It’s not just about business, it’s about community: Empowering Roma green entrepreneurs in Albania 

In Albania, a quiet transformation is taking root. One that weaves together sustainability, entrepreneurship, and community empowerment. At the heart of it is the Institute of Romani Culture in Albania (IRCA), which, through its ACCTING pilot project, has helped Roma micro-entrepreneurs take bold steps toward environmentally sustainable business practices. 

Marsela Isaku, project lead at IRCA, has witnessed this transformation first-hand. “Our project empowered Roma micro-entrepreneurs in Albania to adopt environmentally sustainable business practices through training, equipment support, and community networking,” she explains. And the results are already tangible. 

One of the most striking outcomes? The creation of an informal coalition of Roma Green Micro-Entrepreneurs, now connected through a newly launched online platform that facilitates peer learning, visibility, and continued support. 

But behind this structural achievement lies a powerful human story.

“A standout moment was awarding the first prize to a young Roma entrepreneur who runs a medicinal herbs business — not only is he creating green income opportunities, but he’s also revitalising his rural community and offering employment to others.”

This moment captures the spirit of the project: sustainable practices as a vehicle for autonomy, dignity, and shared progress. 

Yet, the path was not without challenges. Many participants, often excluded from formal education systems, initially struggled with the complexity of business and financial concepts. 

“We addressed this by using interactive, hands-on training methods and simplifying the content into practical exercises,” Marsela says, making it not only accessible but empowering.” 

What also surprised the team was the emergence of strong female leadership. “Over half of the supported businesses [were] led by women or girls — this exceeded our expectations and highlighted untapped potential in the community.” 

Sustainability as a mindset shift
One of the most profound impacts of the project wasn’t just economic, it was ideological. 

“At the beginning of the project, many participants viewed environmental sustainability as a distant or secondary concern—something more relevant to larger companies, not micro-enterprises like theirs.,” Marsela reflects.

“However, through practical training sessions and tailored support, they started to see the clear link between sustainability and business success. [They] began to understand that integrating eco-friendly practices (…) could improve efficiency, lower costs, and attract more customers.”

What was once abstract became concrete, relevant, and achievable. Participants began to see that sustainability wasn’t a burden, it was a smart, strategic choice. 

What’s next? Scaling up a community-led model
As the ACCTING project draws to a close, IRCA isn’t slowing down. Plans are underway to strengthen the coalition, expand the online platform, and offer new training in digital and financial literacy. 

Marsela believes this model is scalable. With context-specific adjustments and culturally sensitive facilitation, it could thrive in other regions and among other vulnerable groups. 

This project is a reminder that inclusive green transitions are not only possible but powerful when built from the ground up. It shows that when people are equipped with tools, trust, and space to grow, they become agents of change not just in their businesses, but in their communities. 

This initiative is one of ten pilot projects funded by ACCTING to support the reduction of social inequalities in relation to the Green Deal.

From hand-me-down bikes to a city-wide shift: How EduMove is changing how Tirana’s kids get to school 

In the suburbs of Tirana, where cycling was once seen as a sign of poverty or a relic of the past, a quiet revolution is taking place. A non-profit organisation is helping schoolchildren reclaim the streets, not with flashy campaigns or expensive equipment, but with donated bikes, grassroots training, and a bold belief in change. 

Launched by Active Mobility, the EduMove project has one goal: to get kids moving safely, confidently, and sustainably. And it’s working.

“EduMove enabled school-age children from outer communities in Tirana to cycle to school through bike donations, trainings, and safe infrastructure (bike racks and bike corridors),” explains Iden, a cycling activist turned project lead.

In just a few months, five schools went from having no students cycling to school to 18% making the journey on two wheels. 

”One key achievement we’re most proud of is increasing the number of students cycling to school from 0 to 18% across five schools — marking a cultural change toward active, independent mobility.”

It may sound like a small number. But in a city where bikes are often dismissed as outdated or low-status, that shift reflects something bigger: a reimagining of what’s possible for youth mobility and for the city itself. 

Among the many students impacted by the project, one story stood out.

“One moment that really stayed with me was seeing Migena, a shy girl who had never ridden a bike before, not only learn to cycle during our training but later become our first student to be hired by the organisation — proof that empowerment through mobility can lead to real opportunities.” 

The project wasn’t without challenges. Delays in receiving approval from the Ministry of Education caused early setbacks. “We overcame it by using the time to build stronger relationships with school staff and prepare high-quality training materials.”

Another hurdle came when students discovered the donated bikes weren’t brand new. “Many were disappointed… but with a very limited budget, we provided the best quality used bikes available and offered free repairs to ensure they felt valued and supported.” 

What surprised the team most wasn’t the resistance, it was how quickly things turned around.

”Once a few confident kids started biking to school, it created a ripple effect, inspiring their classmates, siblings, and even parents to reconsider bikes as a real transport option.” 

Over half of the participants were girls, many of whom had never cycled before. Their growing confidence began to shift long-held perceptions about gender and mobility within their schools. 

Collaboration was at the heart of EduMove. “Partnerships with schools, the Municipality of Kamëz, local bike shops, and community members allowed us to deliver training, install infrastructure, and create a support system that made cycling both possible and sustainable for the students.”

