An exciting journey lies behind the SKI.F.T. consortium composed of social economy support organisations from Denmark, Italy and Poland, as well as two European networks for the promotion of the social economy. 

For nearly two years and with the support of the SMP-COSME programme we had the pleasure to engage with micro and small social economy enterprises in Denmark, Italy, Poland and other countries within and outside the EU in different ways:

Through a survey and interview involving 75 micro and small social economy enterprises from Denmark, Italy and Poland we found out more about their specific needs with regard to capacity-building and other aspects that would enable these enterprises to contribute to sustainable development and green transition. 

More than 80 micro and small social economy enterprises then used the possibility to receive advice and be coached by social economy support organisations in Denmark, Italy and Poland in order to assess their performance regarding environmental sustainability and to identify projects that would further improve the latter. These were cooperatives, associations and social enterprises from Albania, Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Poland, Romania, Spain, Turkey and Ukraine covering different fields of activity (food and retail, education and training, IT, social and health services, circular economy, research, …).

Finally, we were able to offer direct financing helping many of the social economy enterprises that had taken part in the advisory and coaching phases to receive additional support of external experts in realising their green transition projects. 

To provide just some examples of capacity-building micro and small social economy enterprises received through SKI.F.T.:

A significant number of organizations were given targeted support in assessing their environmental, social, and governance practices. These activities included conducting ESG assessments and developing improvement plans.

Moreover, support activities covered training in communication, storytelling, and stakeholder engagement, as well as strategic training in digital communication, social media, and marketing for sustainability outreach.

Several initiatives explored innovative approaches to green business development, demonstrating how sustainability can be combined with creativity and technology. Among these were the development of a green e-commerce platform with a marketing strategy, the launch of a new business area promoting circular economy and inclusion through creative textile recycling, and the design of an immersive Virtual Reality experience on climate change supported by ESG coaching.

Practical sector-specific support was also provided in social cooperatives linked to the food sector. This involved analysis and capacity building on dairy product shelf-life with a focus on reducing waste. The activity contributed to more efficient supply chains and supported sustainable consumption patterns by reducing food loss.

Last but not least beneficiary enterprises had the opportunity to join project partners, experts and policymakers in various transnational events such as online and in-person capacity-building seminars, a European webinar, or our final conference in Strasbourg, where they had the possibility to present themselves and their projects, share expertise and new ideas for the future, discuss appropriate policy frameworks, and network. 

Would you like to know more about the work SKI.F.T. partners have been realising since 2023 in order to enable micro and small social economy enterprises to move towards environmental sustainability?

We brought together key outputs of our initiative in an online publication which you will be able to find on our project website.

The publication contains:

1. Methodological guidelines for the analysis of the performance of a social economy organization and possible improvements, including good practices, 

2. Reference to the SKI.F.T. Repository of programmes and tools, 

3. Communicating green transition efforts – some recommendations, including good practices, 

4. Guidelines for social economy support organisations,

5. Recommendations to policy-makers.

Take a look also at our newsletters, event reports, a list of providers which had offered their expertise on green transition to our beneficiary enterprises, and other material  - explore our website : https://skift.kooperationen.dk/forside/!