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The First Step Toward Net Zero: How Small Businesses Can Become Climate Heroes

06.11.2025

procredit zero kalkulator_-61 — Photo: ProCredit bank

According to data from the World Economic Forum, more than 400 million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operate around the world today. Together, they make up about 90 percent of all companies and generate more than half of global employment.

Although SMEs are drivers of economic growth and a cornerstone of the global economy, they are also responsible for nearly two-thirds of industrial CO₂ emissions—making them key actors in the fight against climate change. At the same time, the climate crisis has changed the rules of the business game: sustainability is no longer a choice, but a prerequisite for survival and competitiveness. For many SMEs, which already operate under demanding market conditions, transitioning to sustainable business models presents an additional challenge—but also an opportunity to strengthen resilience and long-term growth through the green transition.

That’s why, if you are an SME owner, you have likely asked yourself: Where do I begin? How can I stay competitive while making my business more sustainable?

ProCredit Bank has offered a simple answer to the challenge these economic pillars face—the Net Zero Calculator, the first digital tool of its kind on our market, designed to help businesses easily measure and understand their carbon footprint.

As Marina Mijić, Head of the Sustainable Development Department at ProCredit Bank, told me in our conversation, the idea for this tool did not originate in an office, but from the real needs of entrepreneurs.

“Through daily contact with our clients, we realized that many companies want to operate more responsibly but don’t know how. They lack data, tools, and even simple explanations on where to start. So we wanted to give them exactly that—the first step that doesn’t require expert knowledge,” Marina explained.

And that is how the Net Zero Calculator was created—a tool that allows any business, by entering basic information about electricity consumption, fuel, transport, and raw materials, to calculate its direct and indirect CO₂ emissions. The result is a clear overview by sectors, showing where the most energy is consumed and where emissions can be reduced.

“The calculator is free and designed so that anyone can use it, regardless of the company’s size or sector. It’s the first step toward sustainable business that also brings concrete savings,” Marina added.

The tool is already available on the ProCredit Bank website, along with the Net Zero Guide, which helps businesses prepare the necessary data and immediately obtain relevant results.

But ProCredit Bank doesn’t intend to stop there. As Miloš Stepandić, Head of Corporate Banking, emphasizes, the essence lies in partnership—not just in offering a tool.

“Many small and medium-sized businesses are just entering the ESG transition and don’t have enough resources or knowledge to cope with the requirements of new EU regulations, such as CBAM. Our role is to support them—not only with advice but also with financial products for investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy sources,” says Stepandić.

And that is the key message: ESG is not a cost—it is an investment in the future. This is especially true for companies that export or cooperate with partners from the European Union. The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will soon require exporters to report the emissions embedded in their products, and those who fail to do so will face additional costs and barriers.

“Companies that start measuring their footprint and reducing emissions now will have a significant advantage—regulatory, market, and reputational. That’s why we say this calculator is a competitiveness tool, not just an environmental one,” Miloš emphasizes.

ProCredit Bank plans to continue developing the tool and educating clients, as well as strengthening its internal capacities—because, as they say, the goal is for every advisor to also become an ESG advisor.

The Net Zero Calculator, therefore, is more than just a digital tool. It is an invitation to change the way we think, operate, and approach the resources around us. And if that change can begin with a single click—then a sustainable future has never been closer.

Milena Maglovski

China Shifts to “High-Quality” Renewable Energy Growth: Less Subsidy, More Market

04.11.2025

solar , panel — Photo-illustration: Pixabay (mrganso)

China installed a record 264 gigawatts of new wind and solar capacity in the first half of 2025—twice as much as in the same period last year. The surge was driven by investors rushing to complete projects before the country’s new market-based electricity pricing system for renewables takes effect, according to an analysis and statement by Wood Mackenzie.

After years of prioritizing rapid, large-scale capacity expansion, China is now entering a phase of so-called “high-quality development”—a policy focused on stability, sustainability, and economic efficiency rather than sheer megawatt growth. The new system introduces market auctions and competition among producers, replacing the previous guaranteed feed-in tariffs.