Some of those students became more than just participants. “We chose to focus on the ones who caught the ‘cycling spark’. We kept in close contact with them, invited them to events, gave them opportunities to speak up and lead.” That enthusiasm proved contagious. 

”In more than one case, we saw hesitant peers become curious, and parents begin supporting cycling as a daily routine.” 

Looking ahead, EduMove’s momentum shows no signs of slowing. “We see EduMove continuing through two main paths: integrating cycling education into the national school curriculum — starting with grades 4 and 5 — and expanding the model to other schools and even universities, with support from local partners and new funding opportunities already in the pipeline.” 

The team believes the model could work well beyond Tirana, especially in other areas where young people face mobility challenges. “But the bike donation component is quite unique and emotionally impactful,” Iden adds. “Any replication would need to ensure a strong local commitment to sourcing bikes and maintaining that personal connection with each recipient.” 

During the project, the team observed a sharp divide in students’ attitudes. “Many associated bikes with poverty or saw cycling as unsafe and unfashionable — a mode of transport they felt society had outgrown.” Others, however, embraced the experience with enthusiasm.

”The sense of freedom and confidence it gave them was transformative.”

By focusing on this group, and helping them become visible within their communities, the project created a ripple effect that continues to grow. 

EduMove is proof that with the right mix of trust, tools, and training, a second-hand bike can carry a child much further than just to school. It can lead to independence, leadership and a cultural shift on wheels.

This initiative is one of ten pilot projects funded by ACCTING to support the reduction of social inequalities in relation to the Green Deal.

The impact of climate change and the capacity to mitigate its negative impacts are unevenly distributed across and within societies; it is the poorer, marginalised and vulnerable groups who are the most acutely affected. ACCTING has collected 358 narratives via individual interviews in 13 European countries to capture some of the experiences of those vulnerable groups. These narratives on inequalities in enablers and hindrances for advancing behavioural change span eight thematic research lines – each addressing an EU Green Deal policy area. Read our dataset including all 358 narratives collected.

Economic struggles as an inhibiting factor for access to sustainable food 

“I am a 22 year old woman, I live in Thessaloniki Greece with my family, and I am a student. I enjoy going to the supermarket to see what’s new and available so I am the one that goes to shop in the supermarket. However I also go to the food market which I believe is more accessible due to their lower prices compared to the supermarket. I also prefer the food market because I support local micro enterprises which is very important. I was very focused on Asian cuisine as they have many vegetables with many different ways. My main obstacle to food is that I am lactose intolerant so I can’t eat any milk based food but I get a pill and eat some anyway because I can’t completely cut of all milk based products. I also had gastritis due to anxiety and I could not really eat many of the foods available.

“If I want to support a sustainable diet which is good for me, good for the planet and is something I believe in, I won’t be able to do it due to the very high prices that inhibit access to this type of food”

Another obstacle to access is the economic issue. So some of the basic food like pita giro (greek sandwich ) is almost 5 euros. So if fast food is so expensive then what will happen with organic food prices that are actually good for you? This is something I am worried about. Especially if I want to support a sustainable diet which is good for me, good for the planet and is something I believe in, I won’t be able to do it due to the very high prices that inhibit my access to this type of food. I do engage in sustainable eating in about 30% of my diet but due to the high prices I cannot support a full diet of sustainable food. If these prices continue to rise like this, I am thinking that in 5 years I won’t be able to buy anything organic. My parents didn’t want to buy for instance organic rice but I persuaded them to do so since I told them its better for you, so I was buying organic rise, organic fruits, or spaghetti from carrots so I liked to find new ways of accessing new food. Another positive thing was that the women in my family and my brother – my father does not really support changes in eating habits- but my mother and sister were positive in trying new things, for instance spaghetti made out of carrots. The social environment plays a very big role in this because if I was living alone it would be fine I would buy this type of food and eat it alone, but now I live with three more people so the type of food you buy needs to be accepted by everyone because it is costly and needs to be consumed. So it was important that my parents would also contribute economically to buying organic food because if I was alone I would not be able to afford it. Then I was out of a job for a while so I could not live the life that I wanted. I would go organic two weeks per month but now (with the prices) I soon won’t be able to do one week of organic food.

Regarding cooking at home I am mainly the one that does the cooking as my mother rarely cooks as she is working. On the days where the family would eat meat I would do the cooking, I would not mind cooking meat but I didn’t want to eat it so I would have to cook a side meal. I could not eat only rice for the rest of the day so I had to come up with something with more vitamins, so I would buy something organic like tofu or tempe that I would get and I would eat it myself. I tried to persuade my family to eat some of that food and my mother and sister did go into the process of trying to eat more organic food. We also do not throw food but we use tapers to place food from previous days in. A while back we would throw it away and I told my family we should not. Near our neighbourhood we have some homeless people so I though of giving some of the leftovers to them as we cook for a family so we end up with large quantities of food. When I was living alone for a while with a roommate we only had organic food and vegetables in the fridge so it was a great time regarding access to sustainable food. I opened the fridge and I had everything I wanted. It was a time where both me and my roommate had jobs so we could afford organic food and it was during the lockdown so instead of spending money to go out we would spend it on food.

