The main objective of the ESG-UP project was to address the training and knowledge gaps of SMEs in sustainability practices to become more competitive and resilient. Through our results and activities, we wanted to achieve the following objectives: - Define Environmental Social and Governance strategies and sustainable development, approaches and concepts, providing comprehensive and applying them to business models - Develop and share tools for the implementation of sustainable business models - Improve the profitability of SMEs and entrepreneurs, helping them to have a clear sustainability agenda, which will make their products and services more likely to attract sustainability-conscious customers, investors and suppliers. - Fostering the transversal and cross-sector collaboration among SMEs to optimise the exchange of best practices and sharing of resources, peer learning and mutual support. - Boosting the alignment of business practices to EU objectives of resilience, competitiveness and sustainable growth. Thanks to ESG-UP, participants were (and will be thanks to our sustainability plan) able to integrate the ESG objectives in their business activities, create an action plan that improves the sustainability of the SMEs
To prepare for the challenges and opportunities of a greener economy, EU SMEs need to use the post-Covid recovery phase to operate drastic changes in their practices. To achieve this transformation, we detected the need for education and training in the Environmental, Social, and Governance fields as part of a holistic full business strategy that enables professionals from cross-sector SMEs to develop better sustainable practices. The ESG-UP project proposal was designed to answer the need observed by partners of better-accompanying SMEs in implementing Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) strategies. It was focused on SMEs, their CEOs and workers of the departments related to the company's sustainability and environment policy, corporate social responsibility, human resources, and all those with the capacity to change the focus of the company's activity, making it more sustainable and committed to the environment. ESG-UP project helps them with operational training tools that enable them to implement and deliver an ESG strategy and measure results, supporting the planned approaches of the SMEs regarding environmental sustainability.