Workshop “Green Transition of SMEs – Collaboration that Drives Innovation” held as part of the GREENSMES project
On Friday, February 13, the workshop “Green Transition of SMEs – Collaboration that Drives Innovation” was held at the premises of ION Solutions company. The space itself was chosen flawlessly: it has been built and maintaned as an excellent combination of green innovations and the newest technologies.
Facilitator of the workshop was Jasna Kovčin from ION Solutions, and work was organized according to the Work Cafe methodology this time: identifying problems, exploring capacities and gaps, finding opportunities, and action as the outcome.
Žarko Petrović, Head of the Sustainable Development Sector at UNDP, reported on the “EU for Green Agenda in Serbia” program.
Tailoring Workshop of the Ecumenical Humanitarian Organization (EHO) was analyzed as an example of a social enterprise practicing a circular economy in the textile sector.
EHO is a relevant example for the topic of green innovation because it practices a circular economy in the textile sector – the sector with the largest environmental footprint in the industry; integrates social and environmental value through the employment of vulnerable groups; they demonstrate the potential but also the systemic challenges of small social enterprises in green innovation and demonstrates the need for cooperation within quadruple helix (business, academia, public sector and civil society) in order to reach and maintain sustainability.
EHO Tailoring Workshop is a social enterprise that has been combining several dimensions of sustainability since 2017. The first is the social dimension, which is manifested through the employment of women with disabilities and individuals with difficulties in finding job, training and development of professional tailoring and sewing skills, achieving economic independence and inclusion of marginalized groups. The next is the ecological dimension – redesign and recycling of donated second-hand clothing: several tons of textiles are being redirected from landfills into new products each year by creating unique clothing items and fashion accessories, extending the lifespan of textile products. Finally, there is also an economic dimension: products are sold in the center, at fairs and events, thus supporting the work of the workshop and the center’s activities.