Wood Mackenzie’s data show that the first tenders in Shandong province have already triggered strong market responses: solar prices dropped by about 32 percent and wind by 9 percent compared to previous averages. This marks the beginning of a period when competition will determine prices—putting pressure on profit margins but improving overall market efficiency in the long term.

According to the company’s analysts, projects completed before June 2025 still yield stable returns of 8 to 11 percent, thanks to lower technology costs and longer purchase contracts. For new projects, expected returns are around 6 to 7 percent, as guarantee periods are shorter and the market more volatile.

Wind farms currently enjoy an advantage due to lower risks of production curtailment and steadier revenues, while solar projects in some regions face tighter financial conditions because of unstable grid capacity.

Through this transition, China signals its intent to move away from a subsidy-driven expansion model toward one emphasizing sustainable growth, rational costs, and a long-term stable energy market.

Energy portal

New Data Reveal the Extent of Europe’s E-Waste Crisis, NGOs Call for Urgent Action

02.11.2025

e-otpad — Photo-illustration: Freepik (freepik)

New Eurostat data released today exposes the scale of Europe’s overconsumption of electronics and the continued failure to properly collect and recycle e-waste.

Environmental NGOs are urging the European Commission to take decisive action in the upcoming revision of the Waste of Electric and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) legislation. Notably, they call for stronger and binding measures to prevent waste and promote repair, reuse and proper collection, including reuse targets, and robust EPR schemes with eco-modulated fees that hold producers accountable for their products throughout their life cycle.

Eurostat’s latest data confirm a worrying trend: more electronics are entering the EU market, and more e-waste is generated as a result. In 2023:

More than 14.4 million tonnes of electrical and electronic equipment were sold in the EU – an increase of over 89 percent since 2012.
The highest per-capita consumers of electrical and electronic equipment in the EU were Netherlands, Germany, Austria, France, and Italy, with consumption levels of 33.3 – 45.4 kilograms per person.
5.2 million tonnes of e-waste were collected – just 4.4 percent more than in 2022.
Collection rates are still alarmingly low across the EU, including for example in Germany, where only 29.5 percent of e-waste is properly collected and reported.
The lowest e-waste collection rates were recorded in Cyprus, Malta, Portugal, Netherlands and Hungary.

The rising consumption of electronic devices is depleting finite resources such as lithium, palladium, and copper, while increasing energy demand, and inflicting harm on human health and the environment during raw material extraction. The problem is made worse when products have a short lifespan, are difficult to repair, or improperly disposed of. These challenges are still common in Europe, where the average phone gets replaced every 3 years and average collection rate for WEEE is still at 37.5 percent.

Moreover, large quantities of e-waste keep being illegally discarded as residual waste or exported unlawfully. Improper disposal not only causes significant environmental damage, but also leads to lost opportunities for reuse and recycling of devices and materials, fires ignited by lithium-ion batteries, and the release of toxic pollutants.

To address these challenges, environmental NGOs are calling for ambitious and harmonised Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) systems that prioritise prevention, reuse and repair. Producers must be made responsible for the entire lifecycle of their products through mandatory participation in collective Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs), eco-modulated fees, and producer-funded reuse and repair programmes. A more robust EPR framework would also improve collection rates by enhancing transparency and clarifying responsibilities for achieving collection, reuse and recycling targets.

Fynn Hauscke, Senior Policy Officer, Circular Economy and Waste, European Environmental Bureau (EEB), said:

“The surge in electronic waste mirrors our ever-increasing appetite for new devices – and with it, the growing strain on our planet’s finite resources. Every new smartphone, laptop or appliance consumes critical raw materials like lithium, palladium and copper, whose extraction comes at a high environmental cost. Unless Europe tackles overconsumption and strengthens producer responsibility, we will continue to exceed planetary boundaries.”

Fanny Rateau, Senior Programme Manager, Environmental Coalition on Standards (ECOS), said:

“The EU needs to shift its e-waste mindset upstream and focus on waste prevention and reuse. Recycling should not be the priority – instead we need to make reuse and repair the norm. By including separate reuse and preparation for reuse targets in the revised WEEE Directive and prioritising product and component recovery over material recovery across legislation and standards, the EU can revitalise our used electronics, keeping them in use for longer. We can still turn the tide on the e-waste tsunami.”