In order to find access while I walk I look around to find restaurants that serve vegan or organic food. I also look at Instagram to find relevant places where I can eat – today this is how you search for information. What also helped with access is that when I started eating organic it was around the time when organic food shops were opening in Greece so that was really helpful. I am often jealous of the previous generations that did not have these chemicals in their foods. For instance my grandmother slices a tomato and she smells it and then she gives this to me to smell and you could actually smell the tomato. But I feel lucky that I have access to organic food now because a while ago you could not find this type of food in Greece.

So there is access to organic food, however the biggest issue with that is the money since it is expensive. When I go to the supermarket I am very focused on what to get. I know what products I will buy that will be organic, or when I get out I will say to myself today’s expense will be to eat an organic salad. So it’s about organising your expenses and knowing what to get.”

More inspiring narratives

The impact of climate change and the capacity to mitigate its negative impacts are unevenly distributed across and within societies; it is the poorer, marginalised and vulnerable groups who are the most acutely affected. ACCTING has collected 358 narratives via individual interviews in 13 European countries to capture some of the experiences of those vulnerable groups. These narratives on inequalities in enablers and hindrances for advancing behavioural change span eight thematic research lines – each addressing an EU Green Deal policy area. Read our dataset including all 358 narratives collected.

Daily bike trains to school were the triggering event to develop a new kind of mobility 

“My name is Alexandre, I am married and I am 40 years old. I was born in Porto and I have been living in Lisbon for some years now. I work in technology. I have two daughters. One is 8 years old and the other is 3 years old. As a child, while living in Porto, I used to cycle until I was 16. I cycled a lot and I even went to school by bike a lot. The school was very close, and I would normally walk there, but I would also cycle a lot with my friends. Then, I bought a motorbike at the age of 16, so the bicycle became less important for me. I am a sportsman and I like physical activity very much. I have always done physical exercise, namely running, playing football, and going for walks. My daughter who is 6 years old is also encouraged by us to do exercise. We walk a lot and she also keeps me company by running. I have also been very concerned about ecology from a very young age. I have environmental concerns and I always wanted to give my children a new vision of how to get around. It is very different going to school by car, instead of walking, for example. If they walk or cycle, they see things differently.

“It is true that the pandemic has changed our way of seeing things a little bit. I am a big believer that our experiences will lead us to make different decisions”

With the outbreak of the pandemic, I thought of buying a bicycle so that I could move around. I have to use a car for my work. So, I bought a bicycle to spend some time and I started to move around by bicycle. When I was dropping my daughter off at school, I would always see a group of bicycles and it made me wonder why I was always stuck in traffic. Then, one day, I remembered to go by bike to pick up my daughter from school and I took her bike too. We both went home by bike. We go from Ajuda to Restelo. It is still about 15 or 20 minutes. We did this once or twice, and in the meantime we met the other participants of the Restelo bicycle train. It was at that time that this change to using a bicycle began. But we do not only cycle, we also walk with the children to school several times a week. I think we have started to develop a new kind of mobility. My daughter, who is now 8 years old, goes to school on her bicycle, and because we offer alternatives to the car, she is already looking at mobility in a different way. Our youngest daughter also goes with us. We use a smaller car seat to transport her. This change is not exactly related to the outbreak of the pandemic, because if I had met these colleagues from the bicycle group before, I think I would have started then. Even at my work, we were already teleworking and video conferencing before the pandemic. So, I did not feel affected. The only difference I felt was that I travelled less often. We do face-to-face meetings less and less. We are all used to working remotely by now. When we see that there is a need to maintain face-to-face contact, maybe we try to have that, but we are working remotely more and more. As for my commute, I wake up around 7am and leave around 8am. We get on our bicycles and take the children to school, which is in Restelo. We often ride together on the bicycle train. We meet up with other people along the way and the bike train gets bigger with more children. After dropping my daughter off at school, I return to the Ajuda area to bring my youngest daughter to school too. Then, I cycle to the docks area where our office is. This office was chosen so that I could keep this green mobility. I could have some benefits from having an office in a more central part of town. It would be easier for me to commute and be with clients. Here, I sometimes have to use the car, but I rarely do. Then, at the end of the day, I go back to the Restelo area to pick up my eldest daughter. I go home, leave my bicycle there, and pick up my youngest daughter on foot. 

“If I have to move to another office, I will try to stick with the possibility of using bicycle, it will be a condition”

Regarding shopping, we choose to buy locally. We live in an area where there is a lot of retail. Sometimes we go to a bigger supermarket because it is relatively close, but traditionally we try to shop locally, right there on our street. When we need to buy a larger quantity of products, or heavier products, we use the car. During the weekend, we use the bicycle to go out, or to go to a museum, or to take the children for a ride by the river. In the past, we used to walk more. Today, we cycle more often. The four of us go on bike picnics. We use the bicycle a lot more now. But it is not possible to do everything by bicycle or on foot. My wife has to take our eldest daughter to other places. For that reason and others, we still keep the car with us. For example, if it is raining a lot, we use the car to take the children. I think cycling has many advantages and is very beneficial in many ways. Cycling becomes a faster way of getting around for me. Riding a bicycle is also more enjoyable, in my opinion. Furthermore, cycling is more economical. Regarding the pandemic, we spent more time at home during the lockdown. We were working more at home, and we did not commute by car as much. I was working in the city centre at the time, and I was driving every day. As I stopped commuting, I started to have other experiences. On the one hand, not being in traffic was a very good thing: The truth is that today I have much less patience when I have to get in the car. For example, it is much more difficult to know that I have to go to a certain place by car, I know I am not going to like it.

