BEP: Green transition in SMEs with new financial products and tools

The President of the Piraeus Chamber of Crafts, Mr. George Papamanolis – Dozas, underlined the condition for the collective support of the productive bodies by the productive bodies, during his speech at the anniversary conference of the Hellenic Development Group. Α.Ε.Ν.) organized at the Municipal Theater of Piraeus.

During his speech, Mr. George Papamanolis – Dozas pointed out that an equal development plan is needed, without exclusions that will ensure the fair transition of the ecosystem of small and medium business in the green era. The main criterion, according to the President of BEP, is the immediate creation of financial products and tools specialized for small businesses that the country has. In fact, he described the Small and Medium Enterprise as the “backbone” of the Greek economy, which withstood the health crisis and the “lockdown” and shows us that it is ready to move on to the next season, as long as the green transition is supported by targeted actions and measures.

Mr. Papamanolis underlined that the integration of the principles of green marketing in business systems increasingly refers to the process of globalization of the economy and explained that it is crucial to ensure the competitiveness of companies that will bear the additional costs of the transition to the green economy.

The full text of the speech of the President Mr. Georgios Papamanolis – Doza is the following:

“The Green Transition to a Sustainable Economy with a Future is here.

The European goal of making Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050 concerns us all. The European Green Agreement, the investment plan amounting to at least one trillion. euro for the next decade, in line with the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, can strengthen Greece and Greek production.

The “green” orientation of modern entrepreneurship is a given in view of the new environmental, social and economic developments. Environmental issues have become one of the top priorities for SMEs to meet another challenge, with an emphasis on energy efficiency, environmental management and the efficiency of the production processes, products and services they design. apply and provide.

Integrating sustainable environmental management into a business strategy can be a key source of developing a competitive advantage.

Many companies have started to take sustainable initiatives to adopt a win-win approach that saves business costs while also addressing customer awareness of environmental issues that affect all of their activities. The integration of green marketing principles into business systems is increasingly referring to the process of globalization of the economy.

It is crucial to ensure the competitiveness of companies that will bear the extra cost of moving to the green economy and it is now clear to everyone that green growth is now a reality that concerns most businesses in one way or another.

Despite the pandemic crisis, small and medium-sized enterprises seem to have their own active role in the green transition, with typical examples of the tens of thousands of small and medium-sized projects that have begun to appear and aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, utilizing solar or wind energy, improving the energy efficiency of buildings and minimizing the environmental footprint of the products produced.

However, in these opportunities and challenges that characterize the green transition of the Greek economy, green entrepreneurship must be actively supported.

To be supported substantially with financial tools, consulting and liquidity.

It is no coincidence that in the Recovery Fund, which creates a unique opportunity for Greece to reshape its economy, and unique growth opportunities in entrepreneurship, the energy sector plays a key role with 6 billion euros, corresponding to 38% of the budget, to concern the green transition as a whole.

The main feature of the Energy Sector Recovery Plan is that it is called upon to strengthen a part of the Greek economy that is already on a growth trajectory. This element is important and differs from the actions of the past, where the effort was often focused on creating conditions for the reconstruction of parts of the Greek economy.

Strengthening a sector of activity that is already showing increased growth and dynamic prospects, can lead to a real boom in economic activity, bringing immediate, tangible results to a very wide range of activities. These activities are related to the energy sector, creating added value to Greek entrepreneurship, immediate creation of quality jobs, curbing the braindrain phenomenon, and healthy revenues for the Greek state. It is characteristic that the total of 170 projects of the Development Fund should be completed in less than 6 years.

The targeting of energy saving actions leads to a real explosion in the activities of a wide range of Greek companies in the construction sector, industrial production, high technology, energy storage and the development of Renewable Energy Systems. An additional advantage of this development is the positive impact on the wholesale electricity market, as demandresponse structures are strengthened where energy planning and trading is balanced, strengthened, and leads to increased stability in the country’s energy system.

Also do not forget the electric drive which is a strategic choice for Europe and our country for reasons of environmental protection, competitiveness, and reduction of dependence on imported fuels, with 200 million euros committed to these actions.

However, the Recovery Plan also provides business development opportunities in green processing and transport as well as in the development of CO2 capture and storage technologies with a total of 300 million euros available for this purpose.

Greek companies are present in all this. Given the existing strong presence of Greek entrepreneurship in the whole range of activities, the green transition creates very important business growth opportunities and creates a strong basis for further strengthening entrepreneurship and employment in healthy and productive sectors of the Greek economy.

However, it is not only the Recovery Fund that will support the green transition of the media, it is also the New NSRF 2021-2027 amounting to 26.18 billion euros with emblematic actions that focus on the digital transformation and the green transition of companies. But also the new Development Law that is already in consultation and gives significant incentives to specific activities and sectors, in order to achieve the digital and technological transformation of companies, the green transition, the creation of economies of scale, the support of innovative investments, etc.

But is it enough for the Recovery Fund, the NSRF and the Development Law to cover the needs that will be created in the media in the green transition? Definitely no.

The big question is: what is the role of the banking system in supporting energy investment plans, in the context of utilizing the Recovery Fund, the NSRF and the Development Law?

Banks, which have always been financiers for the implementation of Renewable Energy projects, are now more actively called upon to support important investment opportunities for the country in the field of energy savings and the rational – in terms of cost – transition to a low-carbon energy mix. There are already banks that are actively supporting large Customers with a large carbon footprint in their efforts to diversify their sources, committing significant funds that will help them move towards renewable energy sources and the creation of new gas-fired power plants.

But small and medium-sized enterprises must also survive. We do not have the ability to close viable businesses. We must help them and support them in the green transition. There is an urgent need to create financial products and tools specialized for small businesses that the country has.

The development model of the country is changing. And small and medium-sized enterprises are present, have endured and can leverage their costs and improve their productivity with the green transition. However, often small companies do not have access to the advice and support they need. The green action plan for EU media presents ways in which they can be helped to achieve their goal. At this point the chambers should provide consulting support and proper information in order for them to intervene in their production process in order to reduce their environmental footprint, increase their competitiveness and productivity.

We must not ignore the fact that in the midst of the crisis there are attempts at productive regeneration. In the food, on paper, in the sanitary material, but also in more demanding creations such as the luxury yachts, new business forces have emerged, capable of making a difference. We need to stand by small and medium-sized enterprises and support them in the green transition. We, as a body representing more than 15,000 SMEs mainly in the manufacturing sector in order to cultivate the culture of green entrepreneurship and its benefits to our members, carried out a carbon footprint study and received the corresponding certification which in a few days we will present.

The Greek economy has entered the last critical quarter of an extremely difficult year. The gradual return to normalcy is not without cost, as shown by inflationary pressures. Our country is at a critical crossroads where it will either follow the trends of the international economy, dynamically promoting its digital and green transformation, in order to improve its competitiveness and extroversion, or it will experience a rather “cachectic” economic growth which does not it will be neither sustainable nor sustainable.

The transition to the new productive model requires the collective support of the productive classes. An equitable, inclusive development plan is needed to ensure the fair transition of the small and medium-sized business ecosystem to the green age. The “backbone” of the Greek economy, the media is here, withstood the pandemic crisis, the lockdowns and shows us that it is ready to move on to the next season, as long as it is supported. We have to support its green transition with targeted actions and measures “.