Customisable Training Programme on Best Industrial Practices for Sustainability, Circular Economy and Energy Efficiency

Industry is considered one of the top contributors of carbon emissions and it is vital to be fully aligned with the European GreenDeal, which aims to make Europe the first carbon neutral continent by 2050. However, only a few industrial companies have implemented technologies and strategic approaches towards green transition. This delay is not only due to poor implementation of measures towards carbon footprint reduction, but most importantly due to a lack of knowledge around basic concepts and latest developments in key green strategies (Sustainability, Circular Economy, Energy Efficiency). The focus of the current paper is identifying the level of sustainability readiness of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and the main drives and obstacles towards implementing green strategies. For that, a questionnaire was created for companies, with the results used to develop a training programme (TP) to fit the companies' needs. The TP included asynchronous and synchronous learning, with the latter available in physical and virtual settings. The asynchronous learning was used as preparatory material, while all events included a questionnaire to assess the learners' comprehension. For the synchronous learning, participants were asked to develop their own roadmap towards improving the sustainability level of a use case, showing their ability to implement these concepts and best practices in real-life. Despite the plethora of available material, only few TPs consider the industrial needs, to provide a tailor-made curriculum, providing background knowledge and current practices. This allows companies to create their own roadmap towards improving the sustainability level in practice.