Its activities benefit 8 countries in the Southern Mediterranean: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia. Through policy development, demonstration activities and networking opportunities, SwitchMed supports and connects stakeholders to scale-up eco and social innovations. The programme supports policy makers, eco-innovative small and medium sized enterprises, industries, start-ups and entrepreneurs in the Southern Mediterranean countries, which have identified job creation and natural resource protection as priority issues that also contribute to their economic stability.

The SwitchMed Initiative contributes to the achievement of several UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):
SDG 8 – Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all
SDG 9 – Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
SDG 12 – Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
SDG 17 – Revitalize the global partnerships for sustainable development

The SwitchMed initiative is aligned with the New Circular Economy Action Plan adopted by the European Commission. The measures for mainstreaming sustainable products and empowering consumers and public buyers presented in the Action Plan including the focus on the sectors that use most resources and where the potential for circularity is high such as plastics, textiles, food are embedded in the design of the SwitchMed Initiative.

SwitchMed also contributes to the Regional Dialogue Platforms, including the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Working Group on Blue Economy and the UfM Working Group on Environment and Climate Change (H2020 initiative for a Cleaner Mediterranean) that lead to the adoption of the first UfM Ministerial Declaration on Environment and Climate Change.