Small Scale partnership to promoting the design of a SUStainable NETwork under the Erasmus + programme

<< Background >>The project was applied to promote cooperation between organizations to create networks thathelp promote sustainability at the local, national and international levels, under UN SDG n17. As business support organisations, and being ourselves small entities built by entrepreneurial minds, partners are aware of the crucial role that SMEs and entrepreneurs have in meeting social and environmental goals, providing jobs, and creating economic and gender equity, involving the local communities in their journey toward sustainability. By extension, we know that these territorial actions are a key to the sustainable development of the EU community. SMEs and entrepreneurs have a huge role in the local development, and they need tobe aware of it and apply relevant SDGs on their organization to create sustainable local, national and international networks, and hence successfully protect, restore and promote the availability of resources for future generations. << Objectives >>The main objective of SUSNET was presenting best practices concerning sustainable collaboration and training partners about how to create effective partnerships that support the achievement of SDGs within sustainable local, national and international networks. For this, the consortium:- Defined sustainable topics, providing a comprehensive panorama of sustainable collaboration. - Provided Best Practices for creating sustainable networks - Improved knowledge about engaging stakeholders in sustainable ways.<< Implementation >>We implemented 3 main activities: -Activity 1. Elaboration of a Sustainable Concept Guide, that defines the main areas of application of sustainability for companies.-Activity 2: Production of Best practices Guidelines: a compilation of exemplary sustainable networking activities.-Activity 3: Production of a stakeholders guide oriented toward the creation of sustainable networksengaging their communities in collaborative sustainable practices For each one of these activities, a training mobility was organised to train the staff of the organisation involved in the developing of the activities to train them and to create a common understanding about the different fields of the activities.Activity 1 Training was held in Valencia, Activity 2 in Arezzo, and Activity 3 training in Odense<< Results >>- Improved the knowledge about the areas of application of the sustainable goals in collaborativeframeworks for SMEs, entrepreneurs and others from our networks - Increased partners’ internal capacity of creating partnerships that contribute to the UN sustainable development goals, by applying conscious criterias that foster the responsible behaviours and reduction of environmental impacts - Impacted positively our communities by committing them towards similar journeys