“If I can, I will try to reduce our ecological footprint. Nowadays, I think a lot before I use the car to commute”

Regarding aspects to be improved, perhaps public transport could be better in terms of supply. Just yesterday we took the tram to Alcântara, and went to the library with the children, and then we waited almost 40 minutes for the tram back. We gave up waiting for the tram. We caught another tram, and then we walked home. So, if public transport were more efficient, maybe people would use it more. If transport was free, cleaner and more frequent, maybe people would use it more.”

More inspiring narratives

The impact of climate change and the capacity to mitigate its negative impacts are unevenly distributed across and within societies; it is the poorer, marginalised and vulnerable groups who are the most acutely affected. ACCTING has collected 358 narratives via individual interviews in 13 European countries to capture some of the experiences of those vulnerable groups. These narratives on inequalities in enablers and hindrances for advancing behavioural change span eight thematic research lines – each addressing an EU Green Deal policy area. Read our dataset including all 358 narratives collected.

Veronica, an educator with two children, fights for a change of values

“My name is Veronica and I am an educator of almost 46 years old. I work in sustainable mobility and outdoor education. I have two children, one 15 years old and one 12 years old, who live half time with me and half time with their dad. Throughout my life, I have had different lifestyles.

I was born in a large city in central Italy and I come from a very peripheral neighbourhood (a working-class suburb), and until university, I took the bus and mostly the moped, because it was faster. Then I moved to this area and I stopped using the moped after a bad accident. I then started to use the bicycle and continued to do so when I moved to the centre of the city. At the time, I didn’t have the same conviction I have today. Even though I come from a very environmentally conscious family and years of scouting, I still thought the car was the quickest way of transport. When I moved back to the suburbs and the children were born it was difficult because I had to take them to kindergarten and there was no alternative for me. In the suburb where I lived, taking the bus with strollers and materials to transport was very difficult, so I was always in my car for an average of four hours a day. A very tiring life in which I was paralysed in traffic.

“I had a very local idea of travelling in the city and still believed that the car was the fastest way to get around”

 Then I went to live in the Netherlands and Sweden and for nine years my life changed completely. I lived in cities where it was possible to choose different forms of sustainable transport and I gave up using my car. With COVID, I decided to return to my city in Italy because I saw the potential for change and I chose this neighbourhood again because there was a train stop and cycle path nearby. 

I am a big believer in the 15-minute city and I try, as a freelancer, to concentrate my professional activities in the neighbourhood. All my work and my routine are very much intertwined with cycle activism. I always use the bike, but sometimes, given the infrastructure we have, in bad weather or when I am very tired, I move around either by metro or by train.

“I recognise that I am a different person today after living in Northern Europe”

 I got a very light bike because that way I can load it onto public transport when I come back very late at night or to go on holiday. Train delays are frequent but they are getting better. The problem is that it’s difficult to load the bike because the train is always very full. In addition, I happened to find bus drivers who wouldn’t let me get on with my bike even though I was allowed to, or underground stops that are not equipped to carry bikes. Even though I know it is against the rules, sometimes I still take my bike on the escalator because otherwise I would have to get on or off three stops earlier or later. I also used car sharing through my work cooperative and I often use dedicated apps. When I am with the children, we only move around by bus or bicycle. I have always encouraged them to do so by showing them the concrete possibility of moving around in a sustainable way. The first child also moves around on his own, but to get to the bike path from home takes about 1 km and the road is very busy and I don’t trust drivers. Sometimes I feel my children are in danger in traffic: a feeling I didn’t have when I lived abroad, where I was even more in harmony with my children. But since we returned here, my oldest son has been complaining that it is difficult to use his bike in the city and asks to be driven by his grandparents. He has a heavier load of books and he doesn’t see many classmates with bikes around him. He is often ashamed when I take the cargo bike and sees my fight for the use of bicycles instead of more polluting vehicles as a demand.

“It’s not easy because as a mother I take the risk that something might happen to my son”

The problems that can occur on the road are potholes, glass puncturing inner tubes, risks related to the behaviour of motorists, and the fact that institutions do not take these risks on board: there is a lack of pedestrian crossings, traffic lights, 30 zones (areas where the speed limit is 30 kilometres per hour), signposting, road maintenance, etc. Even with regard to safety, the situation is tragic. There are areas without lighting where I don’t venture onto the cycle path: I’ve encountered wild boars and once a person threw a glass bottle at me at night as I was passing. My neighbourhood isn’t very quiet, but these problems don’t limit my cycling even at night. If I lived in another neighbourhood, I might have more problems. Moreover, here, compared to other Italian cities and European countries, people don’t feel they belong to a community of cyclists, and I feel as the alien, as everyone tells me. It’s dangerous and frustrating, and I know that you do take the risk even if I try to convince parents and children that it can be done.

