As an example, in Bangladesh, Swisscontact helped to establish a green consulting ecosystem, when garment factories were faced with increasing ESG requirements from international buyers. This was part of the Promoting Green Growth in the Ready-Made Garments Sector (PROGRESS) project which developed local ESG consulting capacity. It meant that international consultants could be replaced by local ESG consultants, thus creating green jobs while serving industry needs.
To promote mentorship, PROGRESS partnered local consultants with international firms to provide hands-on learning opportunities. They also formed working groups comprising experts from associations, brands and factories, and supported the development of practical services ranging from carbon accounting to sustainability reporting. 63% of the target factories have adopted standards, and local consultants have established viable businesses as cost-effective alternatives to international firms. The supported factories have adopted 53 ESG initiatives, and the project has contributed to reducing an estimated 1,473 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
Greenhouse gas emissions reduced:
Swisscontact has set the goal of reducing its own carbon footprint, as well as contributing to the reduction and avoidance of CO₂ emissions through its projects. Emissions have primarily been avoided through preventing forest fires, reducing agrochemical use, and improving waste management.
Significant progress has been made towards achieving these goals in 2025, particularly through the Sustainable Mayan Landscapes initiative in Guatemala. This project has avoided 675,047 tonnes of CO₂ emissions from deforestation and degradation and has recycled 40 tonnes of tyres. It has also helped communities and local stakeholders to conserve 625,270 hectares of forest in the Maya Biosphere Reserve.
By strengthening community forest management and local governance, the initiative enables people to care for their land while establishing stable and dignified livelihoods. Twenty-two fire prevention groups, local organisations and protected area managers now work together more closely to protect this unique landscape. In addition to conservation, the project promotes sustainable farming, agroforestry, and nature-based businesses in sectors such as tourism, agriculture, and waste management. This helps to restore degraded areas and create new income opportunities.
In many regions, women and girls are less likely to enrol in vocational education and training (VET). Even when enrolled, they usually do not have access to the full range of training and career choices due to social norms. Consequently, they tend to remain in professions that are less valued and remunerated, with limited scope for economic advancement. They are particularly underrepresented in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and future-oriented fields and have limited access to upskilling and labour market services.
Swisscontact addresses these challenges in many of its projects. In Niger, for example, the GWANI project supported the creation of a network of women with exceptional career paths, from so-called masculine industries: security, mechanics, architecture, aeronautics, sport, IT, etc. This network has implemented strategic initiatives to inspire a new generation of girls, including creating powerful video vignettes, a series of inspiring portraits, and a podcast.
The network has become a movement for social transformation, driven by exceptional women who are deeply rooted in Niger’s reality and committed to providing young girls with real-life examples of success. Many of these women are respected pioneers in their field, including Aminatou Seyni, one of the fastest sprinting women on the continent; Colonel Marie Djika, a military commander and Indira Bachar, a meteorologist at Niamey Airport.
Swisscontact cultivates local partnerships at eye level and offers support for their own initiatives. We co-create innovations with local partners such as municipalities, private sector companies and local NGOs, to develop joint solutions. We co-invest with these partners to share risks for a common purpose and share our facilitation role and strategic decision-making responsibilities. Furthermore, we provide technical assistance and other non-financial support to local actors within service-based partnerships.
In the Sustainable Landscape Program Indonesia (LASR) we support the strengthening of multi-stakeholder platforms and active grievance and deforestation response mechanisms that are owned and led by local institutions.
Several governance shifts have been brought about by this locally led collaboration, which is based on co-investment and shared leadership: villages are starting to formalise their land-use regulations, regency governments are beginning to allocate their own budgets to continue participatory land use planning, and companies are identifying and conserving high conservation value areas within their concessions.