BEST (Boosting Environmental and Social Topics)

Promoting environmental and social issues by empowering employees and creating methods of participation in environmental and social change within the company. Development of a training programme for European Social Impact Manager.

Period: 2020-2022

Abstract

In terms of sustainability policy, there is a demand from small, medium-sized and large companies for guidance in the field of social-ecological innovation. The pressure on companies from civil society and policy to adapt their strategies, goals and concrete actions to the rapidly changing societal challenges is increasing.

The context from which the BEST project departs is described by the term "VUCA world", a term that describes the world in which we as people and organisations currently find ourselves. "VUCA world" stands for Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous. Which means rapidly changing, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. For the partners of BEST, social innovation is an effective strategy to deal with this volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world. Starting from the basic principle that people are central, BEST aims to implement a concept for social-ecological innovation in companies. It wants to start from the existing competences and the participative cooperation of all employees in the company. 

To make this possible, a curriculum will be composed for the training of Social Impact Managers and to sensitize employees (work package 1), a toolbox will be developed to implement concrete action for more sustainability in the company (work package 2), a methodology will be developed to carry out impact analyses and to share the results (work package 3), and a common digital online platform will be started up for the visualization of activities and successes by Social Impact Managers to share knowledge and experiences related to social-ecological innovation (work package 4).

Best multiplier event 26th january 2023

On the 26th of January 2023 we organised the muliplier event in order to share the results.

​​​The presentations and the video of the event can be found on this page.

Partners

The international project partners are:

  • Starkmacher e.V (D)
  • Associazione Italiana Imprenditori Per un´Economia di Communione A.I.P.E.C. (I)
  • AMU - Cooperação e Solidariedade por um Mundo Unido (P)

For KU Leuven:

Technology Campus Gent, Building Physics and Sustainable Design

Campus Brussels, CEDON

Promotor

Alexis Versele