Nine “Sustainability Heroes”, ambassadors of virtuous practices in the fields of welfare, environment and community, an example and source of inspiration for the whole business landscape. These are the small and medium-sized enterprises selected among more than 6,600 companies participating to the 2022 edition of SME EnterPRIZE, Generali’s initiative to promote the culture of sustainability among SMEs in Europe, and coming from the 9 countries that joined the project: Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Portugal and Spain.
Through interviews with Lucia Silva, Generali Group Head of Sustainability & Social Responsibility, as well as with the entrepreneurs at the centre of the project’s 2022 edition, this short film guides us through their stories, innovative ideas, and commitment, showing how so many European companies have already embarked on the sustainability journey and how they can show other entrepreneurs the way towards a greener and more inclusive society.
Generali’s goal is to create an ecosystem of stakeholders – companies, institutions, research and academia – to promote dialogue on sustainability and support the green transition of small and medium-sized companies, which represent 99% of the EU’s businesses, employing more than 100 million people and globally producing over half its GDP.
The sustainability transition will be challenging but possible for European SMEs. Even more than that, it is desirable, as shown by the success of business models adopting an approach that integrates sustainability and is based on careful planning, while identifying objectives and performance indicators. This is also what makes it possible to achieve better customer satisfaction, a better reputation, more efficiency and even increased market share.