It is also a place where entrepreneurs that share a common passion for the environment can meet.
Switchers are green and circular businesses implementing eco-innovative solutions that contribute to sustainable and fair consumption and production models. They are active in a variety of fields, such as sustainable farming, green construction, sustainable textiles and cosmetics, eco-tourism, renewable energy, or waste management.
The platform theswitchers.eu tells their stories of sustainable transformation and change. We aim to shine a light on these changemakers and contribute to a more differentiated picture of the Mediterranean region.
As members of this community, Switchers benefit from a number of resources within our network, such as:
- Increased public visibility. You will be able to share your story with stakeholders, investors, grant applications and on social media.
- Benefit from peer-to-peer support and knowledge exchange by joining our interactive Switchers group.
- Receive updates about funding and training opportunities.
- Get invitations to speak at international networking events.
Moreover, the Switchers Support Programme include the following services:
- Support for the creation, incubation and acceleration of green and circular business models. The programme will transfer methodologies and toolkits for eco-design, green business development and social and environmental impact monitoring. These will be available at the Switchers Support Programme web-platform and through our local partners.
- Support on access to finance by providing capacity-building, facilitating match-making with investors and launching new editions of the Switchers Fund Award.
- Support on access to market by creating links with retailers and increasing the demand of green products and services.
- Support on media outreach, by increasing visibility of circular businesses to a global audience.
- Creation of the Switchers Policy Watch through which engage Mediterranean policy makers in enabling and supporting the development of the green entrepreneurship ecosystem.
A web-portal to the Switchers Support Programme “theswitchers.org“has been created as a unique getaway for users to get in touch with the Programme and its tools and services.
The Switchers Community contributes to to the achievement of several UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):
- SDG 12 – Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
- SDG 13 – Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
- SDG 14– Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources
- SDG 15 – Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, and halt land degradation and biodiversity loss
- SDG 17 – Revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