Viktor Schödwell, Senior Expert, Environmental Action Germany (Deutsche Umwelthilfe – DUH) said:

“Increasing quantities placed on the market and poor collection results show that producer responsibility in the field of electronics is failing to meet important environmental targets. We therefore need to make producers genuinely accountable to reduce environmental impacts of their products to prevent the general public from bearing these costs. All producers must join a collective producer responsibility organisation which must be obliged to meet targets for collection, preparation for reuse and high-quality recycling and promote ecodesign.”

Source: EEB

Trgovska gora – A Quarter Century of Resistance to Nuclear Waste

26.10.2025

Trgovska Gora is a hilly-mountainous area on the border of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, which has come into the public spotlight due to Croatia’s plans to establish longterm storage facilities for radioactive waste from the Krško nuclear power plant at the Čerkezovac site. This has caused concern among residents over possible adverse effects on human health and the environment, given that the location is only a few kilometers from the River Una and populated areas in BiH.

The issue of Trgovska Gora dates back to 1999, when the Croatian Parliament adopted a decision designating the BiH-Croatia border area as the location for disposing of radioactive waste. Although Croatia initially had four potential sites available in 1997 – Psunj, Papuk, Moslavačka Gora, and Trgovska Gora – the BiH border site was the only one retained.

The Green Team Association has been engaged with the Trgovska Gora case since its founding in 2016, stating that Trgovska Gora is less suitable than the sites that were excluded, a conclusion confirmed by ten PhD experts from BiH.

– Within this case, there are a significant number of complicated segments, but the essence is really quite simple. Two EU member states benefited from the operation of the Krško nuclear power plant, and Croatia intends to push its share of the burden, in the form of radioactive waste, into the border area between Croatia and BiH. It is not neighborly, it is not in line with good practices, it is not fair, and it is not in line with the principles of sustainable development. However, BiH does not possess the same level of leverage as other countries, nor does it have sufficient international influence to resolve this issue at the negotiating table. For that reason, the struggle has lasted now for more than 25 years, with no clear end in sight, says Mario Crnković, president of the Green Team Association.

What Is Actually Planned

Crnković explains that Croatia intends to form practically two units at Trgovska Gora, referred to publicly as the so-called Radioactive Waste Management Center.

– The first thing they want, which is hardly ever discussed, is the establishment of a central storage site for institutional radioactive waste (IRAW) from Croatia. This would host an entire spectrum of hazardous waste from Croatia, ranging from that generated in science, research, industry, the military, and medicine. In addition, they intend to build a nuclear facility for the long-term storage of low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste from Slovenia, says Crnković.

IN FOCUS:

Distance from the Una River

The entrance to the Čerkezovac barracks complex is located about 800 meters from the River Una, while the storage facilities are just over two kilometers away. The site was chosen so that the storage facilities are actually closer to the center of Novi Grad in BiH than to Dvor, a municipality in Croatia with about 2,000 inhabitants.

– When you draw a circle around that site, it is evident at first glance that most of the territory falls within BiH. Adding to that the slope of the terrain, groundwater, and prevailing winds, we conclude that this is a clear example of risk transfer to a neighboring country. For this reason, some ecologists have studied the extent to which this could be described as environmental racism, since the overlaps with the theory that explains this phenomenon are more than concerning, says Crnković.

He points out that Trgovska Gora is the primary reason young people are leaving Novi Grad, followed closely by economic and career-related reasons.

There is also the example of the protected area of Una Nature Park, whose development should be based on one of the most beautiful rivers in Europe, but which is now burdened by announcements of possible radioactive and other hazardous waste disposal.

– When it comes to environmental protection, it is difficult even to talk about it, because it falls into the background given the scale of the problem. When someone intends to build a nuclear facility in an area where there is strong opposition, where there is a very serious history of different conflicts, every time we mention that 39 fish species are being endangered, we get asked whether we have counted how many children will be at risk. What we need is harmony between humans and nature, cooperation and sustainable development, and yet someone else’s burden is being imposed, one that our children are left to suffer, emphasizes Crnković.

