Climate change is often perceived as a global challenge requiring global solutions. While this is true, this perception can make the issue seem distant and abstract – something to be solved elsewhere, by someone else. At Swisscontact, our experience tells a different story: meaningful climate action starts with behavioural change. However, this change only lasts when individual and organisational choices are reinforced by systems that make sustainable behaviour viable and rewarding.
People’s daily decisions shape climate outcomes. Farmers choose how to manage their water and soil resources. Entrepreneurs decide how to produce, invest, and innovate. Service providers influence business practices, while institutions set the rules that govern markets. When these behaviours are repeated on a larger scale, they have a profound impact on emissions, resilience, and livelihoods. Yet behaviour does not change in isolation. People and businesses can only act sustainably when they are supported by incentives, skills, markets, and institutions.
This is why Swisscontact combines behaviour change with systemic solutions. Across our work, we see that awareness or training alone is not enough. What matters is whether systems can translate new knowledge, skills, and mindsets into genuine economic opportunities.
In Bangladesh’s ready-made garment sector, for example, factories began adopting environmental standards not only because they understood climate risks, but also because buyer requirements, local environmental, social and governance (ESG) consultancy services, skills development, and industry institutions were aligned. Sustainability became part of doing business, not an added burden.
The same logic applies to green skills and jobs. The just transition is mainly about transforming existing sectors rather than creating new ones. Jobs become “greener” when business models, technologies, and incentives change. Skills matter, but only when they respond to real labour market demand and are embedded in functioning systems. The Skills Development Programme (SDP) in Cambodia is an example of this. By strengthening Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions and linking them closely with employers, the SDP enabled schools to add solar photovoltaic (PV) training to existing electrical programmes. This did not create a separate “green job,” but rather transformed electricians’ skill sets to meet real market demand and provide higher wages.
In Kosovo, economic necessity aligned and climate adaptation drove behavioural change. The Promoting Private Sector Employment (PPSE) project helped tourism businesses to respond to declining snowfall by pivoting from ski-dependent offerings to year-round mountain tourism. By linking business models with the adoption of renewable energy and sustainability certification, the PPSE project catalysed behavioural shifts among entrepreneurs, tour operators, associations, and government institutions. These changes were sustained because the project worked systemically, embedding incentives, technical support, and policy frameworks that reinforced new behaviours.
Similarly to the recycling sector in Bolivia, behaviour change among waste collectors, recyclers, financial institutions, and business chambers was driven by economic opportunity. As access to finance, market linkages, and institutional support improved, informal workers – many of whom were women – formalised their businesses, increased their incomes, and contributed to reducing emissions and protecting the environment. Environmental impact emerged not from advocacy alone, but from systems that rewarded sustainable practices.
Swisscontact supports the creation of conditions that make sustainable choices practical and economically attractive, across sectors ranging from agriculture and tourism to waste management and vocational education. While this may sound simple, it is a significant challenge in practice: action is needed today, even though many of the benefits will only become apparent in the long term. This is why it is so important for Swisscontact to work with people, businesses and institutions to ensure that everyday decisions drive effective climate action and lasting impact.
Lead Climate & Environment