I see the road as something that belongs to us, to cyclists, to pedestrians. The institutions and the local police don’t defend us enough or are very absent in our city on this, so we, the cyclists, have to do it by setting an example, by being seen physically and risking our lives. Then here also pedestrians are not used to cyclists on the cycle lane and think that you only cycle for fun and not to go to work, etc. So I often find myself having to stop and ring the bell and find reactions back from people saying ’It’s not just for you, cyclists. Where do we walk?” I even had to fight in my apartment building to be able to park my bike. In my neighbourhood, people mainly use the car alone, even for short distances out of fear of risks, laziness, and because there is an inability to reflect on the fact that the car is not the fastest or safest means of transport. It is comfortable but stressful and expensive, and we need to break this routine. Walking or cycling is not as attractive as having a new mobile phone. People think that buses are not well connected, they are late, they are dirty and there is a fear of COVID. The metro would change a lot, but it still doesn’t take you everywhere, and the change would still have to be in the values along with the improvement of the infrastructure. Here the car is a status symbol to get recognised, while using transport or the bicycle is seen as lame. There must be a commitment on the part of the municipality. For example, we demand the Bike to School service from institutions like the bus school. It’s a culture that needs to be changed, starting with working with children and the younger generation.”

More inspiring narratives

The impact of climate change and the capacity to mitigate its negative impacts are unevenly distributed across and within societies; it is the poorer, marginalised and vulnerable groups who are the most acutely affected. ACCTING has collected 358 narratives via individual interviews in 13 European countries to capture some of the experiences of those vulnerable groups. These narratives on inequalities in enablers and hindrances for advancing behavioural change span eight thematic research lines – each addressing an EU Green Deal policy area. Read our dataset including all 358 narratives collected.

Mobility options for a single mother with three children

“I am Cindy, 39, a single mother with three children, one of which is in primary school, the two others in secondary. My career has been in human resources, and when my employer started to fire most of my colleagues and team, I decided to quit the job. My former manager and I decided to start a business. We are fully operational since 1 October 2022.

My second oldest is going to school in a boarding school. This school is in Flanders for her to learn to speak Dutch, some 80 km from home. In the weekends, I have an arrangement with 3 other parents and we each go one week out of four to pick-up and bring our children. My oldest son and youngest daughter go to school in our village some 2,5 km from home. My son always bikes even with bad weather. My youngest bikes only when the weather permits.

I bought a second hand car when I had to hand over back my company car. All our family trips are done by car. I will use the bike inside the village, including for shopping.

We have a bus stop nearby but never use the bus. We could use it to go to the nearby city, but never do. I made the choice that the children would go by bike to school as much as possible; I am lucky there are schools not too far and that the way going is going down, so the children arrive on time. When coming back, they have to bike uphill.

Many parents do not understand this choice and consider I take risks. On the way to school they have to cross a very busy national road. There is a traffic light and I have taught them to always get off their bike and cross walking. They are also well equipped (helmet, fluo jacket, lights; … ). I have biked intensively with the children over summer to train them, also on the road to school, showing all the risky spots.

My daughter never bikes alone to school. I will bike with her and then come back. Or she will go with her older brother. This means a small detour for him. As we have a car-sharing arrangement with two other children from her school, they would normally also bike all three together. Either me or my son will accompany the three on the trip. We have a bus stop in front of the house, but I never even checked the timetable. If one of the children had to go to school to the city, that would be different.

“I am really concerned about the future. I will try to go by bike as much as I can, also to exercise”

For daily shopping I use a local small supermarket that sells products they source in the neighbourhood. I am then using a backpack to carry the shopping. We have a car as I need it for my work, to go to clients. We also need it for all our trips as a family, including holidays. I used to have a company car but when I started as an independent, I bought a second-hand car. I envisaged to buy a smaller one and then to rent a large one when going on holidays, but finally did not do it. The same applies to an electric car. We could do most of our trips in an electric car, both professional and family, but buying electric is too expensive. I could simply not afford it. I know many people in the management of Decathlon. They have Tesla’s as company cars. But they cannot use that car to go to the south of France on holiday, so they go on holiday by plane.

“The whole benefit of driving an electric car during the year is given away when a whole family takes the plane for their holidays”

I am really concerned about the future. I now have good solutions, but the apartment is rented. I cannot afford to buy a house in this village. I would need to go further away from the city to find something affordable. Will I find good solutions there? Is it better to keep on renting and living here? Or to move further away where prices are lower and be able to buy instead of renting?”

More inspiring narratives

The impact of climate change and the capacity to mitigate its negative impacts are unevenly distributed across and within societies; it is the poorer, marginalised and vulnerable groups who are the most acutely affected. ACCTING has collected 358 narratives via individual interviews in 13 European countries to capture some of the experiences of those vulnerable groups. These narratives on inequalities in enablers and hindrances for advancing behavioural change span eight thematic research lines – each addressing an EU Green Deal policy area. Read our dataset including all 358 narratives collected.

Harold, 59, on eating patterns and sustainability

“My name is Harold and I am a 59-year-old man. I have three children with my ex-wife, who have all left the house, and I live on my own. I frequently stay with my partner though (or vice versa). I am on burnout leave and get an allowance from my health insurance fund, which is enough to cover what I need.

