Green action plan for SMEs : addressing resource efficiency challenges and opportunities in Europe for SMEs : implementation report

Europe's continuous economic development over many decades has been fuelled by the intensive use of both renewable and non-renewable resources. However, today it faces multiple challenges of stimulating growth, ensuring jobs and the well-being of its citizens, while securing ecological sustainability and addressing climate change. There is a growing challenge of resource scarcity, growing prices for materials and dependence of the European economy on the import of resources. Transition to the new models of economies, such as circular, resilient and green economies offer new opportunities for sustainable economic growth of European countries. Adoption of the Circular Economy package and the Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe intends to put Europe on a new road of development and introduction to alternative economic models. Businesses and industries are the important actors in building a circular and more resilient economy. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are equally an essential element of the European economy. There are over 22 million SMEs in the EU providing over 133 million jobs and creating over half of the gross value added. Diffusing sustainability and resource efficiency practices among SMEs and involving them in ecoinnovations and new business models will have significant impact in making the EU economy not only green but also more competitive and sustainable. The European Union Green Action Plan for SMEs introduced in 2014 brings together two important priorities for the European economy: supporting SMEs and promoting resource efficiency. It aims "to contribute to the re-industrialisation of Europe... by enhancing SMEs competitiveness and supporting green business developments across all European regions, notably in view of the fact that, at this stage, significant differences in resource efficiency exist between sectors and Member States". The Green Action Plan (GAP) sets out a series of objectives and lists actions that will be implemented at European level within the framework of the Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-2020. All the actions are either new or revised versions of previous actions that now take into account the potential for business of resource efficiency and access to green markets. The present report provides an overview of the implementation of the selected Actions of the Plan until end of 2017. It aims to demonstrate intermediate progress and outcomes and draw lessons for future actions. The report focuses on the four thematic strands of the GAP's actions: I. Greening SMEs for more competitiveness and sustainability II. Green entrepreneurship for the companies of the future III. Opportunities for SMEs in a greener value chain IV. Access to the markets for green SMEs