European SMEs are committed to sustainability, but they need additional incentives

By: Trademagazin Date: 2023. 12. 01. 10:26

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Despite the energy crisis, disruptions in supply chains, as well as inflation and economic-geopolitical uncertainties, more and more businesses are taking steps to achieve sustainability goals, and there are also compelling business arguments – points out the White Paper prepared by the Generali Group and SDA Bocconi third edition, which was presented recently.

The event was also attended by leading European decision-makers such as Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, or Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni. The survey conducted among more than 1,000 European SMEs reveals the possibilities of enterprises in relation to sustainability efforts, the most typical gaps and challenges, and makes recommendations to encourage business practices in this direction.

44% of the SMEs surveyed in the research stated that they are already using or are planning to implement various sustainable business practices – this represents a 3% increase compared to last year’s results, and a 10% increase compared to 2021 data. At the same time, there are still many difficulties that prevent companies from fully engaging, among them excessive regulation and bureaucracy (48%) is the most significant, the number of companies citing this has almost doubled compared to last year’s 25%. In addition, the lack of state incentives (48%) and financial support (47%) was also mentioned by many respondents, and here the problem has worsened in a similar proportion since the previous research.