“I was given a food pattern in my youth by my parents raising me, and that food pattern recurs regularly”

I grew up with a food consumption pattern during my childhood that I still largely adhere to out of habit nowadays: typical Flemish farmers’ meals, which include seasonal vegetables, meat or fish, and a lot of potatoes. Because potatoes can increase your weight a lot, I’ve started substituting some alternatives in the past few years like rice or tabbouleh. My choices for vegetables vary according to the season, as their supply is bigger in stores when they are in season, and I only sporadically pick up something more exotic. I’m not a big fruit eater, though, just strawberries and tangerines. I think it’s also important that food is locally produced, so I do look out for that. It surprises me that there is actually a relatively limited supply of local vegetables in stores, unless we’re talking about ‘forgotten’ vegetables like turnips and parsnips. Belgian products that are usually available include cabbage, beans and Belgian endives, but that’s about it. If you look closely at packaged vegetables that you would think are typical winter vegetables for Belgium, they are actually from abroad: green beans come from Ethiopia, or recently I had a little package of vegetables from Morocco. I don’t have a problem with that in principle: I think the quality of harvesting is probably the same, but they do have to go over long distances to come here. More and more in supermarkets lately (though still limited), they do put little Belgian flags on products that were locally produced, like carrots. I think that’s more for advertising purposes by big agro-companies so that they can sell more than for sustainability purposes. But if they would guide me, the customer, more towards those kinds of products, I would buy more locally.

I go to local markets too, but I think they can be misleading. Given that there is no packaging, you’d think that it is from around here, but the wholesalers where people with market stalls go for their products are also importing a lot of their products. I think the barrier to entry for farmer’s markets around here is a bit too high. They only have very specific times that their stalls are present each week and you often have to order online in advance. I am averse to doing anything online or on the computer, so that doesn’t work for me. The only place where you can really be sure is the bio-stores, but they are a bit more expensive of course. I know of one that is run as a cooperative that works together with farmers just outside the city. I went there for a while, but I can’t do that on my current income. You notice it immediately: a basket of food products there would cost almost as much as a whole cart in a normal supermarket. But even when I go to the supermarket I need to pay attention to how much I spend: I buy non-brand alternatives as much as possible, also for canned vegetables like beans and peas. I don’t notice a difference in quality anyway.

“I never ate spaghetti in my youth. Where did you buy that? It wasn’t on one of the carts that came by our house, but it probably was in the big Carrefour and we almost never went there”

When I was a kid, we had all kinds of carts passing by the house to sell food products: vegetable cart, the brewer’s cart, the local fishmonger, … This happened on fixed days of the week and I assume it was locally produced. That doesn’t exist anymore, but I don’t remember going to the supermarket often as a child, because we were able to get almost everything from them. That also influenced greatly what we actually ate: I never ate spaghetti as a child for instance, that was never on one of those carts and my mom never made that (it wasn’t in her big recipe book from the local farmers’ union). When I think about sustainable food, I think of meals with no meat or with meat replacements, or food that doesn’t use a lot of water to produce. It’s strange that we eat strawberries from Israel, for instance: we have them here too, just not the whole year long. It’s not too much of a sacrifice to only eat strawberries in the summer and then just wait until the next summer comes along. But to change your eating habits on your own is very difficult. It’d be easier if your whole family makes the switch at the same time and if you talk about it a lot beforehand. I do use meat replacements and other alternatives now in my cooking, but it’s on a more sporadic basis. I think this change came to be by talking with a lot of the people I know and being influenced by their way of eating. It would be a good thing if there were policies that prohibited certain foods during certain seasons. I wouldn’t cross the border to just eat strawberries. Take a sugar tax, for instance: I love sugar and sodas, but if there’s just less supply of it, that would help for people’s health and I wouldn’t be against it. Same principle for non-sustainable food.”

More inspiring narratives

The impact of climate change and the capacity to mitigate its negative impacts are unevenly distributed across and within societies; it is the poorer, marginalised and vulnerable groups who are the most acutely affected. ACCTING has collected 358 narratives via individual interviews in 13 European countries to capture some of the experiences of those vulnerable groups. These narratives on inequalities in enablers and hindrances for advancing behavioural change span eight thematic research lines – each addressing an EU Green Deal policy area. Read our dataset including all 358 narratives collected.

In Belgium, the energy crisis leads to a change of business model

“I am Petra, a graphic designer. I created my business 15 years ago as I wanted another career, more linked to food and people. I first worked as a manager of a sales outlet of a local chain like Pret-a-manger, to learn the job and the market. The restaurant is located on the ground floor of a former industrial building (workshop to cut diamonds). The energy crisis triggered a process of reflection that led us to drastic decisions, even to close the restaurant as no solution could be found to avoid a too high reduction of margin, making it meaningless to keep on working.

The start of the story is a decision taken a long time ago to save on personnel cost in a model with long opening hours (12 h / day). The choice we made was to work only with pre-prepared recipes. When the chef is there (daily) he produces, and the production is stored in appropriate packaging and stored in a fridge. Upon demand, the prepared meals are taken out for either take-away (in a specific packaging) or to be heated and consumed in the restaurant (if relevant as not all meals need to be warm). Meals are also displayed in the restaurant in a fridge. This approach reduces personnel cost (there is no “à la minute chef” present); but has logistics implications (packaging, cooling, … ). One of them is this “open” fridge displaying meals.

In August, I decided to start measuring our energy consumption. We started to do this daily and comparing with the day’s activity. Key point has been the purchase of a device to measure consumption of the different appliances. This device has been moving from appliance to appliance and led to a much better understanding of the energy consumption. When plugging it in the “open display fridge”, we discovered the full production of our 18 solar panels was needed for only this. Three hours after this discovery, the fridge was taken out of use.

