WIZARD OF THE ENVIRONMENT: ENTERPRISE EUROPE NETWORK
INTERNATIONAL TRAINING SESSION
3-5 October 2012
9 Iskar str., hall A, 1st floor
Sofia, BCCI
GREEN SMEs = SUSTAINABLE
ECONOMY
Vladislava Georgieva – Energy efficiency and RES consultant
The problem:
The main problem is that the EU's 20% policy objectives for
energy savings could not be met with present policies - thus the
related environmental, social, security of supply and economic
benefits could not be realized.
Action
The main questions:
• Will SMEs be able to contribute to EU’s 20% policy
objectives?
• What is SMEs’ role?
• Will SMEs be able to play a key role in delivering
Green services, deals and knowledge?
• Do they know “WHAT, HOW, WHY”?
EU STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
Smart growth: developing an economy, based on
knowledge and Innovation
Sustainable growth: promoting more resourceefficient, greener and more competitive economy
Inclusive growth: fostering high-employment
Economy. delivering social and territorial
cohesion.
Why SMEs?
• In the European Union there are more than
20 million enterprises in the private sector – of
these 99% are small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs) with a workforce of nearly
90 million people.
• In general 60% -70% of the environmental
impact is related to SMEs.
Why SMEs?
• SMEs contribute 64% of environmental
impact
• About 24% of SMEs are actively engaged in
actions which are reducing their environmental
impact
• About 0.4% of SMEs use a certified
Environmental Management System
• Most EU businesses are small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs). They represent
an enormous energy saving potential for the EU
Why SMEs?
While the environmental impact
/including energy consumption/ from an
individual company may be low, the
overall impact of a sector can be very
high.
Small & Medium Enterprises
Facts and figures
Statistical trends since 2003 clearly demonstrate vigorous development
of Bulgaria’s SME sector in recent years. The growth in the number of
Bulgarian enterprises was only temporarily dampened by the crisis, with
growth levels picking up again relatively quickly. This development was
particularly driven by small and medium sized enterprises.
Small & Medium Enterprises
Facts and figures
Small Business Act profile for Bulgaria
is behind the EU average.
The figures show that Bulgaria is
performing in line with its EU peers on four
of the eight SBA principles for which
averages are available for Bulgaria (the
area average for principle 9 ‘Environment’
is missing for all countries owing to lack of
data, and for the SBA area ‘Think Small
First’, here is only one indicator available
for
Bulgaria),
namely
Responsive
administration, Public procurement and
state aid, Access to finance and the Single
market. For the remaining four principles,
Bulgaria is behind the European average.
Small & Medium Enterprises
fact sheet
• There are more than 352 000 SMEs in Bulgaria
and large share of them are micro enterprises.
• The realized SMEs activity revenues amount at
BGN 136 112 mn, and a decrease of 1.4% with
respect to the previous year is registered.
• The SMEs employed 73% of total country
workforce.
• The Bulgarian SMEs are one of the SMEs with
smallest turnover in Europe.
• In 2011, the most utilized financing source in
Bulgarian SMEs are the funds of the owner (62%).
Small & Medium Enterprises
fact sheet
• At the beginning of 2012, the access to financing is severely restricted
for 69% of the enterprises.
• Over a half of the SMEs are afraid of bankruptcy (54%).
• 86% of the SMEs do not have sufficient financial resources to finance
the necessary investments.
• The most frequently encountered innovative activity in the Bulgarian
SMEs is related to amendments in the business processes targeted at
optimization and cost cutting (38%).
• The least penetrated innovative activity is related to carrying out
mutual initiatives in the area of education between the individual
enterprise and the academic institutions (9%).
• In 57% of the SMEs low innovation activity is observed, and in 8% of
them it is relatively high.
SME and environmental issues – quick
fact sheet
• Very small SMEs’ share completely complied with
the EU requirements and most are not prepared
to fulfill the quality, environmental, safety and
other EU requirements.
• SMEs are aware of main environmental impact
associated with their activities, but the level of
awareness of EU environmental legislation is
considerably low.
• The graph below is presenting data about
Requirements Acquire Level
SME and environmental issues –
quick fact sheet
SME and environmental issues –
quick fact sheet
• SMEs are aware of environment protection legislation field
concerning activities and in particular of the most typical
requirements related to the energy efficiency measures and
air polluting emissions.
• Usually SMEs complied with environmental legislation driven
by obligations/penalties (refer to their operation) and in
same case because of dement requirements (certificate
ISO9001 and ISO14001).
• In contrast environmental activities as reduction of energy
consumption and/or introduction of energy standards are
implemented because of possible expenses reduction and
some funds availability (special credit line and EU funds).
SME and environmental issues –
quick fact sheet
• ISO 9001
• 3818 certified companies /total/
• 237 certified companies /metal and
metal product sector/
• ISO 14 001
• 898 certified companies /total/
• 63 certified companies /metal and
metal product sector/
• Only 14% of SME’s meet all
environmentally related requirements,
but at the same time 73% of all
Bulgarian companies are not making
any environmental investments.
SME and environmental issues –
quick fact sheet
Nevertheless, number of environmental impact
initiatives are already indentified and applied as:
• Best available technology
• Clean Technologies – environmental friendly
machines, equipment and systems; systematic
technical service and maintenance
• Energy Management System and RES utilization
• Eco-labeling
• Eco-design
Outline obstacles and how
to overcome it
Lack of awareness and access to
appropriate information
Web based tools development, training,
experts’ on-site visiting and advising,
networking, help-desk etc.
