledge and competencies. These activities will make the entire area more competitive, while still allowing the three cluster systems to maintain distinct identities and autonomy.

Further ideas for collaboration include industrial and scientific research, marketing through an “umbrella” brand, and eventually joint certification lab.

The concepts under consideration concern scientific and applied research, certification and test laboratories, as well as product marketing through unified, umbrella brand. An informational workshop held at Progetto Manifattura the day following the signing of the accord provided an first opportunity for institutional and economic stakeholders to get acquainted and identify concepts and methods to explore in the coming weeks.