“The uncertainty about the price of energy we might have to pay is unbelievable. Three hours after we had measured the consumption of our open-display fridge, we switched it off.”

“We controlled systematically all appliances and disconnected what was feasible to disconnect. This led to a process of systematic reduction of energy use. The expectation is that we will be at one fifth (!) by the end of the year. Another example is warm water. We had a boiler in the kitchen keeping the water temperature at a constant high. This was extremely comfortable for the team and when the option was considered to stop this, there was a lot of resistance. Still, it was taken out and one month later, nobody complains anymore. The team is now used to live without this “luxury”. For cooking, the chef is also adapting his habits and not bringing water to boiling temperature if not strictly needed (e.g. for pasta).

There are solutions and we discover and implement them one by one. We do not know yet what will be the financial consequences as we did not receive information from our energy provider. But my calculations based on the prices after checking what is mentioned for new contracts is that our energy cost for the first quarter of 2023 based on the consumption of this year’s Q1 would be dramatic (average of 20K / month). This leads to an incredible level of uncertainty and I am angry that we are so dependent of the energy providers who are not transparent on prices. This is also why we decided to stop the restaurant activity. Five years ago we managed to buy the house next to the restaurant and transformed this house into a B&B. Now we have decided to implement the following changes:
•The hallway of the B&B house will become like a shop where customers can come and pick up meals and snacks; a much-reduced assortment compared to today (not yet clear if there would be hot meals)
•The living room of the B&B will be rearranged to become a place where people can consume. This is much smaller than the present restaurant. It is in this room the B&B guests have their breakfast and this will remain the same
•The restaurant will be rented out for events. If it needs to be heated for an event, this becomes a variable cost compared to a fixed cost today. The variable cost is occurring only when an event takes place and is charged to the event organiser.

We will do this transition in steps and trying to minimise the impact on staff. As all staff have been with us for more than 10 years, the “social passive” is very high, but we will assume this cost. It is the consequence of conscious decisions in the past to keep on working with the same people and not to do what others do in the business: never keep the same staff for more than five years. It is open from 8 to 8 on weekdays. My husband joined me to help in the business after a few years, first part-time and now full time. We have 4 people on the payroll: a chef (full-time) and three part-time employees.”

“After all, I am happy with the energy crisis. It has been an eye-opener. I hope we will never fall back to old habits.”

More inspiring narratives

The impact of climate change and the capacity to mitigate its negative impacts are unevenly distributed across and within societies; it is the poorer, marginalised and vulnerable groups who are the most acutely affected. ACCTING has collected 358 narratives via individual interviews in 13 European countries to capture some of the experiences of those vulnerable groups. These narratives on inequalities in enablers and hindrances for advancing behavioural change span eight thematic research lines – each addressing an EU Green Deal policy area. Read our dataset including all 358 narratives collected.

In Italy, a family micro-enterprise pursues energy saving and recycling

“My name is Federica, and I am a 40-year-old entrepreneur. I am married and have a four-year-old son. I graduated in medicine and surgery, but a year later, I came down with a lung disease that will make it impossible for me to enter a hospital for the rest of my life. I, therefore, had to ‘reinvent’ my life. I took a second degree in business economics, and then I did a specific course which was of no use to me; because what ‘really’ means to be an entrepreneur I then learned from reality. I think that trade associations, however, should improve their support to enterprises. After several jobs, all with fixed-term contracts that never lasted more than a year, but anyway very useful, I decided to start my own business with my husband. We started with nothing. We bought a truck with promissory notes. We proceeded in small steps by investing everything we had.

Now, we are a micro family enterprise where my husband and I work, with just one employee. We are in the process of hiring a second one to replace the one who was there and we had to dismiss due to theft. We deal in the recycling of metal/recyclable materials (aluminium, steel, copper, brass, iron, bronze) and intermediation of non-hazardous waste (paper/cardboard, wood, plastic/pvc, aggregates). The company was established seven years ago. We have a fair turnover. We have obtained several certifications that are very important for us. We have a warehouse and a truck for transporting materials. The warehouse is rented out and will have to be decommissioned within a few years because with the expansion of the close urban area, it is now in a residential area. We had asked the owner to install solar panels to power our machinery (the cost is around €3,000 per month), but as the roof would have to be redone, he refused. For these two reasons, we are looking for a new warehouse to move into. We intend to buy it and then run it as we see fit. We will certainly install solar panels in the new warehouse. We have already identified an appropriate site. However, moving in the new warehouse will take two years/two and a half years, also because it takes a long time to obtain authorisations for our activities. In 2019 we replaced the old, outdated lighting system with a new-generation LED system, which is more efficient and consumes much less energy. We also replaced the old truck with a Euro 5 truck that consumes less fuel. We have purchased machines that serve to reduce the debris and thus allow more of it to be brought in, saving further fuel. We also try to organise transport in such a way that, as far as possible, there are no trips where it goes empty. For the material that is transported to our shed, we have set up a booking system on our website to avoid as much as possible the trucks queuing with their engines running, wasting fuel. Finally, we have digitalised all our transactions to avoid paper consumption and we have nearly eliminated plastic. We want to improve ourselves further, moving to the new site, further improving the production process with more space, better machinery (4.0) and being a company that recycles and reuses materials suitable for someone else’s production process. Something completely different from what the old scrap dealers used to be. To a large extent we already are.

