As clean beauty is reshaping the cosmetics landscape, Four Starlings – a family-owned soap-making business in Poland – emerged as a rising star in the industry. We talked to Grzegorz Sienkiewicz, Managing Director of Four Starlings, and Anna Wrzesińska, Chief Specialist for International Cooperation at Podlaska Regional Development Foundation and Business Adviser at the Polish branch of Enterprise Europe Network, to find out how the Network helped the company grow into an international success.
In 2018, a group of Greek farmers created Proud Farm Group of Farmers to drive sustainable sheep and goat farming forward using new technologies. The Network’s business advisers at ANKO Western Macedonia – Organisation for Local Development helped the company reach its ambitious goals.
Finnish entrepreneurs Veera Ylikotila and Jenni Hakkarainen set up Xeraliving in 2020. Their bold mission is to contribute to a sustainable and transparent interior design industry through items that combine the versatility of natural materials with sleek contemporary style. Working with local and European manufacturers, they produce home accessories and small objects, all with practicality and sustainability at their core. Enterprise Europe Network offered the young company advice on outsourcing, building international networks, and finding new business partners. Hanna Riski, Senior Adviser at the Network partner Business Finland, met with Veera Ylikotila, co-founder of Xeraliving, to share with our readers how they worked together to achieve success.
What is sustainable architecture and how can it help designers, architects, builders, and clients minimise harmful energy consumption and pollution? Katarína Jelenáková, Manager for International Cooperation and Support of SMEs at the Network partner Slovak Business Agency, interviewed architect and structural engineer Martin Pribila, the creator of the 'Krtkodom' concept – an alternative housing solution using less land mass and energy and creating a healthy biophilic environment for its inhabitants. Remarkable in its simplicity, the 'Krtkodom' is a thriving business that makes a serious case for a greener life.
