As industries worldwide strive to transition to sustainable and circular models, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and industry clusters face unique challenges. Key sectors such as energy, health, IT, agri-food, cleantech, furniture, and wood industries play a crucial role in the green economy but often struggle with resource constraints, technical expertise gaps, and insufficient market support. Addressing these challenges requires special attention due to the significant economic, environmental, and social impact of these industries.[1]
Key Challenges Across Industries
1. Limited Resources and Investment
SMEs and clusters often lack the financial resources to invest in sustainable technologies and processes. High initial costs for adopting renewable energy, circular production models, and compliance with environmental regulations create barriers to transformation.
2. Lack of Technical Expertise
Many businesses struggle with integrating digital innovation, sustainable production methods, and circular economy principles due to a shortage of skilled personnel and knowledge-sharing platforms.
3. Regulatory and Market Barriers
Compliance with evolving environmental regulations and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) standards is complex. Additionally, sustainable products and services often face limited market demand, making it difficult for SMEs to scale sustainably.
4. Innovation and Collaboration Gaps
The transition to a sustainable model requires collaboration between businesses, research institutions, and policymakers. However, many SMEs operate in silos, limiting their access to innovative solutions and partnerships.[2]
Why These Challenges Require Special Attention
The transition to a sustainable economy is not just an industry need but a global imperative. Clusters and SMEs are the backbone of economic growth, job creation, and innovation. Without targeted support, these businesses risk falling behind in the global green transition, leading to economic stagnation and environmental degradation.[3]
Recognizing these challenges, ENDURANCE is committed to equipping clusters and SMEs with the right resources to navigate the green transition, enhance business resilience but also contribute to a cleaner, more competitive, and resource-efficient economy.. To achieve this, we are:
i) Developing a videotool to simplify sustainability and digital transition processes. This tool will feature interviews with companies (SMEs and clusters) from key sectors, offering valuable insights, highlighting challenges, and providing motivation for new startups and clusters embarking on their EU Green Deal journey.
ii) Collecting and sharing best practices across industries through factsheets that serve as practical guides, helping businesses adopt sustainable strategies more effectively.
In this way, ENDURANCE aims to inspire and support businesses in making meaningful strides toward sustainability.
[1] Di Pietro, S. Building on knowledge and innovation: The role of green economy in revitalising shrinking cities: Case study analysis in France and Mexico (Doctoral dissertation, Technische Universität Kaiserslautern), 2022, DOI: 10.26204/KLUEDO/6862 .
[2] Dey, P. K., Malesios, C., Chowdhury, S., Saha, K., Budhwar, P., and De, D. (2022). Adoption of circular economy practices in small and medium-sized enterprises: evidence from Europe. Int. J. Prod. Econ. 248, 108496. doi:10.1016/j.ijpe.2022.108496.
[3] https://www.oecd.org/en/topics/smes-and-entrepreneurship.html
