SKIFT NEWSLETTER #3 – REVES Network

SKI.F.T. Newsletter #3

**ESG applied by and for micro social economy enterprises – third capacity-building seminar of the European Skills for Transition project (SKI.F.T.)**

Micro and small social economy enterprises from Denmark, Greece, Italy, Poland, Spain and Turkey joined the SKI.F.T. project consortium for its third transnational capacity-building seminar held on 18 February 2025 in Warsaw.

The event had the objective to provide participants with an opportunity

– to deepen knowledge on existing tools supporting green transition of (social economy) enterprises and therewith also

– to discuss possibilities to transform and implement (new) business models, as well as

– to draw inspiration from the sharing of experiences and ideas, learn from each other and create links for future partnerships and exchange.

The specific focus of the event was on ESG. Experts gave the participating social economy enterprises and SKI.F.T. partners a deeper insight into ESG reporting and implementation. Particular attention was paid also to stakeholder identification and involvement, ESG as an opportunity to build new partnerships, as well as to ESG reporting as a tool of communication.

All participating enterprises are beneficiaries of direct financial support from the EU COSME-SMP Programme. They represent (social) cooperatives, associations and small foundations from a diversity of sectors and fields of activity, such as food and retail, education and training, IT, social services, circular economy or research. With the financing they will be able to purchase expert services providing them with the necessary knowledge and expertise to advance in their efforts to make products, services or the operations of their enterprise in general more environmentally sustainable. Projects envisaged by the beneficiary enterprises in this context include the improvement of (ESG) reporting, a revision of business models (e.g. versus better circularity), enhanced capacities to use and develop digital solutions, the revision of stakeholder relationships and creation of new partnerships, or the strengthening of communication skills.

Asked about their motivation to join the SKI.F.T. capacity-building event in Warsaw, many enterprises pointed to the opportunity to learn more about the concrete application of frameworks and tools such as ESG, but also and not at least to the occasion to connect with other micro and small social economy enterprises and use the learnings from this exchange as an inspiration for their own projects.

On the picture: Olga Odziemczyk and Urszula Fila-Kicman

Interview: Green transition – From childhood education to educating local communities

Initially, the main objective of the Foundation for the Development and Education of Children and Youngsters (Fundacja na rzecz Rozwoju oraz Edukacji Dzieci i Młodzieży) has been to promote equal access to education. The protection of the environment is an integral part of this educational offer addressing mainly children. In this context, the Foundation also realised the importance to reach out to parents and, more widely, the local community as a whole. The SKI.F.T. initiative and the support provided by FISE, a social economy support organisation, are providing additional expertise in this endeavour. An interview with Karolina Bazydło- Rossienik and Olga Odziemczyk from the Foundation as well as Urszula Fila-Kicman, FISE.

Karolina and Olga, could you shortly present the foundation?

KBR/OO: The Foundation for the Development and Education of Children and Youngsters (Fundacja na rzecz Rozwoju oraz Edukacji Dzieci i Młodzieży) has been created in 2013 on the initiative of a group of psychologists. Its objective is to support equal opportunities with regard to education. Each child, irrespective his/her background etc. should have equal access to education.

We are active at different levels. Initially the foundation started with the running of kindergartens (one in Warsaw, three others in smaller cities), but on the request of the families we are working with we will now also launch a primary school. Our teams consist of (nursery) school teachers, logopedists, psychologists and psychotherapists.

What was your motivation to become more active regarding green transition and what would you like to achieve in let’s say 2 years time?

KBR/OO: Education should in our view always include awareness-raising and capacity-building with regard to the protection of the environment and green transition in general. And it is easiest to do it with the smallest in our society. However, we think we should also educate the parent generation and others. In some years we would like to be one of the first kindergartens acting as a driver for our region when it comes to mobilising citizens to take action for green transition. We would like to educate the local community as such – for example regarding possibilities to improve waste management, but also on other topics linked to the protection of our planet.

Small steps can sometimes be enough to have a great impact. Here I am thinking for example of one initiative we launched – cooking for elderly and lonely persons based on ecological standards.

We would like to work together with the mayor of our city and jointly organise meetings with the local community in order to define what needs to be changed and how we can do this together.

During Christmas time, for example, we had talked with the mayor to define places where we can find elderly people in need of help and where it would be possible, at the same time, to apply and convey ecological principles and standards.

With little, but continuous steps we can provoke change. In our case it started from the work with children in kindergartens on the topic of green transition. This work made us reflect on how also we as a foundation can change. And now we feel we can take action to change the local community.

