The international SDG4BIZ - Knowledge Alliance for Business Opportunity Recognition in SGDs project started with massive workshops in September.
The project, coordinated by Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, involves eight different organizations operating across Europe.
The SDG4BIZ project produces educational training packages for business actors on business opportunities for sustainable development and the green economy.
As a result, there will be a total of five training modules worth of 5 study credits, representing the latest pedagogical expertise as well as the latest scientific knowledge in the field.
THE GOALS are ambitious. The training packages aim to reach up to 5,000 European companies who want to learn more about sustainable business opportunities and adopt the resulting practices into their respected organizations.
Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences has been involved in the project since its inception and has taken on a strong role in the design of training packages.
Haaga-Helia is responsible for, among other things, the project's curriculum, content production and preparation. It will also act as an advisor in other areas of the project.
In addition to Haaga-Helia and Metropolia, SDG4BIZ includes the Basque Innovation and Research Center Tknika, the Italian Fondazione Fenice Green Energy Park, the Austrian Research Center Brainplus, the Norwegian pioneer of digital learning environments Itslearning, the Slovak University of Technology (STU) and the Turkish University of Yasar.
ANNARIIKKA ROSENDAHL, the project manager responsible for Haaga-Helia's part, says that she is excited about the launching of the long-planned project. SDG4BIZ is, in her opinion, exceptional in many ways.
There are dozens of people from all over Europe, which all share a desire to teach about business know-how linked to the UN principles of sustainability.
— SDG4BIZ addresses a topical and important theme for all of us. The effects of the matter extend deep into different parts of society. One could also argue that the topic is also relevant to Haaga-Helia's strategy and competence development. Because what could be more responsible than training thousands of specialists in the business world to identify growth opportunities for sustainable development, she states.
Rosendahl believes that the project development process will be extremely interesting to facilitate. According to her, the ambitious goals of SDG4BIZ and the multinational operating environment can be challenging even for an experienced project manager like her.
— There are a lot of moving pieces. That’s why I firmly believe that after going through this process, we’ve all learned a lot not only on the topic itself but also on how to lead international co-development involving numerous different organizations and even dozens of people, she says.
ACCORDING to Rosendahl, the idea for the SDG4BIZ project arose from need.
The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are unlikely to be met by 2030 if companies are unable to identify and capitalize on the business opportunities that arise from them.
— At present, companies are not able to exploit this growth potential, and universities do not provide sufficient support for competence development. That's why I think it’s our responsibility to address the shortage of needs that the business world inevitably faces, she thinks.
According to recent studies, achieving the sustainable development goals by 2030 would create a total of around 380 million new jobs and free up around € 10 trillion in new business opportunities.
The SDG4BIZ - Knowledge Alliance for Business Opportunity Recognition in SGDs project is funded by Erasmus + Knowledge Alliance. More information about the project can be found on our project pages at:
https://www.haaga-helia.fi/en/current/projects/sdg4biz-knowledge-alliance-business-opportunity-recognition-sdgs
