What is SAMBA about?
Interest in sustainability has been growing for years, and more and more consumers want to make environmentally responsible choices. Yet in reality, we don’t always end up choosing the most sustainable option. Sometimes the responsible alternative is more expensive, selection feels too limited, or we’re just too busy to think through the impact of our choices.
Many companies also take advantage of the rising interest, and misleading environmental claims, often referred to as greenwashing, have become more common. According to the European Commission, around 40% of environmental marketing claims are made without sufficient supporting evidence. This means that even motivated consumers don’t always go for the sustainable alternative, as they’re unsure whether the claims are true.
This raises a question: How do we make sustainable choices feel inspiring and communicate it clearly without the risk of greenwashing?
This is the need our Sustainable Marketing and Business Ambassadors (SAMBA) project responds to. This Erasmus+ funded initiative brings together vocational schools, sustainable SMEs and expert partners from across Europe to create a new way of learning sustainable marketing.
What SAMBA aims to achieve
SAMBA’s goal is to promote sustainability by helping individuals and businesses make more responsible everyday choices.
- The project helps young people understand how companies approach sustainability, recognize greenwashing, and create marketing that is both honest and motivating.
- At the same time, SAMBA supports SMEs that want to communicate their sustainability efforts more clearly but may lack the tools or expertise to do so.
By working together, students and companies learn how responsible marketing can encourage meaningful behaviour change.
How the project works
SAMBA combines online learning, international teamwork and real company collaboration into a practical and inspiring model.
1. Online Sustainable Marketing Course
Students begin with a self-study online course.
The course includes the following themes:
- why sustainable marketing is needed
- what sustainability means for businesses
- key sustainability certifications in Europe
- the principles of green marketing
- what is greenwashing and how to avoid it
- writing clear and credible sustainability claims
- creating messages that motivate consumers to make sustainable choices
The course builds the foundation needed for the international workshop.
2. International Project Week
After completing the online course, students travel to one of the partner countries for a week-long international workshop. They are placed in mixed teams with students from Finland, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Sweden and Italy.
During the week, students:
- interview the company
- analyse its key sustainability themes
- develop a clear sustainability message
- create a Sustainable Marketing Material for several marketing channels
The workshop week is organised four times in different partner countries. This hands-on experience shows how sustainability becomes concrete in real business contexts.
Competitive Twist to the Workshop Week
Each workshop week functions as a competition: international student teams present their sustainable marketing package to a jury at the end of the week. The winning teams from each round are invited to the final dissemination seminar in Italy, where they showcase their work and share their experiences from the project.
Creating tools for the future
By the end of the project, SAMBA will deliver two major outcomes:
- Sustainable Marketing course material and assignments for vocational schools
- A practical Sustainable Marketing Tool that helps SMEs identify their sustainability strengths and communicate them transparently
Both outputs will be shared widely to support responsible marketing skills across Europe.
Who is involved
The project is coordinated by Mercuria Business College (Finland) and carried out with partner schools:
- Alfa-college (NL)
- Col·legi Badalonès (ES)
- Louise-Schroeder-Schule (DE)
- Sandagymnasiet (SE)
- I.I.S. Apicio Colonna Gatti (IT)
Expert and company partners include:
- Sami Sykkö (FI)
- Laurea University of Applied Sciences (FI)
- mehnert/paris (DE)
The project is funded by Erasmus+ KA220-VET and runs from 2025 to 2027
Follow our journey here and on our social media!