Sometimes people ask me – can business really change the world, or is it just a nice thing to say for grant applications?
I say: yes, it can. But only when its goal is bigger than just making money.
We at Arteco have shown for years that social business is not just a theory, it is what we do. At our YEAH Center in Malin, everything we build – from small wooden houses, sculptures from recycled stuff, to solar panels, a wind turbine, and our own water wells – has one goal: to show that being sustainable is not something fancy, but a way to live.
For us, nature (ecology), art, and including people are not together by accident. This is our work plan that mixes creating things, teaching, and being good for society.
We work not only with young people from the Youth Club, but with children, adults, and partners from other countries who want to learn from us.
The classes we run often go outside Croatia – for example, with partners from Hungary and Poland, we teach communities how to copy our plan in their village areas and start their own green business ideas.
Social business for me is when money and good values come together. You work, but not against other people – you work for your community and for nature.
And this is not a dream. In Croatia, there are other groups besides Arteco that show this works.
Good examples from Croatia
Humana Nova (Čakovec) – a social co-op that hires people with disabilities and recycles old clothes. Instead of going to waste, old clothes become new products and a new chance for people.
Solidarna Co-op – connects people and businesses who want to put money into projects that help society, often with a focus on nature and people.
Brodoto (Zagreb) – a team that used crowd-funding (asking many people for small amounts of money) to help many green and social projects start.
Recycled Estate Vukomerić (ZMAG) – a real-life place for building with nature and farming in a sustainable way (permaculture), where a sustainable life is really lived, not just taught.
Green Energy Co-op (ZEZ) – people who make their own power and show that the change to green energy can be local and for everyone.
Good examples from the world
Fairphone (Netherlands) – makes smart phones from recycled and ethically sourced materials. Their idea is that electronics can be fair and last a long time.
Patagonia (USA) – famous for saying “Earth is our only shareholder.” They give all their profit to fight the climate crisis.
Too Good To Go (Denmark) – an app that saves extra food from restaurants and shops, reducing food waste and CO₂ pollution.
Ecovative (USA) – makes packaging and building materials from mushroom roots (mycelium) that break down naturally – proof that the future can literally grow from the ground.
Green School Bali (Indonesia) – a school in the jungle built from bamboo, where kids learn about a sustainable life by doing, not just by looking at pictures.
What social business means for climate justice
Social business is not just a new trend, but a new way of thinking – a way for the economy to finally serve people and the planet, not the other way around.
We at Arteco live this every day.
When we work with young people, students, volunteers, or local families, everyone learns the same thing – that every idea can be good for society and for nature, and that you can build the future from recycled material, not just art.
Even though it seems like real social business people are a small number, they are showing the way.
Because if business can pollute, it can also fix things.
And if change can happen in Malin, it can happen anywhere.
Climate justice without social business is like nature protection without action – just a nice speech.
And we choose to act.
As an Ambassador of the European Climate Pact, I want to state that the opinions shared in this article are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission or the European Climate Pact. – Zoran Pavletić
Author: Zoran Pavletić
