Corporate sustainability check supports SMEs

adelphi, the Global Nature Fund and the Institute for Applied Material Flow Management are helping small and medium-sized businesses boost their energy efficiency and improve their environmental performance.

Well-functioning ecosystems are crucial to ensuring human well-being. In order to conserve natural resources, it is particularly important to reduce the use of problematic raw materials. Optimising the sourcing of raw materials and boosting energy efficiency can have a considerable impact on the protection of ecosystems.

Small and medium-sized companies play a key role here. Supported by the European Social Fund, adelphi and its project partners developed the “SME Sustainability Check”, which will be initially available in Rhineland-Palatinate and the Saarland. Consultants visit companies to evaluate their use of raw materials and applied technologies. On the basis of this assessment, they then propose comprehensive recommendations to help the companies introduce specific measures to improve their environmental performance.

Five SME sustainability checks have been carried out to date. Another 15 are planned for 2013.

For further information visit the website (available in German only):
www.kmu-nachhaltigkeitsc…