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GREENPACT

Project overview

Futurepreneurs and SMEs for a sustainable Central Europe | Certification Scheme

Futurepreneurs are professionals that are driven by purpose and impact. They take on societal challenges and climate change with an entrepreneurial mindset and want to improve our lives. The GREENPACT project set up partnerships between companies and futurepreneurs. The aim was to develop a certification scheme for a new generation of impact-driven top executives. To this end, the project developed joint action plans, pilot actions and a self-assessment tool.

1,78m €

Project Budget

80%

of the Budget is funded by ERDF

Layer 1

5

Countries

6

Regions

9

Partners

1

Pilots

Duration

Start date

End date

Project progress

100%

Project partnership

Project partners

Deutschland (DE)

Lead partner

Stuttgart Media University

Startup Center
Address
Nobelstr. 10
740569 Stuttgart
Country
Germany (DE)
Web
https://www.hdm-stuttgart.de/en

Project partner

Creative industries
Address
Nobelstr. 10
70569 Stuttgart
Country
Germany (DE)
Web
https://wrs.region-stuttgart.de
Total partner budget
178,500 €
International Area
Address
Via Ansuino da Forlì 64/a
35134 Padova
Country
Italy (IT)
Web
http://www.enaip.veneto.it
Total partner budget
265,175 €
Human Capital, Culture and EU Programming Area
Address
Venezia Cannaregio 23
30121 Venezia
Country
Italy (IT)
Web
http://www.regione.veneto.it
Total partner budget
129,950 €
Address
Radmile Matejčić 10
51000 Rijeka
Country
Croatia (HR)
Web
https://www.step.uniri.hr/
Total partner budget
233,780 €
Department of entrepreneurship
Address
Korzo 16
51000 Rijeka
Country
Croatia (HR)
Web
www.rijeka.hr
Total partner budget
152,320 €
Address
Na Florenci 2116/15
11000 Prague
Country
Czechia (CZ)
Web
www.komora.cz
Total partner budget
140,000 €
Department of Corporate Strategy
Address
Nemanická 436/7
370 10 České Budějovice
Country
Czechia (CZ)
Web
http://www.vstecb.cz/
Total partner budget
161,000 €
Faculty of Business management
Address
Dolnozemská cesta 1
85235 Bratislava
Country
Slovakia (SK)
Web
www.euba.sk
Total partner budget
207,200 €

Roadmap

1

THE CHALLENGE

Photo by Mohamed Hassan on Pixabay

The Culture and Creative Industries (CCI) and Tourism sector are often struggling with a lack of knowledge and resources about how to adopt greener, circular, and sustainable practices and how to be perceived as such. At the same time it was obvious that established businesses can benefit from the passion and fresh ideas of younger generations. GREENPACT’s primary aim was to bridge this generational gap and to foster stronger connections between entrepreneurs and the younger generation, often called "Gen F".

2

THE SPECIFIC PROBLEM

Photo by Clker-Free-Vector-Images on Pixabay

While international and European certification programs exist, they often fall short in addressing the unique needs and challenges of the CCI and Tourism sector, many times leaving businesses unsure how to truly embrace green, circular, and sustainable practices. GREENPACT recognized the need to dive deeper: understanding the knowledge gaps between young people and companies when it came to sustainable and circular economies. On top of that, it was clear that better communication and learning tools were essential to foster stronger collaboration among all partners involved.

3

THE MAIN IDEA

Photo by One Click Group UK on flickr

What if representatives of a younger age are included to co-develop those certification schemes with players from the CCI and Tourism sector? What if GREENPACT manages to integrate Gen F in the development of a solution in the different partner regions, to enable co-creation and close collaboration with SMEs? What if young people and business meet and work together, profiting from their different perspectives and ideas?

4

THE SOLUTION

Photo by OpenClipart-Vectors on Pixabay

The creation of an EU certification scheme for the CCI and Tourism sector! GREENPACT had the idea to come up with a platform for open exchange on circular economy for CCI & Tourism sector, tools for application and a self-assessment tool. Of course there was no point in “re-inventing the wheel” but rather make use of existing solutions and examples of other companies and stakeholders. The project consortium was asked to do some research in the respective countries and regions on which certificates, initiatives and projects already existed to get a picture of what is already out there and then develop a solution suitable for everybody.

5

HOW IT WORKED – 1

Photo by Vector Gallery on Pixabay

After the initial research phase the first step was to identify SMEs from the CCI and Tourism sector in need of change and with concrete challenges, as well as Gen F representatives aka young people who wanted to collaborate and inspire those SMEs. GREENPACT supported the creation of ideas at regional Collaboration Labs where mixed teams jointly worked on challenges and possible solutions. The insights gathered here were included in the development of the training programs which followed.

