CirculaR Economy strategy FRAMEwork for sustainable SMEs
Duration: 2020-2022
About REFRAME – Website
Over the last years, many European companies try to incorporate CE strategies and practices into their business to use the resources in a more sustainable way, especially large companies. In comparison to larger corporations, SMEs have smaller capacity and less availability of knowledge and financial resources. This makes it more difficult for them to change their operations, product design, or the sourcing of raw materials. Consequently, since SMEs & micro-enterprises represent the dominant form of business organisation in Europe (around 99%), the transition to a green economy without their participation could hardly be achieved. Moreover, the speed at which Europe could successfully achieve a good transition rate will be limited.
Currently, there are various frameworks that aim to guide a company to adopt CE practices. However, these frameworks have a limited applicability for specific business types, especially for construction and manufacturing SMEs and micro-enterprises, to which there is an intense flow of materials (raw, products, debris and waste). REFRAME project’s MAIN OBJECTIVEs are the creation of a CE Transition Framework specifically for small and medium businesses in construction, manufacturing and crafts industry, to help them become friendlier to the environment, the development of a step-by-step guideline for construction & manufacturing SMEs and micro-enterprises for implementing the CE Transition Framework. REFRAME will finally provide construction & manufacturing SMEs and micro-enterprises’ employees and future employees with practical knowledge on implementing CE transition in their business.
REFRAME Impact
Construction, crafts and manufacturing SMEs with up to 100 employees & micro-enterprises will gain a new Circular Economy (CE) Framework, designed especially for their type of organisation, and properly trained, skilled and sensitised personnel on CE Processes. In that way, SMEs will become environmental enterprises which will lead them to improvement of their productivity and reduction of their daily costs REFRAME will develop a continuous monitoring system to assess Circularity of manufacturing and constructions companies at national and regional level. The educational institutions and the external SMEs’ supporters, active in local level, will strengthen their images as flexible institutions & individuals & will contribute to the modernisation of VET systems by offering courses covering a crucial situation for most EU SMEs. Also, VET centres will gain access to the iLearn Tool, which will be able to use in order to support their customer base. Representatives of VET centres or other stakeholders will have the opportunity to attend the training events that will be organised in each country. NUMBERS: 160 representatives of the target groups will test the Self-Rate Tool and the Training Course in real environment. Also, 50 representatives of the target groups will use the Circular Economy Implementation Framework. At least 100 SMEs representatives will participate in a Europe-wide assessment.
Our role in the project
SIGMA will create the Project Management Plan. Risk Management Plan & Communication Plan will be both parts of the Project Management Plan. SIGMA will be the leader of the Project Result 3 – Circular Economy Implementation Framework. The framework will give the chance to this user to implement the framework towards Circular Economy transition. The CE Framework will include a set of methodology concepts, tools and measurement instruments that guide the execution of CE strategy adoption.
