EU Green Week: Building skills for sustainable, resilient and socially just communities

As part of the 2023 EU Green Week, Verimpact worked closely together with other partners in a series of activities that contributed towards conversations around sustainability and climate resilience in Europe, with over 130 participants attending and featuring speakers from  academia, business, banking, investment, and civil society.

The "Think Green, Go Sustainable!" and Sustainable Finance Workshop events were held on Thursday 8 June, co-organized by Verimpact, the Athanasios C. Laskaridis Charitable Foundation and the Institute for Sustainable Development of the European Public Law Organization (EPLO) as part of the European Union's Green Week Partner Events.

In the first part of the day, the in-person conference “Think Green, Go Sustainable!” featured speakers discussing sustainability issues, major challenges, and opportunities in the marine environment, green skills education, sustainable product and service production, the importance of sustainable fashion, and the value of recycling and reusing.

The first panel, moderated by Dr. Angeliki Kosmopoulou, Executive Director of the A.C. Laskaridis Charitable Foundation, included Dr. Chrysi Karapanagioti (Professor of Chemistry at the University of Patras), Dr. Konstantinos Topouzelis (Associate Professor at the Department of Oceanography and Marine Biosciences at the University of the Aegean), Tasos Filippidis (Executive Director of OZON NGO), and Anastasia Charitou (Program Manager at iSea). They discussed plastic pollution in Greece, highlighted the impact of microplastics on marine life and the food chain, and explored the role of technology and civil society partnerships in addressing these issues.

The discussion continued with a panel titled "Green Skills Education", where speakers from entrepreneurship and civil society discussed the role of social enterprises and education in fostering a sustainable lifestyle and mindset. The panellists included Christina Stribakou, founder of LIA Olive Oil; Alexandros Nousias, Country Director of Envolve Entrepreneurship in Greece; and Dr. Stavroula Kordella, Environmental Oceanographer and President of SoSCIety NGO, with Ioanna Alexiadou, Program Manager at the Athanasios C. Laskaridis Charitable Foundation, serving as moderator.

The next topic focused on Sustainable Design of Services and Products, moderated by Faidra Mavrogeorgi, Founder of ESG+ Stories. The speakers analyzed sustainable production and consumption methods, using examples from the fashion, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and packaging sectors. Discussions included sustainable materials for fabrics made from natural products, the shift from plastic to biodegradable and paper straws, and the challenges in meeting consumers’ concerns about the actual sustainability of production materials and methods. Panellists included Lydia Polychronopoulou (Head of Communications and CSR at Matrix Pack S.A.), Christiana Vardakou (Textile Designer) and Konstantina Aggeli (Director of New Product Development & Sustainability at KORRES).

The conference concluded with a discussion on reusing and recycling, where representatives from the business sector shared best practices and initiatives in Greece in 2023. Emphasis was placed on incentivizing citizens, as demonstrated by the Just Go Zero Tilos project, and how major hotel groups like Aldemar Hotels & Resorts can play a catalytic role in adopting strategies and policies for reuse and recycling. Panellists included Kyveli Gourgouris from Just Go Zero Tilos, Jai Mexis (CEO of Odyssea), Alexandros Aggelopoulos (CEO of Aldemar Hotels and Resorts), and Yiannis Pitsakis (Co-Founder of 3QUARTERS). The discussion was moderated by Christina Deligianni, CEO of Verimpact.

In the second part of the day, the online Sustainable Finance Workshop featured speakers from the fields of investment, banking, business, and social entrepreneurship, who discussed sustainable finance, ESG, and the importance of sustainability, innovation, and technology in modern economies.

Spyros Kouvelis, Senior Associate at the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) and Director of the EPLO Institute for Sustainable Development, opened the workshop by highlighting the importance of sustainable development, the conditions that led humanity and the planet to their current state, and the measures taken by institutions such as the UN to address global challenges and the role of ESG criteria in the modern economy and society.

Dr. Haris Lambropoulos, CEO of the Hellenic Development Investment Bank, presented the adoption of ESG criteria by the Hellenic Development Investment Bank in relation to the domestic and international economy and market.

The discussion continued with Teresa Farmaki from Astarte Capital, who presented the challenges and opportunities in sustainable investments, the positive impact of sustainability-focused investments, and the aspects of the climate crisis that created this need.

The workshop concluded with a presentation by Nikolaos Karydis, Program Manager at The People’s Trust, who discussed how an organization can support new, sustainable businesses not only through investment but also by providing advisory and training for their staff.