BCR and Sustainability Academy to Support Entrepreneurs During Transition to Sustainability
The European Union has set a strategy to achieve a carbon-neutral economy by 2050, and sustainability is the term we hear the most in companies’ communication. But did Romanian entrepreneurs really understand its importance?
75% of organizations that implement sustainable changes in their business manage to make a profit from it, and 52% of them are likely to exceed their predicted profit due to sustainability. At the global level of C-suite leaders (the top management positions of a company), 75% of them agree that sustainability brings better results for business, and 76% say that sustainability is already the central element of their future brand strategy.
However, 47% of leaders surveyed in IBM’s Beyond Checking the Box Study say they are having trouble finding the funds to make sustainable changes. The good news is that, locally, there are initiatives that not only help entrepreneurs better understand the role and application of sustainability in business, but also facilitate obtaining green funds for SMEs.
One such initiative is the Sustainability Academy, a project initiated by Social Innovation Solutions and supported, from the beginning, by BCR – main partner. The Sustainability Academy is the first platform in Romania that offers SMEs the opportunity to learn, for free, about sustainability, how it can be implemented in business and how green funds can be attracted by them.
“In May 2023, when we launched the Sustainability Academy, I knew that Romania absolutely needs education in terms of sustainability. A year on, the platform has managed to gather more than 10,000 SMEs taking our courses and building an impressive community of entrepreneurs and experts from a multitude of fields. We are happy to continue this project with BCR, main partner of the Sustainability Academy,” says Ciprian Stanescu, president of Social Innovation Solutions.
Together with BCR, the Sustainability Academy has developed an educational module dedicated to green financing. The module sets a relevant foundation for any entrepreneur who wants to take a step in this direction.
“We continue the partnership with the Sustainability Academy and together we develop educational content that can be accessed for free by any SME in Romania. We are close to the business environment and entrepreneurs concerned with the new regulations regarding reporting, crediting and adjusting the processes necessary for the sustainable development of companies and communities. We are happy to contribute to a transition as fast as possible for companies that want to become more sustainable,” adds Ioana Voinescu, Head of Sustainability at BCR.
The BCR partnership goes on and the Sustainability Academy is already creating in 2024 other courses dedicated to the most important industries in Romania. Of course, the aim is to help as many SMEs as possible to start the transition towards sustainability. And, for those interested in obtaining green funds, on www.academia-de-sustenabilitate.ro, there is already an educational module dedicated to this topic.
About the Sustainability Academy
The Sustainability Academy is a project by Sustainable Futures initiated by Social Innovation Solutions together with the Coca-Cola Foundation, founding partner, BCR, main partner, and OMV Petrom, partner. Among the organizational partners are the Embassy of Sustainability in Romania, the Concordia Employers’ Confederation, Romanian Business Leaders, Viitor Plus, Global Shapers Bucharest Hub, WWF Romania, CCIFER, and SNRB. The project benefits from the support of international organizations such as SME Climate Hub, Exponential Roadmap Initiative, The Rock Group, with Envisia as an academic partner. The Sustainability Academy has an Advisory Board component, an advisory council that plays an essential role in ensuring high-quality, relevant, and updated educational resources, so that SMEs can adopt the best practices in sustainability and remain competitive on the market.
