Description
The project addresses the need for the applicant to join businesses to its climate action coalition to be actively involved in climate action, energy and mining policy-making. The project aims at finding business partners and engaging in climate action policy making through expert opinions, proposals for legal amendments and awareness raising. First, the best European and Bulgarian practices of business partnerships will be studied. Second, a greenwashing prevention analysis will be carried out and 10 companies will be shortlisted to join as members. Third, a strategic meeting will be held to discuss the common position and goals of the coalition with the new business partners. Next, the enhanced coalition will be presented to the decision-makers. Finally, the applicant will carry climate-action and energy related actions (legislative proposals, expert opinions, awareness-raising campaigns). The project will benefit, NGOs, businesses, decision-makers and the public at large.
Summary of project results
The main goal of the project was to raise the efficiency and capacity of Climate Coalition– Bulgaria (CCBG), a non-legal entity, active since 2006 and working in partnership with NGOs, the academia and the media. The project also aimed at identifying and making useful contacts with companies for new partnerships as well as influencing national climate and energy policies which required expertise and communication work on several levels. The project ensured the development of the expert potential of CCBG. The target groups acquired better expertise and more information about the scope of possible work together; useful contacts were made between the NGOs, members of CCBG, the institutions, “the Green Lawyers” and companies. The media were also covered as a target group. The media are much more active at present and more often refer to climate experts than prior to the project. In addition, the project helped create clearer rules of work of the Coalition with the business. This step created conditions for more successful, fruitful and long-standing cooperation with different companies. The experts created more than 25 project deliverables including expert and legal analyses of themes of interest for the Coalition, claims and enquiries for access to public information; the report on „Greenwashing”. The documents prepared covered the following themes: National Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change, biogas, energy efficiency, the mining strategy, the derogation of Bulgaria under the ETS Directive, coal subsidies, etc. The formation prepared and published in cooperation with Denkstat Bulgaria a manual with useful advice and practical solution with the title The Commitment of the Business to Climate Change (525 printed copies and an online publication) and a report called BUSINESS AND CLIMATE. Good Examples and Partnerships (100 copies). Specific internal documents were developed such as procedural rules, partnership rules, a new memorandum for partnership with the business, CCBG’s mission, vision and goals, etc. The communication activities were also successful: CCBG’s website was created and the online campaign held in the social media helped create an updated and more attractive website and active Facebook page. Both communication channels are in full use. This also had impact on feedback received and the increased and more active audience.
Summary of bilateral results