“I think that enterprise associations should do more to help entrepreneurs”

We have not made use of incentives or financial contributions in the past, but we hope to do so in the future, even though these are often costly practices. Once we tried in the past and had to spend 2,000 Euro for a consultant, but then (although we scored excellently) we did not get the financing. There would also be calls related to the circular economy that would be interesting, but we are too small. We would have to get together with others, which is difficult, as we are competitors. Alone we do not have the strength. Looking at the other companies, I see a clear break. There are important companies that have adapted to the circular economy while, unfortunately, most of the micro-enterprises, like ours, are struggling to fit into this new context. 60% because of ignorance and 40% because of lack of will. A lack of interest, not a lack of competences. In the same sector of my enterprise, there are mostly people who have been doing a similar job for at least two or three generations and have the same way of doing things, often also using very polluting means of transport and do not care about energy efficiency. They probably save money by doing so at present; but soon they will be at a crossroads: either they will adapt or they will have to stop their activity. With these micro-entrepreneurs there are often discussions, but then everyone goes their own way. With suppliers and customers, we try to be as helpful as possible by meeting their needs (e.g., regarding payment timeline or transport arrangements; we are also competitive because we are willing to buy the materials for recycling assembled – and not already divided – and then we can sort them ourselves). However, we are uncompromising about the way we work, including the rejection of cash payments (in black) and we have lost a lot of clients for this reason. In the end, this pays off. 2020 was a very tough year. We benefited from a subsidy of 25,000 Euro against the many (much higher) costs we had to bear with production stopped for a few months. But in 2021 we achieved a higher turnover than in 2019. However, it is not a good time, due to price volatility and the difficulty in selling our ‘product’ (due to Covid, plus the economic crisis, and war). With great difficulty, we are able to keep our suppliers, even buying large quantities of material to prevent it from being sold to someone else, and we have to keep it before we can process it and then manage to sell it. Now, finally, bit by bit, we are selling.

“Most of the micro-entrepreneurs working in the same sector as me do not care about energy efficiency and environmental issues in general”

In the future, I hope my company will grow (having from 7 to 10 employees) by benefiting from the latest-generation machinery and with very few emissions. My culture and my family have been very important. They taught me humility, and a willingness to learn, which have been indispensable in my entrepreneurial life. I am passionate about it; I study various issues personally (including legal aspects). First, there are ethical aspects, and then comes energy efficiency and the environment. Finally, I am the same person at home as in the enterprise. And the house is already mine and I am already in the process of installing the solar panels.”

More inspiring narratives

The impact of climate change and the capacity to mitigate its negative impacts are unevenly distributed across and within societies; it is the poorer, marginalised and vulnerable groups who are the most acutely affected. ACCTING has collected 358 narratives via individual interviews in 13 European countries to capture some of the experiences of those vulnerable groups. These narratives on inequalities in enablers and hindrances for advancing behavioural change span eight thematic research lines – each addressing an EU Green Deal policy area. Read our dataset including all 358 narratives collected.

Luigi, Italy, lives independently in an energy community

“My name is Luigi, I am over sixty years old and I am retired. I was an inmate and lived in a psychiatric hospital, then in a shelter and finally in an independent flat. I have two children, who live in another city and visit me when they have time.

For many years I knew that a foundation was building these ecological houses where I live now, and that I could go there when they were ready. These houses are built of brick, with straw inside, to insulate them, and they have solar panels on the roof. There is an accumulator that stores the energy for when the sun is out. In the summer, there is a lot of energy, and a transformer sends it into the public electricity grid, while when we need energy we can take it from the same grid and so what we earn and what we spend is compensated. I’ve been living here for three months now and I’m very happy because the house is bigger than the one I was in before, it’s more spacious, and we pay very little for electricity. We practically only pay for water and the tax for garbage. In the house where I was staying before, I went as far as paying bills of 90 and even 130 euros, whereas here, since I arrived in August and it is still quite warm, I have never had to pay for electricity.

When I joined the Foundation’s project years ago, before the little houses were ready, they gave me a course to be a cook and I worked in the kitchen. I also took a cook’s exam. Then, after a few years, they told me about the energy community and told me that the houses were ready and that I could have one.

“They told me I would be living there, but it took almost ten years in the end. I said, Let’s hope I’m still alive by then! If I am still here, I would certainly be very glad.”

These houses are like our own. We pay taxes but don’t pay rent. They are ours for life, even if we get to live a hundred years. But when we are gone, they will become someone else’s. The Foundation has other projects like this in other cities. This is a project that embraces the whole region. They go around checking that everything works and that all the people are well. So, we are not alone, because we are part of this Foundation and we are partners. As an obligation, for me, who no longer works, I only have to do my own shopping, make my own food and keep the house clean and tidy. We are free people, and we could also marry and bring another person to live here, for example, if we wanted to. Then they help us if we have any problems. I, for example, once broke my mobile phone and had to buy a new one. I spent 200 euros, so I asked if they could lend me 50 euros. They gave it to me and said they wouldn’t take it back, and to let them know if I needed money from time to time.

There cannot be a better place for me to live than here. With my social pension of EUR 650 a month I could not pay rent, pay the bills, maintain the car and feed myself. But I can now because I don’t pay rent or electricity. So, I have about 100 euros a month left in my pocket and I can do some small expenses for myself.”

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