Publication
Internship Report Sustainable Finance and Investment in the European Union: The case of BIOWEG
| datacite.subject.fos | Ciências Sociais::Economia e Gestão | pt_PT |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Oliveira, Célia Patrício Valente de | |
| dc.contributor.author | Soares, Beatriz Catarina Sousa | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-02-08T14:47:41Z | |
| dc.date.embargo | 2026-12-11 | |
| dc.date.issued | 2023-12-11 | |
| dc.description.abstract | This report was created following the 6 months internship at BIOWEG, a biotechnology company based in Quakenbrueck (Germany). It was carried out as part of the master’s degree in International Business from the Superior School of Technology and Management of the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria with a duration of 1040 hours. In the internship I performed tasks in the finance department which included account reconciliation, project audit trail, reimbursements. This included double-checking all monthly transactions, their details and compiling them for the general ledger. I performed the audit trail for one of the projects who finished in November by reviewing all transactions in the digital and physical versions. Through Zoho Expense, I processed the travel expenses and other operating expenses done by the employees and scheduled the payments. Additionally, I performed other tasks such as procurement of supplies and equipment; and generating all employee timesheets based on the hours in each project. BIOWEG is a startup which is researching solutions to replace microplastics in cosmetics, personal care, agriculture, and food formulations. Their products come from the production of bacterial cellulose to incorporate in different formulations. So far, they have four products, and their goal is to enter the market quickly as the European Union passed the bill to restrict microplastics intentionally added to products under new legislation on the 25th of September 2023. The company values sustainable and circular processes and aims to become a staple in this area. Sustainability is one of the steppingstones for the European Union in the next years and they are investing more in this topic and leading Europe in a path of green innovation. One of their goals is to reduce microplastics pollution by 30% by 2030. This is the business opportunity that BIOWEG decided to explore as cosmetic brands will have to start replacing them in the next few years (Press Corner, n.d.). Just in June 2023, new measures were approved in the Sustainable finance package which aims to support economic activities who work to tackle the most pressing environmental matters and increase transparency in sustainable investments. BIOWEG also fits these criteria set on the European Union Taxonomy including promoting circular economy processes and protecting marine life and ecosystems (Sustainable Finance Package 2023, n.d.). Sustainable finance is indeed a very hot topic, especially in the European market which means it is a sound decision to invest in sustainable ideas, products, or companies. The support of the European Union makes it more accessible for startups to access funds and grow their businesses and for investors to better assess the options and have a clearer picture for their decisions. So, exploring a market segment which tackles the problem of microplastics in products by replacing them with sustainable solutions, from circular processes and produced with side streams is a project the European Union has active interest and is a good business investment. My main conclusions are that BIOWEG has to focus on their main problem areas and figure out their short-term strategy to quickly enter the market. | pt_PT |
| dc.identifier.tid | 203526627 | pt_PT |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10400.8/9417 | |
| dc.language.iso | eng | pt_PT |
| dc.subject | Sustainable Finance | pt_PT |
| dc.subject | ESG Framework | pt_PT |
| dc.subject | BIOWEG | pt_PT |
| dc.subject | Finance | pt_PT |
| dc.subject | European Union | pt_PT |
| dc.subject | Microplastics | pt_PT |
| dc.title | Internship Report Sustainable Finance and Investment in the European Union: The case of BIOWEG | pt_PT |
| dc.type | master thesis | |
| dspace.entity.type | Publication | |
| rcaap.rights | restrictedAccess | pt_PT |
| rcaap.type | masterThesis | pt_PT |
| thesis.degree.name | Mestrado em Negócios Internacionais | pt_PT |
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