After almost 1.5 years the GREENPACT project is well up and running. Our nine partners from Italy, Croatia, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Germany are working hard on the aim of bringing together different cultures, generations and levels of expertise on the subject of sustainability.
We believe that companies, e.g. from the creative industries or the tourism industry, want to better understand consumer concerns but often do not have access to data or the appropriate skills. To achieve a more sustainable, equitable and greener Europe, connecting industries and young people with a deep passion and understanding for sustainability, is one of the first steps to be taken. We are developing an innovative bottom-up approach where younger and older people work together across countries. So far this includes for instance the development of national and an international roadmap, showing the potential and challenges of sustainability issues in our countries and regions.
As a first concrete action we organised so-called Collaboration Labs, like a Hackathon format, where young people and SMEs worked together and discussed possible solutions for problems and questions. Based on these labs we started with one of our core activities, the Buddy Boosting Training Programs. The program intends to teach different skills related to circular economy, green deal, entrepreneurship, design thinking, user-centred approach and negotiation techniques. This is the innovative part of the project as it also includes experts from related fields and enables an eye-level exchange between many interested parties, stimulating a mindset shift towards sustainable thinking and acting.
Though based on a common structure all regions adapted the training program to their needs and conditions: Our Croatian partners successfully completed a training cohort sign–up with a wide age range and are adjusting the program duration due to summertime challenges; our Italian partners focused in their 8–week long training program on circular economy concepts and business model development. In the Czech Republic a need to raise awareness about circular economy among companies was identified, their Buddy Training program focuses on helping Gen Z participants to better understand the tourism sector. The Slovakian partners organised a successful Greenpact Ideation event where students collaborated on solutions for a packaging challenge presented by a local SME. In Germany the partners from Stuttgart Region initiated a program with seven online sessions and three onsite events, covering content for the Creative Industries, e.g. on Eco Business Models and canvasses, Green Coding, Bio Economy, CSRD or information on local and regional sustainability networks and actions.
After every region finishes and evaluates the ongoing programs we will start planning on Round 2, taking experiences and results into account. Of course, what will be very interesting to see how the first international study visit and fair in autumn will be going! The consortium and some of the participants of the regional training program is invited to Rijeka in Croatia where we will address our common experiences and co-create innovation with transnational buddies.
So, this will keep us busy for the rest of the year and for next year there will be another challenge: Our aim for the third and last project year is to develop a self-assessment and certification scheme for SMEs from the creative industries and tourism sector. This scheme will allow for enterprises to evaluate their own impact in an easy, digital way and receive a certificate for being on the right track towards a greener company.
We are happy to keep you updated on our actions and news! If you are interested in our results or want to participate in any way please contact us @ fasulo@hdm-stuttgart.de or margit.wolf@region-stuttgart.de.