SME Sustainability Story: Contexa
- dominiquelizarbe
- Aug 26
- 4 min read
Updated: Sep 16
With sustainability being an unavoidable and integral part of any business's operations, starting can often be the most difficult step, especially for SMEs (small- and medium-sized enterprises). Contexa is a good example of how meeting stakeholder expectations and engaging employees can be a significant driver for change and sustainability. By making sustainability a strategic and well-resourced priority, they demonstrate that any SME can successfully make the transition.
Who is Contexa?
Contexa is an innovation-driven company of 70 people based in Geneva and active worldwide. Operating in the industrial sector, they have been designing and manufacturing dosing machines for 25 years for the fragrance and flavours industries, for both lab and production activities. They invented a unique space-saving simultaneous dosing technology called COLIBRI, which not only minimizes operational waste but also delivers unparalleled manufacturing capabilities.
Putting impact first
For Contexa, their most impactful initiative so far has been, in their words, "to start our sustainability journey". In May of 2024, the company created a new dedicated role - Director of Impact - to develop and drive a sustainability strategy tailored to their business and scale.
Several converging signals prompted this decisive move:
Board-level awareness was raised at the end of 2023, highlighting sustainability as a business priority.
Employee feedback pointed to the absence of an environmental management approach.
Customer expectations evolved, with key partners focusing on "carbon footprint", "CSR labels", and a "responsible supply chain".
Two critical enablers made the creation of the new role possible:
Bottom-up internal initiative: an engaged employee proactively shaped a sustainability project and stepped up to lead it.
Top-management endorsement: starting with the CFO, who recognized the strategic importance of sustainability, which provided the trust and resources necessary for its realization.
In just one year, awareness translated into concrete action:
Two carbon footprint assessments were completed, laying the groundwork for emissions reduction.
Bronze EcoVadis rating, marking the SMEs first external sustainability evaluation.
Over a dozen Climate Fresk workshops were conducted, engaging employees in climate change awareness and fostering a company-wide sustainability mindset.
Looking ahead, Contexa is shaping a long-term sustainability strategy, integrating structured environmental and social initiatives into core operations and planning concrete actions to drive measurable impact.
Why Contexa joined the UN Global Compact
For Contexa, the UN Global Compact was an obvious choice. The Ten Principles and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals provide a recognized international framework that ensures a structured, comprehensive approach to sustainability. Joining the initiative has strengthened internal commitment and enhanced external credibility by aligning Contexa's journey with internationally recognized standards.
"We have actively benefited from peer-learning events in Geneva and insightful webinars, which have helped onboard colleagues and integrate sustainability more effectively into our operations. To further advance our impact, we are now engaging with Accelerators and Academy courses, leveraging their expertise to drive deeper sustainability integration across our business"
Advice for other SMEs
Contexa’s advice to other SMEs is straightforward yet impactful: just take the first step, even if the process feels overwhelming at the start.
"Sustainability can feel overwhelming at first, as it touches every aspect of your business. The key question is often: Where should we begin?"
Contexa suggests starting with an audit and offers further practical guidance:
Begin with an audit: assess current practices, identify gaps, prioritize actions, and take the first step.
Use proven tools: sustainability assessments (e.g., EcoVadis, B-Corp), carbon footprint evaluations, and the UN Global Compact's resources can structure and accelerate progress.
Appoint a captain: a dedicated sustainability leader ensures ongoing management of a complex yet rewarding journey.
Bring in specialists when needed: if creating an internal role isn't feasible yet, specialized consultants can provide structure. Contexa did this, for example, to develop their CSRD-compliant Double Materiality Analysis.
Conclusion
Contexa's journey shows how SMEs can build credible, scalable sustainability from the inside out: by naming a leader, engaging employees, using the available tools, and grounding ambition in recognized frameworks. With a dedicated Director of Impact and active participation in the UN Global Compact learning platforms, Contexa is demonstrating that disciplined, people-powered change creates both resilience and opportunity. The road ahead is clear: embed, measure, improve, and keep turning commitment into measurable outcomes.
Stories like Contexa's remind us that the most important part of any sustainability journey is starting. For SMEs, this can be the most intimidating part, as sustainability is a complex field and requires resources, support and know-how. The UN Global Compact Network Switzerland & Liechtenstein (GCNSL) aims to deliver all of this to SMEs like Contexa to help them in their sustainability journey. Contexa is a valued GCNSL participant, and we look forward to seeing their impact grow even further.
If you are an SME and interested in inspiring fellow SMEs with your sustainability success story, do not hesitate to contact our Sustainability Advisor via email: fabio.gfeller@globalcompact.ch.
Disclaimer: The SME Stories are intended strictly for learning purposes and do not constitute an endorsement of the individual companies. Unless otherwise indicated, the content is not intended to reflect the official positions, views or opinions of the UN Global Compact Network Switzerland and Liechtenstein. The case study does not make any assessment of whether the companies presented fully align with the UN Global Compact Ten Principles. The aim is rather to demonstrate the feasibility of sustainability management and to offer SMEs suggestions for their own implementation.
Photo credits: Contexa