Lack of financial resources and
incentives
The SMEs are facing serious difficulties in
Certification and Standardization because of
additional cost load – development and
introduction of special funds or grand schemas
for SMEs with clear and simplified application
procedures, fiscal tools.
Clumsy administrative
procedures
Procedures simplification and establishing
better environment and communication
between SMEs and responsible authorities.
Heavy and prolonged procedures for EMAS, ISO 14001, REACH and other standards’
introduction.
A new Directive on Energy Efficiency
Challenges addressed & solutions proposed
MEETING ALL THREE “20-20-20 BY 2020” GOALS BECOMES A
MATTER OF URGENCY
A new Directive on Energy Efficiency
Challenges addressed & solutions proposed
So far the EU is not on track to meet its 20% energy efficiency target
A new policy proposal in relation
with SMEs
How SMEs could become green
and sustainable?
How SMEs could become green and
sustainable?
EMAS – eco management and audit schema
The EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) is a
management tool for companies and other organisations to
evaluate, report and improve their environmental performance. The
scheme has been available for participation by companies since
1995 and was originally restricted to companies in industrial
sectors. Since 2001 EMAS has been open to all economic sectors
including public and private services.
The new EMAS scheme makes it easier for SMEs to participate.
With the introduction of EMAS III, environmental audits, covering
all activities at the organisation concerned, must be conducted
within an audit cycle of no longer than three years.
Additional information on:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/emas/toolkit/index.htm
How SMEs could become green and
sustainable?
ECAP – Environmental Compliance Assistance Programme
The European Commission proposed an Environmental Compliance
Assistance Programme to make it easier for SMEs to comply with their
obligations and improve their environmental performances.
There are a number of areas where action is being taken:
• Minimising the administrative burden on companies
• Helping SMEs integrate environmental concerns into their
businesses
• Supporting regional and national networks
• Building up local know-how
• Improving communication
• Providing funding
Additional information on:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/sme/programme/programme_en.htm
How SMEs could become green and
sustainable?
ISO 14001 – Environmental management systems
The ISO 14000 family addresses various aspects of environmental
management. It provides practical tools for companies and organizations looking
to identify and control their environmental impact and constantly improve their
environmental performance. ISO 14001:2004 and ISO 14004:2004 focus on
environmental management systems. The other standards in the family focus on
specific environmental aspects such as life cycle analysis, communication and
auditing.
ISO 14001:2004 and SMEs
Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) also benefit from ISO 14001:2004.
However, implementing an environmental management system in SMEs can be
challenging. The publication of ISO 14001, Environmental Management Systems
- An easy to use checklist for small business, will help SMEs to achieve the
benefits of implementing an environmental management system based on ISO
14001.
Additional information on:
http://www.iso.org/iso/home/standards.htm
How SMEs could become green and
sustainable?
ISO 50001 – Energy management
ISO 50001:2011 specifies requirements for establishing, implementing,
maintaining and improving an energy management system, whose purpose is to
enable the organization to follow a systematic approach in achieving continual
improvement of energy performance, including energy efficiency, energy use and
consumption. ISO 50001:2011 has been designed to be used independently, but
it can be aligned or integrated with other management systems.
ISO 50001:2011 provides a framework of requirements for organizations to:
• Develop a policy for more efficient use of energy
• Fix targets and objectives to meet the policy
• Use data to better understand and make decisions about energy use
• Measure the results
• Review how well the policy works, and
• Continually improve energy management.
Additional information on:
http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail?csnumber=51297
How SMEs could become green and
sustainable?
Energy efficiency certification / energy audit
Since January 2009, EU Member States have been
required to effectively comply with the Energy
Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). One of the
requirements set by the EPBD is to introduce Energy
Performance Certificates (EPCs) which are required to
be issued when a building is constructed, sold or let,
i.e. as a part of a property transaction.
As defined by the EPBD, the Energy Performance
Certificate is a document recognised by a Member
State or by a legal person designated by it, which
indicates the energy performance of a building or
building unit, calculated
according to a methodology adopted in accordance
with Article 3.
Additional information on:
http://ec.europa.eu/energy/efficiency/index_en.htm
How SMEs could become green and
sustainable?
Energy efficiency certification / energy audit
Energy Efficiency Audit. Understanding energy use will help to identify
opportunities to improve energy performance and gain financial benefits. The audit
will establish a baseline and provide options for improving energy efficiency.
Make a Commitment. No matter the size or type of an organization, the common
element of successful energy savings is commitment. Make a commitment to allocate
staff and funding to achieve improvement.
Set Goals. Well-stated goals guide daily decision-making and are the basis for
tracking and measuring progress. Communicating and posting goals can motivate
staff to support energy management efforts.
Develop a plan. Your organization is now poised to develop a road map to improve
energy performance. Create a detailed action plan to ensure a systematic process to
implement energy performance measures.
Implement the plan. People can make or break an energy program. Gaining
the support of key people at different levels within the organization is an important
factor in successful implementation. In addition, reaching your goals frequently
depends on the awareness, commitment, and capability of the people who implement
the projects.
Thank you for your attention!
Vladislava Georgieva
+ 359887283723
E-mail: vladislava.georgieva@asde-bg.org