6

HOW IT WORKED – 2

Photo by Mohamed Hassan on Pixabay

The next step was to connect and train representatives of SMEs and Gen F in all partner regions through intensive boosting buddy training programs. These programs lasted over the course of several weeks, took place online and in person, and included external experts to give insights into various aspects of sustainability and circular economy, with a focus on the CCI and tourism industry. The participating SMEs came up with challenges on sustainability from their enterprises and daily routines in order for the young participants to discuss and develop solutions.

7

HOW IT WORKED – 3

Photo by GraphicMama-team on Pixabay

The third and final step for the project consortium was to collaboratively develop a self-assessment tool that supports SMEs getting certified as green actors. A “sustainability toolbox” for SMEs from the CCI and Tourism sector was set up to assist in the certification and the long-term realisation of the determined factors. GREENPACT wanted to ensure that the key solutions will be applied by the SMEs also after the project lifetime.

8

PROOF / CREDIBILITY

Photo by Stefan Schweihofer on Pixabay

During the project’s lifetime, the Europe-wide certification scheme and self-assessment tool was already helping many SMEs from the five partner countries becoming and acting more green, circular and sustainable during the project and ideally even more afterwards.

9

LONG-LASTING VISION / IMPACT

Photo by Clark Tibbs on Unsplash

The long-term mission of this project was and still is to make the EU economy more sustainable and independent and empower citizens and enterprises with essential skills to improve the quality of life in Europe. The certification scheme and toolbox were developed with the thought in mind that everything should be easy to understand and applied, and also easily transferable to other industries than the CCI and Tourism, being used as a blueprint.

10

BRAND

Photo by GREENPACT

GREENPACT and “GREENPACT YOUR IMPACT” have established the certification scheme and toolbox as a brand which stands for a sustainable and conscious European economic environment. All achievements, tools, results and outcomes have been collected and published in our final project booklet.

News

Events

Pilot actions

Outputs

Photo: GREENPACT

The GREENPACT Map

A regional analysis looks at what is already offered and what is needed in the areas of Circular Economy and Impact Entrepreneurship. Based on this, a map of important local actors and key influencers was created and was used to design a joint international survey. The goal of the survey was to identify the main building blocks of the GREENPACT strategy. The focus has been on making the project sustainable in the long term, using the results effectively, and turning action plans into real steps.
Type of output: Strategies and action plans
Photo: Making action plan by Marco Verch under Creative Commons 2.0

GREENPACT Transnational Action Plan

This Output, the "GREENPACT Transnational Action Plan", was developed to help target economic operators and capacity-building agents make better use of all project results and to identify synergies with RIS3 strategies. Therefore this Output contributes to a lasting impact of the project.
Type of output: Strategies and action plans
Photo: GREENPACT

Transnationally co-created GREENPACT collaboration labs and buddy boosting training programs

This output shows the development of a framework for the two main project tools: the GREENPACT Collaboration Lab, a practical framework for designing and implementing two-day regional and transnational co-creation events, and the GREENPACT Boosting Buddy Training Program, a three-month capacity-building and peer-learning process, turning ideas into actionable and potentially scalable solutions. Together, these tools form a comprehensive innovation pathway that starts with problem discovery and ideation, continues with structured entrepreneurial skill-building and solution development, and ends in knowledge exchange and scaling opportunities during the International Collaboration Lab.
Type of output: Solutions
Photo: WRS

Jointly developed, evaluated and elaborated pilot action bottom-up approaches for SMEs from the CCI and tourism industry

A new solution was developed using local experiences, such as collaboration labs and training programs. With this Output the solution was tested, improved, and finally completed. The aim was to support cooperation across generations and sectors. It encourages a fresh, bottom-up approach that focuses on sustainability and meaningful impact in business and policymaking. This approach helps close the gap between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the next generation of entrepreneurs (GenF). By improving their understanding of customer needs and behaviour, both groups will benefit. In the end, SMEs will become more competitive, and GenF will develop stronger entrepreneurial skills.
Type of output: Strategies and action plans
Photo taken by Aney, 2006-03-11, GFDL. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Handy GREENPACT: Impactful and green toolbox for SMEs from CCI and tourism

The main solution contributing to this Output is the „GREENPACT business and industry competence pack and implementation toolbox". It was tested and finalized during pilot actions Collaboration Labs and Training Programs. It serves as a solution for SMEs and futurepreneurs towards sustainable, green and impactful leadership. In addition, this Output also includes the self-assessment certification scheme and the Influencer Toolkit.
Type of output: Solutions
Certificate by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Pix4free.org

GREENPACT certification scheme

The main solution of this output is the transnational development of a digital self-assessment tool, designed for a certification scheme. This tool was tested during the pilot activities, then evaluated and later shared with a wider audience. The tool not only supports the dissemination of GREENPACT but also helps improve employee qualifications and make key skills more accessible.
Type of output: Solutions

Project documents

GREENPACT

The project lead partner is responsible for the content of this project website.

Project on social media

Project Contacts

Project Manager

Viktoria Heinzel
Phone: +4971189233268

Finance Manager

Harmut Rösch
Phone: +4971189232118

Communication Manager

Margit Wolf
Phone: +49 7112283522