Which obstacles have you met so far when it comes to implementing actions leading towards more (environmental) sustainability?

KBR: One of the barriers is financing.

Another significant obstacle not to be underestimated is the lack of ecological mindset and belief in change of many in our local community. Ecology is not yet a priority for many, be they policy-makers or citizens in general.

Which added value does the SKI.F.T. project have in your trajectory towards greater sustainability?

KBR/OO: First of all it has been a great experience, already during the last webinar, to talk with persons in other countries, find inspiration and share ideas.

Moreover, we intend to use the direct financial support we could receive from SKI.F.T. to work with experts which can help us to communicate complex topics in a simpler way, experts that can enrich our knowledge on what and how to change in our everyday habits at different levels.

During the last SKI.F.T. transnational capacity-building seminar in Warsaw you had the occasion to meet SKI.F.T. beneficiary enterprises/organisations from other EU Member States. What are your main take-aways from this encounter – could it provide you with further inspiration and additional knowledge?

KBR/OO: The SKI.F.T. seminar in Warsaw was an inspiring experience, offering the chance to connect with social enterprises from across the EU. It was great to see how different organizations approach similar challenges and to exchange ideas on scaling impact-driven initiatives. The discussions reinforced the importance of collaboration and creative solutions in social entrepreneurship. Learning about best practices from other countries gave us fresh perspectives and practical insights that I hope to implement. We truly appreciate the opportunity to be part of such an exchange and look forward to staying in touch with the network.

Urszula, as an umbrella organisation – one of the biggest related to the social economy in Poland – FISE delivers support for the development of the social economy and NGOs of different size. You are also running a social economy incubator. To what extent has been and is green transition a topic in these activities?

UFC: The Foundation for the Development and Education of Children and Youngsters is one of the beneficiaries of our social innovation incubator and by the way the first organisation that has received the social enterprise status in the current edition of the programme.

Green transition is playing an increasingly important role in our social innovation incubator. Social economy incubators all over Poland are nowadays introducing ESG-related indicators. This is in my view also the result of expectations public authorities have developed in recent years

with regard to the social economy which is now also seen as an actor that can contribute in a significant way to the transition process.

In 2025 FISE will start combining activities more intensively with the green transition topic using experts and expertise we were able to gather also through the SKI.F.T. project. The topic of transition is now appearing in so many projects and programmes – it is sometimes a real challenge for enterprises, in particular micro and small social economy enterprises, to see where it would make most sense to participate, if they find the time. We would like to develop a tailor-made offer for them.

Which added value has the SKI.F.T. project for your organisation?

UFC: Beside providing a lot of inspiration for our own activities as a support organisation the project enabled us to mobilise and acquire expertise and contacts which can now be reused in many other initiatives. In the course of the different activities linked to the SKI.F.T. project I met a number of organisations and persons working on projects linked to the green transition (e.g. social enterprises running energy cooperatives, experts on different aspects of green transition processes from different parts of Poland, …). This allowed us to set up a whole register of relevant experts as well as a repository of green transition-related materials and data.

All this will also enable us to become ourselves experts and a hub of ideas in this area.

On the other hand, external experts we have been in touch with through SKI.F.T. – not all of them familiar with the social economy – have discovered the social economy a bit more and are interested in future cooperation with FISE on the topic and the link to green transition.

Social economy intermediary organisations play an important role in accompanying (small and micro) social economy enterprises in green transition processes. Which inspirations did you draw so far from the exchange with the other SKI.F.T. partners? Which activities would you like to improve or launch in the short and medium term?

UFC: Our priority in FISE is now the further development of our social innovation incubator which is probably our most important and longest endeavour … Here we will introduce ESG among our indicators. In this context we would like to continue and deepen awareness-raising activities and dialogue with social economy enterprises and local authorities on green transition-related aspects. In general we plan to work more with local authorities. To give just one example: We would like to invite the latter, but also social economy enterprises we are working with in SKI.F.T. and through our incubator to join us in study visits to other social economy incubators and social economy enterprises acting as hubs which already apply ESG-related indicators. These incubators/hubs have been set up in cooperation between the social economy and local authorities and we would like them to share their recipe of success. We would like to highlight the potential of the social economy as a partner in green transition processes and mobilise the support of local authorities for the latter. On the other hand we need to encourage social economy organisations to reach out much more to local authorities as potential partners.

What could be done, in your view, at policy level (by local/regional/national governments or EU policy-makers) to improve possibilities for small and micro social economy enterprises to engage in green transition processes?

