TOOLKIT: “GREEN BUSINESS INNOVATION CENTRE — SME SUSTAINABILITY SUPPORT TOOLKIT”
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a crucial role in driving economic growth, employment, and innovation. At the same time, they are increasingly facing pressure from regulations, customers, financial institutions, and supply chains to operate more sustainably.
The SME Sustainability Support Toolkit is designed as a practical, step-by-step guide to help SMEs transition toward greener business models in a structured, manageable, and financially viable way. It provides assessment tools, strategy templates, financing guidance, and communication support to help businesses reduce environmental impact while improving competitiveness and long-term resilience.
This toolkit is not theoretical — it is a hands-on implementation guide tailored specifically for SMEs.
The toolkit contains practical templates that have the objective to support the SMEs into their green transition process. The templates are grouped in the following sections:
1. Sustainable Business Models and Strategies: helping SMEs build or improve their business models to include sustainable practices and create long-term value.
Template for a Sustainable Business Model Canvas
Scenario planning template (baseline, moderate, full transition)
Template for a short Sustainable Action plan
2. Green technologies and Operational Measures: helping SMEs identify, assess, and implement green technologies and practical measures that fit their size, budget, and business model.
Energy-Efficiency self-assessment questionnaire
3. Green Procurement and Supply Chain: helping SMEs reduce the environmental impact of their purchases and suppliers, while making their business more resilient to risks and disruptions
Green Supplier Selection Checklist
Supplier Sustainability Self Assessment Questionnaire
4. Logistics: Helping SMEs assess and improve the efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and environmental performance of their transport, distribution, and delivery operations.
Logistics Self-Assessment Questionnaire
Toolkit for Logistics Delivery
5. Communication for Green business: helping SMEs sell their eco-friendly products and services more _effectively and get fair or higher prices for their green efforts
Green Value Proposition Builder
Guide Communicating Green Actions
Templates for Selling Green Products
6. Waste management and Material and Resource Use: helping SMEs improve how to use materials, manage resources, and handle waste in order to reduce costs, minimize environmental impact, and increase operational efficiency
Material and Resource Use Checklist
7. Financing Options: helping SMEs prepare and present their green projects so they can access funding and investment from banks, grants, or other financial sources.
Overview of finance instruments in Bulgaria, Greece and Cyprus: grants, subsidised loans, commercial loans, leasing, green bonds, supplier financing, crowdfunding
Funding Opportunities in Bulgaria
Funding Opportunities in Cyprus
Funding Opportunities in Greece