Acceleration programme for green transition of Micro Businesses, Start-Ups & Self-Enterprises

The StartGreen aimed to support the Micro Business Sector—including self-enterprises and start-ups—on their path toward green transition. These businesses often face trade-offs between environment...

The StartGreen aimed to support the Micro Business Sector—including self-enterprises and start-ups—on their path toward green transition. These businesses often face trade-offs between environmental sustainability and business performance, largely due to uncertainties around eco-innovation, limited resources, and challenges in accessing global markets. The project sought to address key barriers such as technical, demand, and policy uncertainty, which hinder investment in green innovation among micro and small enterprises. To achieve this, StartGreen set out to: -Develop a business benchmarking model based on Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) to provide essential data and insights related to circular economy practices -Create a Green Transition Manual for VET trainers, covering sustainable workplace practices, energy efficiency strategies, EU eco-requirements, and smart green technologies; -Organize business seminars using a presentation and debate format to introduce project deliverables to target groups; -Ensure relevance through three focus group meetings with key stakeholders, aligning outcomes with their real-world needs.

During the preparation phase of the project partners identified needs among startups, micro-businesses, and small enterprises struggling to transition towards more sustainable practices. The primary challenges was the lack of expertise. For small businesses it is difficult to navigate the complex landscape of sustainability, including relevant regulations, best practices, and strategies. Additionally, there was a gap in education and training resources specifically designed to address the needs of startups and micro-businesses. Another critical issue was the lack of accessible tools for measuring, benchmarking, and reporting the impact of sustainability initiatives, an essential part of tracking progress and setting achievable goals. Having these prerequisites, was conceived to address the educational and capacity-building aspects of green transition. The project aimed to provide startups and micro-businesses with training, resources, and innovative approach about the topic. Moreover, the importance of new curriculums for the green approach towards the business is essential and important in today's business world. Partners applied the project in order to support the target group with the necessary resources.

‘Cost-Benefits’ Analysis (CBA) Expert Guide; Business Seminars; Green Transition Manual