UFC: Social and environmental public procurement is in my view of utmost importance. We need to call on local authorities to work more closely with social economy enterprises. They should be aware that social economy is a player to reckon with, a real partner with added value. So far, however, the social economy is still much under-valued.

In this context, we should also be aware of the differences in dealing with this topic and

SKI.F.T. can help us here as well by showing also examples of other EU Member States where it becomes evident that partnership between local authorities and the social economy has an added value, that the social economy is able to compete and/or cooperate with other kind of enterprises.

KBR/OO: Local authorities can also lead by example. If a mayor is willing to change something in the town this can change a whole community. People need simple examples in their direct living environment. Very simple solutions and steps might already demonstrate the power of citizens to realise change in their communities. Afterwards this can have a snowball effect provoking change in many other areas.

Success for SKI.F.T. advisory and coaching actions

Congratulations to Kooperationen, FISE, Demetra Formazione, CSA COESI and Legacoop Emilia-Romagna for their work done during the last months with SKI.F.T. beneficiary enterprises. So far, 55 micro and small social economy enterprises from Denmark, Poland and Italy, but also Greece, Spain and Turkey had the opportunity to receive tailor-made advice and coaching which will enable them to make processes within the enterprise, products or services more environmentally sustainable. For another 16 beneficiary enterprises the advisory and coaching phase is still ongoing. Beneficiaries represent a variety of economic sectors – reaching from education and social services, over research or IT to housing, construction or arts&culture.

Picture Credits: European Commission

European Commission unveiled the Clean Industrial Deal

On 26 February 2025 the European Commission presented the Clean Industrial Deal. The primary objective of the Deal is to boost energy-intensive industries, promote clean technology and circular business models, all the while aiming to accelerate decarbonisation. Furthermore, the Deal aims to enhance the competitiveness of Europe’s industry, as related measures will encourage the purchase not only of climate-friendly but also of “made in Europe” goods. The ambitious initiative will also aim to lower energy prices, a key reason for decreased competitiveness. Moreover, the deal also makes reference to the revision of public procurement rules as well as to a number of measures boosting capacity-building within Europe’s workforce through the new Union of Skills initiative.

For more information: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_25_550

Picture Credits: European Commission

European Commission: MFF Consultation – Make your voice for a social and green Europe heard !

On 12 February 2025 the European Commission published its communication ‘The Road to the next Multiannual Financial Framework’ (MFF).

In this document it sets out the different policy and financial challenges the European Union is facing and their possible impact on the Multiannual Financial Framework (EU long-term budget) after 2027. To cope with these challenges the European Commission is calling for a “new approach for a modern EU budget” which should be “simpler, more flexible, more focused and impactful”.

In parallel to the communication the Commission launched a Public consultation on the next Multiannual Financial Framework which will remain open until 7 May 2025. This consultation includes questions related to a number of programmes and funds such as those related to European Cohesion Policy (ESF+, ERDF, JTF and other funds), thematic priorities or questions related to the implementation of funds.

We strongly encourage you to use this opportunity and take part in the consultation.

Prize Ramon Margalef d’Ecologia

The call for applications for the Prize Ramon Margalef d’Ecologia, launched by the Region of Catalonia, is currently open.

It is awarded to both natural and legal persons or collectives from all over the world who have carried out relevant work in the field of ecological sciences.

For more information: https://web.gencat.cat/en/tramits/tramits-temes/Premi-Ramon-Margalef-dEcologia

The transnational project « Skills for transition : Increasing the impact of small social economy enterprises » (SKI.F.T.), launched in October 2023, is co-funded by the EU SMP-COSME programme. It brings together social economy intermediary organisations and training providers from Denmark, Poland and Italy, as well as two European networks: Kooperationen (DK), FISE (PL), CSA COESI (IT), Demetra Formazione (IT), Legacoop Emilia-Romagna (IT), REVES aisbl and CECOP.

Through SKI.F.T. project partners will provide specific advisory and coaching services to micro and small social economy enterprises, enabling the latter to review their business model towards stronger environmental sustainability. Moreover, beneficiary enterprises will have the opportunity to receive direct financial support to purchase additional coaching and mentoring responding to their specific needs and fields of interest (e.g. creation of local social green value chains, communication, use of digital tools to facilitate certain type of processes, etc.). Specific attention will be paid to a collective approach, which will encourage stronger cooperation between micro and small social economy enterprises as such as well as between the latter and their different partners and stakeholders.

For more information: https://skift.kooperationen.dk/forside/

Views and opinions expressed in this document are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or EISMEA. Neither the European Union nor EISMEA can be held responsible for them.