The Green Team Association is now conducting activities in three directions. The first is supporting the activities of the Expert Team of Bosnia and Herzegovina, while also highlighting the importance of cooperation between institutions and civil society organizations when it comes to issues important to citizens. The second is monitoring the case and acting as a corrective factor.

– The Trgovska Gora case has a significant number of complexities, and given that Croatia is hiding relevant information, it is not rare that information reaches citizens before it reaches institutions in BiH. That is not good, but it is reality, that is the Balkans. That is the attitude of an EU member state toward a country aspiring to become one, says Crnković.

The third direction is preparing and creating materials and activities related to the case, since, as he puts it, “we do not have the luxury of waiting for institutions to act and then basing our comments on whether what they did was good or not.”

Given that Croatia has already begun construction work on Trgovska Gora, and that for 25 years they have in no way included the citizens of BiH, preparations are underway to appeal to committees for the implementation of various conventions.

Prepared by Jasna Dragojević

The story was published in Energy portal Magazine CLIMATE CHANGE

Birds of Serbia under Threat from Climate Change

22.10.2025

Foto-Nikola-Stevanović — Photo: Nikola Stevanović

All birds have, through evolution, adapted to specific environmental conditions – temperature, precipitation patterns, seasonal changes, and the availability of food. This complex ecological framework that enables their survival is now rapidly being disrupted under the influence of climate change. The increase in average temperature acts like pulling a thread from a carefully woven fabric: once that balance is disturbed, the entire ecological network begins to unravel. To what extent birds in Serbia are affected by these processes, why they are endangered, and whether society sufficiently recognizes the need for their protection was explained to us by Uroš Stojiljković from the Bird Protection and Study Society of Serbia.

– Almost every summer, we witness apocalyptic scenes, and even now, as we speak, images are circulating of the Gruža reservoir, which, due to drought, has reached a record low water level. It is an Important Bird Area (IBA), significant as a migratory corridor and a wintering site for birds, where nearly 200 species have been recorded. This means that breeding birds are left without nesting sites and conditions, food availability decreases, and the physical condition of both parents and chicks is impaired, which is particularly risky for migratory species, says our interlocutor.

He points out that birds, faced with unfavorable changes in their habitats, may attempt to find areas with better conditions. However, this opens a whole new set of challenges — a greater number of individuals are forced to share limited resources, face new competitors and predators, as well as diseases to which they are not adapted.

At the same time, many migratory birds, such as swallows, are arriving earlier each year, which makes them vulnerable to sudden weather changes. Last year, there was a mass die-off of urban swallows in Vojvodina, caused by a sudden cold spell at the end of summer, for which the young birds were unprepared. Climate disruptions, accompanied by increasingly frequent and destructive extreme events, also leave tragic consequences for other species. White storks are particularly threatened, as their nests on utility poles are exposed to strong winds and storms, resulting in significant losses every year. There are many such examples, and it is difficult to list them all, but they all share the same cause – the destabilization of the natural rhythm on which birds have based their survival for centuries.

Although it is impossible to single out climate change as the only factor behind the disappearance or drastic decline of certain species, it further complicates already existing threats such as poisoning, habitat alteration and loss, poaching, electrocution, and collisions.

IN FOCUS:

123 Endangered Species in the Red Book of Birds of Serbia

For species already endangered, climate change further reduces the chances of recovery. An illustrative example is the critically endangered eastern imperial eagle, whose population has been slowly recovering over the past eight years thanks to intensive protection measures. However, the adverse effects of climate change on this species are becoming increasingly evident in the field. Old trees suitable for nesting, which are already scarce in Vojvodina, are increasingly perishing due to prolonged droughts, weakening their structure. At the same time, solitary trees are being toppled by strong winds and extreme weather events. Such events directly destroy nests or displace chicks, further endangering an already fragile population.

According to the Red Book of Birds of Serbia, as many as 123 bird species are listed as endangered in one of the categories, which testifies to the scope of the problem we are facing.

In Serbian legislation, there are no explicit provisions pointing to specific measures that need to be applied to preserve natural values, biodiversity, or birds in the context of climate change. – That part of the legislation is clearly lagging behind, as is much else in the field of environmental protection, says our interlocutor.

Prepared by Milena Maglovski

The story was published in Energy portal Magazine CLIMATE CHANGE

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